Maison Margiela’s Spring-Summer 2027 collection examines the relationship between hardness and softness, using the two opposing qualities to reconsider familiar garments, silhouettes and construction techniques.
The collection draws on the traditions of Parisian ateliers, particularly the division between Tailoring, associated with structured garments, and Flou, the dressmaking and draping practice. For the ready-to-wear collection, Maison Margiela reinterprets these couture traditions through its longstanding interest in rereading fashion history and the systems that underpin it.
Hardness is introduced to archetypal pieces to alter their silhouettes. Trench coats are fitted with broad, hardened panels running horizontally at the waist or vertically down the sides of the body. Tailored jackets and waistcoats are folded inwards to conceal their buttoning, with the internal creases reinforced so that the altered lines remain even when the garments are unfolded.
The contrast is also explored through draping. Dresses and tops feature outward-curving panels at the chest, creating a corset-like balcony without constriction, while deeply draped dresses use hardened forms to shape cowl draping from the chest towards the ankle. Crew-neck sleeveless dresses are defined by oversized, reinforced darts that run down the front before being slashed at the waist.
Elsewhere, fortified wrap skirts and dresses are combined with contrasting cotton panels, creating the impression of separates and emphasising the collection’s hard-soft dialogue. Linings, an important element in Maison Margiela’s history, are treated as garments in their own right or incorporated into new designs. Coat linings are combined with opened-out floral-print dresses to create hybrid pieces that suggest a coat worn over a dress.
Floral prints recur throughout the collection, while the show set by Belgian floral artist Mark Colle references a 2012 couture debut by fellow Belgian designer Raf Simons, with the flowers presented as though altered by the passage of time.
Accessories continue the theme. The 5AC Soft is reworked in supple leather, while the new Ghost bags remove the rigid structures from archetypal briefcases, weekenders and vanity cases, retaining elements of their original metal hardware. The Link appears in soft suede, while the Glam Slam is presented in floral prints from the collection.
Footwear includes new heel-less open-toe boots and pumps, alongside softer men’s loafers, lace-ups and boxer boots. A new Slide heel appears in mules, while archival Tabi Heel Clogs return alongside Tabi boots and ballerinas. Jewellery continues the collection’s interplay of materials, with chains encased in mesh or leather tubes, and earrings taking forms inspired by crystal caught in a net.
