With absolutely no footage of Belgian fashion designer Martin Margiela, New York filmmaker Alison Chernick has somehow managed to make a documentary on him.Ironically, there was no mention of John Galliano too.
As speculated, it is most likely that the film was documented before the official creative director’s appointment of fashion house Maison Martin Margiela. Like the surprising announcement in 2009, Margiela simply “has left the business. No replacement creative director will be appointed. Maison Martin Margiela will continue trading but the company declined to comment on the reasons for Margiela’s exit.”
The fashion industry is no stranger to the mysteries surrounding the anonymous designer. Margiela was an (anti-fashion) artist who only allowed his works to speak for themselves. His works re-iterated his view that there is no right and wrong in fashion. As mentioned in the trailer, fashion critic Suzy Menkes said, “By not showing his identity, I think that Martin Margiela became more exciting,”.
With Martin Margiels’s permission, distinguished names from the industry such as designers Jean Paul Gaultier and Dior‘s Raf Simons and retail entrepreneur Geert Bruloot were featured. Through such interviews, the Yoox Group production explained the reason for the couturier’s physical absence. After much dissection, it was all about the clothes, fashion and more clothes, be it deconstructed, upcycled, combined or inside-out.
The Artist Is Absent will be screened at the Tribeca Film Festival and available to watch on Yoox.com, Shoescribe.com, and TheCorner.com later from April 27.
