Maison Margiela "Study for a Dress" Couture Drapery Study S/S 1997

£6,850.00
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Spring / Summer 1997 Maison Margiela collection by Martin Margiela

Limited edition "study for a dress” Haute Couture drapery study, silk chiffon on elastic, boned harness

In original box

The importance and history of this piece as explained by the Met museum who hold this and multiple pieces from this collection in their permanent collection:

“This “Study for a Dress” counts as one of the most seminal designs of Maison Martin Margiela, uniting many of the central design concepts which make up the DNA of the house, such as the unveiling of artisanship and duration in fashion, the détournement of an existing garment into something else, and a critical take on the standardized ideal couture body. The inanimate linen tailoring dummy or ‘Stockman bust’ used by Parisian haute couture ateliers, takes on a new life as a jacket which the real woman wears on top of her body. So, instead of dressing the woman as a living doll, Margiela dresses the woman in the shape of fetishized femininity, thereby showing the artificiality of gender as constructed by fashion. On a base of white elastics, boning retains the shards of silk muslin fabric onto the linen. This concept dates back to Margiela’s student years in Antwerp in the late 1970s, when he took classes with Hiëron Pessers, a master of drape who worked as a “first” assistant in Givenchy’s atelier. Approvingly, Pessers would wear Margiela’s drape studies as a jacket.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art 

Waist 24 “

Excellent condition

Price On Application, please get in contact.

Spring / Summer 1997 Maison Margiela collection by Martin Margiela

Limited edition "study for a dress” Haute Couture drapery study, silk chiffon on elastic, boned harness

In original box

The importance and history of this piece as explained by the Met museum who hold this and multiple pieces from this collection in their permanent collection:

“This “Study for a Dress” counts as one of the most seminal designs of Maison Martin Margiela, uniting many of the central design concepts which make up the DNA of the house, such as the unveiling of artisanship and duration in fashion, the détournement of an existing garment into something else, and a critical take on the standardized ideal couture body. The inanimate linen tailoring dummy or ‘Stockman bust’ used by Parisian haute couture ateliers, takes on a new life as a jacket which the real woman wears on top of her body. So, instead of dressing the woman as a living doll, Margiela dresses the woman in the shape of fetishized femininity, thereby showing the artificiality of gender as constructed by fashion. On a base of white elastics, boning retains the shards of silk muslin fabric onto the linen. This concept dates back to Margiela’s student years in Antwerp in the late 1970s, when he took classes with Hiëron Pessers, a master of drape who worked as a “first” assistant in Givenchy’s atelier. Approvingly, Pessers would wear Margiela’s drape studies as a jacket.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art 

Waist 24 “

Excellent condition

Price On Application, please get in contact.

  • Mint - Virtually no wear, usually refers to vintage that has never been worn.

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    Good - Garment has obvious condition from wear, but overall intact. Could use mending and/or cleaning.

    Fair - A piece of vintage that is most likely not wearable, but could serve as a fantastic inspiration piece.

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  • Bust/Chest: Armpit to armpit

    Waist: Smallest part of the waist

    Shoulders: Shoulder seam to shoulder seam

    Sleeve: Shoulder seam to the cuff of the sleeve

    Length: Top of neck to hem of item (top of strap on dresses)

    Inseam: Crotch seam to hem

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