MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA CASHMERE

Maison Martin Margiela - $965

Good minimalist design is often a bit expensive, and our clients frequently wonder just what it is that makes a piece like the one above really worth what it costs.  A few helpful details, for the uninitiated:

• Maison Martin Margiela sources all their yarn from the best mills in Italy, including Zegna Baruffa for its ultrafine merino and Loro Piana for its 12 and 13 micron cashmere.  The best always costs a little more!
• Margiela's construction standards are of the very highest quality. Garments like this one are "Fully Fashioned" meaning they come off the knitting machine in one or two pieces, unlike cut-and-sewn sweaters which are made in small pieces and then sewn together later.  The 'Fully Fashioned' process takes more time, but results in a clean-laying garment that holds together much longer. 
• Margiela's product is deliberately produced in the smallest numbers possible - each garment is a limited edition.  Unlike huge mass-production, where every garment produced lowers the cost slightly, this small-batch attitude results in significant costs for the manufacturer. 
• Cost-per-wear on good minimalist design is surprisingly low, considering the initial price. When you have a garment for years to come (some of our clients still have favorite Butch Blum items from our opening in 1974) every time you wear it, the value gets better. Because it's extremely simple to begin with, you don't run into trend issues. 

Check out our favorites from the Maison this season, which include some of the best knitwear in our entire Fall 2013 collection.