MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA — '20' THE EXHIBITION (2008), MOMU ANTWERP CATALOGUE

Published by: MoMu – Fashion Museum Province of Antwerp, Antwerp, 2008
Year: 2008
Dimensions: 20 × 26 cm
Language: English
Format: Softcover, 120 pages
ISBN: 978-90-79269-00-6
Edition: First edition, print run of 3,500 copies
Condition: Fine — in perfect condition, exceptionally well preserved, with no visible imperfections, damage, or signs of wear. The cover, binding, and interior pages remain in excellent condition.

Catalogue published on the occasion of Maison Martin Margiela '20' The Exhibition, organised by MoMu – Fashion Museum Province of Antwerp to mark the twentieth anniversary of Maison Martin Margiela. Curated by Kaat Debo and Bob Verhelst in collaboration with Maison Martin Margiela, with scenography by Bob Verhelst and trompe-l'oeil photography by Frans Parthesius.

Conceived in close collaboration with the house, the exhibition translated Margiela's distinctive visual and conceptual language into the museum environment. Anonymity, the characteristic white of the studio and ateliers, deconstruction, the transformation of found garments, and the visible traces of construction became part of both the exhibition and its scenography.

Graphic design was by Paul Boudens with Kaat Debo and Bob Verhelst, with Kaat Debo as editor. Printed by Die Keure in Bruges on Multi Design White Smooth 150 g paper in a single run of 3,500 copies, the catalogue documents two decades of Maison Martin Margiela's collections, exhibitions, boutiques, offices, and visual communication.

The exhibition was a major retrospective of the house's first twenty years and was presented at MoMu in Antwerp from 12 September 2008 to 8 February 2009. It captured Margiela's radical approach to fashion through themes including deconstruction, recycled and second-hand materials, trompe-l'oeil, oversized garments, artisanal techniques, and the relationship between clothing and the body.

Long out of print, the publication is an important document of Maison Martin Margiela's first two decades and of the Antwerp fashion context from which the house emerged. It remains one of the key publications for understanding Margiela's approach to anonymity, material transformation, construction, and the rejection of conventional systems of authorship.