As international luxury houses are forced to be more experimental with their approaches, the structure that the entire industry has run on is slowly but surely dismantling. But this might not be a bad thing.

FROM MODELS SWANNING ABOUT ELEGANTLY – NUMBER TAG IN HAND, MERE INCHES FROM GUESTS IN PACKED-OUT STORES AND SALONS – IN THE ’50S TO CHRISTY, NAOMI, CINDY AND LINDA STRUTTING WITH THEIR ARMS LINKED DOWN THE VERSACE RUNWAY TO THE TUNE OF GEORGE MICHAEL’S FREEDOM IN 1991, THE WAY ONE MOVES WHEN WEARING A GARMENT HAS ALWAYS BEEN A SIGNIFICANT, IF UNDERRATED, PART OF FASHION PRESENTATION. NOW, A NEW LEAGUE OF CHOREOGRAPHY HAS RISEN, AND CREATIVES ARE INCREASINGLY ELEVATING THE TASK OF BRINGING CLOTHES TO LIFE INTO AN ART FORM. GORDON NG REPORTS.

Martin Margiela’s legacy at Hermès is now on display as the subject of an exhibition at the MoMu Fashion Museum Antwerp.