The Art of Recycling at Maison Martin Margiela Fall 2012

Maison Martin Margiela is well known for their ability to transform antique or vintage scavenger hunt treasures into beautifully modern pieces by incorporating them into their collections. This year, was groundbreaking for Margiela as the Fall 2012 Couture show was their debut on the Couture scene. The Artisanal Collection includes pieces made from items such as vintage baseball gloves or a windsurfing sail. 

The raw cotton sleeveless jacket, pictured above, replicates a tailcoat from 1905. A remarkable detail that adds the perfect amount of vintage without overdoing it is the closure of the jacket. It's said to be an antique doorknob found in New York City. 

The designers in the house of Margiela focused on the upper part of the body rather than the bottom half. To succeed in doing so, lace from all over France was used by making straight legged pants that revealed just enough skin to make the pieces even sexier. 

Margiela is a house with a fondness of a free, revolutionary spirit which is evident from the crystal embroidered masks the models sport to conceal their faces. 

 

Amazingly beautiful coat made from, wait for it, a windsurfing sail. 

The infamous vest made from vintage baseball gloves. 

Shall We Use a Chain Saw? Viktor & Rolf Splice Away...

 

Let's revisit the seminal Spring 2010 collection of Viktor & Rolf. Over the years, the Dutch duo has been pushing the limits of fashion with breakthrough pieces that one can not seem to forget.

 

At the height of the economic crisis, when designers were tightening their budgets for extravagant pieces, Viktor & Rolf took it upon themselves to steer away from skimping with layers upon layers of beautifully chainsaw-cut tulle. 

 

Two years later, we are still mesmerized with the intensity and creativity that seeps through the meticulously cut holes adorning the pieces in the collection.   

RIP: Vidal Sassoon

RIP to a true legend and a man who has had as huge an influence upon fashion as any of the great designers out there. We love this image of him styling Mary Quant, another inspiring legend.

Inspiration: The Richards Sisters

Newer Vagabondnyc fans you may not know that these two lovelies shot an ad campaign for us a while back. Here is one of our favorite shots from that session:

Alexandra and Theodora Richards
Photography: Toto Cullen



 

Inspiration: Hedi Slimane Photography

Shibori Gone Maxi

You can meet all kinds of interesting people anywhere, and just the thing happened last week as I was waiting in line at the post office. The girl in front of me was wearing this eye catching dip dyed maxi-dress and I just had to ask who had designed it. 
 

She informed me that it was one of her own and that she owned Upstate. As I have learned, Upstate uses dip dye and Japanese shibori to create silk dresses, wraps, sarongs and even headpieces. 
 

Shibori is a dying technique that uses elements of binding, folding and compressing to create patterns and textures, as you can see above.