Glenn Martens will have reigned over Y/Project for more than a decade. Eleven wonderful years to be exact, during which the Belgian designer, who was appointed head of the Parisian label in 2013, held the position of artistic director. “Y/Project thanks Glenn Martens for his contributions and wishes him the best for the future,” we can read in the press release announcing, early this afternoon, the surprise departure of the designer, who also works at Diesel (since 2020).
A relative surprise since Y/Project had finally decided not to show at Paris Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2024-2025 due to poor internal finances. Last June, Gilles Elalouf, CEO and co-founder of Y/Project, suddenly passed away. An additional blow for the label, which was nevertheless one of the most popular and appreciated at Paris Fashion Week. In 2010, it was alongside the same Gilles Elalouf that Glenn Martens started before taking over the reins of the label three years later.
Without announcing his successor for the time being, Y/Project wanted to highlight the talents of the 40-year-old man, thanks to whom the French brand was able to experience “an intense period of development, going so far as to achieve critical and commercial success”. If Glenn Martens, for his part, has not yet spoken directly about this departure, it is a safe bet that this decision was one of the most difficult to make in his career. “Glenn Martens would like to thank Y/Project and Gilles Elalouf […] for supporting him and giving him the freedom to express his artistic vision,” the same press release states.
From Jean Paul Gaultier to Y/Project
Over the years, Glenn Martens had become the face of Y/Project, a label that he is often credited with creating, but which he only joined halfway through, after a stint at Jean Paul Gaultier. It was with the legendary Parisian designer that this Belgian from Bruges, a graduate of the prestigious Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, learned his trade. First as first assistant to Yohan Serfaty at Y/Project (the second founder of the label with Gilles Elalouf), he was appointed to the top position just three years later. In 2017, Glenn Martens was already making so much noise with Y/Project that he won the LVMH Prize.
Y/Project Fall-Winter 2022-2023.© Kristy Sparow/Getty Images
