Maison Martin Margiela’s A/W 2005 collection featured coats made from wigs. All models faces were concealed either by a stocking or a wig, creating anonymity. The long hair swamping the body is reminiscent of horror films such as ‘The Ring’ a 1998 Japanese horror film by Hideo Nakata. To me there is a clear message of unknown, hidden, bizarre, horror, clinical and anonymous to the brand.
signage - Stores are never listed in phone books or identified with signage. Uniforms – Staff at stores and at Margiela HQ wear standard white labcoats. Colors – White – called “whites” in Margielaspeak – is the ubiquitous color of all stores, Margiela HQ, and of the sheets that covered all in-store furniture and displays. Packaging – Margiela packaging is monochrome and logo free. Models – Runway models at MMM more than any other designer often appear on the runway with covered faces. Runway shows – Seating is mostly first-come, first-served, avoiding the industry standard of seating hierarchy. Collective speaking – The brand used a first person plural response to all requests, emphasizing the collaborative, disciple-like consensus of their thoughts. Photography – The aesthetic of photo communications came to resemble the spiritualist photography of the 19th century; models appeared as ghostly blurs, and a sense of fragility hovered in the air, somewhere between the theosophy of Blavatsky and the work of Louise Bourgeois.
This photo editorial bySteven Meisel for Vogue Italia, July 2007, is very inspiring and fitting with the Maison Martin Margiela brand. I will incorporate aspects of asylums and a haunting feel for the promotional package.
High Royds Hospital is a former psychiatric hospital south of the village of Menston, West Yorkshire, England. It was first opened on 8 October, 1888 as the West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum. Maison Martin Margiela’s brand is all about anonymity, with nods to hospitals and institutions through the use of hospital tags and white lab coats on the staff. The models faces are always hidden creating an eerie feel, and this psychiatric hospitasl would be the perfect location for a photoshoot, whether the backdrop be the empty hallways full of memories, or the haunting morgue.
Patient no. 18356 High Royds Psychiatric Hospital Maison Martin Margiela
Mai son Mar tin Mar gie l
Branding and Packaging
For the photoshoot I have suggested using the models with their faces covered with hair, in a derelict mental assylum. I want to use a lot of models who all look the same, to create almost an ‘army’ of these anonymous models, as I feel this will add to the haunted theme. This would also be an ideal location for the fashion show.
Models wear white lab coat by Maison Martin Margiela, price on request.
I have designed an editorial layout for the images from the photoshoot, playing on the minimal theme, by placing one larger image on the right hand page and a small image on the left page in an unusual position, leaving the rest of the page very minimal and stark.
I have designed the shop window based on the haunted psychiatric theme, using a padded cell as the display, with 3 mannequins wearing the hair jacket, each with their faces covered, hiding their identity as this is inkeeping with the brands ethos of minimal branding and identity.