The biggest case against digital fashion weeks and virtual expressions of creativity is that videos can’t evoke the poetry and emotion of an in-the-flesh experience. To that, I have two words: Leon Dame. The unbelievable stomp-strut that Dame brought to Maison Margiela’s spring 2020 runway sent thrills of delight through the show’s physical space and across the internet. Within minutes, Leon Dame was the name to know, the model to obsess over, the poster boy for a new, swaggeringly luxurious kind of runway fashion.
So the good news: John Galliano’s Maison Margiela Artisanal collection will be revealed this month in a film by Nick Knight, starring the one and only Leon Dame. The full video, which will be released at a later date in July, promises the kind of upcycled couture—“Recicla” to Margiela-ites—that Galliano has made his trademark at the maison, in psychedelic cinematography by Knight. A preview of the film, seen here, shows a long runway like those the brand hosts in Paris, where a lone model dramatically walks, revealing his face, and then pointedly turning away. Surely there is more to come, but until then, watching this clip on repeat serves up a jolt of fashion obsession in a season sadly low on a blood-pumping excitement.