Shanghai. Maison Margiela AW26

April 3, 2026 | Design & Culture by Ed

At this point, there’s little sense in trying to draw connections between what Martin Margiela’s brand once was and what it is today. In the days of the revolutionary Belgian designer, the scale was small, anonymity was essential, and no-nonsense ideas were paramount. Today, this is Renzo Rosso’s house being scaled up – not only through perfume lines or Miley Cyrus campaigns, but also by presenting its latest collection in Shanghai.

I don’t see Maison Margiela as a “destination” brand like Chanel or Louis Vuitton, so it’s difficult to justify this move as anything beyond commercial expansion. The autumn-winter 2026 collection marks Glenn Martens’ third outing. It is, so far, his strongest – far more compelling than his spring effort, with its inexplicable metal gags tucked into models’ mouths – yet that doesn’t mean I’m entirely convinced. READ MY FULL REVIEW HERE.

ED’s SELECTION:

Maison Margiela Tabi Ballerina Split-toe Distressed Velvet Pumps

Maison Margiela Dégradé Checked Woven Midi Skirt

Maison Margiela Embroidered Mesh-trimmed Wool Cardigan

Maison Margiela Box Leather Shoulder Bag

Maison Margiela Padded Wool-trimmed Quilted Crinkled Shell Jacket

Maison Margiela Ombre Leather Anatomic Block-Heel Pumps

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Brut. Maison Margiela AW25 Haute Couture

July 10, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

Couture is the most archaic branch of fashion sensu lato, and this time around I really wondered if it shouldn’t be put to sleep – and wake up only when it has something meaningful to say again. Or at least when a prince – a new, revolutionary talent – emerges and gives it a kiss of life.

Glenn Martens certainly isn’t that prince. I’ve never been a number one Y/Project fan, and his Diesel isn’t my cup of tea either. So when the news broke that he’s the new creative director of Maison Margiela, you can imagine I wasn’t overly thrilled. After seeing his debut artisanal collection yesterday, all I thought was: damn, we’ve been really blessed to see John Galliano’s final act over a year ago (and we just didn’t deserve it).

To me, Martin Margiela isn’t just the ultimate fashion genius – but also a designer of silence. It took years for Galliano to get into that “silence”. Martens, who’s from a generation that studied Margiela at school, and whose work has been heavily influenced by Margiela since day one, is a “loud” designer. As in “pop-loud”.

That says a lot about why his first collection for the house lacked the soul-touching subtlety of Martin – or Galliano – and instead relied heavily on straightforward references, such as the masks. READ MY FULL REVIEW HERE.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Less is More. Y/Project AW24

March 15, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Y/Project‘s Glenn Martens proved this season that sometimes less can be really more. The high profile and influential designer owned the fact his brand faces financial pressures and cancelled his runway show. In response, an important discourse opened up on the internet: the current industry system isn’t really working for independent brands. “Very honestly, we had a cash flow issue,” Martens candidly said. “We did the commercial showroom during men’s week, and we actually did grow. But at a certain point you have to make a choice. It’s €450,000 for a show, or €450,000 for pre-payment for production and making sure the collection is on time on the sales floor.” That Martens chose production and the sales floor will benefit his team and his brand in the end, of course. And somehow, the autumn-winter 2024 collection benefited too from that decision, because the lookbook is brilliant. Everyone from his father to to Interview‘s Mel Ottenberg and Purple‘s Olivier Zahm to his favorite stylists Haley Wollens and Camille Bidault Waddington is captured in the line-up. For the new collection Martens said he was thinking of pleurants, the sculptures of mourners that decorated tombs in medieval times, an instinct motivated by a sudden personal loss. He also mentioned Umberto Eco’s Middle Ages murder mystery The Name of the Rose. Putting his draping chops front-and-center, he added hoods to otherwise familiar garments like button-down shirts and fleece jackets, or inset sheer panels behind a row of buttons that gave his clothes a slouchy asymmetric shape. Some pieces featured manipulable velcro pieces that let their wearers adjust their silhouettes in the same way his bendable wire has been used in the past. A coat, for example, can convert into a cape, while a painterly floral print skirt can completely change form. Other pieces were shrouded with sheer net. The veiled pant suit gave the term fashion nun new meaning.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Weirdly Fascinating. Y/Project SS24

October 4, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

Y/Project‘s Glenn Martens continues to push the limitations of fabrics in ways only he knows how. Like proposing swollen jeans that frothed in off-kilter formations, or controlling heaps off the fabric into severe hooded bomber jackets dyed in ecclesiastical purple. Warped and wonderfully weird, other standouts from the spring-summer 2024 collection included distorted negligee frocks worn with necklaces shaped like snakes (a Britney Spears moment), crumpled up crop tops, and a series of metal foil gowns that looked as if they were constructed from molten lava. This is a designer firmly in his own league.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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It’s a Party. Diesel SS24

September 21, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

The Diesel show had a lot to say. But in the end, I thought Glenn Martens lost his focus, as the collection went in too many directions and roamed into pure entertainment. But then, Diesel is the go-to brand for hedonism. As the first models came out in his artisanal-industrial shredded and devoré denim outfits, the rain started to slice with gusto through the spotlit area above the huge runway that stretched long into the huge crowd (the free tickets that had been made available online – first to 1,500 students from Milan’s universities, then to all comers – had been snapped up in minutes). Dieselized parodies of old-school movie posters appeared on the garments, which in majority were distressed, acid-washed and double layered. Close fitting ruched jersey or lurex dresses, some of them traced with the external outline of underwear, acted as loose human pastiche of the Oscars statuette. But it also read very Mugler. Destroyed tuxedos, half red carpet and half apocalypse, were the masculine counterpoint. Artisanal pieces included dresses handmade in shredded denim or burned mesh. Several models were caked in grayish ochre mud that matched the tone of their looks. As the last model walked, statuette-esque in a flowing black silk skirt and bralette/scarf combo, the rain suddenly cleared. The finale – and then four more hours of partying – followed.