IN response to the current mania of modern-day life, Maison Margiela explores the concept of control and uniform in their SS20 collection at PFW.
Set in an austere-looking 19th century hall,  the background echoes the collections look into the history of power and command – but in the most Galliano way possible. While the SS19 collection delved into 1980s club culture and punk, SS20 presents a more refined and elegantly nuanced take on fashion’s history. A mixture of nurse-style hats, military coats, and even nun’s habits, there is enough provocative glamour to carry the show through, without the meaning becoming too diluted. Think of it as Galliano’s new wave of free-thinking fashion.
While Galliano is known as more of a trend setter than a trend follower, the collection does materialise one of this season’s newest and most prevalent trends – circular cut-out details. Featured in coats, dresses, and waistcoats, the creative director also features a similar look through his use of mesh netting, used in the collection’s eclectic range of hats. These elements hone back to the concept of structure and repetition, and how this ties into the idea of uniform. A uniform becomes transformative, both taking away and also bestowing a sense of power.
Challenging the idea of uniform and its alleged attack on the individual, Galliano mixes pieces from different careers, such as a military caps with a tailored suit. Uniform in the collection isn’t a signifier of your status or profession, it becomes a symbol of rigidity and of a broken system. Never one to make fashion too dreary, these ideas are wrapped in an wonderfully varied colour palette, featuring everything from monochrome, to bold jewel tones, to electric purples and oranges.
Overall, the collection is a stand against the conventions of dressing.
by Emma Hart