After John Galliano’s second couture collection at the helm of Maison Margiela – where he disrupted couture norms by sending androgynous male models down the runway – Susie Bubble breaks down the key components of the show.

MARGIELA IS MOVING ON

We get constantly fed the line that haute couture is about honouring tradition but it’s also about working with artisans and craftsmen to be innovative and experimental. “Play” is the operative word with this second Artisanal collection by John Galliano as he sought to map out “bold, new territories” as described by the press notes. Similar to the thematic Dior collections of Galliano’s past, he would travel in his mind with fabrics spanning continents from Chinese mud silks to Madagascan raffia to Andean Suri alpaca. The unexpected eclecticism and the bricolage methodology belonged to Margiela, but the resulting silhouettes and attitude were pure Galliano. As he continues to bed into the house, the see-saw balance between his sensibility and the codes of the maison are reaching a conclusion. That is, Margiela ain’t what it used to be but that’s what houses do. They evolve and they move on. 

THE MODELS WERE CHARACTERS

Like Galliano’s ready-to-wear show for Margiela, there were defined “characters” that stood out in the show, accentuated by the personalised make-up (or camouflage in some instances) and hair that every model wore. The likes of Molly Bair, Erika Linder and surprise male addition John Whiles stalked about with an awkwardness, amplified by the precarious shoes constructed out of pizza blades. Others donned metallic flecked masks around their eyes, Matisse-esque cut-outs on their faces and silk turbans on their heads. There was a whiff of something pagan about these Artisanal women. 

THE CLOTHES MUST BE SEEN FROM ALL ANGLES

Galliano has never been one to shy away from a dramatic silhouette and looking front on at his clothes really only gives you a fraction of the story. This was certainly the case at this Artisanal show as every twist and turn of each model would reveal an entirely new facet. A neoprene evening dress coat for instance that from the side had arching rounded sleeves and from the back a neatly tied silk blue obi box. Galliano continued to be fixated on transformative garments, like a hand painted mesh coat that has detached from its kimono silk lining, which is then draped to become an evening dress. It’s easy to make quickfire judgements from front-on 1D images, but these clothes need to be explored from all angles.

GALLIANO’S MAKING HIS MARK ON THE ARTISANAL

Recycling the old to make something new is Artisanal’s raison d’être as a point of difference to their couture. Galliano carried on that tradition with pieces that incorporate stunning examples of vintage French needlepoint tapestry that were distressed, homespun patchwork crochet. There was even a brown hessian sack, embroidered and hand painted to lift it from its humble origins. The specific provenance and history of fabrics and upcycled pieces aren’t spelt out as they used to be. Instead, Galliano preferred to paint, embroider and reconstruct the past with broken mirrors, exploding and imploding volumes and a free-wheeling playfulness.

BUT HE DIDN’T APPEAR AR THE END OF THE RUNWAY

As the last model exited to the original version of Marvin Gaye’s classic “Heard it on the Grapevine”, the grey doors at the end of the Salon D’Honneur slowly closed shut. As evidenced by his appearance at events like the Vogue Festival or the British Fashion Awards, Galliano certainly isn’t shunning the public eye entirely but with his white lab coat on at Maison Margiela, the focus will always be on the clothes and not him.