Maison Margiela Artisanal Haute Couture F/W 2025.26 Paris

[thiago:)]

It’s all over social media, which I guess he made it… Very solid debut and I’m curious to see more. Love that it reminds me of Martin himself but under his perspective.

 

[90sfan]

Vomit

 

[WAVES]

echoing most voices here I do also agree: what a strong debut!

 

[jeanclaude]

This reminded me more of Richard Quinn and Demna doing Margiela; than Margiela himself. And it still reeks of Diesel Lab.

 

[RosesAreRed]

I expected more. Agree on Margiela x Diesel vibes. It can be Margiela, but I hoped he will take more modern approach. More clean cut. Like Demna’s couture a few years ago when he used a lot of upcycling.

 

[blackcherrified]

It’s a good/interesting debut GM at Margiela… and I think, at some point in time, especially after Galliano, we need to expect that no creative director at the house will be doing “Margiela’s Margiela” given that MM’s legacy was mostly a “method/treatment” of how to converse with the fabric/garments, rather than a signature silhouette like Dior New Look or YSL’s smoking suit; it will all be the CD’s POV making the garments through MM’s lens

Martin has left the building for 16 years or so after all…

 

[Kimihiro]

Finally a debut that makes me feel something. It’s a solid start. John had experimentations, but it was often all too “haute” and that was fabulous. I love though this return to something more “found.”

I’m now excited for his ready to wear, I think Glenn understands what Margiela Artisanal really stands for and how that is different from the ethos of RTW.

 

[Balthier]

What a debut. Very current. I’m also a sucker for the Silent Hill/The Last of Us aesthetic… and the references as how anonymous we have become… I might be reading too much into it… but… I gasped a few times… the whole thing was current and unsettlingly beautiful. Wow.
Also the sound track… devastating and nostalgic with just a necessary hint of hope.
Btw there were a few moments when I felt he went to pay homage to the last John’s show…
He knows what he’s doing. Margiela is in good hands.

Just WOW

 

[ellearchivist]

I really loved it. It felt respectful to the house but also new and also supremely confident. I just don’t understand why he doesn’t just focus on this and ditch diesel?

 

[oioioi]

I didn't know what to expect since Artisanal is its own sort of gremlin project but there's something old about this (that I'm probably the only one to think so), maybe because seeing some of these tropes now where they were originally a reaction in 1988 to the snobbish or limited fashion runway landscape and collections then, now here we are 37 years later and fashion is as democratic as it's ever been historically and many boundaries have been opened across from street casting, to designers mixing cheap and expensive materials in one collection, sets, invites, online discorse.
It would be interesting to see a new way of reinterpreting the masks, perhaps interesting foulards that blow up into the face (a bit what Glenn presented here in the near end mens look), or headwear that obscures the face from the front. It's 2025 the brand is totally commercialised already with a 1 billion sales projection and doing Margiela coffee pop-ups in most expensive areas of Seoul and Shanghai, so it feels a bit at odds with this 'anonymous tortured aNgSt'. Nevertheless it's a business model that most brands follow, and I guess this house is probably the only place to freely do this type of experimentation.

I applaud Glenn for presenting a Margiela that's different from Martin, John and all the other brands in similar vein because he is so referenced sometimes you wonder what new interpretation can be done and we saw one here. It is so extremely him with total ownership whether I liked it or not.
The grey dress segment where it looks like an angel almost floating in fabric with the tension of the models body was beautiful, and its a proposal of a different Margiela woman.

I know people are starving for theatre and to be gagged. I'm not sure how I feel about this one but as it's only 1 artisanal collection at least the tenure will give us something different from what else is around. Glenn is a good RTW designer where for me I think the stores will have a good offering.

 

[Deneuve]

can we talk about the last yellow dress!? just perfection. like a dream that came true in the mist of a haunting nightmare that gave me the chills

I loved this debut very much, even I hated it. does that make sense?

the feeling it evoked, the spirit of newness a unapologetic force that says. here I am and I don't care what you think or say about it
there should be more Glens out there in fashion for sure

 

[youthinasia]

The high-res images are now on Vogue Runway. It's all impeccable. The details, wow! Well done, Glen!

 

[Lola701]

It would be interesting to see a new way of reinterpreting the masks, perhaps interesting foulards that blow up into the face (a bit what Glenn presented here in the near end mens look), or headwear that obscures the face from the front.

YES! The masks thing is a bit redundant and reductive tbh.
And Margiela showed faces too. And there were times when they used interesting ways to cover models faces…
Because Ok, the masks thing. How about using hair or even make up or even street casting again.

 

[tctra]

insane in the best way possible. he is a master of cloth

 

[Axel Mendoza]

This feels kind of sinister and ominous. Love it.

 

[Phuel]

It’s Artisanal. It’s not Haute Couture…
John turned it into something that fitted what he was used to but essentially, Margiela Artisanal was always about that idea of elevating everyday objects or old garments into something new.
Really Arte Povera…
It was never about « Metiers d’Arts ».
Ultimately, because of what John has done, now that Margiela is doing Redcarpet and all, it may turn into some sort of hybrid and this is what works here.

Frankly, relying on the term artisanal is a lazy excuse to fall back on when the slightest hint of criticism that it doesn’t adhere to the traditions of couture arises. Glen doesn’t possess the wit and cleverness of OG Margiela for recycling just going by the plastic looks alone, so the artisanal part of this showing comes off very design student applying too much lacquer on their papier mache projects. And he’s lacking in the deconstructive couturier talent of Galliano. The handful of gowns are solidly produced even if he’s shown these designs before at Gaultier, and even if they don’t connect with the rusty/greasy/decaying slop patchwork and plastic bag coats tricks.

Galliano brought a classic couture level and standard to deconstructionism for this House, a new life that’s also progressing forward. This is moving backward to old Margiela tropes…. And now unfortunately Glen seems to insist on dominating with these sorts of 90s Arte Povera aesthetic-- maybe because his own technical skills aren’t up to the standards of Galliano’s masterclass couturier, so it's It’s all very Riera I Arago textures and videogame nightmare NPC visuals-- with the handful of couturey flourishes, of which are dreamily gorgeous, of course— just like at Demna’s Balenciaga… But as a collection, it’s just not convincing enough once the first impressions fades; I’ll take Demna’s handful of supreme designs in this instance. And even with the extreme corsetry bindings of Galliano, his cast moved with the assured, surreal grace, the airy ease that’s a testament to his masterclass construction and engineering of the design and carefully choreographed cast. With Glen, the cast can’t even walk properly in the plastic encasings and masks. It’s all just expensive cosplay costumes, but of course social loves it.

Demna really did it better.

 

[Kanzai]

Jun Takahashi interpreted the Silent Hill theme with greater spiritual weight and a far more sinister tone in his Undercover Fall 2006 collection LOL (I'm so mad that there's no full show video). Funny how Margiela keeps thriving while Helmut Lang the brand is slipping into oblivion, it deserves better.

.

Damanwoo.com, Vogue

 

[Lola701]

Frankly, relying on the term artisanal is a lazy excuse to fall back on when the slightest hint of criticism that it doesn’t adhere to the traditions of couture arises. Glen doesn’t possess the wit and cleverness of OG Margiela for recycling just going by the plastic looks alone, so the artisanal part of this showing comes off very design student applying too much lacquer on their papier mache projects. And he’s lacking in the deconstructive couturier talent of Galliano. The handful of gowns are solidly produced even if he’s shown these designs before at Gaultier, and even if they don’t connect with the rusty/greasy/decaying slop patchwork and plastic bag coats tricks.

Galliano brought a classic couture level and standard to deconstructionism for this House, a new life that’s also progressing forward. This is moving backward to old Margiela tropes…. And now unfortunately Glen seems to insist on dominating with these sorts of 90s Arte Povera aesthetic-- maybe because his own technical skills aren’t up to the standards of Galliano’s masterclass couturier, so it's It’s all very Riera I Arago textures and videogame nightmare NPC visuals-- with the handful of couturey flourishes, of which are dreamily gorgeous, of course— just like at Demna’s Balenciaga… But as a collection, it’s just not convincing enough once the first impressions fades; I’ll take Demna’s handful of supreme designs in this instance. And even with the extreme corsetry bindings of Galliano, his cast moved with the assured, surreal grace, the airy ease that’s a testament to his masterclass construction and engineering of the design and carefully choreographed cast. With Glen, the cast can’t even walk properly in the plastic encasings and masks. It’s all just expensive cosplay costumes, but of course social loves it.

Demna really did it better.

Does everything has to be about a comparison though.
This can also be good for what it is.

Nevertheless, Margiela is not the place where I expect to see plissés millefeuilles, Or preservation of Couture technique or that kind of Artisanat.

Maybe things will evolve regarding the ambitions they have with this line. Essentially, John used that platform to mostly make reproductions of his past work and Redcarpet looks. And for him Artisanal was working in an empirique way as the inspiration was diluted in RTW.

I need to see this in the new environment. For now it’s just one collection.

I’m sorry I can’t judge Margiela Artisanal like Chanel or Dior. They don’t have the same purpose.

 

[Avonlea]

Assured, surreal grace and an airy ease are not the adjectives that come to my mind when thinking about Galliano's cast for Margiela; it was the polar opposite, with the last show reaching the peak of clownery.

 

[dancv]

One dimensional Margiela. This is exactly what I would expect from a first year who says they “looooooove Margiela” to put out.

Gorgeous textiles though.