The odds you haven’t heard of the upcoming collaboration of H&M with Maison Martin Margiela, cannot be many. On November 15th the highly anticipated collection will hit the stores, and up until now the fashionable crowds couldn’t be more enthusiastic. The campaign is out. The lookbook has gone live. And the event was a success; Sarah Jessica Parker, Kanye West and Julianne Moore were just a few of the big names that framed the party. Martin Margiela has been of the most unconventional designers, preserving successfully his anonymity all these years and portraying his rule-breaking philosophy in his collections, and exactly this philosophy matched perfectly with H&M’s democratic vision.
It was a risky move that proved a hit, as the lookbook images of the pieces that represent Maison Martin Margiela’s 23-year-old evolution, have entered themselves into the lust lists of every fashionista. The women collection is characterized by oversized garments. The shapes tend to follow the female body but clearly stay away from it.
Disguise also plays a big part as many garments are covering cleverly up their use, such as the hit Candy Clutch. The gentlemen’s collection on the other hand is not emphasising on the volume but mostly on the tailoring and the preservation of the House’s signature. Pants and jackets in dark blue, earth tones and white with little print mixed and lots of texture to make the difference. It’s a liberating collaboration for both parties: H&M enters an wra of more innovative visions and Martin Margiela delivered fashion history lessons to a wider audience. Democratic fashion indeed.
