Glenn Martens to design next Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture collection

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Sep 29, 2021

Following Chitose Abe, it's Glenn Martens' turn to step into the shoes of fashion's enfant terrible and design the next Haute Couture collection for Jean Paul Gaultier. The Japanese founder of the Sacai brand was the first to take on this challenge in July and will now hand the responsibility over to the Belgian designer for next season. 

A familiar presence on the Parisian runways, where his brand Y/Project has shown its collections since January 2014, the designer will certainly have has hands full, as he has also been serving as creative director of Diesel since October 2020. His latest engagement will see him design Jean Paul Gautier's Spring/Summer 2022 Haute Couture collection, according to the Parisian label. 

Entitled "Gaultier Paris by Glenn Martens from Y/Project," the collection will be unveiled in January 2022 with a show hosted at the brand's headquarters. It will be something of a homecoming for Martens, who undertook an internship in this very location 15 years ago, after graduating from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp.

French couturier Jean-Paul Gaultier, who sold his brand to Catalan fashion and fragrance group Puig in 2011 and stopped making ready-to-wear collections in 2015, signaled the end of his career as a designer with a final Haute Couture collection, revealed during a memorable runway show at Paris' Théâtre du Châtelet in January 2020.

The Parisian couture house that bears his name, however, continues to operate through a new cycle of collaborations, inviting a different designer to reinterpret the brand's codes each season. In a release, the brand explained that "the avant-garde and experimental aesthetic of Glenn Martens, which is always at the intersection of masculine and feminine, art and architecture, resonated with the Gaultier DNA."

According to the house, Martens will explore his obsessions with materials, embroidery, volume and craftsmanship, all while paying tribute to the slower pace of work necessary for this kind of creation. As for the designer, he summed up his delight at being involved in the project in the following terms: "Jean Paul Gaultier has really opened its doors to young creators inspired by the house’s work, whether directly or indirectly. It’s a brand that creates a kind of fellowship. The way they celebrate difference and openness has helped people both in France and farther afield to move beyond clichés. I am proud to be a part of that tradition."

"Couture creations are not meant to be part of the everyday. This is art. It goes beyond ready-to-wear; beyond clothing. With Gaultier, I want to celebrate my love for movement and versatility, but using more architecturally structured silhouettes," added Martens, giving further hints about the direction he will be taking the collection.