Royals are Fly. Y/Project AW17

March 2, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

Marie Antoinette and today’s rappers – at a first glance, nothing in common. But if you look at their shared love for over-the-top fashion, you might get the point behind Glenn Martens‘ autumn-winter 2017 collection at Y/Project. Big fur coats; leather hoodies with shearling inserts; lace-trimmed sweatpants; ball skirts styled with rhinestone embellished gladiator sandals. A clash between royalty and streetwear? Martens would rather call it as finding the mid-point between those two bold universes. A desire for looking, hmm, fly (although I doubt Antoinette would be use this word for her style).

Men’s – Napoleon. Y/Project AW17

January 22, 2017January 22, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

What happens when hip-hop star’s clothes land in Napoleon I’s wardrobe? Or Henry VIII takes style tips from Kanye? Glenn Martens, the designer behind Y/Project, is here to envision those impossible scenarios. Fusing royalty with streetwear, the Belgian designer styled distorted denim jackets with aristocratic, scarlet velvet. Every high-profile rapper has his / her merch outside the concert, selling everything from t-shirts to scarves: Martens reinterpreted the latter, putting faces of famous royals on each of them. Also, the floor-sweeping corduroy coats will make any entrance grand.

#2016 – Glenn Martens

December 14, 2016July 22, 2020 | Design & Culture by Ed

Y/Project is a prove that Paris looks forward to labels found by new-gen talents. Glenn Martens‘ vision blurs between the terms feminine and masculine, but also, reflect on the generations’ love for pastel-pink trashiness, Cher’s good, old looks and this neo-goth, neo-grunge mood (which appears repeatedly). But you can’t compare Glenn Martens’ label to the fashion collective Vetements – the philosophies of these two brands are totally different, just like the approach. At Y/Project, drama plays a role – bishop sleeves worn loosely with pencil skirts; sheer robes with ruff-like collars ooze with ethereal elegance, but with a modern-day twist. The list of must-haves keeps adding up, and curiosity of what’s to come at Y/Project is absorbing.

While others re-invent heritage, French brands or mess around with underground rave culture, Glenn is somewhere in between reviving Marie Antoinette dresses and developing a 21st century gear for cool women (and men). For spring/summer 2017, the designer nails denim pants, which are very much into elongated silhouettes. Velvet body-con piece or a pony-hair top subvert the term “elegance”, just like unconventional evening wear which focuses on exaggerated, sleeveless parachute dresses. The models wore layers of pearl necklaces, ironically contrasting with the so-in-demand street-wise hoodies. Following the anti-fashion maxim, the uglier the better, Glenn sent out a line of the most trashy mules and stilettos you have ever seen. “They’re from Chinatown,” he said backstage, without an attempt to conceal this fact. I doubt a modern-day princess would immerse herself in those cumbersome clothes – but a Parisian skate-girl, for sure.

Before Y/Project, Glenn had his own, namesake label. According to him, after few seasons he had a feeling he “slightly burned out”. Then in 2013, he came in as creative director of Y/Project, just after the death of the brand’s founder – Yohan Serfaty. Y/Project used to be all about darkness and leather (think Gareth Pugh and Rick Owens aesthetics). Martens’ revamp lead the brand to a new client, and a new image.

It seems that 2016 is the year, when we have all really discovered Glenn. I bet 2017 will be a bomb for the brand, too!

Your wardrobe needs… Y/Project t-shirt, Y/Project belt, Y/Project extended jeans & Y/Project tweed bustier dress.

Y/Project SS17

Chinatown Mules. Y/Project SS17

September 29, 2016September 29, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Amid the new league of young, fashion talents based in Paris, there’s Jacquemus, Koché, Courrèges boys, and of course Vetements collective. Another one in the hood is Glenn Martens, who is the designer behind Y/Project. While other re-invent heritage, French brands or mess around with underground rave culture, Glenn is somewhere in between reviving Marie Antoinette dresses and developing a 21st century gear for cool women (and men). For spring/summer 2017, the designer nails denim pants, which are very much into elongated silhouettes. Velvet body-con piece or a pony-hair top subvert the term “elegance”, just like unconventional evening wear which focuses on exaggerated, sleeveless parachute dresses. The models wore layers of pearl necklaces, ironically contrasting with the so-in-demand street-wise hoodies. Following the anti-fashion maxim, the uglier the better, Glenn sent out a line of the most trashy mules and stilettos you have ever seen. “They’re from Chinatown,” he said backstage, without an attempt to conceal this fact. I doubt a modern-day princess would immerse herself in those cumbersome clothes – but a Parisian skate-girl, for sure.

Generation’s Wardrobe. Y / Project AW16

March 3, 2016December 14, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Just after reviewing Koché, Y / Project is the next clear prove that Paris looks forward to labels found by new-gen talents, and those who made the cut in the LVMH Prize Awards. Ideas proposed by Glenn Martens blur between the terms feminine and masculine, but also, reflect on the generations’ love for Scream Queens pastel-pink trashiness, Cher’s good, old looks and this neo-goth, neo-grunge mood (which appears repeatedly this season). To an extend, the collection reminds me of Vetements, with its focus on denim (here, it’s all about the slouchy, elongated length of pants as seen above) and a kind of anti-fashion attitude. But you can’t compare Glenn Martens’ label to the fashion collective lead by Demna Gvasalia – the philosophies of these two brands are totally different, just like the approach. At Y / Project, drama plays a role – bishop sleeves worn loosely with pencil skirts; sheer robes with ruff-like collars ooze with ethereal elegance, but with a modern-day twist. The list of must-haves keeps adding up, and curiosity of what’s to come at Y / Project makes me wonder.