Martin Margiela
"Change is easier recognized in hindsight and can rarely be anticipated. An experience that changes absolutely nothing is hardly worth having."
This reclusive designer is a key figure in fashion's deconstructionist camp, an intellectual position that he has held since his days at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. He and fellow graduates like Ann Demeulemeester and Dries van Noten rose to media attention as the Antwerp Six, known for their iconoclastic design philosophy. 1984, Margiela began working for Jean Paul Gaultier, then formed his own company four years later with partner Jenny Meirens. Margiela excels at cerebral clothing that challenges conventional fashion, like his "flat" collection - clothes constructed like flat grocery bags - and clothes made out of dress forms.