Martin Margiela

Maison Martin Margiela, Spring/Summer 1990: the playground show, Paris, October 1989 The anti-spectacle that changed what a show venue could be. Instead of a grand salon, Margiela took his collection to a rundown playground on the edge of Paris's 20th arrondissement and let the neighborhood in. Local children made the invitations in art class, sat with the guests beside the dirt runway, and ended up running among the models. Nothing was built, which is exactly the lesson for anyone who stages events: the place and the people already in it can be the set. Start here to understand why so many later houses chose found spaces over ballrooms.