The origin of the fashion firm Maison Martin Margiela is in Belgium in 1988. Martin Margiela studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. He was an assistant to Jean-Paul Gaultier for a time and later chief designer for women's fashion at Hermès. During this time, he founded his own fashion and fragrance company, Maison Martin Margiela, with a Brussels distributor.

The company does not have a logo. Only four stitches of basting thread show the Martin Margiela garments as a distinctive mark.

Martin Margiela's favorite color is reflected in many elements of the company. For example, the company's headquarters in Paris is white, as is the first fragrance called "(untitled)", so as not to distract from anything or signal anything.