Unravelling the Mystery of Martin Margiela: Unseen Yet Unforgotten

By Ashantéa Austin

People constantly ask me why Martin Margiela is my favorite designer…to which I simply reply: how could he not be?

If he isn’t yours, then he is likely your favorite designer’s favorite designer. Despite being shrouded in enigmatic mystery, Martin is undeniably one of the most influential creatives of the 20th century. In this article I review Martin’s life from the beginning, his closest collaborators, fashion legacy, and accolades as an artist.

Many have tried to write about the illusive icon, and often get even the most basic details about Martin wrong. Large publications have written that he was born in 1959 (wrong) founded MMM on his own (wrong) and that he graduated from the Royal Academy of Art in 1979 (you guessed it, also wrong). Let’s uncover the truth together.

Lafayette Anticipations book signed by Martin Margiela

This information has all been carefully collected by me from Martin’s interviews, family members, peers, and previous employees over a 4 year period! So enjoy this comprehensive timeline on the man, the myth, the mystery: Martin Margiela.

MY SUBTOPICS AS DISCUSSED:
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS(1957-1977)
FORMATIVE FASHION SCHOOL (1977-1980)
- POST GRAD BLUES (1980-1983)
A RARE INTERVIEW (1983)
MARTIN MARGIELA’S MENTOR (1984-1987)
THE BIRTH OF MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA (1988)
- THE “ANTI LABEL”
THE FIRST TABI BOOT & COLLECTION(1989)
OPPOSITES ATTRACT: MARTIN FOR HERMÈS (1997-2003)
THE BEGINNING OF THE END (2003-2008)
A LASTING LEGACY (2009-)
MARTIN’S NEW LEASE ON LIFE
ALL WORKES SITED & SOURCED

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS(1957-1977)

Martin Margiela was born in Belgium on April 9, 1957, to a Polish father, Simon Margiela, and a Belgian mother, Lea Bouchet. He grew up in Genk, a town located in the Belgian province of Limburg near Hasselt. The city isn’t known for much more than its coal mining industry. It was here that Martin lived for his entire childhood. Growing up alongside his brother, Luc Margiela.

The Margielas lived modestly, Martin’s father was a hairdresser. And his mother owned a local shop that sold health foods, medicinal herbs, and other natural products. Unlike many contemporary designers, Martin was not raised amidst the glamour of fashion—except for the case of his grandmother, who was a dressmaker. She was, in Martin's words, “the most important person in my life,” and he credited her with sparking his early interest in fashion. She would allow him to watch and assist as she worked on garments. This upbringing instilled a sense of practicality and love for hands-on craftsmanship in Martin. A sensibility that would carry into all of this work.

Still taken from Reiner Holzemer’s film Martin Margiela: In His Own Words (2019)

Martin’s fascination with clothing began early. By the age of seven, he already knew becoming a fashion designer was his future. During a rare 1983 interview with Sphere, Margiela recalls:
“I was watching the TV news, and there was an item about Paco Rabanne and André Courrèges. As soon as I saw their designs, I thought, 'how wonderful, people are doing the sort of thing I want to do.'” He remembered adults often asking him what he wanted to be when he grew up: “Even as a shy child, I would say, ‘a fashion designer in Paris.’ They would make strange faces, and my parents were very embarrassed. They said, ‘please stop saying this,’ and I obeyed. But in my heart, I knew it was the truth.”

Despite such adverse reactions, Martin was never deterred from this dream. As a teenager, he continued to experiment with fashion and second-hand clothes. A childhood friend, who would later become a key figure in Margiela’s career, was Inge Grognard. At just 14, she would accompany Martin and his cousin on flea market excursions.

“We loved to go to flea markets because we had no money to spend on clothes,” says Grognard. “We both liked things that looked like they have had a life before.” Grognard met Martin through his cousin whom she had attended school with “We had the same interest in fashion and bonded immediately. We always talked about clothes and dressing up.”

Artisinal garments using recycled materials.

This early bond played a pivotal role in both Margiela and Grognard’s careers. Inge’s first ever makeup job was for one of Martin’s school projects. She would eventually do the makeup and hair at all of the Maison Margiela runway shows under Martin (more on that later).

Inge Grognard makeup test photographed by Ronald Stoops (1990)

In his youth, Martin took a foundation course at the Sint-Lukas Kunsthumaniora art school in Hasselt, where he developed a strong(er) interest in art history, particularly Baroque painters, Picasso, and Andy Warhol. He already loved to draw, but the school’s rigorous training taught him to observe first, and then how to master perspective, drawing techniques, drapery, live models, and still life. He described this education as “very intense, almost military training,” which would serve him well later in life.

FORMATIVE FASHION SCHOOL (1977-1980)

After finishing art school, Margiela entered the fashion department at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. This prestigious Academy is known for