MM6 MARGIELA'S COLLECTION WAS A GIANT DISCO BALL

Fall 2018 at MM6 Maison Margiela was yet another collision of the art and fashion industries. Presented in a pub wrapped entirely in silver foil, the metallic and nearly monochromatic collection was paying clear homage to Andy Warhol’s Silver Factory. This is not the first time we have seen Warhol’s spirit, or even the conjured image of the Silver Factory, being adopted by fashion. Since announcing a partnership with the Warhol Foundation for the Arts last year, Calvin Klein has readily used the iconic artist’s motifs throughout its stores and collections. Both brands’ adoptions and adaptations of Warhol’s works are a testament to his persisting relevancy in the fashion industry.

As for the collection itself, it contained some echoes of prior seasons (particularly the sequined gloves from Spring 2016); however, as a whole it was very much a shift from MM6’s minimalist but trendy style. In true ‘70s and Warhol spirit, the garments harked back to Studio 54, both through several fabrics whose textures were reminiscent of deconstructed disco balls, but also quite literally through several silk-screened images of the night club beacon. Very few houses could turn silver into a neutral, yet with a striking combination of fabrics, MM6 makes glitz seem as unobtrusive as the muted colors that have populated their prior seasons. Beyond the simple stun of the reflective materials, what makes Fall 2018 particularly striking is MM6’s advanced use of structure, delivering sculptural pieces that exemplify the label’s mod sophistication. MM6 has managed to once again, compile a collection that is elegant in form, but injected with a youthful spirit illustrated through sheen, fabric, and texture.