Margiela, who has never been knowingly photographed and never gives interviews, offered a big, bright and bold collection that emphasized the upper body with "coat-hanger shoulders" and outlined the hips in body suits that tapered from thigh to knee, leaving the remainder of the leg to be encased in boots, veiled in tulle or shod in silvered and fluorescent leather.
The collection explored a modern and graphic shape through circular and triangular forms. This translated as pink and lime "hoops" of shocking-pink, padded rabbit fur or neon-yellow, shaggy goat hair which were looped around the shoulders like inflated inner tubes.
Cashmere "ropes" in fluorescent hues and padded tulle embroidered with sequins and beads were worn as oversized necklaces or scarves over long, tight, stretch dresses which turned into catsuits from the back.
Tunics featured strangely pointed "epaulettes" like an alien version of Joan Collins' jackets in Dynasty. The conceptual creativity almost overshadowed the fact the pieces were highly wearable, albeit not for the faint-hearted, when jackets sometimes featured one lapel, trousers merged into half-toga skirts and loose, shawl-collared trenchcoats thinly-disguised as shirts.
Miranda Richardson, the British actress who has been buying Margiela's clothes for 17 years, was a front row guest. "I love his clothes because they are eclectic. They don't look like anyone else's," she said, before disappearing backstage.
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