Maison Margiela and Paramount+’s Yellowstone franchise don’t have much in common. One’s a subversive European luxury fashion house beloved by art school kids, the other is an epic American western beloved by grandparents everywhere. Last night, however, Michelle Randolph traversed the fashion archives to find the one Margiela piece that was decidedly perfect for the season 2 premiere of the Yellowstone spinoff, 1923.
Randolph sourced a strapless shift dress from Margeila’s spring 2008 collection that featured a pictorial scene of two stallions over a dramatic mountain range. The wild print faded out at the knee as the garment gave way to a semi-sheer maxi skirt. Randolph opted to forgo the editorial runway stylings shown in the late aughts—the model wore metallic goggles and “naked” heels when this dress debuted during Paris Fashion Week—in favor of classic red carpet glam.
The print is apparently a riff on a found painting called “Summoning the Storm” by a British artist named David Penfound. It was shown throughout the spring collection on blouses and mini dresses. According to the L.A. Times, the commercial version was such a hit among shoppers that a $1,395 t-shirt featuring the print instantly sold out at the brand’s Beverly Hills boutique. At the time, the brand’s representatives called the print a “collage of nostalgic images compiled in-house.”
Although everyone from Zoe Saldaña and Renée Zellweger have been wearing John Galliano’s Margiela of late (the designer departed the brand in late 2024), Randolph’s dress is actually designed by Martin Margiela himself. The spring 2008 season was one of Margiela’s last times working for his namesake label which he founded in 1988. He now lives a fairly secluded life as a fine artist and sculptor between Paris and Brussels.
Archival bonafides aside, Randolph’s choice of dress couldn’t have been more perfect for last night’s premiere. She plays a woman named Liz Strafford in 1923 whose fiancé Jack Dutton and father Bob Strafford are both ranchers in Great Depression-era Montana. You might remember tha Bella Hadid made a cameo on 1923’s parent show Yellowstone late last year. We’re actually sort of surprised Hadid didn’t get her hands on this Margiela piece first.
