Martin Margiela Releases New Book on His Years at Hermès

by Paige Reddinger

A new Martin Margiela-approved tome on his years at Hermès has been released by Belgian publishing house Lannoo. Margiela, The Hermès Years coincides with a new exhibition at the Mode Museum in Antwerp, which will explore his collections for Hermès and how they relate to Margiela’s own label, which he continued to run while designing for the French house. In true Margiela form, the famously anonymous designer will not be giving interviews but is said to have approved everything in both the book and exhibition.

A slew of fashion industry vets have contributed to the book including a preface by Suzy Menkes, an essay by Sarah Mower, and interviews by Kate Betts, Olivier Zahm, Sibylle de Saint Phalle, and more. The book covers Margiela’s Hermès years from 1997 to 2003. “This was fashion’s archradical, facing off the noble French house,” writes Menkes in the preface. “Hospital-coat white meets sunset orange. Layers of impeccable tailoring built on the V-shaped vareuse gave the collaboration a timeless elegance. Hand-sewn buttons, with threads stitched into an ‘H’ for Hermès, showed their robust attention to detail. Even after 18 years hanging in storage, the quality of the finest leather, cashmere and cloth remains exceptional.”

Pick up a copy of the book here or jet-set to Antwerp to see Margiela’s endlessly influential work in person. The exhibition will be on display from March 30 to August 27.

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