The ‘Martin Margiela’ exhibition opens at Lafayette Anticipations
Few designers have become as legendary as Martin Margiela. Few have also succeeded in elevating fashion to the level of pure artistic expression – so much so that the designer known for his anonymity is now evolving among the greats of contemporary art. A new exhibition at Lafayette Anticipations (the designer’s first monographic exhibition) now allows Martin Margiela to establish his influence as an artist. Inaugurated during the FIAC, ‘Martin Margiela’ takes over all the spaces of the Foundation. Of the twenty or so original works presented, the majority were produced in the Lafayette Foundation workshops. Curator Rebecca Lamarche-Vadel illustrates the artist’s unique approach to transformation in order to celebrate ‘the beauty of the vulnerable’ and the body in its most unexpected forms. An approach best embodied by the ‘Vanitas’ and ‘Red Nails’ installations, as well as the artist’s ‘Torso’ which could also be seen in the Grand Palais Éphémère for FIAC. The exhibition opening brought together some of the biggest names in culture, from Jean Paul Gaultier to Jean-Charles de Castelbajac to creative director Natacha Ramsay-Levi, as well as artists Katharina Grosse, Jean-Marie Appriou, Adrien Vescovi or Lili Reynaud Dewar, the winner of the 2021 Marcel Duchamp Prize. The exhibition runs at Lafayette Anticipations until January 2, 2022.
Photos : Michael Huard
