The shows may be approaching their conclusion, but the major game changers are hiding at the finishing lines. With an imposing view of the Eiffel Tower and the hauntingly epic soundtrack from Atonement, Maison Martin Margiela showed its majestic Spring/Summer 2014 collection at Theatre National de Chaillot on Friday evening, adding fuel to the fire of a story, which might have been late to the show(s), but could very well end up being the runaway hit of the season. Opulence was the underpinning of the Margiela collection, which – not unlike this season’s Meadham Kirchhoff, Dries Van Noten and Ann Demeulemeester collections – seemed to be forming a modernised take on glamour, and the regal pomp and circumstance of a world long gone.
On a backdrop of stripped-down masculine tailoring, heavily embellished corsets, suspender belts, detachable sleeves and dresses sparkled like the bejewelled outfits of Renaissance royalty, or perhaps the recently re-popularised Borgia family. Set to the sterile surroundings of Palais de Tokyo, which are only enriched by the vibrant colours of its huge murals, the collection fell immaculately into place. Whether intentionally or not, it portrayed the current colliding waves of fashion – minimalism vs. [vague] maximalism – and did it to a point where everyone could end up getting along. For all its bling and magic dust, it was an entirely easy collection, which proved that excellence often lies in simplicity.
