What would you think about a documentary that never showed its subject on camera? Would you find the omission maddening, gimmicky, or subtly intriguing? The effect can feel a little of all three in Martin Margiela: In His Own Words. Director Reiner Holzemer refuses to let us glimpse the elusive Belgian-born fashion designer. We only get a sense of the man from his hands, his seductively scratchy voice, and, of course, his challenging, perplexing work. And as we settle into the film, the choice seems to represent its own kind of integrity. As Margiela says, “Your collections have to be really strong if they can’t put a face on them.…Anonymity is very important to me.” 

From its defiant post-punk soundtrack to the camera’s lingering over worn pre-digital artifacts, you can tell that Martin Margiela is going to be smarter than the usual air-kissing fashion doc. The cerebral approach fits the designer’s work, which could feature model’s faces obscured by fabric or hair or incorporate found material like broken dishes. But for all his confrontational methods, Margiela shrewdly balanced braininess with fun. He kept observers off balance as he mounted fashion shows in down-market locations and brought notes of joy and play to every spectacle.

The film doesn’t just concentrate on one life but more holistically reflects the currents around it. Margiela benefited from the end of the boom-boom 1980s, just in time to ring in the more experimental, personal spirit of a new decade. He beat Prada to the punch of knowing eccentricity and drew on the dark spirit of Alexander McQueen with irony and elegant restraint. The documentary makes the case for Margiela as a visionary ahead of his time. 

An endless renewal of inspiration was not easy to maintain, particularly for a perfectionist. “I was very hard on myself,” he admits. A stint at Hermès confounded expectations but piled on the work, and commercial dealmaking came with the pitfalls that had ensnared other designers. As the cultural shifts of the 1990s bore fruit for Margiela, the digital age sapped its flavor; accelerated production and sharing on multiple platforms held no appeal for him. “I like the energy that comes with a surprise, and this energy was completely lost. Everything was immediately pushed out on the internet.” Margiela also sensed a turning point. “I felt that this is the start of a moment where there are different needs in the fashion world, and I am not sure I can feed them.” 

In 2008, Margiela walked away from fashion to concentrate on painting and sculpture—choices that make complete sense. You get the feeling that he’s never looked back. And even though you have never once seen his face, you feel you know him. That’s part of the power of this rigorous yet sympathetic and revealing portrait.