Up front DIY

MM6 Maison Margiela SS17
By Kinza Shenn | Fashion | 19 September 2016

On the kerb of New Bond Street, the MM6 Maison Margiela team stood together in white lab coats. Against any conviction that they’re staunchly masked in invisibility, they seemed abundant inside Christies auction house too, either on hand to discuss the collection, or else, busy writing on the walls with white paint: “MM6. Maison Margiela. Hugs and kisses.” Then they moved onto the clothes and painted some of them white too, turning them into canvas ready for new imprints. The collection was all about this DIY spirit, this collaboration, this lack of preciousness at every level. Through “friendship” and “togetherness” (words employed by the team) the Margiela ethos of democracy was summoned in its cutest form. Perhaps a new proposition for Christies auction house. Its walls might not be used to the childish whimsy or crude artistry at play – but the choice of venue itself was a deliberate detail of contrast in the collection’s semiotics of odd couples.

The mood was cheerful, innocent, earnest. Glittering shoes, a “mystical cat” print inspired by internet-feline fascination, “Bake-your-own genderless T-shirts” to be personalised with camouflage-print heat transfers. An earring stuck to the side of the neck with white vinyl tape, or a bag tethered to the arm with an elastic band. One large tangent of the collection was the deconstructionist plays with the image of a couples’ embrace. This manifested through tops with identical backs and fronts, or creases and pulls across fabrics, as if being held by invisible hands – a rather sweet and irresistible idea.

GALLERYCatwalk images from MM6 Maison Margiela SS17-WOMENS





BACKSTAGE