Why Glenn Martens is the perfect fit for Maison Margiela

Months of rumours were put to rest yesterday, when the Italian conglomerate OTB Group confirmed that Glenn Martens would be joining the house of Margiela as its new creative director.

The group’s chairman Renzo Rosso, who founded the denim brand Diesel which Martens has headed up since 2020, wrote on Instagram: “Welcome @glennmartens to the amazing @maisonmargiela , the most cutting-edge couture house in the whole world. Now it’s your turn to write the next chapter - an honor and a responsibility, with an incredible team by your side. Make us dream. [sic]”

Martens will continue his role at Diesel, juggling creative director positions at both brands.

John Galliano, the legendary designer who has helmed Maison Margiela for ten years, sent shockwaves through the industry when he announced his departure last December. A few months earlier, in September, Martens stepped down from the top job at Y/Project (which he balanced alongside Diesel) and the rumour mill has been working over-time since then.

It’s hard to keep up with the creative director game of musical chairs, but this is one that we’re really excited about. So who is Glenn Martens, and why is he such a good fit for Margiela?

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The 41-year-old designer is originally from Bruges, Belgium. Martin Margiela, the founder of the now luxury-house, is also Belgian. Both Margiela and Martens graduated from Antwerp’s prestigious Royal Academy of Fine Arts: Margiela in 1979, Martens in 2008. Both then moved to Paris and began working for Jean Paul Gaultier: Margiela in 1984 and Martens in 2008.

Martens was offered a role at Jean Paul Gaultier as junior designer for the women’s pre-collection and his menswear label G2. In 2012, he started his own eponymous label, which made its debut at Paris Fashion Week, and ran for three seasons.

He had also been working as first assistant to Y/Project creative director and founder Yohan Serfaty. After Serfaty passed away in April 2013, his business partner Gilles Elalouf convinced Martens to take the helm of the label.

In a few seasons, the menswear label turned into a brand worn by millennials and A-listers alike. Unisex streetwear pieces fuse grunge, a sense of humour and lashings of attitude, making the Y/Project shows absolute must-sees at Paris Fashion Week.

This caught the attention of Renzo Rosso, who hired Martens as Diesel’s artistic director in October 2020.

Martens juggled this with his responsibilities at Y/Project, before stepping down last September. Earlier this month, the Paris-based brand announced it would be shutting down after failing to find a buyer.

Best fashion moments

Martens transformed Y/Project into one of the hype-iest, buzziest brands on the market today. By collaborating with the likes of Fila, Melissa and Ugg, and enlisting stars like Charli XCX and Rihanna to wear his designs, he tapped into a new Gen-Z audience for the label.

It is a similar story at Diesel. Before Martens took over in 2020, the denim brand was considered passé. However, once again applying his magic touch, he managed to create viral accessories like the 1DR bag and expand the womenswear offering. His show formats at Milan Fashion Week have again set him apart — whether it’s an outdoor rave with free tickets given to students or sending branded butt plugs as invites, he knows how to keep the public (and the internet’s) attention.

In 2022, he was the second-ever guest couturier for Jean Paul Gaultier, his former boss. His re-imagining of Gaultier’s famous naked trompe l’œil prints spread like wildfire — so much so that the pair teamed up again on a more accessible ready-to-wear collection for Y/Project months later. His vision inspired hundreds, if not thousands, of fast-fashion replicas.

The naked print's popularity has endured so much, that last year Martens dressed Kylie Minogue for the Met Gala in a Swarovski-encrusted custom Diesel version.

What to expect

While Martens is undeniably talented, he has big shoes to fill at Margiela. Galliano is a once-in-a-lifetime design talent, and his couture show for the house last January will go down in history.

If we look at Martens’ efforts at both Y/Project and Diesel, it’s his bold decisions and unique perspective (while also creating products that sell and drive business growth) that have won him success. Arguably, those attributes make up the very DNA of the Margiela brand. While he has plenty in common with the house’s original founder, he also shares that rough and ready, deconstructed aesthetic which launched Margiela’s career in the first place.

Margiela presented his first ever collection in 1989 in a derelict playground on the outskirts of Paris. His collection included ripped sleeves, frayed hems, and the use of unusual materials like plastic bags. It was the total opposite to what was considered a la mode at the time — and caused an industry uproar. He also invited local school children to hand draw the show invitations and seated them in the make shift front row. Now tell me that doesn’t sound like something Martens would do today?

Margiela was a man of mystery — he never gave interviews, sat for photographs or took a bow at the end of his own shows (a tradition that Galliano continued). He wanted the public to focus on his designs, rather than him as a person. In 2019, over 10 years after exiting the label he created, the documentary ‘Martin Margiela: In His Own Words’ was released. "I don't like the idea of being a celebrity; anonymity is very important to me,” he said.

While the anonymity likely appealed to a disgraced Galliano (Rosso made the risky move to hire him in 2014, after he was fired from Dior in 2011 for anti-semitic behaviour), it’s highly unlikely that Martens will hide in the shadows. With a younger, socially engaged audience to keep entertained, as well as celebrity connections to maintain, it’s not really an option. But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing — with every new creative director, a house enters a new era. Let’s see what Martens does with his.