There’s something about Maison Martin Margiela. Maybe it’s the rebellion. Or the way invisibility becomes a unique form of presence. His work was never just about fashion — it was about perception, process, and avoiding the obvious. About embracing what’s overlooked, or simply different. Margiela’s world returns at MoMu Antwerp. Replicas of his office and store. Linen-covered chairs, posters, traces of graffiti. Almost everything in white.
Maison Martin Margiela – from the exhibition at MoMu.
Here, my Margiela 7:
The four white stitches — a code, almost invisible, but unmistakable. Highly conceptual. Each piece marked by a number. A system for ideas.
Deconstruct, construct. Linings, shoulders, raw edges brought forward. What’s usually hidden becomes part of the surface. One of the standouts: the Semi-Couture Dressmaker Bodice from 1997. High collar, open back, printed with numbers and lines — a tailor’s mannequin made into a garment. Part of the Artisanal Line (Line 0), remade by hand, pushing boundaries in shape, technique, and idea. A garment, and an object.
Painted leather, cut-off hems, fabric taped and left open. The unfinished as intention. Tabi boots included.
Furniture as fashion. Chairs draped in white linen. Mirrors like fittings. A stitched cotton shell, matching the bag, seam by seam. Painted shoes. For Margiela, fashion and interiors follow the same ethic and aesthetic visual language — in form, in material, in gesture.
At Hermès, his touch softened everything. Elegance without excess. Golden. (Want to know more? Margiela, The Hermès Years is not just a coffee table book, but a design archive.)
Replica — a scent archive. Lazy Sunday Morning, On a Date. Still my all-time go-to’s.
The white coats in the atelier. A collective. A reminder: it’s never just one name.
And then he stepped back. Statement and legacy.
Maison Martin Margiela, shown as part of the exhibition at MoMu Antwerp.
My favourite part of the exhibition Fashion & Interiors. A Gendered Affair — on view in Antwerp until 3 August 2025.
Images taken by author, courtesy of MoMu.
Discover: www.momu.be
