Maison Margiela has always been known for rewriting the rules of fashion, but with its latest venture, the house has stepped off the runway entirely. Enter Line 2, a brand-new programme dedicated not to clothes or accessories but to art, culture, and the idea of “intangible products.” The debut comes in the form of an installation at the label’s Seoul flagship, unveiled during Frieze and running from September 3 to 28, where the spotlight shifts from garments to experience.
The first project is a collaboration between visual artist Heemin Chung and sound designer Joyul. Together, they’ve created Elsewhere, Rhema, Open Torso, an immersive installation that blends sculpture, atmosphere, and sound into a sensory landscape. The work draws from themes of memory and transformation, mirroring ideas explored in Margiela’s Fall/Winter 2025 collection. Think of it less as a store display and more as an experience, where art, environment, and fashion codes merge into something you can feel but not buy.
What makes Line 2 especially intriguing is its position in Margiela’s numbering system. For decades, the brand has assigned numbers to different categories of design, from ready-to-wear to fragrances. The number two, until now, had been left untouched. By giving it to this new platform, Margiela is signaling a deliberate shift. CEO Gaetano Sciuto explained the choice as a way to make cultural collaborations “as important, if not more important, than a single product.” In other words, the “line” itself becomes a living space for ideas.
The move comes at a time when luxury is no longer just about what you wear, but about what you experience. Across the industry, brands are reaching into the cultural sphere, staging performances, installations, and activations that speak to the community rather than just consumers. For Margiela, a house that has always thrived on questioning norms, the launch of Line 2 feels less like a surprise and more like the natural next step.
With Line 2, Maison Margiela is reframing what a collection can mean. The collaboration also taps into the growing synergy between fashion and contemporary art—a relationship that’s no longer a side note, but a core driver of how brands communicate. This is about dialogue, connection, and cultural presence, and expanding fashion’s boundaries beyond the physical and into the experiential. For a brand that built its legacy on challenging conventions, it feels like the boldest statement yet: fashion doesn’t stop at the garment.
