Maison Margiela x Gentle Monster: Two Creative Mavericks Partner Up For Experimental Eyewear

All eyes are on Selfridges new pop-up space at The Corner Shop. It has transformed into an otherworldly space, overtaken by colossal animatronic robots. You’d be forgiven for mistaking it for the set of a sci-fi blockbuster, but look again and you’ll notice the collaborative eyewear collection from French couture house Maison Margiela and South Korean accessories brand Gentle Monster.

The genderless collection, which includes sunglasses and spectacles, is built on both brands’ shared belief in experimental craftsmanship and embodies the progressive aesthetics and enigmatic approaches to design that they have both become so well known for.

“I appreciate the sophistication and minimalism of Maison Margiela, but underneath the polished surface, there is always a fervent new idea and unforeseen depth,” explains Hankook Kim, the founder of Gentle Monster. “Everyone can find enlightenment, but not all can manifest their findings through their work. I believe that the consolidation of our creative forces constructs a new paradigm that showcases newness not just aesthetically but also conceptually.”

Together, the two brands have co-created 11 designs that fuse Maison Margiela’s signature design codes with Gentle Monster’s sleek, avant-garde silhouettes. The eyewear line includes structured designs in acetate and a glossy palette of black, white, grey translucent and tortoiseshell, and features Maison Margiela’s instantly recognisable four-stitch logo. To Kim, “it is one of the symbolic ways we’ve experimented with conceptually innovative design.”

Each design is named, from MM001 to MM011, to follow the esoteric system that has become a Maison Margiela signature.

For those looking to make a statement, there’s the MM001 – goggle-like aviators that work as a headband or a tiara. Subtler styles include the MM005, a classic oval pair with subtle grey-and-white tortoiseshell acetate frames, and MM010, minimalist square frames with silver-tone accents.

As you’d expect, the packaging that each pair comes in is just as collectible: the case is a reinterpretation of Maison Margiela’s puffy Glam Slam clutch, this time in white with hand-stitched matelassé quilting.