Margiela Fall 1991

 This show was hosted in Maison Martin Margiela's studio. The crew covered all the surfaces in white fabric to ton down the rooms. Invitations for guests were sent via phone.

Video played during this show in one of the rooms was recorded by Martin and presented various looks from the collection worn by models on the streets of Paris.

Street Video Margiela Fall 1991

One of the most interesting pieces from this collection is this patch-worked sock sweater. I really like the idea of creating some thing from nothing and it was already a Margiela thing at the time.

Sock Sweater Margiela Fall 1991

Another interesting garment that was reworked for this collection was men's pant that became women's skirt. We can clearly see that fabric used for this piece of clothing was intentionally picked for this specific design.

Stripe Trouser Skirt Margiela Fall 1991

During this season, Margiela's famous four-stitch tags were introduced to the audience. It became continuous standard for the house in the future.

Four-stitch tags Margiela Fall 1991

As we can see on the image below, Margiela removable shoulder-cups were continuously used from the last season.

Removable shoulder-cups Margiela Fall 1991

Next, there was a creased skirt that was following the theme of 'memory of clothing'. Margiela loved this theme and used clothing was also appearing on his runways in he future collections.

Memory of clothing Margiela Fall 1991

Here we can see an example use of Margiela shoulders in the coat designs. Simple lines, wide collar lapels and big pockets made these coats look so beautiful.

Coat with Margiela Shoulders Margiela Fall 1991

Here, we can see an example of wide back pleating in the coat of Margiela's.

Wide Back Pleating Margiela Fall 1991

And last but not least, we have a white shirt with way too long cuffs that were rolled over the sweater sleeves. This sweater was deconstructed and now created separate garments that could be worn together.

Deconstructed sweater Margiela Fall 1991

Conclusions

Still present aspect of creating garments from other clothing pieces that were probably no more used or necessary is being continued in this Margiela's collection. Smart textile choices and reinventing their use is something that I am very inspired by. I think that the skirt made out of men's trouser fabric was really cool and creative. Signs of the usage of the clothing also gives it more character as Martin has done with the creased skirt. Simple, statement lines are really beautiful and do not need to be over complicated to be seen as unique. Also, the wide pleats on the back of the coats look really nice and i might think about interpreting it in my designs. Toned down colours can look amazing when used correctly. Deconstruction elements can add to the garment and be used to create something completely new, to give the clothing second life.

I really like this Margiela collection and I hope to be inspired by some of its elements for the purpose of creating my own designs for the project.

Sources:

Foster, B., 2019. Margiela Runway History - Spring 1991. [image] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMv_z3gxGY0&list=PLfGI7hNonZsHjnD5XnQIJVzFAVs-rciuo&index=6> [Accessed 31 January 2021].