“Anybody can take a sheet and tear it up, but it doesn’t necessarily make a great garment,” says Vogue editor Suzy Menkes in one of The Artist is Absent’s opening scenes. “[Margiela] had a real way of doing things which made the clothes unique.”
We couldn’t have said it any better ourselves. Since graduating from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp in 1979 and debuting his first collection in 1989, Martin Margiela has gone on to establish himself as the rebel of the fashion world, showcasing designs that comment on the fashion system while deconstructing the way a garment should be made. The best part of the Margiela legacy? The Belgian designer has consistently had an influential impact in the fashion world, all while remaining under a cloak—or rather, a Margiela head-encasing mask—of anonymity.
Director Alison Chernick’s new documentary The Artist is Absent aims to get to the bottom of the man behind the line. Since premiering at Tribeca Film Festival this past weekend, the short film has stirred the fashion world pot and re-opened the curiosity of Margiela’s legacy.
But how does one make a film with almost no footage of the designer himself? “I was attracted to the challenge that there is no footage of [Margiela],” says Chernick. “As a filmmaker, how do you work around that obstacle and make a documentary portrait without footage of the subject himself? This intrigued me.”
What The Artist is Absent lacks in footage of Margiela himself, the film more than makes up for with archival behind-the-scenes and runway clips. Watching Chernick’s unassumingly curated selection of footage makes one feel as though they’re sitting front row during one of Margiela’s ‘90s runway shows—rogue tactics, deconstructed silhouettes, and all. Grainy archival footage from the runway shows recalls early House of Style episodes, much to the point where one expects a Cindy Crawford voiceover to suddenly burst through the theater speakers.
‘90s references aside, the film boasts a knowledgeable lineup of commentators who know and question the enigma that is Margiela. Everyone from Margiela’s former employer Jean Paul Gaultier to fashion historian Olivier Saillard drops a line. Fellow Royal Academy of Fine Arts classmate Raf Simons even remarks, “Martin said what he needed to say and I think it’s admirable when a person knows they said what they needed to.”
While Margiela chooses to remain anonymous, his legacy and mystery continue to live on, even without the glitzy front page coverage and magazine profiles.
“In Martins case, the media attention wasn't something that was validating for him. The lack of desire to be in the spotlight ultimately was constructive and by default created an allure, a mystery that fit into the poetic tension that he creates through his clothes,” says Chernick. “He's an original thinker, led by example, and inspired many, and for that he is revered.”
The Artist is Absent screens during Tribeca Film Festival this week and premieres on yoox.com on April 27
Check out the traile
We couldn’t have said it any better ourselves. Since graduating from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp in 1979 and debuting his first collection in 1989, Martin Margiela has gone on to establish himself as the rebel of the fashion world, showcasing designs that comment on the fashion system while deconstructing the way a garment should be made. The best part of the Margiela legacy? The Belgian designer has consistently had an influential impact in the fashion world, all while remaining under a cloak—or rather, a Margiela head-encasing mask—of anonymity.
Director Alison Chernick’s new documentary The Artist is Absent aims to get to the bottom of the man behind the line. Since premiering at Tribeca Film Festival this past weekend, the short film has stirred the fashion world pot and re-opened the curiosity of Margiela’s legacy.
But how does one make a film with almost no footage of the designer himself? “I was attracted to the challenge that there is no footage of [Margiela],” says Chernick. “As a filmmaker, how do you work around that obstacle and make a documentary portrait without footage of the subject himself? This intrigued me.”
What The Artist is Absent lacks in footage of Margiela himself, the film more than makes up for with archival behind-the-scenes and runway clips. Watching Chernick’s unassumingly curated selection of footage makes one feel as though they’re sitting front row during one of Margiela’s ‘90s runway shows—rogue tactics, deconstructed silhouettes, and all. Grainy archival footage from the runway shows recalls early House of Style episodes, much to the point where one expects a Cindy Crawford voiceover to suddenly burst through the theater speakers.
‘90s references aside, the film boasts a knowledgeable lineup of commentators who know and question the enigma that is Margiela. Everyone from Margiela’s former employer Jean Paul Gaultier to fashion historian Olivier Saillard drops a line. Fellow Royal Academy of Fine Arts classmate Raf Simons even remarks, “Martin said what he needed to say and I think it’s admirable when a person knows they said what they needed to.”
While Margiela chooses to remain anonymous, his legacy and mystery continue to live on, even without the glitzy front page coverage and magazine profiles.
“In Martins case, the media attention wasn't something that was validating for him. The lack of desire to be in the spotlight ultimately was constructive and by default created an allure, a mystery that fit into the poetic tension that he creates through his clothes,” says Chernick. “He's an original thinker, led by example, and inspired many, and for that he is revered.”
The Artist is Absent screens during Tribeca Film Festival this week and premieres on yoox.com on April 27
Check out the traile