Remembered: The Game-Changing Martin Margiela Show of 1989
Hands down one of my favorite runs by Margiela and how it was orchestrated. It would have been dope to have been there, especially at that time. We came across this great article and we recommend you give it a read. Martin was in his prime and most of all remained true to his craft. Something radical yet accepting. lol Below is a description and some footnotes. The link to the original article is there as well. Martin Margiela has a documentary coming out soon, peep the trailer. You start dying when you stop dreaming.
BY RICHARD O’MAHONY FEBRUARY 16, 2016 05:30
PARIS, France — In the autumn of 1989, on a derelict playground in the outskirts of Paris, Martin Margiela staged a show like nothing the fashion world had ever seen: the seating plan was first come, first served; the front row was filled with local kids; the models were stumbling; the runway was uneven. The critics loathed it. The industry loved it.
The backdrop for the collection of white and nude belted coats, wide-legged trousers, and carrier bag tops, all frayed and unfinished, was a wasteland replete with graffitied walls and dilapidated buildings. Richard O’Mahony of The Gentlewoman spoke to the critic Suzy Menkes, the designers Raf Simons and Jean Paul Gaultier, the professor Linda Loppa (among others), and the team that put it all together, about the show’s lasting impact.
FOOTNOTES:
1. Nina Nitsche was Martin Margiela’s design assistant for 19 years.
2. The group of fashion students who graduated from Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts in 1980 and 1981 (Ann Demeulemeester, Marina Yee, Dirk Van Saene, Dirk Bikkembergs, Dries Van Noten and Walter Van Beirendonck) was allegedly given the title by the British fashion press, who were unable to pronounce their names correctly.
3. Belgium’s once-thriving textile industry was foundering by the 1980s. Its government created the Golden Spindle prize in 1982 to promote new Belgian designers and textile manufacturers as part of a wider regeneration initiative.
4. New Beat originated in Belgium during the late 1980s. Characterised by a sludgy, heavy dance sound pitched at 115bpm, it also incorporated elements of Chicago house music. Clubs such as Ancienne Belgique in Brussels and Boccaccio in Ghent were at the centre of the New Beat scene.
5. Mary Prijot established the prestigious fashion department of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in 1963. Ann Demeulemeester, Dries Van Noten and Martin Margiela all studied under her tutelage.
6. The Tabi boot is Margiela’s interpretation of the split Japanese tabi sock, which separates the big toe from the others and is worn with traditional thonged footwear.
7. Franprix is a French grocery chain founded in 1958 by Jean Baud. It has 860 outlets throughout the country.
8. The blouson blanche is a white work coat worn by the petites mains in the ateliers of haute couture houses. Margiela adopted it as a uniform for the company’s employees.
9. Radical political change in East Germany in 1989 led to the removal of the blockade of West Germany on 9 November 1989. The wall’s official demolition didn’t begin until the summer of 1990 and wasn’t completed until 1992.
read the full article here: