Maison Margiela's Fall 2020 Artisanal Co-Ed Collection Reflects Our Desire for Transparency

John Galliano's latest offering pulls the curtain back on the creative process via a film captured by Nick Knight.

Back in January, John Galliano presented his Spring 2020 Artisanal co-ed collection for Maison Margiela in Paris on a bright pink runway. The voluminous garments we saw then were full of life and color. But now, after months confined to our homes, the line has muted its cheery palette.

For Fall 2020, Galliano is pulling back the curtain back on the creative process, allowing viewers to marvel at the work of the fashion house's atelier teams through a short film. Captured by Nick Knight, the virtual presentation is a collage of narrative imagery, Zoom meetings and documentary footage recorded after Maison Margiela reopened following the lockdown. (According to a press release, the Artisanal and atelier teams were fitted with GoPros, while drones hovered over fittings and thermal cameras captured the heat of the process work.) The result, is a first-person point of view of how a couture-quality range is made.

This transparency is what Galliano believes we crave in times of uncertainty, and he's onto something. Haven't we long desired to know how to repurpose an evening cape and create sequin-like perforations? With not much to do other than watch a screen, this collection is the perfect opportunity to show us just that.

Titled S.W.A.L.K., the show notes describe the Artisanal Fall 2020 lineup as "an allegory between the challenges of the present and the past." It's designed to evoke the "the resourceful and escapist energy of the New Romantics in 1980s' London."

The clothes exist in quiet colors (think black, navy, grey and beige) and are constructed using super light materials and soft tailoring fabrics, from a butter muslin to a chiffon and organza overlay. Galliano also brings back "Recicla," a concept he introduced in the brand's Fall 2020 ready-to-wear collection, which refers to one-of-a-kind designs made from items hand-picked by his team from vintage shops and markets; many of the upcycled garments appear in their original fabrication, but their silhouettes are transformed through circular cutting techniques.

The accessories, meanwhile, draw on the movement of L'Apache, a highly dramatic dance associated with Paris street culture at the beginning of the 20th century. In the footwear department, there are hand-made Tabi ghillies in tweed, pointy lace-up boots and transparent pumps; while jewelry manifests as small sculptures.

You can watch Maison Margiela's Artisanal co-ed collection for Fall 2020 come to life in the video below.

See the complete Maison Margiela Artisanal co-ed Fall 2020 collection in the gallery below.

View the 40 images of this gallery on the original article

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