By | Ababa Lorde
Overview & Setting
On Thursday, January 23, John Galliano’s Maison Margiela Spring 2024 Couture Show took place on a dimly lit walkway running underneath one of Paris’s most famous bridges, Pont Alexandre III. Under a full moon, the clock hit 3 a.m. when French artist, Lucky Love, and a gospel choir performed a set followed by a short film that finished with the first model, Leon Dame, exiting the film and onto the street runway.
From then on, multiple different series of looks went down the runway from Victorian-inspired black dresses to dark suiting and colorful-washed sheers to voluminous silhouettes, and even ended with a baby doll conclusion. The styling had a heavy hand in the creation of the mood; most notable details include the Louis Vuitton trademark red bottoms combined with the Margiela Tabi design, puffy fascinators, a discombobulated umbrella, hip and butt padding, horse hoof boots, porcelain-like chest plates, and gauze bandages adorning arms and legs.
Over the 12 months Galliano and his team spent creating the collection, they developed an unprecedented amount of new couture techniques. Another difference that set this collection apart from other couture shows was the workers; the majority of his team was on the younger side, which shows that highlighting fresh talent can pay dividends. With these new techniques, clever styling, and overall dramatic setting, the 1930’s Parisian night atmosphere was effectively created.
Makeup | Dame Pat McGrath
Not only were people fascinated by the designs and setting, but following the debut of the collection, social media went up in arms about what enhanced the models’ faces. Now and then, when the lighting pierced through the darkness just right, viewers saw porcelain doll-like makeup illuminating the models’ faces. Makeup artists and enthusiasts alike took to social media to figure out the formula and recreate the glossy finish displayed. Behind this innovative makeup look is none other than world-renowned British makeup artist, Pat McGrath of Pat McGrath Labs.
A true veteran in the makeup industry, Dame Pat McGrath has been one of this century’s trailblazing artists, transforming both the makeup and fashion industries. Her work in this show and numerous other shows and editorials proves how makeup can elevate the fashion world. After about a week of sharing appreciation for and boosting recreations of the ‘porcelain skin trend’ following the Maison Margiela show, Pat McGrath took to Instagram Live to share what face masks went into the mixture and how it was applied: with an airbrush machine! Click the link here to view the full list of the concoction and more on how McGrath pulled off the looks.
Reaction
As a design major heavily interested in couture technique and elevated runway collection, the Maison Margiela 2024 Artisanal Couture Collection took my breath away. Originally, I saw short clips and snapshots on social media and though it was amazing, I am grateful I took the time to sit down and watch the full show because delving past the surface level, the show was just that—a show.
While fast fashion is generally associated with ready-to-wear and luxury production, haute couture has also been affected by an ever-accelerating fashion cycle. Most shows of recent have been, in my opinion, bland and lacking any real theatrical depth. When I think ‘artisanal collection’, my mind goes to early McQueen and Mugler; shows like Alexander McQueen’s “Voss” S/S 2001 and Mugler Fall 1995 (ready-to-wear, but applicable nonetheless), for example. These shows expressed artistry and dramatics in different aspects; in simpler terms, these shows used refined presentation to tell a story. Through makeup, setting, music, and choreography, looks were put on display excitingly and provocatively, no pun intended. Presentation matters, and there’s a reason why certain shows over others become iconic in fashion history.
This Margiela Couture Collection is an exciting change in the current haute couture scene, leaning into theatrics and expressing drama through performance and atmosphere. A stark comparison to the plain white background of most contemporary shows designed to be Instagrammable. This goal of virality and easy media access, along with corporate heads pressuring creatives to produce as much as possible, as fast as possible has in turn watered down the once thought-provoking and inspiring artisanal haute fashion shows. Hopefully, this Margiela collection will shift the culture, encouraging other brands and designers to invest their time and talent towards creating fully fleshed-out, stimulating shows, and bringing back the sensational fashion show.
Standout Looks
Sources
AnOther. “Why John Galliano’s Astonishing Margiela Show Will Change Fashion Forever.” AnOther, 26 Jan. 2024, www.anothermag.com/fashion-beauty/15383/john-galliano-maison-margiela-ss24-artisanal-show-review-couture. Accessed 24 Feb. 2024.
Gonzalez, Tara. “John Galliano Went Back To His Roots At Margiela.” Harper’s Bazaar, www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/fashion-week/a46552616/john-galliano-maison-margiela-couture-spring-2024-show/. Accessed 24 Feb. 2024.
Horyn, Cathy. “Maison Margiela’s Couture Collection Will Go down in Fashion History.” The Cut, 26 Jan. 2024, www.thecut.com/2024/01/couture-review-margiela.html. Accessed 23 Feb. 2024.
“Maison Margiela Artisanal Collection 2024.” PAT McGRATH LABS, www.patmcgrath.com/collections/maison-margiela-artisanal-collection-2024. Accessed 23 Feb. 2024.
“Maison Margiela Artisanal Collection 2024.” YouTube, 26 Jan. 2024, youtu.be/DgMJq67ZOwE?si=udcP9SR-qJYjkdoq. Accessed 23 Feb. 2024.
Nast, Condé. “Maison Margiela Spring 2024 Couture Fashion Show.” Vogue, www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2024-couture/maison-martin-margiela/slideshow/collection#1. Accessed 24 Feb. 2024.
Sullivan, Claire. “Pat McGrath Just Revealed the Glass Skin Products That Gave Maison Margiela Models Porcelain Complexions.” WWD, 2 Feb. 2024, wwd.com/shop/shop-beauty/pat-mcgrath-porcelain-skin-glass-margiela-makeup-1236156835/?sub_action=logged_in. Accessed 23 Feb. 2024.
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