Steve Barth
Maison Margiela, the fashion house founded by Martin Margiela, unveiled its new headquarters in the 16th arrondissement of Paris on Sunday night. The move triples the size of the company’s headquarters to 7,000 square meters, and is part of annual capital investments running at around €20 million. The building is the former headquarters of Pernod Ricard, and is located across the square from Baccarat, France’s classiest glassmaker. To celebrate the move, the basement atelier was turned into an art installation with movie seats, video show projections, and mannequins wearing the current collection.
John Galliano, the current creative director of Maison Margiela, celebrated the move with his latest collection – a poshly deconstructed homage to the Queen of Punk, Jordan, who passed away last year. The collection featured spiky hair, black graphic facial designs, fishnet stockings, knickers worn like minis, wacky hats, inside out trenches, and gargantuan A-line coats in blown up plaids. Galliano also showed some great macs and winter coats, courtesy of a linkup with Pendleton.
The move to the new headquarters has helped propel future growth for the fashion house. Business has been booming at Margiela, as the brand builds its retail network, upgrades existing stores and moves its price point higher. In the past three years, sales have tripled and are now close to €400 million.
Renzo Rosso, the Italian fashion billionaire whose empire encompasses Diesel and stellar indie fashion brands like Margiela, Marni, Jil Sander and Viktor & Rolf, was in an ebullient mood before the show. He expressed his regret that the old schoolhouse in the 11th arrondissement could not be purchased, and celebrated the new headquarters with a glass of Laurent Perrier champagne.
The evening ended with a post-show cocktail on the rooftop garden, with a view of the Eiffel Tower. The success of the fashion house is a testament to the creativity of John Galliano and the business acumen of the Italian managers, who have been able to capture the essence of Margiela’s conceptual DNA and turn it into a commercial success.
Maison Margiela’s new headquarters in the 16th arrondissement of Paris is a grand Hausmannian splendour, and a fitting celebration of the fashion house’s success. The move triples the size of the company’s headquarters to 7,000 square meters, and is part of annual capital investments running at around €20 million. The building is the former headquarters of Pernod Ricard, and is located across the square from Baccarat, France’s classiest glassmaker.
John Galliano, the current creative director of Maison Margiela, celebrated the move with his latest collection – a poshly deconstructed homage to the Queen of Punk, Jordan, who passed away last year. The collection featured spiky hair, black graphic facial designs, fishnet stockings, knickers worn like minis, wacky hats, inside out trenches, and gargantuan A-line coats in blown up plaids. Galliano also showed some great macs and winter coats, courtesy of a linkup with Pendleton.
Business has been booming at Margiela, as the brand builds its retail network, upgrades existing stores and moves its price point higher. In the past three years, sales have tripled and are now close to €400 million. Renzo Rosso, the Italian fashion billionaire whose empire encompasses Diesel and stellar indie fashion brands like Margiela, Marni, Jil Sander and Viktor & Rolf, was in an ebullient mood before the show. He expressed his regret that the old schoolhouse in the 11th arrondissement could not be purchased, and celebrated the new headquarters with a glass of Laurent Perrier champagne.
To celebrate the move, the basement atelier was turned into an art installation with movie seats, video show projections, and mannequins wearing the current collection. The evening ended with a post-show cocktail on the rooftop garden, with a view of the Eiffel Tower. The success of the fashion house is a testament to the creativity of John Galliano and the business acumen of the Italian managers, who have been able to capture the essence of Margiela’s conceptual DNA and turn it into a commercial success. The new headquarters of Maison Margiela is a fitting celebration of their success.
