Double Feature

A 'False Encyclopaedia' double feature with Ana Hernández Cornet, discussing:
Vetements Spring/Summer 2015

An off-key play with school of Margiela proportions that feels innocent and pristine, yet awkwardly sexy. A lurking feeling of something violent about to happen. Yet a warm and fuzzy feeling, like being naked under a pink fur coat.

/ANA

Conservatism and boredom, broken with elements of 'off'. As if Martin Margiela was still 'alive' or as if his twin brother built a parallel world. The team at Maison Martin Margiela does a great job to maintain and continue the legacy of its founder. Vetements, the anonymous collective formed around a former Margiela protégé, re-builts this legacy. Something is happening.
/HORST





1. Vetements Spring/Summer 2015
2. Unknown (Maison Martin Margiela scarification)
3. Jamie Hawkesworth South Shields, 2012
4. Luke Gilford Maison Martin Margiela, 2011
5. Yrjö Edelmann Untitled, 1985
6. Thomas Ruff Portraits, 1984-1985
7. William Selden Masters Of Invention (Dazed & Confused), 2011
8. Vetements Spring/Summer 2015

Chain Reaction II

fig a. A panel dress by Martin Margiela. And a panel dress by Maison Martin Margiela. Restaged in the latest pre-collection lookbook that looked back to the label's beginnings.

fig b. A trench coat by Veronique Branquino. And a trech coat by Veronique Branquino, accompanied by variations of Anderson and Anonymous (Maison Martin Margiela).

fig c. A black suit and the iconic image of Stella Tennant by Mark Borthwick. Two classics that set the tone for the retro-designer-triptych.

fig d. A pinstripe dress. A striped dress. A checked suit. And a shirt bra. The chronological emancipation of menswear, seen here pushed furthest by Anderson who always bows to and borrows from Kawakubo.

1. Maison Martin Margiela Spring/Summer 2006
2. Maison Martin Margiela Pre Spring/Summer 2015
3. Veronique Branquinho Fall/Winter 2004
4. Veronique Branquinho Pre Spring/Summer 2015
5. J.W. Anderson Pre Spring/Summer 2015
6. Maison Martin Margiela Pre Spring/Summer 2015
7. Maison Martin Margiela Spring/Summer 1999 & Mark Borthwick Stella Tennant, 2000
8. Maison Martin Margiela Pre Spring/Summer 2015
9. Veronique Branquinho Pre Spring/Summer 2015
10. J.W. Anderson Pre Spring/Summer 2015
11. Maison Martin Margiela Pre Spring/Summer 2015
12. Comme des Garçons Fall/Winter 1995
13. J.W. Anderson Pre Spring/Summer 2015
14. Veronique Branquinho Pre Spring/Summer 2015

The world is a faded cloth. Designers are looking back to their origins, their founding years. The 1970s via the 1990s. Even if they weren't there. Together, they are recreating classics.

Veronique Branquinho 2015 = Veronique Branquinho, circa 1995 (regaining)
J.W. Anderson 2015 = Comme des Garçons, circa 1995 (redoing)
Maison Martin Margiela 2015 = Martin Margiela, circa 1995 (remembering)

Their colours are beige, black and blue. Their garments are tailored and masculine with softened volume and deconstructed details. Everything is nostalgic like blurry sepia images in a family album. But unfortunately, those photos aren't real, they are the result of filters.
/HORST

Image credits Vogue

Body Con

1. Allen Jones Cut-a-Way, 1976
2. Allen Jones IV, 1976
3. Allen Jones III, 1976

The scanning eye of Allen Jones. On women. On buyable love. On pop art. A study in high-heels and latex gloves. Revealing each layer of visual attraction and sensual exploration.
/HORST