Anatomy of a Retrospective

ANTWERP — A girl on a mission, I came here for two reasons: to pick up a rock for my fourth digit and Maison Martin Margiela, is “20” exhibition.

I don’t have a fancy fashion pedigree. But having lived in Holland, where art and culture are a way of life, I came across Margiela’s work in a Dutch museum five years ago. (Holland, as you know, has more museums per square meter than any other country in the world!)

Margiela’s signature anonymity intrigues me. He refuses to be photographed and will only be interviewed by fax. When he replies, he communicates in the first person plural (“we”) and signs “Maison Martin Margiela” in order to focus attention on teamwork, rather than himself.

Even his stores are veiled in anonymity as they are located in the most obscure places. A select in-crowd recognizes the four white stitches on the outside of a garment that fasten a white cotton label on the inside and would never think twice about paying over 1,000 euros (or close to P70,000) for a pair of jeans.

Today, as I walk past a ticket counter that’s housed in a white caravan, I am greeted in characteristic Margiela fashion, an interior of all things white.

Around the corner, I spot a sleeveless jacket in raw linen inspired by a dressmaker’s mannequin. I smile at the adjacent tongue-in-cheek installation titled: Classical Wardrobe/ The Trench Coat, where the front panel and collar are turned inwards.

Inside, a row of white jackets feature shoulder lines ranging from the puffed sleeves mounted on high shoulders to a silhouette that reaches up to your nose.

A wall is mounted with Barbie and Ken’s wardrobes blown up to human size.

But the piéce de rèsistance is housed inside a dark room filled with his infamous Artisanal line of reconstructed clothing, which has been part of his repertoire since 1989.

A garment with a bit-mapped mouth is revealed in bright lights, accompanied by a description of the kind of work that was involved and the number of labor hours it took to produce it.

I am not the only one admiring his cut and assemblage of two second-hand fur jackets that were converted into a sleeveless fur jacket, with long sleeves in front and back. On every scenographic corner, fashion students sit with sketch pads and graphite pencils in an effort to capture the essence of his work.

This retrospective pays homage to the entire team’s collective efforts and is successful in encapsulating Margiela at his best and finest.

The exhibition runs until Feb. 8, 2009 at the MoMu in Antwerp.