Maison Margiela presents its Spring/Summer 2027 collection against a backdrop of decaying flowers, curated by floral artist Marke Colle. The scenery pays homage to Raf Simons’s 2012 debut for Christian Dior, reimagining its famous abundance of flowers in a wilted state that acknowledges the passage of time. Florals make their way into the collection itself, with vivid, flowery prints blossoming throughout.

Beyond the florals, Glenn Martens roots much of the collection in a study of hard and soft, two opposing ideas that guide its construction and design. A trench coat incorporates a hardened panel to create a distinct silhouette, while flowing drapery across dresses and tops is tied back to create a sense of restraint. Rigid panels appear across shirts, jackets, and dresses, while dramatic darting brings further structure to knitted dresses. Throughout, softness is interrupted by construction, allowing the tension between the two to shape the collection.

This play between hard and soft is rooted in the history of Parisian ateliers. Traditionally, ateliers were divided between Tailoring—structural and hard—and Flou—draped and soft. The Spring/Summer 2027 collection considers the historical significance of this separation, imagining what happens when the two traditions collide.

There’s a breadth to Martens’s collection, spanning the vivid colors of floral prints to a black crochet dress worn with net stockings. Elsewhere, graphic prints take on an airbrushed quality, adding another visual language to the mix. Just as the collection plays between hard and soft, it shifts between styles with a sense of freedom and playfulness. The signatures of Margiela remain, but Martens expands upon them with more movement, more structure, and more color. It’s Margiela imagined at its best.