Sleek, fluid tweed strode down the Maison Martin Margiela AW 2014 Ready to Wear runway. The collection was by far not entirely in grandpa’s fabric, but the design team used Harris Tweed (in name and in pattern) to its utmost. There were patches sewn into knit jumpers. There were sleeveless suits with slouchy trousers. There were flowing, almost kurta-like tunics – all in tweed.
Appropriating a classic textile may be a Margiela signature. So are signature details. Dashing red punctuated thoughtfully, here in a shoe, there in a bag. Structures spoke elegantly. Waisted pleating commented with precision. Lace and ticking chattered simultaneously overlaid in a single bodice. Shoulders spoke up when they really shouldn’t have, but shone through as the architectural highlight.
For a line founded on the heels on the deconstructive innovation of Japanese avant-gardists, the RTW collection may seem demure. When considered, however, with its predecessor Couture and Mens collections, there is a clear reliance on its historical underpinnings that threads through the Maison. This Autumn collection offers the 2014 woman a softer version of the masked silhouettes on recent Margiela runways.
by Alison Santighian
Images courtesy Style.com