September 28, 2008, 8:29 pm — Updated: 9:51 am -->
Martin Margiela to Exit Margiela?
By Eric Wilson


The big rumor floating around the Paris shows this week is that Martin Margiela, the influential and enigmatic designer, is preparing his final disappearing act. Over the last year, Mr. Margiela, known as fashion’s “Invisible Man” because he never gives interviews and has rarely been photographed, has told colleagues that he wants to stop designing and that he has begun a search for his successor at the house.

In one move that has set off intense speculation about the company’s future, Mr. Margiela, who is 51, initiated a meeting here early this year with Raf Simons, another well-regarded Belgian designer who was renegotiating his contract with Jil Sander at the time. According to people familiar with the designers, who requested anonymity out of respect for Mr. Margiela’s wishes to remain private about his plans, Mr. Simons had discussed the possibility of replacing Mr. Margiela, but nothing came of that conversation.

Ultimately, Mr. Simons renewed his contract to remain at Jil Sander for an additional three years.

“Helmut (Lang) and Martin have had a big impact on me, but beyond that I cannot tell you anything,” said Mr. Simons, who declined to comment when asked about his conversation at a fashion show on Sunday.

The rumors about Mr. Margiela’s desire to leave fashion reached a fever pitch at the shows over the weekend as the Maison Martin Margiela prepared for its spring runway show on Monday night, which will mark the 20th anniversary of the house. Suzy Menkes, reporting in Monday’s International Herald Tribune, writes that two designers have been in talks with Renzo Rosso, the chief executive of Diesel Group, which bought Mr. Margiela’s business in 2002. She did not identify the designers and it was not clear whether Mr. Simons was one of those.

But she includes an intriguing comment from Mr. Rosso, who said, “We are very happy with Martin but for a long time he has a strong team and does not work on the collection, just special projects.”

If Mr. Margiela truly has not been involved in the recent collections, an assertion that appears to be debatable, it would prove his longstanding point – and the reason he has maintained his silence – that the clothes are greater than the creator.

The MoMu in Antwerp honours Margiela

The MoMu in Antwerp honours Margiela

Wednesday, 08 October 2008

Maison Martin Magiela (MMM) is celebrating its 20th anniversary. This is being commemorated with a special exhibition at the Fashion Museum in Antwerp, the city where Magiela completed his fashion degree. Following the collection presentation in Paris last week, the rumour suddenly surfaced that after twenty years in the business Margiela has had enough. According to Suzy Menkes at the International Herald Tribune this has been confirmed by various sources. To this end Renzo Rosso has already supposedly approached two designers to follow in Margiela's footsteps. Rosso's Diesel Group took MMM over in 2002. Rosso himself denies the rumour; nor is Margiela commenting - but that's nothing new as he hasn't done so for more than a decade.

Martin Margiela (51) rates anonimity highly. Not only is he rarely seen, there are no photos of him in circulation and he never gives interviews. This anonimity strategy applies to his fashion collections too. The garments' inside labels are white, blank. Only the four white label stitches seen on the outside indicate its an MMM garment. This strategy extends to the presentation of the collections: for example, another MMM concept is models walking the catwalk with their faces covered, wearing the notorious incognito sunglasses like a stripe over the eyes.

The fashion house is in its twentieth year. As such the MoMu in Antwerp is honouring Margiela and his fashion house in full reflection of his style. Trompe l'oeil was chosen to form the basis of the exhibition, as this is a technique often utilized by the fashion house in both the shop interiors and the collections. The colour white was also opted for. One of the more striking trademarks of this fashion house is the consistent use of the colour white; in the shops, offices and showrooms, as in this way the designs are shown at their best. The garments aren't exhibited chronologically at the exhibition as fashion isn't linear. Rather, they are arranged thematically. A number of specific themes can be found in several collections, for example: anonimity, the use of second hand material, permanently creased items and assemblage, and the combining of various items of clothing into one. We see a doll's warderobe like Barbie's (again with garments from different collections) magnified to human proportions. The result: disproportional clothing with enormous zips and unfinished stitching. MMM likes to deviate from standard body sizes. But its not only the end result which is important; the production process matters too. Because who knows the real value of materials and production times anymore? MMM considers this to be crucial. His response to this question are half-finished items; not just clothing, but paint pots on the museum floor depict the production process.

This special exhibition delves deeper into the various themes and concepts brought to the fore during the fashion house's twenty years than maybe a conventional exhibtion would. Themes and concepts of the various global collections, shows, inaugurations and events as well as in the design of its shops and singular house style. For all this, Margiela isn't to be found. No photo, film or interview. Does he really exist? Thanks to the Menkes rumour we at least know the answer to that. The exhibition at MoMu in Antwerp runs up to and including the 8th February 2009.

MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA ARTISANAL 09

At first glance, Margiela’s Artisanal collection is a luxurious masterpiece of innovative design and decadent materials in a symphony of textures and colours. Looking closer however, the true innovation in design becomes apparent, as each piece is meticulously created from recycled, commonplace household goods. Hair combs, paper towels and brightly coloured straws abound, and yet there is little question in the coveted desirability of the individual pieces. Stand out pieces included a tasseled dress made entirely from multi coloured shoelaces and a one-legged jumpsuit made from shreds of old jeans. In times of financial hardship, Margiela is truly pushing the boundaries of economically viable recession wear.

A Magazine curated by MARTIN MARGIELA

Unfinished Pattern of Martin Margiela

At the vanguard of avant-garde designers, Martin Margiela is a master of reworking existing clothes, fabrics and objects to create new garments and accessories. Attributing this quest to transform as born from a wish to treat the preciseness of the structure of a particular garment as a design challenge, this downloadable unfinished pattern gives an opportunity to engage in this process of mutation and innovation. The simple shift dress pattern, without sleeves and with no hemming, is the basis to make a design of your own conception - by augmentation and addition. As if joining the actual designers at the key stage in the making of a garment, this is your raw material to shape into the new.

Exhibition

SOME OF the OTHER MUSEUMS at which Maison Martin Margiela has participated in Exhibitions since 1989:

Palais Galliera, Musée de la Mode et du Costume, Paris
Many exhibitions including:
‘Le Monde selon ses createurs’ 1991
‘Histoires du Jeans’ 1994/5

Musee de L’Art Moderne de la ville de Paris, Paris
‘L’Hiver de l’Amour’ 1993

PS1, New York 1993

Museo Pecci, Prato, Italy
‘Fellini: Costumes and Fashion’
Exhibition later toured to London, Miami and Stockholm. 1995/6

Palais des Beaux-Arts, Bruxelles 1995/6
‘Mode & art 1960-1990’

The Museum at FIT,
The Fashion Institute of Technology, New York
Many exhibitions including:‘ Fifty Years of Fashion, New Look to Now’
1997/8

Groninger Museum, Groningen, The Netherlands
‘Theatre de la Mode’ (Video Presentation) 1997

Musee de L’Art Contemporain de Marseille &
Musee de la Mode, Marseille, France
Participation in many exhibitions including: ‘Le Mode au Corps’1996

Maison de la Photographie, Paris
Gotscho with Nan Goldin, ‘Photographies Habilles Par’ 1996

Musée de la Mode et du Textile, Paris 1998/9
‘Touches d’Exotisme’

Fri-Art Centre D’Art Contemporain Kunsthalle, Fribourg, Switzerland
‘Art et Mode: Fashion Video’ 1998

Flemish Regional Government, City of Antwerp, 1998
At the Centro Cultural de Belem, Lisbon, Portugal
‘Fascinating Faces of Flanders’/ Two hours wide or two hours long.’

Musee des Beaux Arts, Antwerp, Belgium 1998/9
‘Fascinating Faces of Flanders’/ Two hours wide or two hours long.’ On tour

k/haus Künstlerhaus, Vienna, Austria 1999
‘Fast Forward’

MOMU Fashion Museum, Antwerpen, Belgium 1999
‘Geometrie’

MOMU Fashion Museum, in San Franscico, USA 1999
‘Geometrie’ On tour

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA 1999
‘Rock style’

UK Arts Council at The Light House, Glasgow, Scotland 1999
‘Arts 2000’.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, at
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Cleveland, USA 2000
‘Rock style’

k/haus Künstlerhaus, touring to Logan Galleries, San Franscisco, California
‘Fast Forward’ On tour 2000

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, at
The Barbican Centre, London 2000
‘Rock style’

The Museum at FIT, The Fashion Institute of Technology, New York
‘ Belgian fashion Design’ 2001

The V&A, London, U.K. 2001
‘Radical fashion’

Cooper Hewitt, Smythsonian, Washington D.C. USA 2002

UCAD, Paris, France
‘L’Homme pare ‘ 2005

MUDAG, Lausanne, Switzerland
‘Design, vous aves dit Design ?’ 2006

Palais Galleria, Paris, France
‘Show Time’ 2006

Nef du Grand Palais, Paris, France
‘LA Foroe de l ‘ art’ 2006

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, United States
‘Fashion Shows : Paris collection 2006’ 2006

Museum of Contemporary Arts, Los Angeles, United States
‘ Skin+Bones’ 2006

LaCNA, Los Angeles, United States
‘The Mode Breakers’ 2006

Flemish Parlisment, Belgium
‘6+ ANTWERP FASHION’ 2007

European Capital of Culture, Luxemburg
‘Dysfashional’ 2007

MOMU, Antwerp, Belgium
‘Maison Martin Margiela 20 the exhibition’ 2008

Maison Martin Margiela Exibition in Beijing 2008/6

Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp

This is the school where Martin Margiela graduated from

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp (Dutch: Koninklijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten van Antwerpen) is one of the oldest of its kind in Europe. It was founded in 1663 by David Teniers the Younger, painter to the Archduke Leopold Wilhelm and Don Juan of Austria. Teniers was master of the Guild of St Luke - which embraced arts and some handicrafts - and petitioned Philip IV of Spain, then master of the Spanish Netherlands, to grant a royal charter to establish a Fine Arts Academy in Antwerp.


The Royal Academy further developed into an internationally acclaimed institute for Fine Arts, Architecture and Design. From the nineteenth century on, the academy attracted young artists from abroad. Irish, German, Dutch, Polish artists looking for a solid classical training found their way to Antwerp. Under the direction of Gustave Wappers (1803-1874) and his registrar Henry Conscience the academy faced significant restructuring. The academy's significant art collection was exhibited in its own gallery space. By 1890 this gallery would develop into the Royal
Museum of Fine Arts (Dutch; Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten) and would move to its current location in Antwerp. In 1880 a promising young artist Henry Van de Velde enrolled at the Antwerp Academy. He would become one of the pioneering 20th century architects and designers.

in 1885 and 1886 Vincent Van Gogh was also to spend a short time at the Antwerp academy, prior to his departure to France. In 1885, King Leopold II commissioned the establishment of the National Higher Institute for Fine Arts Antwerp (Nationaal Hoger Instituut voor Schone Kunsten) as a unique post graduate program, inspired by the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
In 1946 the Architecture program became an independent institute, The National Higher

Institute of Architecture. Another key moment in the history of the academy would be 1963. A unique new course ‘Fashion Design’ started. This course was moderately successful from the beginning, but became world leading in the early eighties. “The Antwerp Six” with Dirk Bikkembergs, Walter Van Beirendonck, Marina Yee, Dries Van Noten, Dirk Van Saene and Ann Demeulemeester were hot issue in the media. Stylistically extremely diverse, these young friends had a huge impact on the contemporary fashion scene. The fashion program attracted more and more talents from all over the globe. With over 130 students it's by far the largest program in the visual arts and design department.

In 1995 the Flemish higher educational system faced a radical metamorphosis. The Antwerp Academy and the Henry Van de Velde Institute were included as faculties in a bigger college structure, The University College of Antwerp (Dutch; “Hogeschool Antwerpen”). The Higher Institute of Fine Arts was destined to develop into a separate entity. [Een tempel bouwen voor de muzen, een korte geschiedenis van de Antwerpse Academie by Jan Lampo, April 1995] [1885/1985 een eeuw Nationaal Hoger Instituut voo Schone Kunsten te Antwerpen by L.Theo van Looj, 1985/411/7]

The Academy nowadays offers three distinctive programs; Visual Arts and Design, Conservation studies and a one year dedicated teachers training. A body of 540 students(of whom 230 international) work in the four main buildings located in the heart of the city; Mutsaardstraat(Photography, Silversmithing/ Jewelry, Theatre Costume Design and Fine Arts), Nationale Straat (fashion), Keizerstraat (graphic design).

Official Website: http://www.artesis.be/academie/