MM6 Maison Margiela and Salomon have marked a new phase in their ongoing design partnership: a celebration of a shared ethos of innovative, transitional design with the release of their first ready-to-wear collaboration.
Split into two families – Gore-Tex and Seamless – this sophisticated, minimalist capsule collection of garments and accessories combines universal classics with fundamental codes from the brands’ respective universes, a pure-blend distillation of MM6 Maison Margiela’s iconic styles rendered with Salomon’s cutting-edge activewear technology and manufacturing process.
MM6 Maison Margiela x Salomon
Stealthily functional, essential and radical; for the AW24 season an urban wardrobe of simple shapes is crafted in the House’s iconic nude shade, serving as a blank-canvas backdrop for injections of black and white on the line’s oversized formal pants and shirts.
Volumes are either fitted and anatomic, with stretch seamless technology leggings and long-sleeved crew-neck tops, or easy and protective, including a basic trench coat, a straight-leg five-pocket pant, a zipped windbreaker and oversized button-down shirts, all cut from breathable water-repellent Gore-Tex fabric.
MM6 Maison Margiela x Salomon
Among the footwear highlights, the MM6 design studio delivers a progressive urban spin on the iconic Salomon ACS PRO 2 MM6 MAISON MARGIELA running shoe, revisiting it in sleek concrete grey with muted silver accents or in a rubberized matte black version with a contrasting glossy tar-black structure that recalls an exoskeleton, heightening the shoe’s dark industrial aesthetic.
The CROSS LOW MM6 MAISON MARGIELA – a radical twist on the Salomon Speedcross trail running shoe, with new low proportions and a specially designed lug sole – also returns in two fresh colour treatments, with striking tonal combos of bubblegum pink and bright red or an almond and army green version offset with an acid yellow detail on the heel encased with dark forest green.
MM6 Maison Margiela x Salomon
The shoe’s signature drawstring gaiter-style ripstop nylon closure – connected to its hi-tech moulded composite sole via taped waterproof seams, with a reflective strip for the green style – evokes both an extreme sports parka and old-school waterproof goloshes, fusing past and future in an idiosyncratic MM6 Maison Margiela design signature.
MM6 Maison Margiela x Salomon
Elsewhere, Salomon’s potent design essence is cast in a new light with the MM6 reconfiguration of the brand’s classic Trailblazer DAYPACK 20 MM6 MAISON MARGIELA in black or natural mastic ripstop nylon, enhanced with multiple pockets to offer new functionality.
The unisex capsule collection is designed to mix, match and layer, perfectly encompassing the extent to which activewear has influenced streetwear to become part of everyday life, as running gear and dressy urban inspiration offer a sharp new study of the modern-day uniform.
by Chidozie Obasi