Y/Project

Y/PROJECT WAS CREATED IN 2010, BY THE FRENCH DESIGNER YOHAN SERFATY AND THE BUSINESSMAN GILLES ELALOUF, AS A MEN’S WEAR LABEL KNOWN FOR CONCEPTUAL DESIGN, IT ACHIEVED MODERATE SUCCESS. IN 2013, WHEN SERFATY DIED OF CANCER, GLENN MARTENS, A BELGIAN GRADUATE FROM THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF ANTWERP, WAS APPOINTED AS CREATIVE DIRECTOR. HE HAS SINCE ESTABLISHED HIMSELF AS ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING AND APPRECIATED DESIGNERS OF THE MOMENT, CREATING ONE OF THE MOST CELEBRATED LABELS TO COME OUT OF PARIS IN RECENT YEARS.

WITH YOHAN SERFATY, Y/PROJECT WAS A MENSWEAR BRAND, BUT ALL THAT CHANGED IN FEBRUARY 2016 WITH GLENN MARTENS’ FIRST WOMEN'S FASHION SHOW. IN AUTUMN/WINTER 2017, MARTENS' MULTIPLE CUFFED JEANS, FOOTBALL-STYLE SCARVES WITH PORTRAITS OF COUPLES SUCH AS NAPOLEON AND JOSÉPHINE BONAPARTE, OR HENRY VIII AND ANNE BOLEYN, AND HIS WAY OF PUTTING MASCULINE IDEAS INTO A FEMININE CONTEXT, AND VICE VERSA, WERE EXTREMELY APPRECIATED BY THE FASHION PRESS. IN JUNE 2017, Y/PROJECT WON THE PRESTIGIOUS ANDAM GRAND PRIX. MARTENS SIGNED AN UNUSUAL COLLABORATION WITH UGG IN 2017, WHICH SAW MODELS WEARING THIGH-HIGH, WADER-STYLE, HEELED UGG BOOTS, A PARTNERSHIP REPEATED IN 2019 WITH A CAPSULE COLLECTION UGG + Y/PROJECT SOLD AT L'ECLAIREUR, PARIS. HE ALSO COLLABORATED WITH DIESEL IN 2019 AND WITH CANADA GOOSE IN 2020. FOR MEN'S FASHION WEEK IN EARLY JANUARY 2019, Y/PROJECT WAS THE SPECIAL GUEST OF THE PITTI UOMO IN FLORENCE.

WITH VERSATILE DESIGNS THAT TAKE INSPIRATION FROM A VARIETY OF SUBCULTURES AND ERAS ACCOMPANIED BY IMPECCABLE PATTERN WORK, A SMALL TEAM, AND WITH EVERYTHING DONE IN-HOUSE, MARTENS IS EARNING BOTH CRITICAL ACCLAIM AND COMMERCIAL SUCCESS. THE BRAND’S SALES HAVE BEEN RISING BY 20 TO 30% EACH SEASON, AND THE BRAND IS STOCKED IN MORE THAN 150 SHOPS, SUCH AS BROWNS, DOVER STREET MARKET, BARNEY’S, SELFRIDGES, NET-A-PORTER, AND SSENSE, WORLDWIDE. MARTENS HAS ALSO JUST LAUNCHED HIS VERY FIRST LINE OF BAGS AND GLASSES.