Trompe l’oeil never gets old—at least if you’re in the studio designing MM6 Maison Margiela collections. As one of the label’s most recognizable themes, it continues to be explored in new ways, with this season presenting a number of variations in the fabrics themselves. Several looks—including oversized shirts and asymmetric dresses—were designed to look as though permanently creased, a technique that introduced visual interest without radically altering the volume. The same effect was also explored as a photo print. Among that grouping, the hero piece was a camel coat.
The duality of the masculine-feminine was another MM6 theme made fresh this season that played out as blouses with ruffled necks or scarf bows worn under suits with mannish tailoring. Color accents of pistachio and mauve were appealingly offbeat, too. But arguably the most emblematic theme of all were the quasi-iconic mirror ball updates reimagined as wearable “disco stretch” pieces and glitter boots. At the risk of sounding like a Margiela neophyte, this reviewer didn’t recognize the significance of the sparkly wand, but apparently it was a nod back, too.
Indeed, those not well-versed in the brand’s signature subversions, past or present, might wonder why the neckline of a knit sweater appeared at the waist or care that the inside seams of jeans were exposed to show the dyeing stages. The rest of us could quickly convince them that these elements are what attest to the artisanal-inspired ethos of MM6, season after season.
