Maison Margiela's Spring 2021 Tango-Inspired Collection Is About Connectivity

In the second installment of John Galliano’s film project with Nick Knight.

Looks from the Maison Margiela Spring 2021 collection.

For Maison Margiela‘s Fall 2020 Artisanal collection, John Galliano pulled the curtain back on the creative process, allowing viewers to marvel at the work of the fashion house’s atelier teams through a short film. Captured by Nick Knight, the virtual presentation was a collage of narrative imagery, Zoom meetings and documentary footage recorded after Maison Margiela reopened following the lockdown. In the second and final installment of this film project, Galliano expands this behind-the-scenes vision for Spring 2021.

Unveiled on the final day of Paris Fashion Week, the film and the new line revolve around the theme of connectivity and the reliance of one person on another. “Maison Margiela interprets this concord through the tango,” a press release notes. “Vigorous and intense, the dance is cathartic: releasing the spirit of the old, it inspires the lust to move on. It compels acceptance; it heralds new beginnings; it beckons change.”

The collection is modeled on tango dancers and is inspired by the culture of the art form, from the black and red color palette to the accessories — think ’60s-style beaded evening bags and a tango pump kitten heel. The iconic Tabi shoe is also reimagined in clear material as pumps to give a nod to dance.

The clothes are designed to allow for movement: Formal jackets are slashed open, and muslin and tulle dresses are created with a circular cutting technique to give them a wet draping look. Galliano also brings back “Recicla,” a concept he introduced in the brand’s Fall 2020 ready-to-wear collection, which refers to one-of-a-kind designs made from items hand-picked by his team from vintage shops and markets; many of the upcycled garments appear in their original fabrication.

You can watch Maison Margiela’s Spring 2021 collection come to life in the video below.