Name changes tend to be a big deal in fashion. Like, a BIG deal. They represent a literal and/or metaphorial changing of the guard. And recently, there's been no more recognizable changing of the guard than Margiela appointing John Galliano as its newest creative director. With Galliano presenting his first collection for the house yesterday—a batshit, over-the-top, artistic couture explosion—no one even bothered to notice that the house of MMM actually dropped an M and changed its name to simply Maison Margiela, which Vanessa Friedman breaks down at The New York Times.
The other recent most notable example of this was Yves Saint Laurent's shift to Saint Laurent Paris when Hedi Slimane took the reins and that move was met with quite a bit of backlash. According to a Margiela spokesperson, this name change applies across the board and not to any one particular line within the brand. So, expect the rest of the brand to catch up with the new name over the next few months. In typical MMM, I mean, MM fashion, it came with no announcement—simply displaying the new name at the time of the runway show. There was no administrative push either, like Margiela PR reps insisting that writers or editors refer to the brand by its new moniker. Everyone was so distracted by the Galliano return that the house figured it would be for the best if it kept the name change under the radar. Also, it probably doesn't matter much in the long run anyway since everyone just says "Margiela" anyway. Whether or not you want to call this a "rebrand" is totally up to you.
