It’s not as if we didn’t know but fashion’s mystery man is becoming even more mysterious: Belgian designer Martin Margiela is hanging up his scissors, and his lab coat, for good.

What’s more, the Paris-based fashion house that bears his name confirmed on Tuesday that no successor would be named, leaving a team to carry on the legacy of a designer so avant-garde he never showed his face to his fashion-obsessed public.

“We want to stay avant-garde, and provocative, but without a new creative director,” said Giovanni Pungetti, chief executive officer of Maison Martin Margiela. “It’s a challenge. We know this. We will probably make mistakes, but the most important thing is to learn from them.”

Margiela — who introduced cleft-toed boots, deconstructed fashions and all-white stores to the fashion lexicon — issued no statement. Pungetti declined to comment on the reasons for the designer’s exit, characterizing them as personal.

According to sources, Margiela has recently poured creative energies into painting and wished to walk away from the fashion business.

Pungetti described the parting as fully amicable, and stressed that Margiela remains allied with the strategy.
The announcement ends speculation about Margiela’s level of design involvement that reached a zenith ahead of his 20th anniversary fashion show in Paris in March, viewed by many as a retirement show.

4 currently exclusively stock Margiela’s Atelier Ruby helmet collaboration and the label’s unique range of concept home-ware.

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