Ensemble

Martin Margiela|Maison Margiela

fall/winter 1989–90 · (a) leather, metal, (b) wool, (c) leather, metal · Costume Institute

This leather jacket made from used vintage leather was shown as part of an outfit in the fall/winter 1989–90 collection by Maison Martin Margiela, known for its use of discarded fabrics and repurposing of vintage garments. This was the second collection by the French label under the direction of Belgian designer Martin Margiela. The narrow, elongated silhouette with Victorian shoulders was a huge shift from the typical broad-shouldered 1980s silhouette and prefigured the new slim and deconstructed silhouette for the final decade of the twentieth century. It also referenced the fin de siècle silhouette of a century earlier, thus connecting different fashionable eras through construction and pattern. Margiela kept on redesigning shoulders over the course of his career, ending with wide and conical shapes. The shoulder was an important structural element for his designs, rather than the waist or bust.

Artist

Martin Margiela|Maison Margiela

Date

fall/winter 1989–90

Medium

(a) leather, metal, (b) wool, (c) leather, metal

Culture

French

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 2018