Maison Margiela released its Autumn Winter 2025 campaign “Thursday” featuring Miley Cyrus, its first celebrity ambassador. The French luxury brand has not worked with celebrities before this, in keeping with its house codes.
Shot by Paolo Roversi, the autumn winter ’25 fashion campaign depicts Miley Cyrus in a series of black-and-white portraits, covered in white paint. The brand is adapting for a new era of fashion, where internet culture and celebrity are at the forefront, while maintaining its quiet luxury image through Roversi’s photography style. The campaign consists of a series of painterly portraits to celebrate the luxury label’s origins; the photographs have employed a white-overpaint bianchetto technique that was introduced back in 1989.
The pop and country singer has been wearing maison Margiela since 2023, most recently to the 2025 Vanity Fair Oscar Party so she is the perfect brand ambassador. “The nudes by Paolo are so iconic and signature to his art,” she said in a statement. “Standing naked for a fashion campaign felt major, all I wore was body paint and the signature painted Tabi boots. In that moment, Margiela and I became one.”
About Maison Margiela
Martin Margiela, after graduating from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp in 1979, worked as a freelance designer and later as an assistant to Jean Paul Gaultier in Paris from 1984 to 1987. In 1988, he launched Maison Martin Margiela with Jenny Meirens, establishing their first store in an unmarked white space in Paris. The brand quickly became known for its deconstructed designs, featuring exposed seams and unconventional materials, reflecting influences from Japanese avant-garde fashion.
The debut womenswear collection in 1988 was presented in an unconventional manner, with models walking in an empty playground on the outskirts of Paris. Margiela’s choice to avoid the spotlight, refusing post-show bows and handling media communications collectively, emphasized the brand’s focus on the clothing rather than the designer’s persona. This approach led the press to dub him the “Greta Garbo of fashion.”
In 1997, Margiela took on the role of creative director for womenswear at Hermès, where he introduced understated collections that contrasted with the brand’s traditional image. His tenure at Hermès lasted until 2003, during which he balanced his responsibilities with his work at Maison Martin Margiela. The brand expanded its product lines over the years, introducing menswear in 1998 and its first haute couture collection in 2006. Notable collaborations include a 2012 capsule collection with H&M, which reissued iconic pieces from the Margiela archives, and partnerships with brands like Converse and G-Shock.
In 2002, Maison Martin Margiela was acquired by the OTB Group, led by Renzo Rosso. Following Margiela’s departure as creative director in 2009, the brand operated under a collective design team until 2014, when John Galliano was appointed as creative director. Galliano integrated the brand with his distinctive style while honoring its deconstructive heritage. In 2015, the brand dropped “Martin” from its name, becoming Maison Margiela, signaling an evolution in its identity.
John Galliano’s departure from Maison Margiela in 2024 was revealed through his heartfelt post on Instagram. “The rumours… Everyone wants to know and everyone wants to dream. When the time is right, all will be revealed,” Galliano posted. “For now, I take this time to express my immense gratitude. I continue to atone and will never stop dreaming.”
“Together we have done something incredible that will be forever engraved in the history of fashion. In a world where collections seem to look more and more like each other, products with no real and distinctive DNA, John gave center stage to the greatness, the culture and the values of product,” Rosso told WWD. “He made Margiela a unique house that embodies the desire for creativity and the dream of fashion, bringing it to a worldwide success based on these rare product values.”
However, there’s no disputing the impact of Galliano on the luxury brand during his tenure there. His Spring 2025 Artisanal Show was a success and he also dressed Met Gala co-hosts Zendaya and Bad Bunny. Per WWD, ‘At the time of Galliano’s appointment, market sources estimated the company generated about 100 million euros annually. It operated about 50 directly owned stores in 2014. Today, the company boasts about 120 stores globally, 50 of them having opened in the last four years, and 43 of those in Asian countries, led by Japan, China and South Korea.’
In the most recent news, Parisian Haute Couture house Maison Margiela and parent company OTB Group have announced the appointment of Glenn Martens as Creative Director with immediate effect, and look forward to building on its unique codes and brand values, with him. Martens, who was appointed artistic director at Diesel in 2020, remains at Milan-based OTB Group, which owns both Maison Margiela and Diesel.
“I feel extremely honored to join the amazing Maison Margiela, a truly unique house that has been inspiring the world for decades. And I thank Renzo for the trust he is putting in me,” expressed Glenn Martens in a company statement.
“I have worked with Glenn for years, I have witnessed his talent, and I know what he is capable of,” says Renzo Rosso, Chairman of OTB Group. “After Martin, who gave life to the Maison and its unique artisanal line, and John who made it the most cutting-edge couture house in the world, I am proud to have a third couturier at its helm. Glenn, who studied at Antwerp Royal Academy of Fine Arts like Martin, has already shown his prowess and his vision in couture”.
Throughout its history, Maison Margiela has maintained its avant-garde approach, often holding shows in unconventional venues and obscuring models’ faces to keep the focus on the garments. The brand’s commitment to innovation and challenging fashion norms has solidified its place as a pioneer in the industry.
Jasmeen Dugal is Associate Editor at FashionABC, contributing her insights on fashion, technology, and sustainability. She brings with herself more than two decades of editorial experience, working for national newspapers and luxury magazines in India.
Jasmeen Dugal has worked with exchange4media as a senior writer contributing articles on the country’s advertising and marketing movements, and then with Condenast India as Net Editor where she helmed Vogue India’s official website in terms of design, layout and daily content. Besides this, she is also an entrepreneur running her own luxury portal, Explosivefashion, which highlights the latest in luxury fashion and hospitality.
