FEATURE｜INTERVIEW WITH Glenn Martens- Creative Director of Y / PROJECT –
Y / PROJECT SS2024 Photo: Daniele Mango
Taking classical clothing as a subject for daily wear, Glenn Martens’ unique elegance progresses by challenging the norms of clothing making and blurring the boundaries between incomplete and complete, and between motion and stillness. He is one of those rare individuals who has a creative ethic and has integrated it into his unique wardrobe.
The wave-like draping that is fixed on the clothes while twisting, distorting, and swirling is a technique born from integrating wire and material. The fluid fabric shape is a unique form that seems to have been instantly solidified by cutting off the flow of time. If you try to twist it further, the shape becomes even more abstract.
Martens not only reproduces his own ideas from the past, but also applies them to accessories, and we are reminded that he is constantly expanding his creations and keeping evolution in mind. It is not just his bold concepts and unique devices, but also his strong will to break down the concepts of luxury and formality.
What is the background, essence, and roots of his will?
We asked Martens some questions for QUOTATION FASHION ISSUE VOL.40.
He left his job at Y/PROJECT in September 2024. However, as a mark of respect to him and the creative world he left behind, we wanted to keep the English version of this interview on this website.
Y / PROJECT SS2024 Photo: Daniele Mango
＊This interview was conducted via email in May 2024.＊
―Is your atelier currently located in Paris? What is your impression of the city of Paris? Please tell me your three favorite places.
Glenn Martens: Paris is home to Y / PROJECT. It is the perfect starting point to me and to anything we do for the brand. Y / PROJECT speaks to everyone regardless of who they are or what they do, it’s all about being a free spirit of fun, opulence, and versatility, which is perfectly reflected in the ‘melting pot’ that is Paris.
My favorite places would be:
– Gustave-Moreau Museum
– Montmarte Cemetery
– Eglise Saint-Geneviève
―Please tell us a story about fashion from your childhood.
Glenn: I really wasn’t interested in fashion when I was a child. Instead, I was very obsessed by history and historical figures so I would draw Cleopatras and King Arthurs and Marie Antoinettes and every kind of historic and dramatic figure all day long. The thing is, I would focus on the way that they dressed and the clothes they were wearing because I had absolutely no idea what their faces looked like. It was then that I discovered garments can create a personality.
Y / PROJECT SS2024 Photo: Daniele Mango
―How did you decide to enroll at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp? What do you think about the characteristics of Antwerp and your own creations while you were studying there?
Glenn: Arriving at the Royal Academy was an accident. I was freshly graduated with a degree in interior architecture at 21, but with no motivation to actually work in that craft. I also felt I was too young to start the life of a grown-up. I wanted to study something more, but I had no idea what to study. I did remember visiting and reading about this crazy architectural building in Antwerp that happened to be where the Antwerp fashion academy was set. So, I thought it would be fun to spend some time studying in a gorgeous architectural building and I looked up what fashion was all about.
I went to the entrance exams with a portfolio full of kitchens, interiors, chairs, and furniture and I suddenly discovered the vastness of the applicants and how more than 400 kids try to get in every year, but they only allow 80. When I was accepted as one of the 80, I felt obliged to start studying because it was a privilege to be selected as part of the department. And then I fell in love a week later – with fashion.
Jean Paul Gaultier By Glenn Martens SS2022 Photo: Arnaud Lajeunie
―After graduating from Antwerp, you joined Jean-Paul Gaultier’s atelier. After that, in 2022, you created Jean-Paul Gaultier Haute Couture collection.What did you learn the most there? Please tell us about the story between you and Gaultier.
Glenn: Jean-Paul, when I was working there, was the epitome of the French ‘joie du vivre’. His motto was, ‘Fashion is hard, fashion can be a bitch, so why would you do it, if you don’t enjoy it?’. So, I learned a lot from that, and I try to carry that ethos with me throughout all my professional endeavors.
―I felt a homage to Gaultier in the Y / PROJECT FW2022-23 collection.We saw that homage in not only “trompe l’oeil” and “wrapped” garments, but also the attitude of strong femininity. We believe that season was a turning point for you and your brand. I was impressed by the strong message underlying the collection: “Believing in what we symbolize.”Please tell us more about that season when you recall.
Glenn: FW 2022-23 featured a collaboration between Y / PROJECT and JPG, but it was an official ready-to-wear capsule that was sold by both companies. It was the first season we came back after covid and, of course, we were all extremely excited to celebrate fashion and our art with everyone again. So, I think you could feel it in the collection, that this was a moment of happiness, of togetherness.
Jean Paul Gaultier By Glenn Martens SS2022 Photo: Arnaud Lajeunie
―In 2013, You became the creative director of Y / PROJECT. Has there been any change in your vision from the beginning to now?
Glenn: Y / PROJECT has been an amazing joyride as we grew organically, but consistently since day one. The core values of the brand have never changed, only to become bigger and better from season to season. Y / PROJECT has always been about eclecticism, opulence, versatility, individuality, and love.
―What process / métier are you most taking time? Is it the pattern, the detail, or the style? And why are you being particular about the process?
Glenn: In my heart, I am a pattern maker and tailor, so this is where my passion resides. I spend a lot of time looking at the inside of the garments and checking the finishings to make sure they are as perfect as everyone expects them to be.
―Apart from the latest collection, what are some of your favorite / memorable collections? Please tell me the reason for each.
Glenn: I have been very blessed that, for me, every single collection I present feels like the best collection achieved yet. So, I am always looking back at the last collection as the best collection. I think the day that I don’t have that feeling will be the day that I should consider retiring.
Y / PROJECT FW23-24 Photo: Daniele Mango
―I believe that the essence of your creation is to fuse all the elements such as “androgynous” and “fusion” into one, not only physically but also your creative mind. Please tell us about the fun of combining multiple elements.
Glenn: At Y / PROJECT we don’t give answers, we only ask questions. We do not believe in the ‘army effect’. When you wear Y / PROJECT, you are not part of a specific, entitled group. When you wear Y / PROJECT, you must look at yourself in the mirror and question yourself.
Y / PROJECT FW23-24 Photo: Daniele Mango
