Avant-Garde Fashion : A Case Study of Martin Margiela

Abstract

We studied the meaning of the term avant-garde in relation to clothing of the 1980s and 1990s by examining the media`s perceptions of Martin Margiela, a Belgian deconstructionist designer who was often labeled as avant-garde by journalists, scholars, and fashion critics in the late 20th century. A five-step content analysis method described by Paoletti (1982) was used to conduct the research. Newspaper and magazine articles in the 1980s and 1990s were analyzed using a set of existing avant-garde characteristics developed by Crane (1987) to determine if those journalists` perceptions matched the characteristics described by Crane. Results indicated that the journalists` critiques and descriptions matched the avant-garde characteristics described by Crane (1987). Including a subjective element to the conceptualization of the term explains how journalists described Margiela`s designs despite Japanese designers` use of similar techniques before him. We (re) conceptualize the term`s latter 20th century meaning and shifting dialogue to include a subjective element.