Craft and Sustainability: Glenn Martens’ Medieval-Inspired Maison Margiela Couture Collection
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By PAGE Editor
Maison Margiela presented its Artisanal Collection 2025 at Le Centquatre in Paris on 9 July 2025. The showcase blended historical craftsmanship with avant-garde design, reinforcing the house's legacy of deconstruction and reinvention. The collection emphasized sustainability through upcycled materials and intricate handwork, while maintaining the brand's signature subversive elegance. The show's setting and date positioned it as a key moment in contemporary fashion, merging tradition with futuristic innovation.
Glenn Martens’ latest collection is a masterful fusion of medieval inspiration and contemporary sustainability, drawing from the Gothic architecture and saintly figures of Flanders and the Netherlands. The silhouettes echo the verticality of cathedral towers, with corsetry, draping, and optical illusions sculpting the body into a living work of art. Historical motifs are reimagined through modern techniques—16th-century Flemish floral wallpapers are printed on repurposed paper and fabric, while 17th-century Dutch still-life paintings are collaged onto plastic and leather, cut into three-dimensional forms.
Trompe l’oeil brushstrokes pay homage to Symbolist painter Gustave Moreau, transforming garments into painted canvases, and lace is used as an extension of the skin, blurring the line between clothing and body.
Sustainability is woven into every detail, with upcycled materials taking center stage. Vintage leather jackets, discarded jewelry, and deadstock fabrics are reinvented into bold new designs, while ordinary printing paper and found metal boxes are compressed into avant-garde masks.
The collection’s commitment to eco-conscious luxury is further emphasized through recycled polyester, repurposed knits, and crystal-encrusted deadstock embellishments. Signature footwear, like the reimagined Tabi boot in claw-toe leather and plastic wedges, reinforces the fusion of tradition and innovation. The show space itself becomes part of the narrative, with walls and floors covered in collaged palatial interiors, while a deconstructed Smashing Pumpkins soundtrack adds a hauntingly modern edge.
From clear plastic corset dresses with anatomical precision to hand-painted trompe l’oeil bodysuits, each look tells a story of craftsmanship and reinvention. Upcycled biker jackets adorned with floral wallpaper prints and 3D tulle wings inspired by Dutch still lifes showcase Martens’ ability to merge historical artistry with forward-thinking design.
Even accessories, like masks crafted from crushed metal boxes or veils fixed with repurposed costume jewelry, emphasize the collection’s theme of anonymity and artistry. By bridging the grandeur of the past with the urgency of sustainable fashion, Martens proves that opulence and environmental responsibility can coexist—and that true luxury lies in the meticulous craft of transformation.
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