Maison Margiela's Opening Party: Fame, Beauty and a Couch to Kiss Your... "Tomorrow I'll be famous Sonya Molodetskaya and the forever." With those words scrawled scene at Margiela (photos: graffiti-like by Dutch artist Selwyn Damion Matthews, Instagram, Senatori on the back of her Sunaj Drew Altizer) jacket, Sonya Molodetskaya Fans of both and epitomized the chic irony of have gone years Maison Margiela's new boutique without new designs from either on Maiden Lane at its recent man, making this moment opening party. particularly exciting for them as they Martin Margiela himself eschewed see Galliano's vision of the Margiela fame. When he quietly left the style unfold. business in 2009, one On Sunday at the "Vogue Festival" in suspected the company he created , Galliano spoke about his would fade away. But with John new role. "I had the fortune to meet Galliano now Maison Margiela's Martin. It was an amazing experience creative director, that's not going to that really energized me," he said. happen. "I love exploring the DNA that he laid out, but while one must respect the Guests marveled at the boutique's witty yet sophisticated design, with its heritage of a label, you can't be a surrealist trompe-l'œil effects on the walls, plush carpeting made to resemble slave to it, which happened a lot at hard marble, and on the second floor, a red couch which took its inspiration and at Galliano. When I first from Salvador Dali's famous portrait of Mae West. started, I spent a lot of time trying to Mark our words, the red couch at Maison Margiela will become the most understand what it felt to wear Instagram'd item of furniture in San Francisco this year! Tomorrow it too will be Margiela today. It's very interesting, famous forever. the invisible man element. But I'm Visit Maison Margiela at 134 Maiden Lane, San Francisco. just going to take it day by day." Photos: Drew Altizer, unless otherwise noted. Allison Speer Public Relations First look: Maison Margiela opens on Maiden Lane

If you’ve heard of Maison Margiela but don’t recall exact details, that’s partly by design. The 27-year-old, -based fashion house is notoriously tight-lipped — a precedent that has remained ever after the departure of its namesake Belgian designer in 2009. Uncharacteristically, the brand made headlines last year when it named John Galliano creative director, and starting this week, San Franciscans will get a much closer look with the opening of a new store at 134 Maiden Lane — the second location in California. The store, which opened March 23, has been in the works for a year, and according to a representative of the house (unnamed, of course), the intellectual element of San Francisco is a natural fit for a brand that is known for being rather conceptual. Shopppers can expect men’s and women’s ready-to-wear and runway collections, as well as accessories, bags, Optical illusions include carpets jewelry, footwear and fragrance. moonlighting as oak wood tiles, Like the clothes, the two-story, 2,900-square-foot wallpaper printed with life-size space was designed by a collective group of in-house, images from the Paris design house. anonymous designers, who all wear white lab coats and hooks in the dress room made of (“blouse blanche,” if you will). The store elements upside-down hangers. The stairway, progress from simple white in the front to gradually worth a pause, is covered in carpet darker and more intricate as shoppers move toward the printed with a collage of Persian back of the store, culminating in dressing rooms carpet designs, and the handrail is wallpapered with images that depict a film negative. covered in perforated leather that’s And in an inspired interpretation of the “in progress” reminiscent of the bike lane — very theme, clothes are hung on chrome “scaffolding.” fitting, indeed. The store is characteristically white and black (save for Maison Margiela, 134 Maiden Lane. a bright red lip couch in the women’s shoe section), but 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Mon.-Sat., noon-6 aside from that, the design is unique to San Francisco. p.m. Sun. (415) 917-2101. Naturally, the design might be described as conceptual Maghan McDowell is a San and avant garde. But that’s not to say it’s severe or Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E- takes itself too seriously. Whimsical details and trompe mail: [email protected] l’oeil elements keep the eye entertained. Twitter: @maghanmcd

Allison Speer Public Relations Maison Margiela: the new uniform for creative types?

Maison Margiela, the fashion house now headed It’s intellectual and beautiful at the same time, by creative director John Galliano, opened a new which is a unique approach to . nobody boutique on Union Square with a splashy cocktail else does that.” party on April 24, joining a growing list of high-end Hosain, one of the more casually well-dressed retailers flocking to San Francisco to try their young CEO’s you’ll find anywhere (understated, fortunes with the fortunes of well-paid tech and social but not sloppy), said he likes to feel put together. media employees who make the Bay Area their home. At the party, he wore a gray sweater, a Jawbone And not a minute too late. UP3 (you think he’d miss a chance for product Other fashion houses may have beautiful clothes, but placement?), black skinny Acne jeans from they’re not the kind of clothes, said guests at the Sweden and pale Visvim desert boots, one of his party, that creative types in the tech and design world favorite shoe lines from for their sneaker- like to wear. Previously, there were two options for like comfort and fashion flexibility. guys in tech: the Steve Jobs look, with a black “I love Margiela — the clean conceptual lines, the turtleneck and jeans, or a hoodie and T-shirt for the tailoring, the structure, the cuts,” he said. “It feels Zuckerberg effect. very modern but very tailored. There’s a level of But Margiela, with its high-quality style but workmanship that’s interesting.” irreverent edge, fits the bill for the new tech exec, said Some high-end brands get carried away, but two of the evening’s co-hosts, Jawbone CEO Margiela’s offerings are not “costumey,” he said, Hosain Rahman and industrial designer Yves and “they’re not stuffy. They’re super wearable. I Behar of Fuse Project. (Gallerist Sabrina Buell, have Margiela sweaters and wear them all the Behar’s partner, and Alicia Engstrom also co- time. With the bags, the leather they use is hosted the party, which honored the CCA Wattis amazing. They get better with age — the patina Institute.) improves, they’re strong and supple and have The two-story store, with gray and white decor, was amazing character. For me, it’s a lot about classic packed to the gills with the city’s most stylish men and wearable but very fashion-forward. It’s a good and women, including art collector Norman Stone, balance.” Sonya Molodetskaya, and handbag designer Margiela CEO Monica Voltolina, who flew in Sobia Shaikh. for the event, said the Union Square district (where Alexander McQueen, CH by Carolina “I’ve bought a lot of Margiela over the years, ” said Herrera, Valentino and Brunello Cuccinelli Behar, dressed in a gray sweater accented by a pair of have recently opened) is a prime location for the pink mirrored Margiela sunglasses that he tucked company’s latest boutique. “San Francisco and into the neckline, and several white finger rings that Los Angeles, where we have a boutique, are the looked a bit like Band-Aids. “He has always been two most important cities on the West Coast,” she about ironic, well-made, well-put together clothes said. By Carolyne Zinko that aren’t taking themselves seriously.

Allison Speer Public Relations Trending: tech titans, Tatcha and Sanrio’s latest

Techies have the Steve Jobs look (black turtlenecks with jeans) and the Zuckerberg effect (T-shirts and hoodies), but for something new, there’s Maison Margiela, a line known for irreverent womenswear and menswear ( paint-splattered pants and tennis shoes) and favored by Jawbone CEO Hosain Rahman (pictured right) and industrial designer Yves Béhar (left). The April 23 opening party for the new Margiela boutique on Maiden Lane honored the CCA Wattis Institute and featured Margiela CEO Monica Voltolina (but not new creative designer John Galliano). Béhar, one of four co-hosts, said the line appeals because Margiela “has always been about ironic, well-made, well-put-together clothes that aren’t taking themselves seriously. It’s intellectual and beautiful at the same time, which is a unique approach to clothing. Nobody else does that.” Rahman, another co-host, likes the “clean conceptual lines and the tailoring,” adding that some high- end brands can be a bit too much. Margiela’s clothes “are not costumey, they’re not stuffy — they’re super wearable.” Get busy on your salary and stock options — Margiela’s prices are not Macy’s (but you knew that).— Carolyne Zinko, [email protected]

Allison Speer Public Relations MAISON MARGIELA S.F. OPENING

“Yves thinks that men’s fashion is so boring, but that women’s fashion is so interesting,” said Sabrina Buell as she and partner Yves Béhar, the Swiss product designer, co-hosted the opening of the Maison Margiela San Francisco boutique on Thursday, April 23. “He’s obsessed with buying women’s clothes for me, and the line he always buys is Margiela,” she added. “Of all the labels, it’s the most artistic, design-based, and creative. He really connects with it.” Buell, along with Béhar, Alicia Engstrom, and Hosain Rahman, celebrated the avant garde fashion house’s new Maiden Lane location in honor of the Wattis Institute For Contemporary Arts at the California College of the Arts. Norman Stone, Stanlee Gatti, Jessica Silverman, Alison Pincus, Sarah and Brad Somberg, and Deepa Pakianathan all turned up to explore the two-story Union Square space housing both men’s and women’s collections. After the cocktail party at the Margiela boutique, the evening concluded with an intimate Mediterranean inspired dinner at Boulettes Larder, located in the San Francisco Ferry Building.

Allison Speer Public Relations Maison Margiela in San Francisco John Galliano‘s work for the Maison In the 1980s, Belgian designer Galliano is known for his Margiela label is on Martin Margiela helped set the groundwork rather triumphant approach display in San for limitless possibilities in fashion design to fashion and he spares Francisco in a by introducing a style concept known as no expense with his most historic Frank Lloyd deconstruction. His clothes challenged recent collections. Raw Wright building, many a discerning eye with inside- edges, incorporation of Maison Margiela at out seams, extraordinarily long arms and metals, lab coats with 134 Maiden Lane. the use of bizarre materials such as canvas matching latex gloves and Interiors designed and wigs. elaborate headpieces are by The House of Maison Margiela launched in finding their way back into the Margiela team 1989, its clothing labels recognized by the newest collections, for the two-story, a discreet trademark consisting of a piece turning what was Margiela 2,900 square foot of cloth with numbers 0-23. Margiela into a reality once more. For space are preferred to remain relatively unknown women there are hand in typical Margiela s as his clothes gained popularity; he was painted pieces, daisy skirts, urrealist style. rarely seen in public and all media contact kimonos, daisy rings and Optical illusions, came through outside sources – think faxes earrings so large they speak or , as trompe l’oeil and phone calls with personal assistants. for you. For men, avant- they say in , His unabashed socially reclusive behavior garde silk printed button upside down paired with his undeniable talent down shirts with billowy, hangers, backwards set Margiela apart and led to a greater scarf-like sleeves. pictures in a palette fashion following for the brand. The grand opening of mostly black and In October 2009, Maison Margiela, the celebration for Maison white with a red lips company, became in name only, as the Margiela San Francisco on sofa by Bocca, designer disappeared from the creative April 23, 2015, was hosted similar to the process and left his design team to pick up by Sabrina Buell, Yves original design by the pieces. They staged silent marches in Béhar, Alicia Engstrom Salvadore Dali. Paris and San Francisco to launch a brand and Hosain Rahman in Shoppers can collaboration with H&M in November 2012. honor of the Wattis Institute find men’s and In October 2014, British designer John for Contemporary Arts at women’s ready-to- Galliano, removed from the helm at California College of the wear and runway for anti-semitic remarks, became Arts.— written by Mary collections, bags, Maison Margiela’s creative director, and Gonsalves Kinney for Red jewelry, shoes and promised to bring the brand full circle in Carpet Bay Area fragrance. design genius.

Allison Speer Public Relations