Sometimes you experience moments in fashion when everything stops, and you feel something shift. That moment when you draw your breath and hold it in total awe. The Maison Margiela Artisanal Runway show for spring/summer 2024 on the last night of the Parisian couture week was one of those moments. To quote British Vogue, this show was the fashion moment a generation had been waiting for.
Of course, the creative director at Maison Margiela is no other than John Galliano and the show – an incredible spectacle – was a massive testament to this man’s indisputable genius. Not since he rocked the Parisian runways along with Alexander McQueen some 25 years ago have fashion felt more magical, more alluring, more interesting, and more unapologetically seductive.
The show was held under the Pont Alexandre III bridge on the Left Bank. A staged nightclub had waiters serving drinks and Lucky Love – aka Luc Bruyère – haunting the audience with his song “I don’t need your love” giving all the right vibes of the seedy underbelly of Paris in the 1920s.
The looks on the runway were classic Galliano – this was a celebration of the demimonde, serenading it’s inhabitants – decadent courtesans and corseted boys of the underground. Here were nipped waistlines and wide hips, latex gowns and sheer dresses worn by models with big messy hairdos, and their legs and feet adorned with flowers and pearls as they teetered in high heeled shoes wrapped in torn nylon stockings. And of course, there was THAT makeup. Pat McGrath’s doll-like porcelain faces emanating tortured souls kind of beauty, so disturbingly gorgeous, vampy, and erotic that you almost felt guilty for watching.
Now the debate is out: was this more Galliano and less Margiela? Critics have voiced that Galliano uses Margiela to express his art rather than build on Maison’s long tradition. And there is no doubt this collection has Galliano’s distinct signature written all over it. But should a designer constantly need to reference the founder, the legacy, catalog and tradition? Could that not risk tedious repetition? The thought has crossed my mind once or twice watching Chanel’s tweed being recycled over and over, season after season. But I am also partial. I have honestly never stopped loving John Galliano. Even when he fell from grace at Dior and was canceled by millions I prayed he would make a blazing comeback. And he has.
When he was invited back in 2014, the world of fashion was surprised: Why Maison Margiela? Because the luxury fashion house founded by Belgian Martin Margiela is so loved for its artful take on couture – and Galliano was still strongly associated with the opulence of Dior. But, judging from the collections he has presented at the Maison since his hire, one might wonder if this is not a much better match for both Margiela and Galliano. The Maison brings the art and Galliano brings the edgy glamour. Some even claim working with Maison has brought Galliano back to his roots as the edgy artful dodger of haute couture that he always was. Commercially it’s been successful. The Maison has reportedly doubled its revenue since Galliano was hired so financially he is doing very well. And doing it without reverting to dull minimalism. This collection, the show and the accompanying video were all about the craft, the narrative, theatre, and the artfulness of couture – all those things that once made me fall in love with fashion.
Commentary: Sissel Hoffengh
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