Part 5 will be available soon.
Part 5 will be available soon.
Essence of a Style
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Part 5 will be available soon.
Glenn Martens, fashion at high-voltage
Profile'Essence of a Style' (4/6). Appointed to the helm of some of the biggest fashion houses, six designers are set to command the industry's attention this season. We look back at what has defined their distinctive touch so far, before their trial by fire. In this chapter, the former artistic director of the label Y/Project, now at Maison Margiela while continuing his work for Diesel.
The grandiose silhouettes, obscuring the models' faces, have been endlessly posted on Instagram since July 9. That evening, Belgian designer Glenn Martens was acclaimed for his debut runway show at Maison Margiela, where he succeeded John Galliano in January. Dystopian, sculptural and elevating DIY to the level of art, duchess satin gowns swirled like tornadoes, skirts were crafted from silk paper patchwork, denim was painted, ensembles were embroidered with vintage crystals and gowns were made from fragmented lace. In the underground spaces of Centquatre-Paris, a cultural institution in the northeast of the city where Martin Margiela staged his very last show in 2008, the creative director delivered a masterful performance.
The show's flamboyance echoed that of Galliano, while references to the founder (masks, aprons, painted textiles) reassured the "Margielophiles." As for the architectural, distorted approach, there was no doubt: it bore the new captain's signature. "Before fashion, Glenn Martens studied interior architecture [in Ghent, Belgium]. For him, constructing a garment starts with volume. While not as abstract a deconstructor as Rei Kawakubo [the Japanese designer and founder of Comme des Garçons], he starts from archetypes and applies twists, wrappings, spirals and curves until they mutate into memorable forms," said Leyla Neri, head of the master's program in fashion design at the Institut Français de la Mode (IFM, French Fashion Institute).
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