Martin Margiela Artisanal Evening Dress Made Out Of Vintage Petticoats, ss 2003
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: Small (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Upon inspection, the only identified flaws are located on the top, presenting as a few small snags and pinholes in the fabric.
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU140221539362
Maison Martin Margiela
Belgian designer Martin Margiela (b. 1957) — whose life, career, clothing designs and vintage shoes have become cult-collector obsessions — pushed those who attended his shows outside their comfort zones. In the years following his maison's 1988 debut, he toyed with creative and aesthetic paradoxes that persist in fashion today.
Consider the Spring/Summer 2001 shirt patchworked from vintage clothing labels, or his famous corset dresses made from tailoring dummies, from his Fall/Winter 1997 line. Or his oversize collection for Fall/Winter 2000. In 1992, Margiela told Dépêche Mode magazine, “My clothes appeal to women of a certain mindset rather than of a specific age or physique.”
Born in Genk, Belgium, in 1957, Margiela knew he wanted to be a fashion designer after catching glimpses of Parisian fashion on TV as a child. Although his parents discouraged this career choice as an oddly funny aspiration, Margiela enrolled in the fashion program of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp. There, he befriended and graduated a year ahead of the Antwerp Six — the acclaimed group of Belgian fashion designers comprising Dries Van Noten, Walter Van Beirendonck, Ann Demeulemeester, Marina Yee, Dirk Bikkembergs and Dirk Van Saene.
Like many of his contemporaries in the 1980s, Margiela understood Paris fashion but felt a deep resonance with the deconstructed beauty espoused by Japanese designers Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo, of Comme des Garçons. Margiela’s fascination with Japan influenced many of his earliest collections and designs, from a dress pieced together from broken plates to his iconic Tabi boots, inspired by the split-toe Japanese worker’s shoe, which dates back to the 15th century. He decided to launch his own line while working for renowned Paris designer Jean Paul Gaultier.
Margiela, Gaultier has often stated, was his best assistant. Even then, the 2019 film Martin Margiela: In His Own Words suggests, he was acutely aware of the widening gulf between the art and the business of fashion.
Margiela’s debut show was nothing short of spectacular. Set in a packed Café de la Gare in the still-seedy Marais district, it was also scandalous to the Parisian fashion set of the time. The designer tore up the conventions of contemporary couture presentations, most notably having his models, plucked from the streets and wearing ink-blotted Tabis, wend their way through the crowd. The show redefined the concept of the runway in a way that would later inspire such designers as Alexander McQueen and Demna Gvasalia.
While the notoriously private designer retired from fashion in 2009, for many Maison Martin Margiela collectors, his pieces capture the irreverence of the postwar, post-punk late 1980s and ’90s. Katy Rodriguez, cofounder of the cult vintage fashion shop Resurrection, is among those who felt a connection to Margiela’s clothing in the subliminal challenges it posed to the time’s beauty norms.
“Growing up in San Francisco and coming out of the end of punk rock, not wanting to be objectified, not wanting to be seen as a sexual object, not wanting your value to be just because you’re pretty — all those clothes played into all of that,” she says. “It really was a reflection of the kind of world the young people I knew at the time wanted to live in.”
Find vintage Maison Martin Margiela boots, evening dresses, jackets and more on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: London, United Kingdom
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Givenchy silk chiffon corseted evening dress, c. 2007By Riccardo Tisci, GivenchyLocated in London, GBA Givenchy silk chiffon evening dress from the Spring/Summer 2007 collection. The nude dress of silk chiffon features an attached red silk corset around the waist. Fr 38 -Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Gianni Versace black and white polkadot silk ruffled shirt dress, ss 1993By Gianni VersaceLocated in London, GBGianni Versace black and white polkadot printed silk shirt dress with ruffled trim. Spring-Summer 1993Category
1990s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Vivienne Westwood black screen printed lurex figure hugging dress, fw 1997By Vivienne WestwoodLocated in London, GBVivienne Westwood figure hugging evening dress in black lurex with grey screen printed pattern. Bias cut sleeves, drapes and folds around hips with button ...Category
1990s British Evening Dresses and Gowns
- BodyMap 1982-1986 green spandex bodycon dressLocated in London, GBBodyMap 1982-1986 green spandex bodycon dressCategory
1980s British Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Yves Saint Laurent black lace and tulle crystal cocktail dress, fw 1993By Yves Saint LaurentLocated in London, GBYves Saint Laurent black lace and tulle cocktail dress with crystal buttons, detachable silk slip dress, silk bow belt and ruffled collar, skirt and cuffs. Fall-Winter 1993Category
1990s French Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Gianni Versace black evening dress with leather strap ss 2001By Donatella Versace for Gianni VersaceLocated in London, GBOne-shoulder black dress with leather strap and gathers at strap on front and back. Spring-summer 2001Category
Early 2000s Italian Evening Dresses
- Mariano Fortuny Black Silk Peplos GownBy FortunyLocated in Riverdale, NYThis dress is made of finely pleated black colored silk with silk cording along side seams,shoulders and tunic hem with matte frosted colored glass beads threaded through the cordin...Category
Early 20th Century Italian Art Deco Peplos
- Mariano Fortuny Amethyst Delphos GownBy FortunyLocated in Riverdale, NYThis dress is made of finely pleated amythest colored silk with silk cording along side seams, and multicolored glass beads threaded through the cording. Named after a Greek cla...Category
Early 20th Century Italian Art Deco Delphos Gowns
- Extremely Rare Mariano Fortuny Cotton DelphosBy FortunyLocated in Riverdale, NYThis extraordinarily rare dress is made of finely pleated white cotton. Few cotton pleated Fortuny dresses have been documented and survived.
Named after a Greek clas...CategoryEarly 20th Century Italian Art Deco Delphos Gowns
- Mariano Fortuny Claret Delphos. Provenance Tina ChowBy FortunyLocated in Riverdale, NYThis dress is made of finely pleated claret colored silk with silk cording along side seams, and multicolored glass beads threaded through the cording. The beads are amber glass with...Category
Early 20th Century Italian Art Deco Delphos Gowns
- Mariano Fortuny Rare Shell Pink Long Sleeved Delphos GownBy FortunyLocated in Riverdale, NYDescription: This dress is made of finely pleated shell pink colored silk with silk cording along side seams, and multicolored glass beads threaded through the cording.
CategoryEarly 20th Century Italian Art Deco Delphos Gowns
Mariano Fortuny Black Peplos GownBy FortunyLocated in Riverdale, NYThis dress is made of finely pleated black colored silk with silk cording along side seams,shoulders and tunic hem with multicolored glass beads threaded through the cording.
...CategoryEarly 20th Century Italian Art Deco Delphos Gowns
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
Martin Margiela: An Intimate Look at the Designer and His Surreal Fashions
In a recently released film, the elusive Belgian designer reflects on his time in the fashion world and his avant-garde creations, which have become coveted collector items.
This Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen Ensemble Is Part Zsa Zsa Gabor, Part ‘Blade Runner’
As Burton steps away from the brand, it’s a fitting time to revisit one of her visionary designs.