'Margiela Leaves House'

An amicable departure or irreparable fashion feud?

There is still no information as to why the mysterious Martin Margiela announced his resignation from his own fashion house less than two weeks ago.

The Belgian designer – who refuses to show his face to the media (by fax only) and always keeps a low profile – has left the fashion house with no confirmed ‘heir’ to take his place as creative director of the avant-garde label.

Possible successors include designers Raf Simons and Haider Ackermann. None have accepted as of yet.

The fashion house’s chief executive officer, Giovanni Pungetti, said that the company is still leaving an open window for Margiela to return should he change his mind in the coming months. This seems unlikely if Margiela has been weaning himself from the company for some time, limiting himself only to special projects like the last couture show in Paris.

My question is whether the Maison Martin Margiela house will be able to recreate innovative and extraordinary pieces like those in the last Artisanal Collection (example below): a woman’s jacket hand-strung together with white leather sandals and fastened with a buckle in the center; an asymmetric silk crepe dress decorated with old, colorful vinyl records; or a leather vest decorated with hundreds of plastic garment tag fasteners.

How could the Maison Martin Margiela ever replace its namesake founder?

It’s like having Coco Chanel leave Chanel, or Valentino Garavani leave Valentino. Where would the Armani empire be without Giorgio Armani? Retiring is one thing, but resigning?

So far, business has been steady at the Paris-based house – although 2010 will be a make or break it year after the label expects to reach ‘near breakeven’ this year, according to Pungetti. The label is currently under the control of the Diesel brand, with Renzo Rosso as majority stakeholder.

Sources say that Margiela might divert his attention to other creative pursuits like painting, leaving the world of design in exchange for the art world.

Only time will tell what future lies in store for both Margiela and the Maison Martin Margiela. But one thing is for sure: Neither the designer or fashion house can stay mum forever.

-S. Gonzalez

*Photos courtesy of media.photobucket.com; papermag.com; todayandtomorrow.net