PARIS, France — Maison Margiela skipped staging a show this season, in favour of an atmospheric presentation in a gallery. The presentation format allowed viewers closer access to the sartorial details and ingenious plays on deconstruction that are integral to the brand's ethos, keeping the house's menswear — which is not under the creative direction of John Galliano — closer to the style of Martin himself. In a room there were the pictures from the lookbook, in another a group of men sitting on chairs and in the final tableaux garments on Stockman dummies. The three aspects of the presentation did not exactly glue together.

The press notes referred to beat generation types and general outsiders as an inspiration, but that did not add anything to the conversation: a slight hint of rebellion is a given at Margiela. The collection, apros, was a completely Margielian celebration of raw hems and unstructured classicism, with a charming nonchalance to it.