MILAN — Margiela lovers, mark Jan. 27 on the calendar.
Kerry Taylor Auctions and Maurice Auction will host a unique sale in Paris that day, consisting entirely of Martin Margiela’s early work, with pieces from 1988 to 1994. With more than 300 lots on offer, this is billed as the largest single auction of Margiela ever held.
True to the designer’s ethos, the auction will be staged in a disused building at 81 Boulevard Voltaire, in the 11th arrondissement. It will be preceded by an exhibition hosted in the same location and opening two days before the sale event.
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All lots involved belong to sisters Angela and Elena Picozzi, founders of Italian fashion prototyping and manufacturing company Castor Fashion. They collected the designs over the decades inspired by their mother Graziella Picozzi, a key figure in the Italian fashion industry and talent scout, who supported the then-unknown Margiela in the late ‘80s.
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In particular, she recruited Margiela to work as a consultant on her brand Deni Cler, after he left Jean Paul Gaultier’s studio in 1987. Thunderstruck by the Belgian designer’s talent, Picozzi encouraged him to create his own brand by collaborating on many Maison Martin Margiela garments between 1989 and 1994.
“The meeting between our mother Graziella and Martin Margiela was a fundamental moment for both of them,” said Angela Picozzi. “We always considered these items an important part of fashion history that ought to be protected. Over time, we realized how important it is that Martin’s talent and vision [gets] enhanced, studied, told and, why not, worn. And that’s why we are selling [these pieces] today. We believe the fashion world should be reexposed to Margiela’s early aesthetics.”
“It is essential for us that each garment is treated with care and respect,” echoed her sister Elena, explaining why the duo chose to collaborate with the two auction houses and underscoring their passion for fashion.
The Picozzis’ archive includes many never-worn designs, which in some cases are still preserved in their original packaging, as well as styles that never made it into the stores at the time. Alongside museum-worthy ensembles, the auction will offer garments approachable by a wide range of budgets.
Key pieces hail from seminal collections such as Maison Martin Margiela’s spring 1990 show, comprising outsized vests worn as dresses pressed close to the body by sheer gauze T-shirts; suits with removable sleeves; pants with “jabot” bras, fold over tops and panier bags; painted canvas jackets and clear vinyl tops worn in multiple ways. These items are estimated to fetch between 1,200 euros and 5,000 euros.
Other highlights include a “curtain” skirt ensemble from the fall 1991 collection estimated between 2,500 euros and 3,500 euros and a teal knitted wool sweater of the same season emphasizing rather than hiding joins via shimmering Lurex threads that is estimated to fetch between 2,000 euros and 4,000 euros.
Yet the most unexpected pieces will come with an exclamation mark. To be sure, before Margiela started his brand, he collaborated with Picozzi and Deni Cler on a project from 1988 to 1989 known only by an “!” based on an idea he had of having a brand with no name. Margiela and Picozzi worked together on four collections, during which he already revealed his forward-thinking spirit and a flair evoking his time at Gaultier.
Some rare garments of this period going on auction comprise a jacket, waistcoat and tie from 1988, as well as a folder of 70 original hand-drawn sketches from the fall 1989 collection.
Other documents on sale will include original paper patterns used to make Margiela’s most famous jackets from spring 1989 and other early lines and complete folders of facsimile sketches for each collection, as the designer didn’t typically send the original ones to his manufacturers.
Paris-based auction house Maurice Auction and London-based Kerry Taylor Auctions join forces to hold sales of fashion and couture twice a year. Several world records have been broken so far on these occasions: a “Coromandel” coat by Chanel Haute Couture was sold for 312,000 euros; a “Victoire/Victory” plastron and skirt by Thierry Mugler fetched 58,500 euros, while a “L’Écume des jours” feathery dress by Gaultier recently went for 377,000 euros.