Wit, wire and Y/Project DNA

Few designers dismantle fashion’s stereotypes as effortlessly as Glenn Martens. The Belgian designer defies the icy mystique often associated with his peers, trading pretension for playfulness, intellect and humour. Born in Bruges, Martens has built an unconventional yet formidable career, from his 12-year tenure as creative director of Y/Project to his current roles at Diesel and Maison Margiela, where his boundary-pushing vision continues to reshape contemporary fashion.

Now that philosophy takes centre stage in his latest venture: a collaboration with H&M. Developed over two years alongside the brand’s creative adviser Ann-Sofie Johansson, the collection extends H&M’s 20-year legacy of designer partnerships, from Balmain and Moschino to, fittingly, Maison Margiela in 2012. At its core, the initiative celebrates the democratisation of fashion, bringing high design to the high street.

It’s a sentiment Martens has long embraced. His career is punctuated by community-driven gestures, from public shows to playful activations like the recent “egg hunt” ahead of Diesel’s Spring/Summer 2025 show in Milan, where guests followed clues through the city to win exclusive pieces.

For H&M, Martens brings his irreverent touch to a collection that blurs boundaries between womenswear and menswear, layering versatility with wit, nostalgia and the architectural playfulness of Y/Project. Its campaign, styled as a wry British family portrait, channels tongue-in-cheek grandeur, fronted by acting legends Joanna Lumley and Richard E Grant.

There is a lot of special Y-Project DNA in this collection. What did the house and your role as creative director mean to you?

Y/Project is where I developed myself as a creative person. It’s where I experimented for 12 years, so it really reflects my personal world. We created a community and a unique visual world, so when I left in September last year and the brand closed, this collaboration became a way to celebrate that legacy, to give it one more moment.

I’m not saying it’s a Y-Project collection, but a lot of the links are there. All of this creativity, which was at higher price points, and quite exclusive, is now going to be for everybody. I’m so excited to see all those little gremlins wearing wire things and big thigh high boots and really owning this collection.

Tell us a bit more about the construction of the clothes.

The concept is versatility. Every garment can be worn in multiple ways. The garments have foil in it so you can manipulate it and you can make it yours.

I like to say that we have so many personalities and so many people we can be in one day — a mother, a businesswoman — and one jacket can sometimes [be] the answer to those different moments.

The campaign will launch on October 17. What can you tell us about that?

My designs can get quite extreme and sometimes, if you have all the design twists on a garment and no real connection [to] the streets, you start looking like a Teletubby, so it’s very important to stay with an archetype. We thought what’s the most recognisable archetype? Britain. Britain. Checks, tartans, trench coats, bad weather, it’s such a classic stereotype wardrobe.

So we created this idea of a British epic, a family portrait inspired by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, reimagined for 2025. Instead of putting them all together on a chair, we built a massive scaffold in front of this beautiful British landscape, filled with trinkets of British culture. The whole family is there doing their crazy life and then we managed to get amazing talents to tell this story.

What does your favourite piece from the collection say about your work as a designer?

The bag is definitely the key. I [love] accessories because [they can] represent the brand’s DNA. But the whole collection is so close to my heart because it’s really linked to what I’ve done for 12 years. It’s a love letter — to the team, the years and the CEO who passed away. It’s a lot of beautiful stories and a lot of emotions.

How would you sum up this collection in one word?

Witty.

You once said Belgians are obliged to find beauty in the unexpected. Is that reflected here?

The most important thing is that everything I do is still me. Even though I work for Diesel, Margiela or H&M, it starts [with] me. Of course I have to reflect the brand values, but this collection is even more me because it’s really about my personal and creative ego. It’s true that whatever I do, it comes from trying to figure out something beautiful and unexpected. So is a foil collar something beautiful? In theory, maybe not. But once you start playing with it and enjoying it, it can become very beautiful.

H&M Glenn Martens will be available from October 30 at H&M Sandton City and online from Superbalist.

5 things you probably didn’t know about Glenn Martens

1. He never studied fashion.

Martens never formally studied fashion. He earned a bachelor’s in interior design from Sint-Lucas School of Architecture in Ghent and later a master’s from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, graduating top of his class.

1. He won the same prize as Martin Margiela.

In 2017, Martens received the prestigious ANDAM Grand Prize for his work with Y/Project, the same fellowship Martin Margiela won in 1989.

1. He was raised catholic.

Growing up in a Catholic environment, Martens developed an early fascination with religious iconography. This influence quietly informs his designs, often appearing through subtle symbolic or architectural motifs in his collections.

1. He signed his Margiela contract in a Burger King parking lot.

While driving back to Paris from Normandy, Martens got a call from his lawyer instructing him to pull over. It was in that Burger King parking lot that he officially signed on as Maison Margiela’s creative director.

5. He never did an internship.

After graduating, Martens caught the eye of a juror from the Antwerp Fashion Academy, who helped him secure a junior designer role at Jean Paul Gaultier without an internship.

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