AW99 Maison Martin Margiela Backstitch Artisanal Denim Belt

From his founding of the house in 1988, Margiela challenged fashion’s obsession with authorship, polish, and perfection. He removed his face from interviews, refused to take bows after shows, and stitched blank white labels into garments. Adopting anonymity as an ethos. 

 Instead of newness, he was drawn to the already existing. Instead of pristine cuts, he favored raw edges. Instead of hiding the construction, he exposed the seams. His garments often felt unearthed rather than manufactured.

During the late ’90s, the fashion industry was seduced by minimalism and futuristic silhouettes. But Margiela moved in the opposite direction. He forced us to confront what we threw away, and more provocatively, what we overlooked.

In 1999, he created this denim belt, made from the waistband of deconstructed jeans. At a time when fashion was becoming glossier and more commercial, Margiela turned inward. He doubled down on deconstruction, repurposing, and the idea that fashion could be both cultural critique and craft.

Line 0, the house’s artisanal line, marked by the circled zero on the label, represents the house’s most conceptual and hand-crafted work. Often taking references from Margiela’s environment and the places he loved, these were typically one-off or extremely limited pieces, stitched by hand by Margiela himself or his team. Made from vintage garments and forgotten fragments, they were reanimated into something entirely new. In a sense, they are less “fashion” and more philosophy in thread.

Tagged Size S

Measurement:

Length: 93cm