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Maison Martin Margiela
Twenty Years, Twenty questions, Twenty days. Twenty Pairs Of hands: Maison Margiela's Twenty / Twenty Vision
One question was emailed across each working day in June 2008. (Martin is famously anonymous and interview-shy, so all responses are democratically "We" rather than "|").
In addition to their daily email replies, a selection of photocopy visuals were sent by Martin and the team. Of course, no one is revealing which of these 40 hand prints - each representing one of the 40 collections produced by the house in the last 20 years - belongs to the man himself.
Monday, June 2
Question One: What sounds can you hear today? Answer One: Rain. In the mood of sadness, after Monsieur Saint Laurent's demise yesterday.
Tuesday, June 3
Question Two: How do you feel about your debut collection all those years ago, looking back on it now with the benefit of hindsight? Answer Two: Everything was so different back then, there were very few people in the company; we were so inspired and almost naive in a way. Not that we are not inspired any more, as every collection is like starting from scratch, but we have definitely more maturity and less naivety. We always feel a little nostalgic when we look back, but at the same time, there are so many ideas and directions yet to be explored in the collections and projects to come.
Wednesday, June 4
Question Three: What did you all have for breakfast this morning? Answer Three: Coffeeteahotchocolatecroissantpainauchocolatspecialkorangejuiceapplejuicegrappejuicejambreadbaguettekiwibananaapplesaucekrisprollshoney.
Thursday, June 5
Question Four: So, why the fascination with the colour white? Answer Four: It's not a fascination, it's more like a lifestyle. And it's not about white but whites. When we started, everything was so black and about the power look... we wanted to counterbalance that in our own way, painting all our vintage furniture in white, in a matt finishing so it would age faster. Many years later, it has just become our signature, the environment in which we work and the keynote of all the Margiela spaces, offices, showrooms and shops around the world.
Friday, June 6
Question Five: Is there such a thing as being 'badly dressed'? Answer Five: It can come from a length, a colour, a size, a height, it can be the smallest detail that makes you say, 'C'est bien, or, 'Ca va pas du tout.' As soon as you are trying too hard then it looks wrong, and that's when it is 'bad'. An outfit needs not just to fit the body, but also dress a person with everything that comes with it.
Monday, June 9
Question Six: What is your favourite joke?
Answer Six: Life.
Tuesday, June 10
Question Seven: Which well-known songs would Maison Margiela perform at Karaoke? Answer Seven: 'Heartbreaker' by Dionne Warwick, 'Comme un Ouragan' by Stephanie de Monaco, 'Joe le Taxi' by Vanessa Paradis, 'Just the Way You Are' by Billy Joel, I Know it's Over' by The Smiths, 'Call Me’ by Blondie, 'll Triangolo’ by Renato Zero, 'Billie Jean' by Michael Jackson, ‘Did it My Way’ by Frank Sinatra, 'Marlene On the Wall' by Suzanne Vega, 'Vanina' by Dave, 'Lolita' by Alizée, 'Wuthering Heights' by Kate Bush, L'Aigle Noir by Barbara, 'Goodbye to Love' by Kenna, 'L'importante e Finire' by Mina, 'Light My Fire' by The Doors, 'La rockeuse de Diamant' by Catherine Lara, 'Love Me Tender' by Elvis Presley, I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston are some we'd sing.
Wednesday, 11th June, 2008
Question Eight: Is there any particular person you would not wish to see wearing your designs? Answer Eight: Someone who would wear it just to be seen with the four stitches on his back and not because he/she feels as if the clothes are a continuation of his/her mood and personality, regardless of the stitches.
Thursday, June 12
Question Nine: Who is sexy? Answer Nine: Sexual charm comes from an attitude, a walk, an eyelash bat, a smile, a smell, a handshake, a voice, an accent... a sort of aura, and the more natural it is, the greater it is.
Friday, June 13
Question Ten: What's the best idea anyone has had so far today at Maison Martin Margiela? Answer Ten: Buying a new coffee machine and washing the white cotton chair covers in the reception area - two things that are very necessary before the upcoming frantic week working on the shows.
Monday, June 16
Question Eleven: Where would Maison Martin Margiela take me if we went on a date?Answer Eleven: Take me to the moon, let me play amongst the stars, let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars...
Tuesday, June 17
Question Twelve: Why is anonymity important to Martin? Answer Twelve: Anonymity has its luxury as much as its sacrifices. Martin staying in the shadow will make the light be directed on other elements: the garments, the concept, the team. If you want to draw people's attention to something, you have to hide the rest and, more importantly, the one thing that will disturb their concentration. Also, having no contact with the press and clients helps him remain 'untouched' by what could influence his decision-making process and his self-criticism. But it has its down-side, it's also hard for him not to be able to go to public celebrations or other events. He does though, but anonymously. Some might think it was a strategic objective, but it was a purely emotional and personal decision.
Wednesday, June 18
Question Thirteen: Which other designers does Maison Martin Margiela appreciate? Answer Thirteen: The ones who stay true to themselves and to the reasons why they started doing what they do. It's keeping in mind the emotional and physical reasons why you decided to do this job in the first place that makes the difference.
Thursday, June 19
Question Fourteen: When did everyone at Maison Martin Margiela last go out together socially? What was the occasion? Answer Fourteen: Last time was our annual Christmas dinner. And next time will be our women's show. Everyone in the company goes to the show, so it's like going out socially.
Friday, June 20
Question Fifteen: How does it smell there? Answer Fifteen: The flowers in the courtyard are in blossom, so there's a lovely jasmine smell as you walk by or sit down for a break. There are also the S/S09 collections arriving, so there's definitely that peculiar smell of boxes and plastic folders and new fabric. And in one room are the samples of the fragrance tests (the fragrance we are launching in September 2009), so that fills the air a lot too. And of course the unmistakable patchouli smell that is now part of the building.
Monday, June 23
Question Sixteen: What happened to that legendary Margiela fax machine that was used to do all press interviews? Did it break? Answer Sixteen: No, it's still working. But now we have entered the internet era and most of our interviews are done by email. Like this one.
Tuesday, June 24
Question Seventeen: What steps does Maison Martin Margiela take to be eco-friendly? Answer Seventeen: We could consider the process of our artisanal collection as a form of recycling as we use dead stocks or transform used objects or garments to make new ones. Isn't that what recycling is by definition? Although when we started this collection, we didn't think of it as an eco-friendly process. Also, we use recycled paper and envelopes and we sort our rubbish.
Wednesday, June 25
Question Eighteen: What was the shoot you've been working on for the past few days like? Answer Eighteen: Surprise, surprise... let's say it's a gift from an old friend.
Thursday, June 26
Question Nineteen: If Maison Martin Margiela was a dog, which breed would it be? Answer Nineteen: We would have no breed, we would be a crappy mongrel with a stupid name like Roxy or Momo.
Friday, June 27
Question Twenty: How did you fee about answering one question per day throughout the past month?Answer Twenty: Let's just say we are glad it's not a 50 years anniversary...
One question was emailed across each working day in June 2008. (Martin is famously anonymous and interview-shy, so all responses are democratically "We" rather than "|").
In addition to their daily email replies, a selection of photocopy visuals were sent by Martin and the team. Of course, no one is revealing which of these 40 hand prints - each representing one of the 40 collections produced by the house in the last 20 years - belongs to the man himself.
Monday, June 2
Question One: What sounds can you hear today? Answer One: Rain. In the mood of sadness, after Monsieur Saint Laurent's demise yesterday.
Tuesday, June 3
Question Two: How do you feel about your debut collection all those years ago, looking back on it now with the benefit of hindsight? Answer Two: Everything was so different back then, there were very few people in the company; we were so inspired and almost naive in a way. Not that we are not inspired any more, as every collection is like starting from scratch, but we have definitely more maturity and less naivety. We always feel a little nostalgic when we look back, but at the same time, there are so many ideas and directions yet to be explored in the collections and projects to come.
Wednesday, June 4
Question Three: What did you all have for breakfast this morning? Answer Three: Coffeeteahotchocolatecroissantpainauchocolatspecialkorangejuiceapplejuicegrappejuicejambreadbaguettekiwibananaapplesaucekrisprollshoney.
Thursday, June 5
Question Four: So, why the fascination with the colour white? Answer Four: It's not a fascination, it's more like a lifestyle. And it's not about white but whites. When we started, everything was so black and about the power look... we wanted to counterbalance that in our own way, painting all our vintage furniture in white, in a matt finishing so it would age faster. Many years later, it has just become our signature, the environment in which we work and the keynote of all the Margiela spaces, offices, showrooms and shops around the world.
Friday, June 6
Question Five: Is there such a thing as being 'badly dressed'? Answer Five: It can come from a length, a colour, a size, a height, it can be the smallest detail that makes you say, 'C'est bien, or, 'Ca va pas du tout.' As soon as you are trying too hard then it looks wrong, and that's when it is 'bad'. An outfit needs not just to fit the body, but also dress a person with everything that comes with it.
Monday, June 9
Question Six: What is your favourite joke?
Answer Six: Life.
Tuesday, June 10
Question Seven: Which well-known songs would Maison Margiela perform at Karaoke? Answer Seven: 'Heartbreaker' by Dionne Warwick, 'Comme un Ouragan' by Stephanie de Monaco, 'Joe le Taxi' by Vanessa Paradis, 'Just the Way You Are' by Billy Joel, I Know it's Over' by The Smiths, 'Call Me’ by Blondie, 'll Triangolo’ by Renato Zero, 'Billie Jean' by Michael Jackson, ‘Did it My Way’ by Frank Sinatra, 'Marlene On the Wall' by Suzanne Vega, 'Vanina' by Dave, 'Lolita' by Alizée, 'Wuthering Heights' by Kate Bush, L'Aigle Noir by Barbara, 'Goodbye to Love' by Kenna, 'L'importante e Finire' by Mina, 'Light My Fire' by The Doors, 'La rockeuse de Diamant' by Catherine Lara, 'Love Me Tender' by Elvis Presley, I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston are some we'd sing.
Wednesday, 11th June, 2008
Question Eight: Is there any particular person you would not wish to see wearing your designs? Answer Eight: Someone who would wear it just to be seen with the four stitches on his back and not because he/she feels as if the clothes are a continuation of his/her mood and personality, regardless of the stitches.
Thursday, June 12
Question Nine: Who is sexy? Answer Nine: Sexual charm comes from an attitude, a walk, an eyelash bat, a smile, a smell, a handshake, a voice, an accent... a sort of aura, and the more natural it is, the greater it is.
Friday, June 13
Question Ten: What's the best idea anyone has had so far today at Maison Martin Margiela? Answer Ten: Buying a new coffee machine and washing the white cotton chair covers in the reception area - two things that are very necessary before the upcoming frantic week working on the shows.
Monday, June 16
Question Eleven: Where would Maison Martin Margiela take me if we went on a date?Answer Eleven: Take me to the moon, let me play amongst the stars, let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars...
Tuesday, June 17
Question Twelve: Why is anonymity important to Martin? Answer Twelve: Anonymity has its luxury as much as its sacrifices. Martin staying in the shadow will make the light be directed on other elements: the garments, the concept, the team. If you want to draw people's attention to something, you have to hide the rest and, more importantly, the one thing that will disturb their concentration. Also, having no contact with the press and clients helps him remain 'untouched' by what could influence his decision-making process and his self-criticism. But it has its down-side, it's also hard for him not to be able to go to public celebrations or other events. He does though, but anonymously. Some might think it was a strategic objective, but it was a purely emotional and personal decision.
Wednesday, June 18
Question Thirteen: Which other designers does Maison Martin Margiela appreciate? Answer Thirteen: The ones who stay true to themselves and to the reasons why they started doing what they do. It's keeping in mind the emotional and physical reasons why you decided to do this job in the first place that makes the difference.
Thursday, June 19
Question Fourteen: When did everyone at Maison Martin Margiela last go out together socially? What was the occasion? Answer Fourteen: Last time was our annual Christmas dinner. And next time will be our women's show. Everyone in the company goes to the show, so it's like going out socially.
Friday, June 20
Question Fifteen: How does it smell there? Answer Fifteen: The flowers in the courtyard are in blossom, so there's a lovely jasmine smell as you walk by or sit down for a break. There are also the S/S09 collections arriving, so there's definitely that peculiar smell of boxes and plastic folders and new fabric. And in one room are the samples of the fragrance tests (the fragrance we are launching in September 2009), so that fills the air a lot too. And of course the unmistakable patchouli smell that is now part of the building.
Monday, June 23
Question Sixteen: What happened to that legendary Margiela fax machine that was used to do all press interviews? Did it break? Answer Sixteen: No, it's still working. But now we have entered the internet era and most of our interviews are done by email. Like this one.
Tuesday, June 24
Question Seventeen: What steps does Maison Martin Margiela take to be eco-friendly? Answer Seventeen: We could consider the process of our artisanal collection as a form of recycling as we use dead stocks or transform used objects or garments to make new ones. Isn't that what recycling is by definition? Although when we started this collection, we didn't think of it as an eco-friendly process. Also, we use recycled paper and envelopes and we sort our rubbish.
Wednesday, June 25
Question Eighteen: What was the shoot you've been working on for the past few days like? Answer Eighteen: Surprise, surprise... let's say it's a gift from an old friend.
Thursday, June 26
Question Nineteen: If Maison Martin Margiela was a dog, which breed would it be? Answer Nineteen: We would have no breed, we would be a crappy mongrel with a stupid name like Roxy or Momo.
Friday, June 27
Question Twenty: How did you fee about answering one question per day throughout the past month?Answer Twenty: Let's just say we are glad it's not a 50 years anniversary...