MM6 Maison Margiela makes clothes for whoever you are

Taken from the autumn 25 issue of THE FACE. Get your copy here.

Designers are not deities. But in today’s fashion landscape, creative directors are often treated as such: a cult figure to consumers. MM6 Maison Margiela stands defiantly apart.

Anonymity is its philosophy: let the clothes speak for themselves. At the very core of the Margiela universe, which began with Martin Margiela’s namesake label in 1988, is an ethos that is quiet, conceptual and anti-authorial. Lest we forget, before leaving fashion in 2008 to become an artist, Margiela, now 68, was barely interviewed or photographed.

Established in 1997 as Line 6, MM6 Maison Margiela started as a conceptual womenswear collection at a more accessible price point than the main Maison Margiela line. It rebranded in 2012 and has since evolved into a fully realised contemporary label. Referential yet irreverent, it is defined by its duality: past and present, reference and recreation, masculinity and femininity.

The brand’s AW25 menswear collection – its first – marked a new chapter. We connected with one of the MM6 Maison Margiela design team to unpack its guiding philosophies, and discuss finding human connection through anonymity.

MM6 is described as an ​“all-gender wardrobe”. What does that mean in practice?

Our womenswear used to be very masculine before we started to incorporate menswear [for AW22]. Even before then, when we were designing only womenswear, we thought it would be bought and worn by both women and men. We want to push these boundaries as a brand.

The collection you showed at Pitti Uomo in January was the first time you’d presented something fully focused on menswear. Did a menswear collection feel contradictory to the ​“all-gender” ethos?

We didn’t think so. We have always been blurring the lines between womenswear and menswear, and we just wanted to see how the industry would react to it. For us, the Pitti Uomo show was amazing to study ourselves even further. We really enjoyed the process.

Miles Davis inspired some of the looks for the AW25 collection, is that correct?

Yes, exactly. Music is something that everybody understands but translates differently. Jazz and Miles Davis, who was such a great style icon, embody this idea of sensibility and sexuality. This idea of a dark jazz club and that being the ​“punk” of the ​’50s and ​’60s; all these connotations that never wear off. They are always here and they get transformed. There is something dandy about it as well. To our viewers, that says: ​“Come as you are and we can help you. We have clothing for you, whoever you are.” We want to emphasise the wearer’s attitude and taste rather than only bringing our own.

How do you strike a balance between honouring Martin Margiela’s legacy and creating something contemporary with the brand?

For us, this [point] is really important. It’s such an honour, and also such a big pressure to do it right and do it justice. It’s very rare that we do one-to-one replica copies of anything. I think we refer to things and concepts, but most of it is about the ethos and the way we work – that we work as a team. We try to have fun in the process and have the idea that this is a special moment of creating something together.

Speaking of Martin’s ethos, can you explain the decision to keep the design team anonymous?

We work as any other fashion company. There’s a creative director and the head of womenswear, head of menswear. It’s a typical workplace. [But] we just build on the idea that it’s not a singular vision – it’s our vision that we build together. It’s a lovely thing that people don’t focus on me, what I like or dislike. Because it’s not about me. It’s about the clothing. We love the fact that you can tell stories with just the clothes. It’s something quite precious.

MM6 Maison Margiela has collaborated with The North Face, Salomon and, most recently, Dr. Martens. How do these collaborations play into the long-term vision?

Collaborations are something that Martin never really did. [But] we are not a museum. MM6 Maison Margiela is a living and breathing brand; we need to live with our times. These collaborations should always be something that neither of us could be doing without the other. That’s the key. Being able to fuse two identities together is super special.

How do you hope people feel when they’re wearing MM6 Maison Margiela?

We try to always say that our clothing is open-ended – it needs a person to become alive. Maybe the easiest way to put it is what we don’t want clothing to do: MM6 Maison Margiela should never overpower the personality of the wearer.

We hope the clothes provide a different dimension. Some days you need a boost of confidence, some days you need comfort, some days you want to be a little bit more provocative. If the clothes can help you express yourself each day, that’s a big accomplishment. The clothes should always underline the wearer’s personality.

How do you reflect now on the Pitti Uomo success?

It was a very exciting season for us. Something we started doing during Pitti, and the consecutive show [at Milan Fashion Week] as well, was having our models look into the eyes of the audience. We slowed the pace down, and models could walk however they wished. When the audience has eye contact with the models, you are immediately drawn to the same world – and suddenly you are on that catwalk as well. Everything is elevated, and that’s what we want to do in the next show. We are actually trying to have this big moment with all the audience.

In light of that, what can you tell us about the next show, for SS26?

We are going to be in the centre of Milan, a space that everybody knows very well. We want to see how people react to seeing something extraordinary in a place that you might use every day. And we want to have some happy colours, too… I don’t want to go into too much detail.

And after that?

I don’t know if we can mention this yet, but…in Milan, along with the next show, there will also be our new flagship opening. I love that we need to always react and be with the people. We want our consumers to have these face-to-face moments through human connection.