Maison Margiela A/W 2025 Haute Couture by Glenn Martens: A Study in Surreal Craft
In a world where fashion often chases spectacle for spectacle’s sake, Glenn Martens’ Autumn/Winter 2025 Haute Couture show for Maison Margiela reminds us that true avant-garde provokes — but it also seduces, unsettles, and transforms.
Unveiled in a candlelit Paris atelier that blurred the line between backstage ritual and theatre, Martens’ latest collection is a continuation of the Maison’s codes of deconstruction, illusion, and radical craftsmanship. But under his vision, these signatures feel newly disobedient — and oddly tender.
Sculpted Shadows and Fragile Armor
Models drifted through the space like figures from a gothic fever dream — draped in fractured tailoring, shredded silks, and ghostly organza that clung to the body like wisps of memory. Martens played with the Maison’s signature trompe-l’œil to uncanny effect: seams appeared where none existed, corsetry emerged from the lining like an exposed secret, and garments peeled away from the body, revealing layers of raw construction beneath.
This season’s silhouettes toyed with extremes: shoulders jutted into exaggerated peaks; waists were cinched, almost suffocated; skirts dissolved into shreds trailing behind like relics of past decadence. It was couture at its most subversive — and yet, there was a vulnerability threaded through the raw hems and sheer overlays, as if these garments were living things, shedding old skins.
A New Kind of Couture Rebel
Martens, who has carved his own cult status at Y/Project, brings an irreverent intelligence to Margiela’s house codes. He doesn’t merely reproduce Galliano’s ghost; he channels the brand’s spirit of radical transparency, where the inside is just as important as the surface. The result is couture that feels alive: unfinished yet precise, fragile yet confrontational.
Details were everything — sleeves constructed from upcycled antique lace, coats assembled from vintage military blankets, hand-stitched sequins that glimmered like oil on water. Each look whispered of countless hours in the atelier, but never felt overworked — a testament to Martens’ gift for balancing chaos and control.
A Manifesto for the Future
In an industry searching for new definitions of luxury, Martens’ Margiela offers a clear thesis: true haute couture isn’t about perfection, but about process, narrative, and the alchemy of the unexpected. This collection reminds us that clothes can be both armor and confession — and that the most powerful silhouettes are the ones that make us look closer.
As the final model disappeared into the half-light, you couldn’t help but wonder: what does it mean to wear a secret? In Glenn Martens’ hands, Margiela’s answer seems to be — whatever you want it to be.
