“Geometry with a sense of ease”. This was the opening line from the Maison Martin Margiela for their latest menswear outing, a video and live presentation held in the basement of Le Laboratoire in the centre of Paris this week. The Maison played a humorous game on their audience, with a 3-D and 2-D show running simultaneously. As the on-screen models stood in front of the white sheet backdrops in various outdoor environments, their physical counterparts emerged to show the garments – this season based on the shape of the rectangle. The show’s invitation of an acrylic stencil added further to the wit.

Margiela’s jackets fell straight down the chest, with traditional lapels separated or missing entirely, some layered over with simple, flat sleeveless vests to hide the conventional detailing. For an unusual take on the waistcoat (seemingly the centrepiece of the collection) a single cotton stitch held two rectangles of wood, leather or wool together at the centre of the shoulderblade – wrapping around the frame as an abstract object echoing architectural and furniture design. One other vest was woven from fine leather strips into braided ‘ladders’ – a trick of the eye ‘knitwear piece’ that continued at the neckline into a scarf.

The presentation as always was a mix of pieces from the collection for men (Line 10), the wardrobe for men (Line 14), the Replica capsule, Artisanal (Line 0) and shoes (Line 22) and accessories (Line 11). From the Artisanal line, a leather waistcoat embroidered in guinea fowl feathers was an exceptional piece. The final look showed a cage jacket woven from a thick lattice of dark leather, standing stiff like medieval armour.

Through the Replica capsule, classic pieces returned to the collection in new fabrications, including the iconic three-zip biker in rough calfskin and the beige trench. For accessories, boots were burnished in gold leaf and derbies were crafted with traditional metal studs, while a cummerbund curved around the torso in polished wood.

Never swaying from the eclectic blend of the conceptual and the comfortable, Margiela menswear once again reached its own benchmark of relaxed sophistication. Appealing to their audience with a unique sense of detached humour, new technology and revived craftsmanship, Margiela remains an intellectual powerhouse in an increasingly irrational industry.