I accompanied Carolina (above) to her next show, Maison Martin Margiela, near place du Trocadéro in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. Friday was my first occasion to spend any significant time with the model since her Calvin Klein Collection exclusive during New York Fashion Week. Carolina has an interesting biography, which on paper her Swedish citizenship does not even begin to describe. Her lineage also includes both Polish and Norwegian roots. Yet, despite this, she grew up with her family in Sweden. I learned all this during our brisk journey from Dior to Margiela.
Upon arrival at Théâtre National de Chaillot, Carolina was whisked away by agents of the house, each conspicuously dressed in a white lab coat (above). Most houses including Dior wear black (below), but Maison Margiela wears white!
The runway was a labyrinth of white benches arranged in blocks at right angles to one another. At showtime, I caught up with some fashion friends holding down the front row including Coco Rocha, Anna Dello Russo and Iggy Azalea. I was especially happy to have finally met the latter, who is represented by Wilhelmina Artist Management. In her front row seat at Margiela, she was not surprisingly surrounded by a scrum of photographers. For the occasion, Iggy was of course wearing Margiela and was much taller than I expected. Celebrity height and model height are rarely ever even in the same scale of measurement. Apparently the leggy Australian is 5’10 — work!
The runway show featured a notable remix off the new Feast / Beast double album by the English DJ called Clark. Full marks to Maison Margiela for referencing his excellent work.
The collection was brilliant. The Margiela shoe (above) in particular was hugely impressive and featured a floating heel. As much as I am steadfastly faithful to my Vans “Spicoli Specials,” a part of me rues not having a personal style (or for that matter foot size) to incorporate such an expressive shoe. Even if I might never be that guy, that does not also mean I cannot admire its design.
Backstage at Maison Martin Margiela:
