Spring Summer 1992 Striped Asymmetric Dress

Martin Margiela
Spring Summer 1992 Striped Asymmetric Dress
Size IT 44

An exceptionally rare archival Martin Margiela dress from the Spring/Summer 1992 collection, embodying the designer’s early experimentation with trompe-l’œil, repetition, distortion and the relationship between clothing and the body.

Constructed from a lightweight stretch cotton jersey in contrasting navy and white horizontal stripes, the dress initially recalls the simplicity of a classic striped T-shirt. Margiela radically alters this familiar archetype through its elongated proportions and dramatically asymmetric construction.

The striped pattern follows the body before becoming increasingly distorted toward the lower section, where the fabric twists and falls into an irregular pointed hem. The resulting silhouette changes according to movement, allowing the graphic stripes themselves to emphasize the construction of the garment.

During the show, Margiela explored the idea of extending striped garments beyond their physical boundaries: backstage, Martin Margiela painted stripes directly onto the body and other clothes, visually continuing the pattern of the striped trousers the models werewearing.

Archival imagery from the period documents this intervention, encapsulating one of the fundamental ideas of his early work—the deliberate blurring of boundaries between garment, body and surrounding image.
This dress translates that same visual language into a wearable piece. Rather than treating the stripe as a simple decorative motif, Margiela uses it as a structural device: horizontal lines bend and shift according to the pattern cutting, making the asymmetry of the garment immediately visible. The simplicity of the jersey contrasts with the complexity of the cut.

Great overall vintage condition.


Measurements

Armpits: 46 cm / 18.1 in

Waist: 37 cm / 14.6 in

Back length: 120 cm / 47.2 in

Shipped from France