Good clothes are like classic books: solid references that you will turn back to time and again. At MM6 Maison Margiela, that thought was brought to the fore by a library card print, where check-out stamps matched the line’s show dates.

Although the brand’s studio design team likes to offer cleverly revisited staple items, it’s the plot twists that the wearer can bring they’re more than ever interested in. Hence double-ended or multiwear designs, telegraphing the idea of one’s way being the right way to wear something.

Among the standouts were a double-layer A-line skirt that could turn into a cocktail-appropriate dress by pulling the top layer onto the bust; a slipdress that could turn into a top by shimmying into the additional straps built into the hemline, and pieces with opera-length gloves built in. These could be used as belts but when worn, turned the outfit into a more dramatic version.

On the menswear side, it continued to mine masculine archetypes, given a softer, more sensual read than last season’s Pitti Uomo villains thanks to summer-weight materials and tweaks like rolled-up sleeves.

Browsing the racks in person brought out the clever touches that make an MM6 showroom visit a treat: golden tresses printed along the collar of a sweater; the invisible buttons that made a double-ended shirt wearable both ways, or a shirting-weight denim with a sueded flocking treatment that was cut in boxy overshirts and straight leg jeans, expected to age handsomely with every wear and wash.

Accessories, shoes in particular, did not disappoint. These included a take on the “ballerina sneaker” trend, for him and for her; elegant leather slip-ons for men, and a new iteration of the brand’s popular “Japanese” bag with a metal handle that could be detached for increased versatility.