…plus all the other fashion news you missed this week, from a new Balenciaga video game to Robyn Lynch’s London exhibition, and Entire Studios’ Selfridges pop-up
Martin Margiela is as much of an enigma today as he was while at the helm of the brand – which he stepped away from in 2009. While his undeniable impact on fashion still reverberates today, both via the ongoing Maison Margiela label and elsewhere in the industry, it’s unlikely he’ll be staging a comeback anytime soon (or ever, *sob*).
Hoping to bring new context to the man of mystery and his approach to design, a new exhibition entitled Margiela: In the Void has just opened at Miami’s Parodi Costume Collection, co-curated by Byronesque. “The Parodi Costume Collection is extraordinarily progressive for a place dedicated to the past. We’re lucky to have their partnership to tell a different, unexplored side of Martin Margiela,” shares Byronesque founder Gill Linton. “Our idea to focus on the voids taps into his personality as a designer and goes deep into the literal and metaphorical voids surrounding each piece.”
“Parodi Costume Collection has been carefully adding key pieces of Martin Margiela’s seminal designs to its archive,” says Gonzalo Parodi, director of Parodi Costume Collection. ”Margiela’s work resonates deeply with PCC’s focus on critical thinking about fashion, and its mission to educate, by exploring the many visual and ethical dimensions of his work.”
The first exhibition dedicated to the designer in Miami, it features iconic items from the OG, but focuses on the ‘voids’ – the missing pieces that would complete the looks. “Martin was famously absent,” continues Linton. “Our idea to focus on the voids taps into his personality as a designer and goes deep into the literal and metaphorical voids surrounding each piece.This idea allows people to witness full looks being created in real time.”
With text by Alexandre Samson – curator and author of Martin Margiela, the Women collections – and contributions from artists and designers from all over the world, Margiela: In the Void explores both the physical and metaphorical voids left by the designer, now ascended to saint status. If you’re in Miami, go worship at the altar, open from December 12, 2023 to April 5, 2024.
In other fashion news, Another Man is back, relaunching with editor-in-chief Ellie Grace Cumming. Elsewhere, the 2023 Dazed 100 dropped, now in its ninth edition, with 100 new creatives across music, art, photography, and film. Scroll the gallery below for more news you might have missed this week.
ROBYN LYNCH BRINGS IRELAND TO LONDON
Irish designer Robyn Lynch is the latest designer to be tapped by London’s NOW Gallery, as part of its Fashion Commission – previously featuring exhibits by Mowalola, Matty Bovan, and Nicholas Daley. Her offering, Greetings from Ireland, is a playful immersive entry into her world complete with a bouncy castle created by set designer Rory Mullen. As with her label, the exhibition draws on inspirations from Lynch’s Irish heritage while offering a behind-the-scenes look at the processes and techniques utilised to create her designs. The exhibition is open now at NOW Gallery, until February 25, 2024.
Courtesy of Balenciaga BALENCIAGA HITS THE SLOPES
Following on from the sunny climes of its LA-based Fall 2024 collection, Balenciaga is now embracing winter. The counterpart to its very first ski collection which dropped last month, the brand dropped another video game: Balenciaga Skiwear Mini Game. With two avatar options to ski in from the collection, winners can snatch up exclusive stickers and wallpapers and are automatically added to a worldwide leaderboard with the chance to win an IRL Balenciaga Ski Lock. Play the game here.
ENTIRE STUDIOS POPS UP IN SELFRIDGES
Since it launched in 2020, Entire Studios – founded by former Yeezy stylists Dylan Richards Diaz and Sebastian Hunt – has built a fanbase for its no-nonsense, luxe outerwear and uniform of cosy hoodies, vests, and dresses. A firm fave of Justin Bieber, Dua Lipa, and Kylie Jenner who recently collaborated with the duo for her KHY label, the brand is taking over a spot in Selfridges with a new pop-up open until February 4, 2024. Nestled among the brutalist sheets of metal – created by fellow New Zealander Leon Mckay, founder of design studio Saint Leo – the design duo have created a collection exclusive to the store comprising their signature pieces in a trio of colourways: Khaki, Dusty Pink, and Off White. View the full collection here.
CIRCLE BAGS HAVE COME BACK AROUND
Machine-A and Byronesque’s archive collaboration, Machine-B is making a return with The Reissue Series: As FOUR Bags. For the third iteration of the partnership, cult design collective threeASFOUR have reunited for the first time since 2005 to revisit As FOUR’s signature circle bag. The collection features reissues alongside reimagined versions of the accessory handmade from upcycled materials. To support the project, each designer is captured by photographer Miguel Villalobos with a reissued Circle Bag. Shop the collection here.
MADEME EMBRACES ITS INNER REBEL
Fans of MadeMe – the ultimate NYC cool girl brand – can add to their Christmas lists, as the brand announces a new collaboration with Alpha Industries. “The MadeMe girl wears things that are somewhat traditional, but that also comes from a tradition of rebellion,” says brand founder Erin Magee on the partnership. “She’ll wear a pair of old Dr. Martens, long Dickies shorts, with an Alpha MA-1 Bomber; all brands that are steeped in tradition but come from rebellious spirits.” Bringing out the MadeMe girl’s inner rebel, the reimagined jacket mashes together the military feel of the original jacket – with the instantly recognisable highlighter orange lining – but adds fun new details including delicate ruching, fleece hood, and a rounder, more feminised silhouette. Shop here.
Courtesy of FendiFENDI WANTS YOU TO CATCH ‘EM ALL
In a continuation of the Italian house’s ‘Friends of Fendi’ project, Fendi’s brings Hiroshi Fujiwara – founder of Fragment and Godfather of streetwear – into the Fendiverse, offering two collabs for the price of one. “I first met Hiroshi Fujiwara in London in 1999 – and what can I say? He’s one of my idols and I love him. He’s an instigator of the Japanese club scene, its youth fashion scene and its streetwear scene,” Jones shares on the collection. The first collection features a play on Fendi’s iconic FF jacquard logo, while the second with Pokémon, emblazons recognisable creatures from the universe (don’t ask me to name them!) onto signature products, paying homage to the Year of the Dragon. The only thing left is to try and catch ‘em all. Shop the collection when it drops on January 4.
