Those wanting an easy way in to the ‘90s trend should look no further than the pre-fall MM6 Maison Margiela collection with its tweaked tailoring, diversity of denim and lashings of shiny tracksuit material.
According to the press notes, the MM6 studio team went for a “study of sartorial mundanity,” aka making clothes that looked like something that could already be hanging in one’s wardrobe, but not quite.
Expect neat twists on staples that have been around since the early days of the brand, such as tailoring, a leather dress and five-zip leather jackets. Denim formed the bedrock of the lineup, with worn-in shades of blues and black cut into anything from five-pocket trousers and A-line skirts to oversize shirts.
The third iteration of an ongoing collaboration with French outdoor brand Salomon brought new takes on the sportswear specialist’s ACS and Cross High sneakers, and last spring’s running vest backpack, this time styled over a suit.
But this was no return to basics. There were plenty of tongue-in-cheek details that expressed the Margiela DNA, starting with the industrial pattern-making print that adorned shirting with dots and crosses. It continued in a dress that looked like a ribbed scarf had just been endlessly looped around the body; a shirtdress with its sleeves folded over and attached at the shoulder to create a balloon effect, and a neatly tailored jacket that had the collar and lapels stitched on, leaving edges raw.
Elsewhere, it was riffs on the decade‘s proclivity for layering, this time offered in trompe-l’oeil combinations of trousers and frayed shorts, T-shirts under sweaters or a slipdress and skirt duo.
As a whole, it spoke of clothes as desirable options for everyday, back then, right now — and tomorrow, too.
