The word ‘icon’ gets bandied around quite too liberally (I’m guilty, your honour), but in the case of Belgian designer Martin Margiela, the dictionary provides no closer descriptor. Maison Martin Margiela (now, sans Martin, dubbed ‘Maison Margiela’) was and remains the lodestar when it comes to conceptual, avantgarde fashion and that legacy is owed to the genius of a single man and his incredible team. In German director Reiner Holzemer’s 2019 documentary ‘Martin Margiela: In His Own Words’, we finally get to hear the ever-elusive designer Martin Margiela speak on his life and career, looking back at 20 years and 41 collections as a ground-shifting fashion designer - more than a decade after his sudden departure from the house he built. Starting April 10 2020, this not-to-be-missed doc will be released on select international streaming services (beginning with the UK & few other select countries). Here’s what you need to know first.


THE TEAM
The film was directed, co-produced and written by Reiner Holzemer, who also gave us the 2017 Dries Van Noten documentary. The production was handled in tandem with veteran documentary film producer Aminata Sambe of Brussels-based Aminata Productions and Villa Eugénie. Editing was done by Helmar Jungmann and film commentary was provided by industry stalwarts like Jean-Paul Gaultier (Margiela was Gaultier’s former assistant and mentee), fashion critic Cathy Horyn, fashion historian Olivier Saillard, trend forecaster Lidewij Edelkoort, Margiela muse Kristina De Coninck and feted editrix Carine Roitfeld. The soundtrack was created by Belgian rock giants dEUS. Toon Illegems acted as DOP and archive photography was provided courtesy of Ronald Stoops. Quite the assembled crew, to put it most mildly.

THE BACKSTORY
Slated for a strategic release drip, with a May 3-4 Belgian premiere date, the film’s schedule has obviously been quite derailed by COVID-19 and its historic ramifications. The Belgian and Dutch premiere will be rescheduled. Also, in the most 2020 twist of fate, the entire doc was uploaded to Pornhub (yup) in early April, a week before its planned UK release. Fashion is inherently messy, so distributor Dogwoof rolled with the punches and opted for a select international streaming release on April 10, with other iTunes premieres currently in the works (full list bottom page).

THE MAIN STORY
The film itself shows (well, kind of) Martin Margiela himself talk about his childhood, his love of fashion, his penchant for anonymity, inspirations and why he left his own label in 2009. Not a spoiler, because duh: you will never be seeing the enigmatic designer’s full face and body in lights, although his hands are shown thumbing through his personal sketches (and threading champagne corks apparently?) as he provides context on standout archive designs. The voice-over is the key, it’s the closest we’re going to get and that’s a blessing. Having Martin Margiela provide his own commentary and sharing the stage with friends and peers is a priceless experience. We get an intimate portrait of a true revolutionary, where Margiela finally gets a public say on his own mythology.

THE ACCLAIM
After premiering at DOC NYC in 2019, the film was named the 'number one fashion documentary of the decade by The Hollywood Reporter. It was also picked by the Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival 2020 in the top documentary selection, with online cinematic screening covered by premium film festival CPH:Dox.

WE’VE GOT QUESTIONS
If you’re a loyal listener of the The Most podcast like me, you’ve gleaned some amazing tidbits about the friendship between Martin and his legendary peers such as Walter Van Beirendonck and Inge Grognard. Dominique’s conversation with MoMu Director and Chief Curator Kaat Debo also gave unique insight into Margiela during his Hermès days. But of course, as I’m someone patently outside of Mr Margiela’s inner circle (for now, the group chat possibilities remain a fixture of my imagination), I’m left with some burning questions for the man and the myth. Perhaps the film will fill us in? What I’d like to know is:

1) Will Martin speak out on the undeniable impact he has had on so many designers that followed him, who have referenced his work both subtly and via ‘tributes’ bordering on plagiarism?
2) Will we hear his thoughts on what Galliano has made of Margiela today?
3) Will Margiela share a clue on whether he’ll ever return to active fashion design?

In any case, director Holzemer has stated: “I promise you, when the movie is finished you will have the feeling that you’ve met the guy, even though you haven’t”. I’ll be donning a white lab coat and tuning in with plenty of quarantine snacks, either way.

‘Martin Margiela: In His Own Words’ will be released on on-demand streaming services starting Friday, April 10 2020. Here is the international release info we’ve gathered so far (to be updated according to new available details):

Go here for direct international video-on-demand links for Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Italy, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru & Venezuela.

Belgium: digital premiere on May 8th on Dalton.be - national release on May 13th on Lumière, UniversCine.com, Proximus TV and BE TV (Brussels & Antwerp premieres on May 3rd & 4th cancelled)
Netherlands: cinematic release as from June 18th. Streaming available on PICL and Cineville.
UK: iTunes, Curzon release - Friday April 10
South Africa: iTunes release - Friday April 10
Sweden: iTunes release - Friday April 10
Australia: iTunes presale - Friday April 10
Brazil: iTunes presale - Friday April 10
Canada: iTunes presale - Friday April 10
France: end of 2020 (on Arte)
Germany: May 2020 (date TBA)
Russia: later this year (date TBA)
U.S.: later this year (date TBA)
Japan: later this year (date TBA)
Hong Kong: later this year (date TBA)
China: streaming platform TBA

Header Image: © Marina Faust - AW’95-’96