Maison Martin Margiela Artisanal Ligne 0 Collection Couture

Vintage buttons are embroidered on a silk chiffon to create a "Mouth"motif; 25 Hours of Hand work, Limited Edition Maison Martin Margiela Artisanal Ligne "0" Collection Couture, $6,595.00 at Yoox.com.

Early December, Martin Margiela, one of the most celebrated avant-garde designers of the 20th and 21st centuries, announced he was to leave his Paris-based label. The mysterious Margiela has been an influence in avant garde fashion for the past 20 years, and will not name a successor to replace his post. "We want to stay avant-garde, and provocative, but without a new creative director," Giovanni Pungetti, chief executive officer of Maison Martin Margiela, told WWD, earlier this month. The house will continue to show the Artisanal Line ( Labeled "0" for their Haute Couture collection) during Paris Couture Fashion week, on January 26, 2010 , without Margiela.

The Artisanal Line is the house's expression of haute Couture since 1989, creating garments by hand, in their atelier, using recycle items such as old records and shoe strings. Each garment is reworked by hand using haute couture techniques, requiring days of work, resulting in unique, extremely limited, and one-of-a-kind pieces. Most pieces do not require fittings, and some are available in editions of 5, but the house continues to provide this line as their haute couture service, and are official corresponding members of the CHAMBRE SYNDICALE DE LA HAUTE COUTURE (which also include Giorgio Armani Prive, Elie Saab, and Valentino). Maison Martin Margiela Artisanal Collection Ligne "0" is now available to order at Yoox.com. (It was previously sold exclusively at Margiela by Special order in NY and Paris.)

This video shows the Paris atelier of Maison Martin Margiela creating "Artisanal couture" pieces by hand using recycled objects, such as bicycle reflectors (Video by Yoox.com).