Nearly 220 items of clothing and accessories will revisit the iconic creations of Belgian fashion designer Martin Margiela's career from his emergence in 1989 through to 2006 in an upcoming sale.
The collection, to be unveiled by Sotheby's in an online auction from September 19 to October 1, will celebrate the faceless designer who has neither given any interview nor has any logo for her refined white brand label so far.
Considered one of the most atypical couturiers of his generation, Margiela is one of the very few designers to have achieved a radical renewal in the world of contemporary fashion, Sotheby's said in a statement on Wednesday.
Among the most important items to be offered in this sale will be the tapered coats created at the beginning of his career for the autumn-winter 1989-90 collection (estimated from Rs 2.30 lakh), and doll's clothing enlarged to human scale from the autumn-winter 1994-95 collection, estimated between Rs 61,000 - Rs 92,000.
The sale will also include highlights from Margiela's most famous collections, including leather pieces from the autumn-winter 1992-93 Salvation Army collection, estimated at Rs 1.37 lakh, and pieces from the photographic prints collection of spring-summer 1996 (estimate: Rs 1.14 lakh) that retain the memory of other garments.
The most iconic lots include pieces from the spring-summer 1997 Stockman collection, including the iconic linen jacket estimated between Rs 5.33 - 6.86 lakh, and the down coats of autumn-winter 1999-2000, which has a lower estimate of Rs 5.33 lakh.
Sotheby's said the radical approach adopted by Margiela involved investigating the construction of garments by de-constructing them.
"He reveals the reverse of the fabric and its lining. He pushes size to its extremes, from 200 per cent oversized pieces to doll's clothing adapted to human size.
"He prints trompe-l'oeil dresses, knitwear and coats. He even paints his pieces," the auction house said.
Margiela is also known for his questioning of the garment obsolescence with his Artisanal collection created from vintage clothing and found objects, which he transformed into unique, hand-stitched pieces.
A top created from bow ties, only two of which were produced at that time (estimate: Rs 3.81 - 5.33 lakh) and the legendary men's vest assembled from playing cards, only five of which were ever created (estimate: Rs 6.09 - 7.62 lakh) will be on offer at the sale from this collection.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
