That evening, Thursday January 25, it was a full moon.
The first of the year.
John Galliano made history with his Maison Margiela haute couture show, which closed four days of shows in Paris.
In the end, the guests, installed under the Alexandre III bridge in Paris, were upset.
In addition to clapping intensely, some were crying, others were stamping their feet hard enough to make the wooden floor shake.
What did they see to cause such (and so rare) excitement during a fashion show?
Male and female silhouettes with porcelain complexions, almost larger than life, reminiscent of the well-made makeup of the Victorian years.
Most of the models were encased in corsets, reflecting the aesthetic of Toulouse Lautrec's courtesans.
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Maison Margiela haute couture spring-summer 2024 show. Imaxtree
In this theatrical momentum, aided by an intimate scenography and the strange and disjointed gait of the models, the women's chests appeared overflowing, generously exposed under a transparent veil.
The same goes for their pubic hair, which many discovered with surprise and a certain form of curiosity.
The return of the Merkin
Obviously, women's hair is valued here, becoming an asset of seduction, going against current beauty standards.
And sticking to the practices of the Belle Epoque, where abundant pubic hair was considered healthy and desirable (at a time when shaving it was more reminiscent of lice and syphilis).
Women who show their bodies (actresses, dancers, or even prostitutes) often use it.
But some also wear the Merkin, a sort of pubic hairpiece often made from their own hair to hide this misfortune.
The first versions of these “underwear” date back to Antiquity, and were made with animal hair.
So what about these dense and coarse fleeces, slightly veiled by tulle or lace, seen at the Maison Margiela fashion show?
More real than nature!
To give this real impression, these Merkins have in fact been made from real pubic hair, and embroidered by hand.
Haute couture, in short.