Over the last decade, design has succumbed to the endless cycle of overconsumption that has plagued the art world
, In which the narratives that are supposed to make audiences feel, get lost in translation within the internet. Recently John Galliano’s work for Maison Margiela’s 2024 artisanal collection has abrupted the pattern of meaningless stunts for the sake of dramatics. Despite Galliano’s shameful history of antisemitic comments, he remains one of the greats and has reminded the world as to why that is so.
The show was held under the Point Alexander in Paris, France, where bodies of porcelain skin and disproportionate waists sensually trudged through the runway wearing distorted pieces of formal wear. The setting of an old tattered nightclub where the beautifully absurd can be even more excessive, has made the show more of a one time immersive experience for those attending and those watching digitally.
The question of intentional Irony comes to fruition when considering the high contrast between the overall theme of the show and those attending.
The last line of the show notes being “Would you like to take a walk with me, offline” and then having immediately gone viral on the internet could merely be commentary, or an attempt at subtle Galliano revival, but the thought of the collection being so forwardly uncommercial and still having been so widely received is no coincidence.
BY, ADRIAN VERA, CULTURE EDITOR