The Butterfly Effect—Issue 20
A Beautiful Horror
Hollywood—pay attention:
Glenn Martens’ latest Maison Margiela show just rewrote the script.
In a world replete with repetition, sequels, and the growing dread of AI, Martens torched the script and sent something unique down the runway. Rooted in Margiela’s tradition of transformation, the collection built its surfaces from fragments—porcelain, salvage, memory—assembled rather than designed.
No stranger to controversy or singularity—think the polarizing Tabi—Margiela took the road less traveled, showing in a Shanghai container yard, the antithesis of Paris.
And then came the models—moving in a trance-like state, somewhere between reality and the liminal, faces partially or completely obscured, eyes glazed, makeup heavy and doll-like—an ethereal, ghostly procession.
Look 1: a doll-like bride, a layered liquid white dress poured over her form—the dress taking on an almost porcelain, metallic sheen as it cinched at the waist before flaring at the hips, offering an exaggerated silhouette, controlled distortion. Her face obscured behind a sheer white mask—makeup exaggerated, cheeks flushed and lips blood red. Her eyes flat—an embalmed bride brought back to life.
Look 6: her elegant counterpart—the black jewel-encrusted mask, reminiscent of a geologic find, completely covering the model’s face. So arresting, the mask forces the suit to recede—a soft, submissive counterpart to the rough-textured mask, a gently draped jacket and tailored pant.
Look 8: a severe column-shaped long-sleeved dress composed of porcelain shards assembled into a single continuous surface. The model masked a twin of broken ceramic.
Look 37: erasure—a nude gauzy dress structured at the waist, flowing into a long, draped skirt, a matching gauzy veil blurring the model’s face and twisted around her neck before trailing down her back and draping her arms. The fabric collapsing, the color washed out—the bride softly fading away.
Martens’ runway becomes a beautiful, eerie horror reel—moving from illusion to domination, from fracture to dissolution. The colors pulsing from white to black, nude to harsh brights—chartreuse, orchid—before landing gently at the end with shades of blush, light blue, and rose. A note of hope.