Martin Margiela, back when he was in charge of the brand that bears his name, had a bit of a thing for foundation garments. He dedicated one of his last shows to stretchy nude body stockings. They rematerialized at the Maison's new collection tonight, albeit in a much altered form. Today's girdles, for lack of a more romantic term, anchored crisp, pinstriped tailoring and soft, floaty floral scarf prints. Occasionally, a nude slip was layered over other garments, as was the case with the show's polka-dot cropped tee and short shorts.
As concepts go, it wasn't a big one, and for that reason this show became repetitive quickly. But there were good ideas to pick out of the mix. The pinstripes were pretty faultless, especially a top slashed across the front worn with matching cropped flares. And it was interesting to see pieces that looked obviously used or lived-in (usually the province of the house's Artisanal collection), like the beat-up leather fireman's coat hand-painted with cheery daisies and a pretty cutaway vest apparently made from starched white napkins. The Japanese fabrics and prints that have become one of the season's key themes turned up here. Together, a vivid orangey red floral jacquard top and wrap skirt were one of the show's best outfits—unfettered and gorgeous. Also worth calling out: the graphic color-blocked top worn with a diagonal slash of a skirt. At this point in the season, it's safe to say that the upper thigh/hip quadrant is Spring's key erogenous zone.
