December 2011
72 posts
In an interview, Marcel Duchamp was once asked the difference between sculpture and architecture, to which he responded, "Plumbing." We would begin by asking Maison Martin Margiela: In which way would you define the similarities between your activity and that of an architect? If, for example, you and Frank Gehry traded jobs for a season, would the result of his production be more like his last building or like your last season? Would the outside of your building reveal how the building-or a building-is made? Would the psychological experience of the person living in it be similar to that of one who wears your clothes?
MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA: Marcel Duchamp always had such clever and funny answers! We wish we could answer "Plumbing" too, but this is such an interesting question that we have to find a proper answer. We think the most important similarity between fashion and architecture is that they share the same starting point: the human body. Both disciplines have a function of protecting-if not sheltering-the body, the flesh, and skin, itself. Then, regarding the process, fashion designers and architects both have to think in terms of proportion, structure, volume, and material. It's interesting that you picked Frank Gehry for the trading game, because he's often called a deconstructivist, though he claims no formal alliance with any particular movement-just like us! We have no idea what his production would look like, but we'd be immensely interested in seeing it. About our building, your suggestion of the outside referring to its production process would for sure be part of the project. Also, why not a building made out of other buildings? A replica of an existing building? An invisible building that would use the trompe l'œil technique to disappear into the city landscape? What about your building? We'd love to see you trading jobs with Jean Nouvel! You've already done some interventions, including architecture, like your incredible Figeac work. But what would the building actually look like that you conceived? Could someone live in it? Or dream about it?
