Veil lifts on Martin Margiela, fashion's invisible man

He is the "Greta Garbo of fashion", a brilliant and reclusive genius who walked away from his own label when he became the most talked-about designer in the world. Two new Paris exhibitions lift a little of the mystery that surrounds Martin Margiela, arguably the most influential designer of the last 30 years. The Belgian blew away the sexed-up, money-obsessed extravagance of 1980s fashion by scandalously recutting secondhand clothes for the catwalk.