Martin Margiela and his staff wore white lab coats
The reclusive designer transformed his headquarters into a monochrome workspace where every employee wore matching cotton smocks to emphasize a collective identity over individual ego.
In the late 1980s, Martin Margiela established a fashion house that functioned more like a laboratory than a traditional atelier. To maintain a focus on the work rather than the person behind it, Margiela and his entire staff wore identical white cotton smocks, known as blouses blanches. This uniform, typically associated with 20th century factory workers or laboratory technicians, served to equalize the team and create a sense of anonymity.
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