The new Maison Margiela Pre-Fall 2016 collection juxtaposed Creative Director John Galliano’s grand gestures with the brand’s old sleights of hand.

There was a clever blur of masculine and feminine on a gender-ambiguous model. Moments of pure femininity and masculinity were interspersed with gender-bender pieces of boxy blazers and cinched dresses.

The golden overcoat with a great swoop of a collar worn with an orange bias-cut dress was trademark Galliano, of course, in both silhouette and color palette. The lineup featured decorative motifs which ranged from beading designed to evoke the pattern on the back of a playing card to a wet-paint print that looked as if the wearer had sat on a freshly shellacked bistro chair. The house’s new bag, a top-handle style with a canvas lining that pops out complimented the ambiguous socks and sandals trend.