Zendaya at the Met Gala 2024, wearing custom Maison Margiela Artisanal by John Galliano, and hat by Stephen Jones.
The fruit, flowers, insects and birds on the gown fit the dress code of the night, 'The Garden of Time', inspired by J.G. Ballard's 1962 short story (explained here by the BBC).
The gown also references John Galliano’s Spring 1999 couture collection for Dior, in particular the gown below, decorated with grapes.
Maison Margiela said:
'A sage lamé bias-cut ‘siren dress’ overlaid with iridescent electric blue organza with ‘retrograding’ in undulating bands of hand-painted metallic crin, swathed in an aluminium material and iridescent organza drape and bow, with a corsage hand-embroidered in a bacchanal of hand-painted impasto in the grammar of the electric blues and emerald greens of scarab amulets, with formations of birds, flowers, vines, grapes and nuts, worn over a boudoir-coloured duchess satin corset. A silver metal-wire ‘reverse swatching’ hat and a black hand-painted voile crafted in the memory of plume and enveloped in matching coloured stockings by Stephen Jones for Maison Margiela, and Eau de Nil velour and faux lizard Tabi interlaced ankle-strap pumps by Christian Louboutin for Maison Margiela.
Created for Zendaya by John Galliano for Maison Margiela, the haute couture silhouette was inspired by the 1930s mythological works of the photographer Madame Yevonde and imbued with the memory of the orgiastic sceneries of the bacchanals of Ancient Greece. In a dance between painterly cutting and draping techniques – unique to each layer of the construction – and the superposition of fabric textures such as tin foil with transparent iridescent organza overlay, the composition conjures the staccato brushstrokes of Giovanni Boldini. The bias-cut ‘siren dress’ is a key expression in the creative practice of John Galliano, which first appeared at Maison Margiela in the Spring-Summer 2020 Artisanal Collection. Infused with a certain ‘snobisme’, the look is given the epithet of ‘86 and Lexington’, a nod to the subway station near The Met.
The dress was crafted with ‘retrograding’, a technique through which variations of thread-work, appliqué or encrustation degrade from the bottom to the top of a garment like the linear base drawing of a painting that hasn’t yet been finished. The ‘reverse swatching’ technique employed in the hat exchanges the fabrics traditionally used for certain parts of dressmaking with materials of a contrasting value.' X
「The bourgeois gesture signals a shared social heritage. Characteristic of timeless values formed by our mutual inheritance, it triggers an eternal spark for rebellion. For the Maison Margiela Spring-Summer 2020 Artisanal collection, creative director John Galliano identifies the nature of the bourgeois gesture and investigates the impact of heritage codes in the age of cyber-industrial revolution. Discover more about the creative process behind the SS20 Artisanal Co-Ed collection through the words of John Galliano」
Maison Margiela
Taking its roots in John Galliano's Artisanal collection, the new Spring/Summer 2020 season channels decadence into a minimalist vision.
Behind The Blinds Magazine, Issue 8, Spring Summer 2020, Editorial "Portraits of Him". All Maison Margiela Artisanal by John Galliano, Fall 2019 collection.
Photographer Szilveszter Makó, Model Finn Buchanan, styled by Declan Chan
CR Fashion Book, January 2020, Editorial "A Paris Promenade for Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2020". All Maison Margiela Artisanal by John Galliano, Look 30 from Spring 2020 collection.
Photographer Gadir Rajab, Model Yorgelis Marte, styled by Marie Cheiakh
V Magazine N°125 Summer 2020, Editorial „Unreal Couture“. Dress, headpiece and gloves, Maison Margiela Artisanal by John Galliano, Spring 2020 collection.
Photographer Sølve Sundsbø, Model Primrose Archer, styled by Gro Curtis
AnOther Man Magazine Spring Summer 2020, Editorial "Auto Portrait". All (except belt) Maison Margiela Artisanal by John Galliano, Spring 2020 collection.
Photographer Willy Vanderperre, Model Jacob Lepp, styled by Olivier Rizzo
POP Magazine N°42 Spring/Summer 2020, Editorial "The Couture: Atelier Fun Defines a Moment”. Total look Maison Margiela Artisanal by John Galliano, Spring 2020 collection.
Photographer Ben Kelway, Model Daira Silva, styled by Tom Guinness
MAISON MARGIELA 'Artisanal' Exhibition
A museum-like space that depicts the creation of a house
“MAISON MARGIELA” will hold an exhibition by John Galliano in the spring/summer 2019 “Artisanal” Co-ed collection at MAISON MARGIELA TOKYO from November 23 (Sat) to December 11 (Wed).
In “MAISON MARGIELA”, in the haute couture called “artisanal”, the idea and technology of creative director John Galliano are filtered through a pyramid-type process that filters all lines including women's and men's ready-to-wear. Create unique values.
Its structure reminds us that Parfan is diluted into Eau De Parfan and Eau De Toilette.
In this exhibition, the concept of “decadance” proposed by John Galliano in the Spring-Summer 2019 “Artisanal” Co-ed collection is further evolved in the Fall-Winter 2019 “Defille” Co-ed collection. Draw a scene of creation that will penetrate into the “Avant-Première” collection.
At the venue, MAISON MARGIELA TOKYO, a museum-like space that combines exhibition space and shop space appears.
In addition to exhibiting the main runway pieces of the Spring / Summer 2019 Artisanal collection, there will also be a screening room that broadcasts the show, and from the Fall / Winter 2019 Defille Co-ed collection to the Spring / Summer 2020 Avan Premiere Collection items and icon pieces such as “Glam Slam” bags and “Tabi” shoes will also be on sale.
The creativity that spreads like a perfume.
The story of the Maison, which does not stop attracting people, is revealed.
MAISON MARGIELA ‘Artisanal’ Exhibition
DATE: November 23 to December 11
TIME: 12:00pm~8:00pm
PLACE: MAISON MARGIELA TOKYO
ADDRESS: 2-8-13, Ebisu South, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
ADMISSION FREE