Belgian designer Martin Margiela (b. 1957) — whose life, career, and designs for handbags, clothing and shoes have become cult-collector obsessions — pushed those who attended his shows outside their comfort zones. In the years following the 1988 debut of Maison Martin Margiela, he toyed with creative and aesthetic paradoxes that persist in fashion today.
Consider the Spring/Summer 2001 shirt patchworked from vintage clothing labels, or his famous corset dresses made from tailoring dummies, from his Fall/Winter 1997 line. Or his oversize collection for Fall/Winter 2000. In 1992, Margiela told Dépêche Mode magazine, “My clothes appeal to women of a certain mindset rather than of a specific age or physique.”
Born in Genk, Belgium, in 1957, Margiela knew he wanted to be a fashion designer after catching glimpses of Parisian fashion on TV as a child. Although his parents discouraged this career choice as an oddly funny aspiration, Margiela enrolled in the fashion program of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp. There, he befriended and graduated a year ahead of the Antwerp Six — the acclaimed group of Belgian fashion designers comprising Dries Van Noten, Walter Van Beirendonck, Ann Demeulemeester, Marina Yee, Dirk Bikkembergs and Dirk Van Saene.
Like many of his contemporaries in the 1980s, Margiela understood Paris fashion but felt a deep resonance with the deconstructed beauty espoused by Japanese designers Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo, of Comme des Garçons. Margiela’s fascination with Japan influenced many of his earliest collections and designs, from a dress pieced together from broken plates to his iconic Tabi boots, inspired by the split-toe Japanese worker’s shoe, which dates back to the 15th century.
Margiela decided to launch his own line while working for renowned Paris designer Jean Paul Gaultier. With Belgian designer Jenny Meirens, Margiela established Maison Martin Margiela in the French capital in 1988.
Margiela’s debut show was nothing short of spectacular. Set in a packed Café de la Gare in the still-seedy Marais district, it was also scandalous to the Parisian fashion set of the time. The designer tore up the conventions of contemporary couture presentations, most notably having his models, plucked from the streets and wearing ink-blotted Tabis, wend their way through the crowd.
The show redefined the concept of the runway in a way that would later inspire such designers as Alexander McQueen and Demna Gvasalia.
While the notoriously private designer retired from fashion in 2009, for many Maison Martin Margiela collectors, his pieces capture the irreverence of the postwar, post-punk late 1980s and ’90s. Katy Rodriguez, cofounder of the cult vintage fashion shop Resurrection, is among those who felt a connection to Margiela’s clothing in the subliminal challenges it posed to the time’s beauty norms.
“Growing up in San Francisco and coming out of the end of punk rock, not wanting to be objectified, not wanting to be seen as a sexual object, not wanting your value to be just because you’re pretty — all those clothes played into all of that,” she says. “It really was a reflection of the kind of world the young people I knew at the time wanted to live in.”
John Galliano was named creative director at the house in 2014 and it rebranded as Maison Margiela in 2015.
Find vintage Maison Martin Margiela boots, evening dresses, jackets and more on 1stDibs.
S/S 2007 White Label Halter Top
By Maison Martin Margiela
Located in Amsterdam, NH
Beautiful Margiela halter top in blue wool. In great condition, from the S/S 2007 collection. Brand: Margiela Period: 00's Material: Wool Size: OS Origin: Made in Italy Condition: V...
Silk printed asymmetrical tank-top MARGIELA New with tag
By Maison Martin Margiela
Located in Saint-Ouen-Sur-Seine, FR
Silk printed asymmetrical tank-top. One small split on the right side with button and buttonhole. One extra button provided. SIZE 40 / M
Martin Margiela S/S 1999 Trompe L'oeil Stockman Cotton Vest Bustier
By Maison Martin Margiela
Located in Paris, FR
Cotton vest Maison Martin Margiela from the seminal Spring/Summer 1999 collection featuring the designer's deconstructed trompe l'oeil stockman concept. Crafted from grey cotton deni...
Maison Martin Margiela Sleeveless Top
By Maison Martin Margiela
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
A unique light brown soft jersey sleeveless top features an asymmetrical hem, longer in front with softly draped shorter back. Cotton top comes from Maison Martin Margiela Iconic Col...
Maison Martin Marglela Fully-Lined Hooded Cowl Sleeveless Dress
By Maison Martin Margiela
Located in New York, NY
Maison Martin Marglela fully lined hooded large cowl-neck sleeveless dress in steel-blue measures 26 1/2" in front, 30" in back. The underarm circumference measures 39", underarm-to-...
Artisanal Martin Margiela Deconstructed Knit Snap Tie Convertible Top c1990
By Maison Martin Margiela
Located in Chicago, IL
With Belgian former fashion designer Martin Margiela's original blank white textural cotton corner-sewn label from the early 1990s visible above the structural hole in the center of the circular knit, this openwork yarn top that is clearly a one-of-a-kind "Line 0" Artisanal garment by Maison Martin Margiela is crocheted from a brown soft animal-hair blend into a see-through changeante pattern recalling a collapsed spiderweb. A prominent European dealer sold a similarly designed but longer deconstructed openwork mohair-blend grey cape that also features a circular knit hole. Its remaining additional tag indicates that it was produced by Margielas' longtime Italian knitter Miss Deanna for the Autumn-Hiver 1993-1994 collection. Further, we have found similar one-of-a-kind Margiela openwork-knit and unraveled pieces, as well as one with oversized snaps like the fasteners on our top, dating back to his 1992 collection. Suggesting that our listing could have been from an even earlier collection, Antwerp fashion museum MoMu featured a pale deconstructed mohair knit sweater dating from 1990 in its major Martin Margiela 20-year retrospective (see our snapshot), which was an exhibition produced in collaboration with the designer during his final year at the house in 2008. Based on other Margiela couture pieces with more than one remaining identification tag, the design of our cardigan without a remaining text tag began as a vintage top collected by Martin Margiela to upcycle or reproduce, and/or it was made-to-order by Miss Deanna before he finished it to some degree with his Paris-based team. Our knit fastens with pompon-tipped yarn ties, along with two signature silver oversized-snap buttons, which most noticeably appeared on Margiela tops in 1994 for a collection that was inspired by toy-doll wardrobes and included human-sized reproductions of actual miniatures. For price comparison, two other Margiela 1990s...
Maison Martin Margiela Black Vest
By Maison Martin Margiela
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
This black vest from Maison Martin Margiela is a soft cotton flannel. Easy fastening with a snap front and buckle and strap in back to personalize the fit.
F/W 2001 Artisanal Trompe L'oeil Vest
By Maison Martin Margiela
Located in Amsterdam, NH
Maison Martin Margiela F/W 2001 Artisanal trompe l’oeil vest in a sleeveless design.
Martin Margiela Geometric Draped Top
By Maison Martin Margiela, Maiscon Martin Margiella
Located in Water Mill, NY
A gorgeous sleeveless top in a beautiful teal green from Martin Margiela. It has a V neckline, side zipper and draping panels on the front and over one shoulder. The back is simple. ...
Maison Martin Margiela silk cape SS 2006
By Maison Martin Margiela
Located in Алматинский Почтамт, KZ
Maison Martin Margiela silk cape SS 2006 good condition, no special nuances white tag / label
Martin Margiela white-painted oversized artisanal waistcoat, ss 1993
By Maison Martin Margiela
Located in London, GB
Presenting the exceptional archival Martin Margiela Spring-Summer 1993 oversized white-painted checked wool waistcoat, a remarkable piece that epitomizes the designer's unconventiona...
Martin Margiela Artisanal Dress Made From Two Vintage Dresses, fw 2003
By Maison Martin Margiela
Located in London, GB
▪ Archival Margiela Artisanal Dress ▪ Creative Director: Martin Margiela ▪ Fall-Winter 2003 ▪ Artisanal (Line 0), handcrafted in Paris, Fran...
Martin Margiela Artisanal Evening Dress Made Out Of Vintage Petticoats, ss 2003
By Maison Martin Margiela
Located in London, GB
▪ Archival Margiela Evening Dress ▪ Creative Director: Martin Margiela ▪ Spring-Summer 2003 ▪ Museum Grade ▪ Constructed from repurposed vintage petticoats ▪ The outer skirt showca...
Martin Margiela white and black striped inverted overlocked vest, ss 1991
By Maison Martin Margiela
Located in London, GB
Presenting an extraordinary archival Martin Margiela inverted vest top from the Spring-Summer 1991 collection, a key piece that marks the inception of Martin's illustrious career and...
Martin Margiela runway three piece ensemble, fw 2001
By Maison Martin Margiela
Located in London, GB
Martin Margiela three piece runway ensemble comprising: man's car coat in leather with embossed details, chiffon tassel dress and thigh high wedge Tabi boots...
Margiela artisanal black leather glove top, ss 2001
By Maison Martin Margiela
Located in London, GB
Martin Margiela, iconic artisanal glove top made from an assortment of vintage leather gloves. Halter neck, open back with snap button closures....
In a recently released film, the elusive Belgian designer reflects on his time in the fashion world and his avant-garde creations, which have become coveted collector items.
The designer's modern take on a centuries-old wardrobe staple is still in demand today.
