1998 Martin Margiela Interview in Studio Voice
[TRANSLATION] '66 Q&A to Maison Martin Margiela', Studio Voice, July 1998
The following is a translation of 66 questions posed to Maison Martin Margiela in the July 1998 special issue of Studio Voice. ‘Maison Martin Margiela’ was the vehicle that Martin Margiela would use to answer any press, questions, and issue communiqués, always speaking via an anonymous ‘we’ versus answering as Margiela himself. Many answers were left intentionally blank.
Interviewer: Hirofumi Kurino (United Arrows)
Q1 At your globally synchronized presentation in September 1998, you had models choose their own music. Why?
A The shows occurred simultaneously in Paris (4 venues), London, New York, Tokyo, Milan, and Pons... Using local models' musical tastes highlighted the cultural diversity.
Q2 Among the various songs selected, were there any surprising choices from the models?
A Some, yes.
Q3 Your SS1996 collection showing photo-printed, trompe l’œil-style clothes in a Paris gymnasium had a massive impact on the fashion world. You utilized cheerleaders for this presentation – why?
A We needed the "effect of liveness."
Q4 The Smile/Skin show at Selle Wasram (Autumn/Winter 1996-97) was also unique, with models being followed by attendants carrying lights. How did you come up with the idea of using Mina's music? Was the energy of Italian women a hidden theme in that show?
A I'd prefer the work be seen as a whole narrative, not dissected.
Q5 Do you prefer Mina or Milva?1
A
Q6 Thoughts on Milva Sings Kurt Weill?
A
Q7 Thoughts on Ute Lemper Sings Kurt Weill?
A
Q8 Do you like Brecht/Weill collaborations?
A
Q9 For your ‘sunflower’ presentation last year,2 you used stereotypical movie soundtracks and music, which was very effective. What was your intention?
A Atmosphere.
Q10 Your installation at Rotterdam’s Museum Boijmans, in which you inculcated various mold strains on clothing, was highly interesting. If you were to add sound to that installation, what would it be?
A Nothing.
Q11 Your Paris Fashion Week presentation in March 1997, shown at three different locations and three different times, was also fantastic; but why did you choose that band/group at that time?
A Atmosphere.
Q12 Did the band have full creative control?
A For the most part.., yes. Our tastes aligned with their repertoire.
Q13 When the band marched into the streets, the audience followed. Was that planned?
A No—that’s what made the afternoon so warm.
Q14 Do you still buy rock albums? What was your most recent purchase?
A
Q15 What’s a record you listen to often?
A
Q16 Do you attend rock concerts?
A
Q17 Ever played in a band?
A
Q18 Favorite classical composer/piece?
A
Q19 Was the Hermès show’s music your idea?
A I believe the atmosphere created that night of the Hermès presentation – including the models, soundtrack, and all other elements – emerged completely organically!! With the soundtrack that we compiled, we hoped that by gathering the voices of different women of different ages, backgrounds and attitudes, it would become another expression of the same spirit.
Q20 I don't know if you actually play an instrument or not, but if you could play one instrument, what would it be? Or do you already play one?
A
Interviewer: Maki Shinozaki (Illustrator)
Q21 Do you sketch designs?
A Drawing is a personal challenge—every line, fabric, and day matters.
Q22 Are they human forms?
A
Q23 Do you make non-fashion-related drawings?
A
Q24 What art supplies do you use most?
A
Q25 Can you tell us your favorite painter?
A
Q26 Do you wear Margiela pieces yourself? If so, which pieces?
A
Q27 Do you think women who wear your clothes come off as "sexy"?
A
Q28 If not "sexy," what adjective fits?
A To us, "sexy" is a mental state rooted in personal understanding.
Q29 Who are some famous or historical figures, past or present, that you would like to dress?
A Who wears the clothes is irrelevant. It’s about how they are integrated into someone’s wardrobe.
Q30 What is the most profound innovation in the history of fashion? (e.g., jeans, ties, shoulder pads...)
A Clothing.
Q31 My mother, who is in her 60s, loves wearing your clothes. Does your own mother wear your clothes?
A
Q32 What kind of garments do you think are best to wear under your clothes?
A
Q33 Do you keep any flowers at home? And if so, what kind?
A
Q34 Do you ever use a computer for your own personal use?
A
Q35 Are there any staple pieces in your wardrobe that are from other brands? (watches, sneakers, glasses, etc.)
A
Q36 When I see the Margiela atelier’s signature white coat uniform, I’m reminded of the "Oshikise" scene from Akira Kurosawa's "Red Beard." Is there a connection?
A No.
Q37 Have you seen "In the Realm of the Senses" (The French uncut version)?
A
Q38 Do you have any desires for the type of hair and makeup for the women who will be wearing your clothes? (e.g. no nail polish)
A I think it's very much a matter of personal preference and the woman's own energy.
Q39 Do you ever plan on making resort-style pieces such as swimwear? (Like something that can be worn to Hawaii)
A I don’t know!
Q40 Your "Tabi shoes" are famous, but do you ever use authentic Japanese tabis? Also, what other Japanese items have inspired you?
A
Interviewer: Takehira Hirokawa (Mode Clinician)
Q41 For Spring/Summer 1997, haute couture—a product of the "modern" era—was deconstructed and reconstructed using Stockmann bodies, a symbol of the time. Then, for Autumn/Winter 1997-98, it evolved into an exploration of its application and further development. Was this latter season’s concept rooted in a reflection of the era—the deconstruction and reconstruction of modernity itself?
A Less a "perspective on modernity" than a reaction to contemporary stimuli. How people interpret us fascinates and influences us.
Q42 Then, for Spring/Summer 1998, I believe you presented a kind of intellectual novelty in fashion. Inspired by the Portable Architecture exhibition at London’s RIBA in the summer of 1997—which showcased the latest architectural concepts—your collection likely transformed this into the theme of 'Departure.' Through planar construction, you created and unveiled garments that felt strikingly unfamiliar yet new. Here, I sensed that the keyword 'wrapping' marked the moment when architecture and fashion began exploring each other’s domains in fresh ways. What are your thoughts on this? Moreover, do you think this concept influenced 21st-century fashion?
A I can’t claim the objectivity needed to give a definitive answer to this question… but it’s fascinating how often individual creative processes, completely independent of one another, arrive at identical or strikingly similar conclusions. This happens not just in fashion, but in music, theater, dance, architecture, and design, where people reach parallel ideas without any prior discussion. It makes you wonder—is this the result of some kind of global cultural osmosis?
Q43 Regarding your collection for Hermès, I interpreted its concept as "time flows in a gentle, unhurried rhythm."
Given how the modern-to-contemporary era—marked by anxieties about the future, eroded dreams, and the fin-de-siècle mood—has reached a point of saturation, your approach to temporal perception feels strikingly resonant. When time itself slows to a languid pace, the very proportions of your designs become a form of creation.
It made me wonder: Could healing (clothing’s capacity to soothe the spirit) emerge as one of fashion’s essential roles for the coming era? What are your thoughts?
A That’s one possible reading.
Q44 Favorite color? Scarlet. Favorite food? Bread and water. Favorite composer? Mozart. Favorite writer? William Morris. Favorite historical figure? None.Favorite place? London. Greatest joy? Sleep. Greatest torment? Noise. Greatest fear? Animalistic instincts. Greatest desire? To be forgotten by friends.
These were the answers of T.E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia"). Now, may I ask you the same questions?
A
Interviewer: Kazayuki Yamamuro (INFAS)
Q45 Your designs seem to embody both the spirit of artisan-trained craftsmanship and a will to reconstruct design structure itself. This shares elements with Gropius' Bauhaus and Rei Kawakubo. Is this tendency unique to you, or common among Antwerp designers? A It's natural for people from the same country, region or city to receive similar cultural stimuli. Shared environments create regional perspectives that may linger in individuals. While not every designer from Antwerp shares identical creative expressions, some do share creative methods and perspectives.
Interviewer: Abe Yao (Studio Voice)
Q46 Putting aside the current state of haute couture, do you have any desire in being involved?choose their own music. Why?
A Perhaps there is a way to maintain technical skills and preserve artisan craftsmanship for creating "one-of-a-kind" garments! But not now, perhaps in the very near future, or maybe as haute couture is understood today. We will continue proposing reworked and transformed vintage and secondhand pieces as part of our "artisanal production," creating unique garments from clothes of different eras for our customers around the world. However, its less about approaching "haute couture" the way it is understood today, but rather our artisanal production methods maintain the precise craftsmanship needed to hand-make individual garments—a tradition that has survived for centuries, which is difficult in today’s mass-produced, industrial fashion system.
Q47 Most people approaching dressing with a sense of everyday, wearable pieces. What separates Maison Margiela’s clothes from “regular” clothing?
A It’s about how they’re worn and how they’re incorporated into the wearer’s wardrobe. We absolutely consider the clothes we create to be wearable.
Q48 Do you envision an environment for your customer where their entire world is Margiela? Such as their underwear, bed linens, all of it.
A Absolutely not! What surrounds a person should reflect their own taste and individuality more than the vision of any one designer and their team. I probably shouldn’t say this, but the reality is that the individuality of the wearer and that of the designer (and their team) often don’t align.
Q49 Is your creative process something that just flows naturally, or is it more about deliberately creating something unprecedented?
A It really depends. In any case, the tastes and perspectives we express through our collections feel natural to us as a team.
Q50 Would you ever consider making Margiela clothes accessible to those who can’t spend much on fashion? (Not just T-shirts, but something more like Alaïa’s collaboration with TATI.)
A Stay tuned!
Q51 You’re launching a full menswear line soon. Do you have a different approach to this compared to your earlier unisex collections?
A Recently we’re started to explore different methods than ones used in previous collections. This summer (Spring/Summer ’99), the Martin Margiela collection will consist of different "groups", with clothing separated out from accessories and objects. Group No. 10 will be dedicated to clothing specifically for male customers, set to hit stores around January of next year.
Q52 What inspired you to study in Antwerp? And why study fashion instead of something like architecture or commercial design?
A
Q53 Do you prefer clothes that look completely different depending on who wears them, or clothes that look the same on everyone?
A The latter.
Q54 What quality of the color white resonates the most to you?
A White serves as an expression of collective unity for our team, while also acting as tangible evidence of expression, both for us and for those who choose to wear our garments.
Q55 Aside from clothing design, or even within it, I sense a "playfulness" in how you present collections and communicate the maison’s image. Is conceptualizing this fun for you?
A What do you think? Rather than giving our own opinions, we’d prefer to listen to and learn from yours!
Q56 For you, is the maison both an atelier and a classroom for experimentation?
A It’s a workplace. What makes it deeply fulfilling is that it reflects creative independence in both process and structure, and we enjoy that.
Q57 Is there a psychological metaphor behind the urge to paint everything white?
A Please see Q54.
Q58 Why did you choose to be based Paris?
A For many reasons, but primarily due to practical needs within our profession.
Q59 Your past collections often used 8mm film, and I notice you have a penchant for shooting video, especially vertically. Did you ever receive formal training in this?
A Imagery is always vital to expressing our team’s creative vision. Some of us have more experience in audiovisual fields than others, but none had formal training. We learned through trial and error above all.
Q60 The triple-screen video in your latest collection; was it inspired by Napoleon (the film) or, say, Steve Erickson’s novels?
A The video exhibition for the Fall/Winter 97-98 collection was a creative expression by Mark Borthwick (a NY-based fashion photographer). This season, we invited three people to present their visions, which shaped the collection for global press and buyers: Mark, writer Sydney Picasso, and fashion stylist Jane How.
Q61 To you, are clothes "fashion" or "objects"?
A On rare occasions, when we present an individual piece as an object, we treat it as such. But most of what we produce are garments. Examples of “objects” from past collections:
A vest made of broken porcelain and wire (FW 89-90)
A clear vinyl garment cover molded with tape (FW 92-93)
A tailor’s dummy/dress proposed as a vest (SS 97)
Q62 How do you feel about clothes being displayed as objects in museums?
A It’s the next best thing to being worn. But we distinguish between what’s displayed as art and what we’ve proposed; the latter is just part of our ongoing work. Many museums collecting our pieces focus on fashion, while others approach them from a general design perspective.
Q63 Past photographers you collaborated with had a certain anonymity, but Mark Borthwick has a prominent style. What changed?
A We’ve always engaged photographers for the same reason: their singular perspectives.
Q64 Do you consider gender when designing clothes?
A Certainly when exploring contrasts between genders.
Q65 Your white books stain over time. Does the same apply to your clothes?
A Almost nothing—ourselves included—stays in its original state.
Q66 Have you ever designed something you saw in a dream?
A
Mina and Milva are both famous Italian singers and actresses
Margiela’s spring-summer 1997 collection presentation at his atelier utilized artificial sunflowers placed throughout the space