By Rachel Weisz

Maison Margiela’s Co-Ed collection for the Spring Summer 2024 season brings us the genderless prêt-à-porter line of our dreams. This collection by John Galliano is “a study of hand-me-downs and the gestures that imbue garments with life”. There is a visual process of death and rebirth — like a flower from birth to bloom and back down again — this same circularity parallel to the upcycled clothing circle. 

From first glance, Galliano gives the impression that summer is a distant memory as we are swamped with oversized coats paired with deconstructed collars and contrasting gloves. The styling felt almost childlike, represented through big oversized coats pairs with models in pigtails walking with cautious hesitation, while hunchbacked and strong-shouldered. These slow and subtle movements felt almost like there was a secret to be kept, or like detectives on a case.

Paired with Margiela’s iconic Tabis — a must-have staple for the moment — we then start to feel the bloom. Ruffles start to peak beneath the coats. Soft muted tones such as beige melt into the canvas as belts and eventually dresses, matched with incredibly soft pleating. 

Spring awakened with shades of soft yellows, whites and creams with ruffle trims and voluminous skirts. Pops of soft lavender and sage green (a colour that is growing in popularity season by season) materialised within the sea of black and grey. Garments appeared more intentionally dishevelled, paired with textured plastic and other atypical materials. Billowing skorts evoked a theatrical flair partnered with master tailoring, which comes naturally to Galliano. 

Asymmetry was a common theme, whether that be on the neckline, or through the assortment of polka dots. As the models walked, the clothes flounced delicately — a stark contrast to the harsh way some of the models sashayed. The end called for the return of black garments, this time in soft and shapely dresses in many different forms.