Glenn Martens Is The Designer Du Jour To Know
The Belgian creative director of Y/Project and Diesel has been one of fashion's cult names for years. Now, with a boost of popularity thanks to Kanye West and Julia Fox, and a spectacular collab with Jean Paul Gaultier, Martens' name is firmly on everyone's lips.
To say that Glenn Martens, the Bruges-born Belgian creative director of Y/Project and Diesel, is a hot, new fashion figure to know is both right and wrong.
It's true that Martens has had a standout season: his Y/Project collection was one of the Fall/Winter 2022 season's buzziest; shortly after that, he presented his guest-designed haute couture collection for Jean Paul Gaultier, and as this year opens his first batch of designs for a creatively-refreshed Diesel are dropping.
And who could forget Kanye West pulling full racks of S/S '22 Diesel for Julia Fox on the full-steam-ahead couple's second date?
But it's also true that Martens has been an influential, cult figure of fashion for years. Since taking over the Paris label Y/Project in 2013, following the death of the label's founder Yohan Serfaty, Martens has scooped up coveted accolades like the ANDAM Prize in 2017, and an LVMH Prize nomination in 2016. There's even been a collaboration with Uggs on thigh-high sheepskin boots that went viral courtesy of Rihanna.
Glenn Martens
However, this swirly moment of confluence – Y/Project, Diesel, Ye, JPG couture – has made Martens a name to really know and watch out for.
There is his signature dose of high-concept dressing at Y/Project, where clothes used to come with instruction guides for how to wear them. (For example: helpful directives to make sense of clothing with five sleeves instead of two.)
Martens' is the second guest designer for Jean Paul Gaultier's couture collection, picking up from where his predecessor Chitose Abe of Sacai left off last season.
On the other end of the spectrum, there are accessible, everyday denim staples at Diesel. And on a whole other level, there's also Martens' vision of full-tilt opulence and glamour courtesy of haute couture for Gaultier. To top it all off, a pop culture boost by the closely-watched Ye-Fox couple.
Ahead, a look at some of Martens' inventive new designs and a little about the man himself.
Since his appointment to Diesel as the denim brand's creative director in 2020, Martens has set about reviving the wit, humour and easy-going style of the label. One of the big moves: reviving the brand's "For Successful Living" slogan. Martens has also launched Diesel Library, a core permanent collection of premium denim staples with a sustainability bent that uses lower-impact materials and production techniques.
All talk of Diesel denim should not, however, detract from Martens' innovative construction-first design approach. Here, for example, is a detail from the brand's S/S '22 collection that features a recurring interwoven belt accent.
The recently shown Jean Paul Gaultier S/S '22 haute couture collection is the house's second to be guest-designed by a collaborator. Martens' go at couture follows Chitose Abe of Sacai. It's also a sort of homecoming for the Belgian designer, whose first job after graduating from the Antwerp Royal Academy of Fine Arts' fashion school was as a menswear designer at Gaultier.
The precise wording of Martens' collection for JPG is "Gaultier Paris by Glenn Martens from Y/Project". In it, Martens mined the vast codes of Jean Paul Gaultier's body of work, reinterpreting corsetry, Breton/mariniere stripes, denim and knitwear.
One of the standouts from this couture collection is this reinvention of Gaultier's lingerie-inspired bandage technique, rejigged to form a sexy daywear ensemble. In a quote given to Women's Wear Daily, Martens noted that both brands share a lot of "constructive twists" – inventive and unexpected ways of creating garments.
While the core of Martens' collaboration with Jean Paul Gaultier is in the couture (read: inaccessible to most), there was also an accompanying capsule of ready-to-wear pieces in the Y/Project F/W '22 show.
The designs – printed with suggestive outlines of bare bodies – are a reference to Gaultier's Cyberbaba prints from the '90s.