Elusive as the Belgian designer already is—refusing to appear in public or be interviewed by the media—rumors have spread that he has been away from Maison Martin Margiela even before the shows last season.
Nobody has straight answers to the barrage of intriguing questions: Who designs now? Since when has he been gone? Is it true that Renzo Rosso of Diesel, which controls MMM, has interviewed Raf Simons and Haider Ackermann for the position?
Even this alleged picture of him (circa 1997) has not been verified.
It is indeed a shame and a tragedy if it is true that conflict in terms of creative control has prompted the sartorial genius to step aside or to leave altogether. He has been called the last remaining original designer, with the rest of the industry merely appropriating his ideas into their own collections.
It will be a a tragedy for the fashion world if these rumors can be confirmed. And even then, the revelation would only lead to more questions: How long does he plan to be away? Will he pursue other artistic interests like Helmut Lang? Will he just do collaborations like Jil Sander for Uniqlo?
What will we wear?
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Update: A Diesel insider has stated that the rumors are not true. What a relief!