A Brief History Maison Martin Margiela’s Line 6

Maison Martin Margiela’s line 6 was created in October 1997. The creation of this line was an addition to the already existing mainline for women (Line 1) and made-by-hand artisanal garments (Line 0). This line, however, was intended as a more affordable line, and a basis to experiment on.

Line 6 Cardboard cutouts for Spring Summer 1999

The exploration of line 6 revolved around the transformation of everyday garments, with a focus on modularity, functionality, and innovation. This exploration sometimes intersected with the exploration of the other lines and sometimes took a completely different approach.

Line 6 was often used to explore the use of different material weights with the same garment patterns, exploring different lengths, reinterpreting classic shapes and conceiving innovative ways to wear everyday garments. The creations of line 6 often referenced the other lines, with details such as trompe-l'œil, painted garments, and oversized details.

As the house grew larger and Margiela himself took on other projects, the work began to be slowly distributed amongst his assistants, who designed under his supervision. The task of line 6 fell on the lap of an emerging designer at the time, Sebastien Meunier, who managed the line between 2000 and 2005. Under this management the brand flourished, becoming a sub-brand in 2004 under the “MM6” name.

These early years of Line 6 featured a lot of interesting experimentation, good materials, and an affordable price point. Due to these reasons, the line has become a mainstay of our store.

We are featuring a line 6 drop on December 15th at 3:00 PM EST.

In the mentime, here are some scans, runway photos, and sketches relating to the repertoire of line 6.