I was invited to the private opening of Margiela/Galliera 1989-2009 last Thursday night. It was fashion week, so the eclectically dressed people attending the opening treated me to a spontaneous fashion show. I spotted Rick Owens minutes after his runway show was over across the street at Palais de Tokyo.
The brilliant exhibition is about a creative genius. The word genius, I believe is overused and watered down in our current society. I rarely use it and reserve it only when I think it is absolutely merited. In the case of Martin Margiela, he definitely receives the use of the word genius in my book.
Margiela was part of a new wave of fashion designers from Belgium that started in the mid-1980s. Margiela worked alongside (but not included in) The Antwerp 6, a group of six designers who attended the Antwerp Royal Academy of Fine Arts between 1980–81. The Antwerp 6 includes Dries Van Noten, Ann Demeulemeester, Dirk Van Saene, Walter Van Beirendonck, Dirk Bikkembergs and Marina Yee and when they started their brands they changed the course of fashion, putting Antwerp on the map as a new design force to be reckoned with along with other fashion capitals Paris, Milan, New York and Tokyo.
Margiela/Galliera 1989-2009 recounts 32 collections that Margiela conceived between 1989 and 2009. Presented in chronological order, Margiela himself created the mis en scene and Olivier Saillard is the curator.
Each display features a few key pieces from each season with text about how the collection was conceived. I found the text essential to understanding the mindset of Margiela's creative process. It wasn’t just about designing pretty clothes to send down the runway with an abstract inspiration like the blue sky in Provence, but rather a notion or idea expressed with a very specific vision.
From out of the way, non-traditional venues, to not having a model runway show and replacing them with a video or mannequins, to even dividing the collection into to various venues so the audience would only see part of the collection, Margiela would surprise and challenge his audience each season.
As for the clothes, they are all at once modern, inventive and original, but also have a tinge of nostalgia by using clever recycling of iconic fashion garments such as white shirts, jeans and trench coats. There’s also a wry sense of humor in many of the pieces, like the simulated human hair coats.
Reinterpreted trench
In between the collections is a series of rooms that resemble something between a pop-up shop and a think tank atelier of props that includes furniture, swatches, objets, clothes, files, fashion accessories, and electronics.
Margiela retired from designing in 2009 with the collections now designed by John Galliano since 2014.
The exhibition not only reinforced the brilliance of Margiela but also the huge hole he left in the fashion world when he retired. In my opinion, I can count on one hand the designers working today that match Margiela’s creative genius.
Margiela/Galliera 1989-2009
Until July 15
Palais Galliera
10, Avenue Pierre Ier de Serbie 75116
Metro: Iena or Alma Marceau
http://www.palaisgalliera.paris.fr/en/exhibitions/margiela/galliera-1989-2009
I am very excited to announce the launch of my new video series A Bite of Paris, on my You Tube channel, Eye Prefer Paris.
The format of the series is every week I visit either a restaurant, food shop or food market to taste my favorite French foods.
Click here to watch first episode.
Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more. In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Latin Quarter, in addition to Shopping Tours, Gay Tours, Girlfriend Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tour
