Martin Margiela's Personal Archive Goes to Auction in Paris

Belgian fashion designer Martin Margiela, renowned for his influential yet enigmatic career, is offering a rare glimpse into his creative world by auctioning his personal archive in Paris. The collection features 195 items, including designs for his own Maison Margiela and for Hermès, where he served as creative director for women's collections from 1997 to 2003.

The auction, held at Maurice Auction, is considered a unique event due to Margiela's famously reclusive nature. He has meticulously guarded his privacy throughout his career, often allowing his work, rather than himself, to speak. This includes designing face-covering masks for models during runway shows to direct all attention to the clothing.

Salomé Pirson, a broker at Maurice Auction, described the sale as "itself a creative act and at the same time an expression of his concept, his philosophy." She added, "He gives the public the opportunity to see his inner world and touch the objects he owned, to own his jackets, but at the same time, it is obvious that he himself is not present."

The archive includes prototypes of shoes, drawings, plans, and even Margiela's white studio work jacket, identical to those worn by his employees. The deliberate use of white in his studio during the late 1980s, a departure from the common black and gray furnishings, is also highlighted, extending even to his landline telephone, which is also up for auction.

Prior to the auction, the items were displayed at the Maison Maurice auction house, attracting a queue of over 3,000 people eager to see the collection. This public exhibition, coupled with the auction itself, offers an unprecedented opportunity for fashion enthusiasts and historians to engage with the legacy of one of the 20th century's most significant and mysterious designers.

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This auction is itself a creative act and at the same time an expression of his concept, his philosophy. He gives the public the opportunity to see his inner world and touch the objects he owned, to own his jackets, but at the same time, it is obvious that he himself is not present.