‘Fashion should be a never-ending Christmas,’ says Belgian streetwear designer. Is he the next Virgil Abloh?
- The only designer Glenn Martens could name was Karl Lagerfeld, and his degree was in interior design, but Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts took him in
- Rihanna is among the fans of his cult label Y/Project, where fun, diversity and opulence guide his creations – designed for clients to personalise
The fashion industry is dominated by big brands and luxury conglomerates, but is always looking for fresh talent that challenges established thinking and the way we dress. A few years ago fashion discovered Demna Gvasalia, creative director of “underground” label Vetements; he was followed by Virgil Abloh, who founded luxury streetwear label Off-White.
Both men soon moved on to higher things, hired as creative directors of luxury labels (Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton respectively), leaving the door wide open for a new maverick to step into the spotlight.
The timing couldn’t be better, then, for Glenn Martens of Paris-based Y/Project. The Belgian designer became the brand’s creative director only six years ago but has quickly amassed a cult following for his eclectic collections that mix different genres and experiment with technique and construction.
The brand has been nominated for the LVMH Prize, took home the Andam Fashion Award in 2017, and counts singer Rihanna among its fans.
“There is nothing that designers haven’t already tried to explore or address. At the end of the day you only have two legs and arms to play with like everyone else,” explains Martens, who was recently in Hong Kong to launch an exclusive capsule collection with retailer Joyce.
