Arbitrage NYC is back with its latest archival capsule collection. Following explorations into the Dolce & Gabbana and Rick Owens and archives earlier this year, Arbitrage NYC’s latest project focuses on the Maison Martin Margiela archive.

Arbitrage NYC has curated over 40 pieces of vintage Margiela, most of which comes from between Fall/Winter 1990 and Fall/Winter 2008 seasons. Collected to showcase a representation of the maison’s core tenants in menswear, there are several artisanal pieces in the offering, including rebuilt military vests, an upcycled Penn State sweater and two pairs of hand-painted denim. Naturally, the selection includes classic menswear staples reimagined for the Margiela man, like the Fall/Winter 2000 wool chesterfield coat and a trench coat from Spring/Summer 2002. The work of legendary knitwear producer (and Margiela collaborator) Deanna “Miss Deanna” Ferretti is also represented in this edited selection.

The accompanying lookbook makes direct reference to the men’s presentations of Maison’s past by favoring a minimal and informal setting. By obscuring the model’s eyes, the viewer is able to focus on the clothes—not the styling or the personalities—involved in the presentation. It harkens back to the designer’s own policy of anonymity; it’s never about the person or people behind the clothes, it’s about the craft and the clothes themselves. Even as Margiela himself has left this brand behind, that sense of separation still remains at the house today—and was certainly the policy in place when the clothes in this curated collection were designed.

Other notable highlights include the Spring/Summer 2001 artisanal military vest, the reversed oversized Michigan crew from Fall/Winter 2005 and a pair of hand-painted German Army Trainers from Spring/Summer 2006. While the German Army Trainer is a sneaker silhouette that has reached icon-status in the menswear universe, its rise as a fashionable sneaker is undoubtedly thanks to the innovation and reconstruction from Maison Martin Margiela.

Shop the full capsule collection below.

Photography: Jackson Ray

Model: Nicolas Lazaro

Styling: Alexandra Mitchell and Clif Shayne

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