Celebrating nonconformity, diversity and individuality, today Maison Margiela releases a brand new fragrance called ‘Mutiny’ – the first scent developed under John Galliano since he joined the house in 2014.
Contained in a gilded gold bottle with white packaging – Margiela’s signature colour – ‘Mutiny’ centres around the night-blooming flower Tuberose. The scent also features notes of jasmine, oud, vanilla and citrus, as well as a new molecule that was developed specifically for ‘Mutiny’ by master perfumer Dominique Ropion who collaborated with Galliano on the perfume.
The fragrance launches with a campaign shot by Craig McDean featuring six “mutinists” who defy convention, challenge the status quo and ultimately embody the fragrance’s rebellious, rulebook-ripping spirit: Willow Smith, Princess Nokia, Molly Bair, Hanne Gaby Odiele, Sasha Lane, and Teddy Quinlivan.
Maison Margiela Mutiny campaignPhotography Craig McDean
“I think this generation is a little more defiant,” says Smith. “We’re willing to endure pain in order to do what we love. Femininity, it’s like water: I can break rock, I’m that strong, but I can move with harmony. We want something more and something spiritual, even. Create the rules, then break them.”
“The main thing for me was to be who I was, and to be natural,” adds Lane.“You just have to be strong with who you are and it illuminates off of you. People can feel that. When I’m good with my mind and I’m getting back to what really matters and eliminating ego, that’s when I feel most free. And I like that feeling. You gotta embrace that. You gotta embrace yourself. Don’t just be better, be different.”
Mutiny epitomises the subversion that lies at the core of the brand’s DNA. When Martin Margiela founded his namesake brand in 1988, fashion was in the midst of an excessive, ostentatious period where the clothes and the personalities were larger-than-life. An antidote to the extravagance, Margiela favoured a more deconstructed look, with exposed linings and seams, designs that revealed their structure, and unconventional materials such as baseball gloves and doorknobs. Following in the footsteps of it’s founder, Galliano has continued to redefine conventions and deconstruct norms at Maison Margiela.
“Social synergy is formed when diversity becomes our most common characteristic,” the house said in a statement. “The transition takes place through the mutiny of conventional definitions. Like creativity, scent has no nationality, gender, or creed. It speaks a universal language. It is the empathetic sentiment of solidarity through individuality. Creativity is our mutiny.”
