When deciding what to wear, you can choose to put on some clothes — or you can dress up to face the day.
At MM6 Maison Margiela, it’s the latter that prevailed, with a pre-fall collection that was all about teasing unfussy polish and a dollop of attitude out of wardrobe staples.
With the studio team applying its playbook of twisting, skewing and flipping to the likes of peacoats, tailored separates and even the odd jeans, the ensemble had the pizzazz of reworked vintage finds, minus the legwork and customizing effort.
For her: a popped collar on a generously cut mannish blazer was turned into a shawl collar; tailored sleeveless tops that looked like jackets given a second life, and midi-length skirts that looked like slacks repurposed back-to-front. One formfitting blazer outlined in tone-on-tone tape was a nod to Martin Margiela’s Stockman-inspired designs for spring 1997, a detail that was reprised for sweaters and on jeans.
On the menswear side, there were suit trousers that were impeccably tailored but constructed inside-out; a bomber jacket cut from stonewashed satin mimicking distressed leather, and a white peacoat that riffed on early MM6 menswear. Zanier notes came from fur print that telegraphed shaggy vintage vibes with none of the shedding.
To further drive the point home that the season was about being put together, there was nary a sneaker in sight. Footwear was all leather, whether a pointy high-heeled boot, a loafer or a derby with a raised seam that nodded to the brand’s signature tabi style.
As MM6 Maison Margiela gears up for its turn as a guest designer at the next Pitti Uomo, the lineup’s slightly vintage sartorial vibe felt like an apt introduction.
