Glenn Martens Is Maison Margiela’s New Creative Director
Glenn Martens, known for his reconstructed denim and avant-garde silhouettes, is the new creative director of Maison Margiela.
Confirming a report on WWD.com on Jan. 25 that flagged Martens as a frontrunner, Margiela said the Belgian designer, also creative director of Diesel in Milan, would write “the next chapter of the house, building on its unique codes and brand values.”
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He succeeds John Galliano, who in December wound up a 10-year collaboration at Maison Margiela that delivered fashion thrills, cultural moments and business progression galore.
The announcement from Maison Margiela and its parent company OTB Group did not specify when Martens would show his first collection for the brand.
It is understood Martens will also continue at the creative helm of Diesel, also controlled by OTB.
Commenting on the appointment, OTB Group chairman Renzo Rosso said: “I have worked with Glenn for years, I have witnessed his talent and I know what he is capable of.
“After Martin, who gave life to the maison and its unique Artisanal line, and John [Galliano], who made it the most cutting-edge couture house in the world, I am proud to have a third couturier at its helm. Glenn, who studied at Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts like Martin, has already shown his prowess and his vision in couture.”
Rosso’s son Stefano, who is chairman of Maison Margiela, said Martens arrives “at a key moment of its history and on well-defined and solid tracks.”
He added that the Belgian designer would “further build upon the heritage of the house, which we are beyond proud to have in our group.”
Martens said he was “extremely honored to join the amazing Maison Margiela, a truly unique house that has been inspiring the world for decades. And I thank Renzo for the trust he is putting in me.”
The affable designer rose to fashion fame thanks to his 11-year stint helming Y/Project, which earned a cult following for its twisted constructions, but shuttered earlier this month when it could not find a buyer to rescue it from financial woes.
Y/Project was placed into receivership by a Paris commercial court last September following the death of Gilles Elalouf, who cofounded the brand with the late Yohan Serfaty, and the departure of Martens the same month. The label had serious cash-flow issues, underscoring a tough landscape for small and midsized brands navigating the slowdown in luxury spending.
To be sure, Rosso has long had Martens on his radar, tapping him in 2018 as a guest designer of his experimental capsule series Diesel Red Tag, one year after Martens bagged the prestigious ANDAM fashion prize, of which OTB is a historical sponsor and mentor.
In October 2020, Rosso named Martens the full-time creative director of Diesel, which had not installed a marquee talent since Nicola Formichetti exited in December 2017 after a four-year tenure.
Martens certainly fits the mold of the bold, edgy talents favored by Rosso, who famously recruited Galliano in 2014 to lead Maison Margiela.
Martens grew up in the Belgian city of Bruges and graduated from Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts in 2008. Jean Paul Gaultier saw his graduation show and immediately conscripted him as junior designer for his women’s pre-collection and the G2 men’s label.
Martens would go on to join Y/Project in 2010 and take the creative helm of that brand in 2013, accruing a reputation for innovative cutting and an experimental approach to fashion.
The designer, 41, likes to tumble together disparate references, from classical tailoring to streetwear to offbeat historical references, including Flemish Old Masters. He is also known for his avant-garde silhouettes that incorporate exaggerated and twisting volumes.
The designer attributes his penchant for deconstructing and reconstructing garments to his first experiments as an interior architecture graduate, later adapting the process to cloth as a fashion student. “In the beginning my clothes looked more like boxes, everything was super-stiff. My very first skirt was basically a pizza box,” he told WWD in a 2019 interview.
Martens has dabbled in couture. In 2022, he was called back to Jean Paul Gaultier for a one-off haute couture collection. As the second guest talent at the Puig-owned house, he focused on gowns.
To be sure, Galliano will be a tough act to follow at Maison Margiela. The British designer’s tenure culminated with the spring 2024 Maison Margiela Artisanal show that won universal acclaim, put full-throttle creativity back on the industry agenda and propelled Galliano to the very top of the fashion heap.
(Galliano has yet to indicate his future plans.)
Martens arrives at a house that flourished in recent years, despite an erratic presence during Paris Fashion Week.
While the company does not break down revenues by brand, market sources estimate revenues at Maison Margiela are approaching $500 million, with the majority of sales stemming from directly owned retail and online sales.
Licensed Maison Margiela products, headlined by fragrance and eyewear, are estimated to generate more than $200 million in annual revenues.
The Paris-based house boasts about 120 stores globally, 50 of them having opened in the last four years, and 43 of those in Asian countries, led by Japan, China and South Korea.
OTB controls the Diesel, Jil Sander, Maison Margiela, Marni and Viktor&Rolf brands, production arms Staff International and Brave Kid, and holds a stake in the Amiri brand.
OTB became the main shareholder of Maison Margiela in 2002 and took full control in 2006.
Founding designer Martin Margiela, often described as the industry’s invisible man for his Greta Garbo-like ways, retired from fashion in 2009, with OTB letting an anonymous team carry on his legacy. Maison Margiela steadfastly refused to identify any members of its design team, though industry insiders know Demna, currently creative director of Balenciaga; Bottega Veneta fashion star Matthieu Blazy, who is taking up the design reins at Chanel in April, and Nina-Maria Nitsche, formerly creative director of Brioni, cycled through the studio.
Along with the Antwerp Six, Martin Margiela put the small Belgian city of Antwerp on the international fashion radar, founding his house in 1988 and introducing cleft-toed boots, deconstructed fashions and all-white stores.
The founder earned a reputation for stirring up controversy and pushing fashion ideas to the extreme, as in his use of oversized silhouettes and his iconoclastic runway presentations.
Diesel’s Glenn Martens Dresses Kylie Minogue, Dove Cameron, and Damiano David at the Met
Launch Gallery: Diesel's Glenn Martens Dresses Kylie Minogue, Dove Cameron, and Damiano David at the Met
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