Maison Margiela's Paris Flagship

Deconstructed columns, walls and tables frame an elegant selection of luxury goods.

Maison Margiela‘s penchant for the antithesis of glamour is well-documented, guaranteeing that each unveiling of the stridently understated luxury label’s flagship boutiques an adventure in independent design. Its latest store has just openedon Paris’ Avenue Montaigne — Margiela’s fourth in the city — developed by Dutch firm Studio Anne Holtrop to reflect the utilitarian design language of Maison Margiela’s creative director, John Galliano.

Standing two floors tall, the new store features a complete selection of co-ed collections, ready-to-wear, footwear and plenty of accessories (no MM6 goods here). Traditional boutique layouts are subverted by a sense of detachment granted by the store’s skewed columns, warped walls and bent tables, all hand-cast or sourced to appear in the shape of deconstructed furniture, organized so as to brusquely break up each section in the shop. Margiela’s signature shade of optical white informs the majority of the space, but the fitting rooms are rendered in a nearly-black dark green, an ode to lacquered Japanese cabinets.