Over the past several years, the MM6 brand has become more and more self-referential to the style codes of founder Martin Margiela’s work. The good news for the MM6 design collective is that Margiela produced enough garments and gave fashion enough genius ideas to keep them busy for ages. For pre-fall 2021, the group honed in on his masculine-feminine hybridizations through the lens of the day-glo, tour tee ’80s. Bike shorts, Wall Street banker stripes, and leather robe suiting are paired up with an eagle—not The Eagles, though aesthetically there is certainly a tie-in—and band tee motifs.
Margiela’s iconic subversions are what make this collection come off as more thoughtful than most takes on wardrobe essentials. Two neon pink tees, for example, are made in full and stitched together at the shoulder into one garment, offering the wearer multiple ways to style it. Similarly, the lapels of most blazers can be unhooked and draped across the body, like a bandolier. A number of stretch jersey pieces offer a body-con bit of comfort, though in this case body-con stands for body contortion, seams running up the bias to scrunch and stretch materials in the strangest places. It’s one of the most appealing ideas in the collection. In a time of chaos, MM6’s sleek, sometimes sterile takes on subversion can feel a bit out of step. If there is one thing Martin Margiela excelled in, it was mirroring his era, frays and all.