Y/Project Parts Ways With Glenn Martens After 11 Years
This story was updated at 2 p.m. EST
PARIS — Glenn Martens has stepped down as creative director of Y/Project after an 11-year tenure, leaving a question mark hanging over the future of the label.
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“Y/Project thanks Glenn for his unique contributions to the label and wishes him the best for the future,” the brand said in a statement on Friday.
Its spring 2025 runway show, initially scheduled to take place on Sept. 29 during Paris Fashion Week, has been canceled.
Y/Project credited Martens with creating “a fascinating narrative for the brand, leading to an impressive period of growth, earning both critical acclaim and commercial success.”
The surprise announcement comes after the label was forced to scrap its fall 2024 runway show due to cash flow issues, underscoring the tough landscape for small and mid-sized brands navigating the slowdown in luxury spending.
It follows the passing of Gilles Elalouf, the cofounder of the brand, last June. It is understood his brother, Daniel, has inherited his majority stake in the brand.
Y/Project has won a cult following with its trademark twisted constructions and collaborations with brands including Brazilian footwear label Melissa and Jean Paul Gaultier. Celebrities including Hailey Bieber, Rihanna and Kylie Jenner have sported its designs.
The label won the ANDAM Grand Prize in 2017 and was a finalist for the 2016 edition of the LVMH Prize for Young Designers.
Pascal Conte-Jodra, who joined Y/Project as chief executive officer last year, told WWD in November he planned to double the number of doors and ramp up its fledgling accessories business, possibly with the help of a new investor.
Uncertainty about whether Martens would remain at the brand is said to have hampered the search for fresh funds.
Both Conte-Jodra and Martens, who is also creative director at Diesel, had signaled their commitment to Y/Project by taking a stake in the company and sitting on its board. The brand provided no indication about its next steps.
Martens had been involved with Y/Project since it was launched in 2010 by Yohan Serfaty. Having worked as Serfaty’s first assistant, he took over the creative reins following the founder’s untimely death in 2013.
Martens retained the foundations laid by Serfarty — the graphic, elongated sharp lines — while reenvisioning the brand through his own experimental lens. He also expanded Y/Project to womenswear.
“Glenn Martens thanks Y/Project and Gilles Elalouf, the late CEO of the brand who tragically passed away last June, for giving him the support and freedom to express his vision while expanding on the creative artistry that the label established,” the statement said.
Martens likes to tumble together disparate references, from classical tailoring to streetwear to offbeat historical references, including Flemish Old Masters.
A 2008 graduate of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, the Bruges native was recruited by Jean Paul Gaultier to become junior designer for the women’s pre-collection during his final year at school. He then moved on to G2, Gaultier’s men’s label, and eventually launched his own brand in 2012.
He put his label on standby to focus on Y/Project. Martens was named creative director of Diesel in 2020, and has won plaudits for his revamp of the denim-focused Italian lifestyle brand with disruptive show formats and viral items such as the B-Berny belt skirt and 1DR logo handbags.
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