Foyer de l'Arche,
Under the Grande Arche, La Défense
March 10, 1998, 10:00 p.m.
In Spring 1997, the Hermès house appointed Martin Margiela to head up the design of its women's ready-to-wear line. The first show for Fall-Winter 1998-99 was set for March 9, 1998, which was the night before the Maison Martin Margiela show. The designer had to complete two collections simultancously. To spare him some effort, Jenny Meirens decided to organize the Margiela show, and entrusted its staging to British stylist Jane How, photographer Mark Borthwick, and writer Sydney Picasso. The invitation looked like a numbered concert ticket over a background lined with "Maison Martin Margiela" in silver watermarking. A small booklet bound in white string written by Sydney Picasso, titled Fil Continu, accompanied it. It was 10:00 p.m. that tenth of March. The "concert" feel was affirmed at the entry when the house's employees, dressed in white lab coats, tied a bracelet onto each audience member's wrist. This keepsake from the show was inscribed with a line by Sydney Picasso. The large room was plunged into darkness. Some of the thirty employees in the room distributed cups of red wine. On the wall, a set of three screens projected a film made by Mark Borthwick. The audience stood. The music was deafening. Fleeting images of three women wearing the clothes of the collection were projected onto the screens, one by one. Standing alongside one another, they spoke simultancously. Then, a long black walkway dropped from the ceiling, which contained is life-size marionettes. Specially created in England, they wore the clothes from the collection as styled by Jane How, and their heads were wrapped in clear plastic. Two puppeteers dressed in black controlled the puppets' movements. Fall-Winter 1998-99 was the second part of the "fat" collection that had been launched the previous season. It contained a series of "envelope" garments, equipped with a zipper that ran their entire length, allowing the garment to be completely flattened. There were squares of fabric with attached straps that turned them into dresses or apron-skirts. Other knit squares were cut with two slits, which became armholes. Crinkled armholes were displaced to the front of heavy coats made of industrial nylon felt. Garments made from industrial patterns during the previous season were reused, cut from the leather of old biker jackets. The "artisanal" studio prepared khaki green jackets with a displaced shoulder line, using a stash of military clothing. The sleeves—lowered to waist level— created high collars with hoods that draped over the shoulders. The studio also transformed gloves into white and black leather coin purses, which were worn around the neck. Other "antitheft" bags were worn close to the body like a messenger bag, protected under the arm. Lastly, several garments were sealed within vacuum plastic, using a technique devised with the Italian company Miss Deanna. A thin clear film partially covered the dresses and T-shirts, revealing their most minor details. When the garments were worn, the plastic split under the pressure of the body.
