MARGIELA: IN THE VOID
PARODI COSTUME COLLECTION
Parodi Costume Collection in Miami is honored to present it latest exhibition, MARGIELA: IN THE VOID, a tribute to the legacy of Martin Margiela, in collaboration with contemporary vintage brand Byronesque during Art Basel Miami 2024. This unique exhibition features some of the major Margiela icons from the Parodi Costume Collection archives, through the lens of a range of different artists, whilst creating a narrative around what we refer to as the voids – the missing items that would otherwise make up full looks. Additionally, the voids represent important references to conceptual and artistic dimensions of Margiela’s work, which we are pleased to share with our audience.
CONTRIBUTING ARTIST
LARGE SCALE ILLUSTRATION - VINYL APPLIQUE
EXHIBITION
THE VOID AS INDIVIDUAL: By stepping back from media, refusing interviews and portraits, Martin Margiela created a void in the history of fashion, which has always been obsessed with transforming designers into icons. His void challenged the status of the traditional designer.
THE VOID AS A LABEL: Martin disliked when a garment was chosen for its label over its design. That's why he chose an empty white label attached with the now famous four corner stitches.
THE VOID AS ANONYMOUS REPURPOSED GARMENTS: There was no ecological motive or process behind his Artisanal line. It began because the price of existing garments was substantially cheaper than brand new fabrics, with unlimited supply. And because Martin, as a fan of the 70s, loved vintage clothes.
THE VOID AS HONESTY: He was very transparent about his working process. For the Artisanal line, he identified all the salvaged clothes used to make each garment. He kept the soul, and symbolism of the original clothes alive.
THE VOID AS ART: When Martin started school at the Antwerp Academy in Belgium, his teachers advised him to change fashion for art studies. But he believed that his artistic ideas should live through clothes. He was aware that his process was original and singular.
THE VOID AS REPETITION: Martin's strength was his consistency. He was not afraid to push and repeat his ideas as far as they could go, pushing them to their very limits of unexpected creativity. He wanted to make sure that people understood every dimension of his designs.
THE VOID AS CONSTRAINT: Martin loves to play with constraints. He teaches us this lesson: each constraint makes you even more creative, a call for higher creativity and more originality.
THE VOID AS RENEWAL: Although Martin disliked the 1980s in his early days in fashion, the design codes of the decade made a huge comeback in his 2007 collection, including high heel shoes and oversized shoulders. He embraced the details he didn't like because he felt that he needed to renew himself.
— ALEXANDRE SAMSON, Author of “Martin Margiela, The Women’s Collections: and curator at Palais Galliera, The Fashion Museum of Paris