Martin Margiela

According to The Hollywood Reporter, margiela co-founded his label with Brussels boutique owner Jenny Meirens in 1987.² According to The Hollywood Reporter, about six years into the label he co-founded, he stepped back and refused to be its public face or spokesperson.²

According to 20 things you need to know about martin margiela, he left Maison Martin Margiela in 2009 after more than 20 years with the collective.^1,4,5 According to 20 things you need to know about martin margiela, after his departure, a team without a public face continued the house’s collections.^1,4 According to 20 things you need to know about martin margiela, as a child he first encountered fashion on television through André Courrèges and Paco Rabanne.¹

According to 20 things you need to know about martin margiela, margiela worked as a design assistant to Jean Paul Gaultier in Paris between 1985 and 1987.^1,6 According to 20 things you need to know about martin margiela, margiela worked as a design assistant to Jean Paul Gaultier until 1987.^1,6 According to 20 things you need to know about martin margiela, Accounts place the beginning of Margiela’s Hermès design tenure in 1998, distinct from his 1997 appointment announcement.^1,2,7

According to Marc Jacobs, in 2016, Kanye West posted 99 archive images from Maison Martin Margiela on Instagram.^1,4 According to 20 things you need to know about martin margiela, Vetements’s autumn–winter 2018 collection explicitly referenced Margiela’s work, including split-toe footwear.¹ According to Dazed, in April 1997 he was announced as creative director of Hermès.^1,6,7

According to Dazed, since 1988, Margiela presented deconstructed designs including back-to-front garments and split-toe shoes.^1,7 According to Dazed, his designs included garments intended to be worn backward and split-toe footwear.⁷ According to The Independent, Margiela’s label used nonprofessional models in some presentations.⁸

According to The Independent, until recently, he presented clothes on non-professional models rather than professional models.⁸ According to British Vogue, product ranges in the label are numbered 0 to 23 as reference codes rather than chronological order.⁴ According to British Vogue, Margiela's presentation methods included seating editors and buyers by perceived importance and wheeling models out on trolleys.^4,8 The label's design team has been located at a particular site since 2005, according to British Vogue.⁴

According to i-D, i-D described that 2009 exit as quitting his own company at the peak of his success.¹ According to 20 things you need to know about martin margiela, margiela worked as creative director at Hermès for six years, from 1998, a point on which the panel's sources or readings disagree.^1,2,3 According to Dazed, fashion coverage identifies Margiela as a pioneer of deconstructed clothing.⁷

According to Dazed, at Hermès, Margiela focused on quality and timeless wardrobe pieces inspired by 1920s sports and leisure clothing rather than avant-garde concepts.⁷ According to Kaat Debo, Kaat Debo observed that Margiela’s work remained visible in other designers’ collections years after his departure.⁷ According to The New York Times T magazine, the New York Times’s T magazine called him the most elusive figure in fashion even after 20 years in business.⁸

The Independent writer argues that Margiela should not be labelled anti-establishment because he deeply respects craftsmanship and design tradition, though he might be called godfather of the European avant-garde.⁸ According to Vogue UK, Margiela's 1989 collection challenged conventional notions of what luxury could be.⁴ According to British Vogue, Margiela’s namesake label had attracted attention for its approach to luxury by 1989.⁴

According to British Vogue, British Vogue dates his first major challenge to ideas of luxury to a 1989 collection.⁴ According to British Vogue, Maison Margiela continues after his departure, with a faceless design team; it had 14 stores worldwide at the time of The Independent's report, a point on which the panel's sources or readings disagree.^1,4,8 According to British Vogue, margiela is widely regarded as an honorary member of the Antwerp Six design cohort.⁴

Designer Bob Verhelst said Margiela's first silhouettes were a shock and showed him to be far ahead of his peers.⁴ According to Marc Jacobs, Marc Jacobs asserted in 2008 that anyone aware of modern life is influenced by Margiela.⁴ According to WWD, WWD expects the art show to prompt debate about what counts as art.⁵ According to Fashion Model Directory, margiela refused to act as the public face of his brand, avoided photographs, and reportedly gave interviews only by fax.^2,6