Finally: Margiela 2
If Margiela is so good, where's Margiela 2? Right here, actually. Line 2, to be specific.
Maison Margiela 2 is not actually a sequel to Maison Margiela, though it kinda sounds like one. Margiela Line 2 is actually a brand-new sub-label, playing on the enigmatic fashion house's signature numerical system.
Most Margiela lines lean into fashion, fragrance, footwear, or some other clearly delineated venture — this is where we get the "6" in the superlative MM6 ready-to-wear line, for instance. (My personal favorite is the Margiela egg from line 13)
Margiela 2 is more difficult to define.
This is ostensibly an art project with Margiela trappings, a borderless endeavor that could encompass "art installations to talks or campaigns," according to its release.
As such, Margiela 2 is perhaps the most fluid of the maison's already quite broad projects.
Its first manifestation is as an immersive exhibit at the Maison Margiela flagship store in Seoul's Hannam neighborhood created by Heemin Chung, an artist as multifaceted as the maison, and local musican-cum-performance-artist Joyul. This is titled Elsewhere, Rhema, Open Torso, and is free from Margiela notations though it is part of Margiela Line 2.
In a hint at the line's future, the release notes that this endeavor operates under the number 2 to indicate "dual collaboration," though future Margiela Line 2 projects may only manifest a "symbolic relationship" with the number.
This the first new use for a Margiela number series in recent memory, as the majority of the other numbers on the brand's tag were established by house founder Martin Margiela. But there are still several unclaimed digits, including five, seven, and nine.
Who's to say that, as we approach Margiela's 40th anniversary in 2028, that a few more won't be filled in due time?
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