As seen in yesterday's post, one of the inspirations for Raf Simon's A/W 18 collection for Calvin Klein, showcased during New York Fashion Week, was Andy Warhol's 1966 "Silver Clouds" installation.
The arty ghost of Warhol also hovered in MM6 Maison Margiela's presentation that took place during London Fashion Week.
For the occasion the house transformed the Mayfair pub The Running Horse, wrapping the entire space - fireplaces included - in silver foil.
The collection, designed by an in-house team, mainly revolved around one shade - metallic silver - though there were some occasional glimpses of black and white.
The most interesting pieces included in the collection were the raincoats, leather coats and cropped shearling jackets, with one puffer jacket looking very similar to the pillow-shaped "clouds" Warhol created in collaboration with engineer Billy Klüver.
Silver coated denim pants were instead a bit too stiff, while coated turtlenecks and slipdresses added an element of softness.
Apart from the outerwear, the most desirable pieces were probably the accessories that comprised long leather gloves and classic granny's head scarves that evoked the Queen of England's most royal accessory (reinterpreted in a glam key), but there were also leather tabi socks worn with plastic flip flops, a motorcycle helmet used as a bag and boots and bags covered in disco ball-like mirrors.
Disco balls proved to be another strong inspiration as they were printed on tops and dresses and their surfaces inspired a super reflective trouser suit.
Though evoking more modern artworks such as the distorted disco balls of "Quelle Fête II" by Dutch design collective in Rotganzen, the mirror ball graphics went well with Warhol's artwork, after all, "Silver Clouds" was a disco-related installation aimed at making people think and ponder about the status of contemporary art.
At the same time the idea wasn't new as Margiela already produced a deconstructed disco ball top for the house's Artisanal S/S 2008 collection and Margiela's S/S 2009 collection included disco ball sandals and leggings (besides, the tinsel trim used to decorate the hood of a parka was also a reference to the tinsel jackets from the house's A/W 2007 Artisanal collection...).
As for the idea of wrapping all up in silver foil, it was reminiscent of the house's interior design installations and displays during Milan Design Week.
Yet there was something else going on here: Warhol's installation had (and still has - remember how it was also used to create the atmosphere for Mary Katrantzou's A/W 20016 runway?) the power of putting a smile on people's faces.
This Margiela collection, instead, seemed to hide behing the perfectly quilted astronaut coat not the exuberance of future space travels or the optimism of Space Age fashion, but the need to wear something highly protective against an invisible menace. The fractured surfaces of silver coated ribbed military jumpers and gloves revealed indeed a deep black shade underneath, almost a black hole or a void. Maybe this was a hint at a dark future or maybe the team imagined this collection as ideal not for the disco, but in the event of a nuclear fallout.
In a way the fact that Warhol's metallised pillows resurfaced during the latest fashion shows could also be interpreted as a reflection on the state of fashion: Warhol made a lot of money producing cheap multiples, while in the last few years fashion houses and brands have been making money recycling and remixing ideas.
There is a further Warhol connection in this collection dedicated to all fashionistas: a limited shirt will feature prints of Polaroid images (a format Warhol loved) of the collection taken before the London presentation.
As an alternative, if you prefer the silver shades but you can't afford designer clothes at the moment, well, grab an emergency blanket and fashion your exclusive protective design from it. Guess Warhol would have approved.
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