Top image: Backstage at Y/PROJECT FW15. Photo Matthieu Lemaire-Courapied

Glenn Martens’ first foray into design was outside the realms of fashion, graduating as an interior architect at the age of 21. It’s a background that runs strong in the Belgian-born designer’s work at Y/Project, the Paris based line founded by Yohan Serfaty in 2010. Martens’ pieces discharge subtle strength, existing in muscular lines, consuming textures and engrossing patterns. Take the FW15 collection, where references of tradition and modernity enmesh, from houndstooth to 3D-printed lycra, all elements existing in an alliance that illustrates the designer’s creative maturity.

Martens’ own firm grasp of the label stems back to 2009 when he began working with Serfaty, helping launch the label that he would eventually come to take the helm of after the heavy-hearted passing of its founder in 2013. Today, the Antwerp educated Martens continues to bolster the brand’s robust identity and shake it up in the process. His rise marks an exciting new phase for Y/Project, these clothes are not for the faint hearted.

Lewis Firth: You originally graduated as an interior architect, before enrolling to study fashion at the acclaimed Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. How have these experiences configured your aesthetic at Y/Project?
Glenn Martens: In high school my main classes were Latin and languages – a perfect base to pursue more theoretical studies such as law or medicine. With interior architecture a whole new ‘creative’ world opened up to me. This for sure defined the base of my aesthetics. I got hooked. A lot of my designs are based on experimentation in cut and construction.

LF: As a teenager, what did you spend your time doing?
GM: I grew up in Bruges, a super pretty but very provincial town in Belgium. As a teen it seems there’s nothing else to do than wasting your time, annoy people and do whatever you’re not supposed to do… basic adolescent stuff.

LF: What were your most profound creative influences back then? What directed you towards the arts, and more specifically, to focus on fashion?
GM: I really wasn’t aware that fashion was something you could study or make a career from. My interest in fashion came way later, at 21, after graduating from interior architecture. Nevertheless when your daily, teenage life is set in a city, which is known for its exquisite gothic architecture, you do get fascinated by its great history and patrimony. I’ve been a fan of the ‘flemish primitives’ ever since I was a child: Memling, Van Eyck, Breughel.

LF: When designing, are your ideas organically or pragmatically generated?
GM: I think everything I touch is continuously set by a certain duality. Although most of my choices are led by intuition, my collection plan is built up pragmatically. It is super exciting and challenging to find a balance between both extremes.

LF: For your FW15 collection, what influenced the very distinct choice of fabrics? And what is the source of your sleekness?
GM: Duality was also the key of FW15. I see all of my friends living in metropolises such as Paris, London, New York or Shanghai, continuously balancing between the responsibility of their careers and the explosiveness of their youth. It’s like walking on a ridge. We work 7/7 from morning ’til night. The few moments we have to let off steam, we go in extremes.

Translation in fabrics happened by opposing totally different worlds such as hand-woven houndstooth tweed – a super traditional material – with 3D-printed lycra. From afar both fabrics have the same intensity and vibrance. They’re family. It’s like the 3D is a contemporary version of the tweed. But also the cut is set by duality. Even the most sleek and austere silhouettes are built-up by pleats, hidden volumes or slits, which explode once you move.

LF: What are your thoughts on modern-day menswear, and how do you think Y/Project contributes to its progression?
GM: The approach to both menswear and womenswear is in constant evolution. Today it’s getting especially interesting as I feel we’re slowly moving away from stereotypes. You can wear what you want, wherever you want. It’s all about attitude. We do of course make statements during our shows or lookbooks, but at the end, I believe almost every single piece of our collection is adaptable to all different kinds of situations.

LF: Can you describe the Y/Project man?
GM: Y/Project proposes a variation of straightforward silhouettes based on versatility, comfort and audacity. Our clients nail every situation they stand in. In the lapse of one single day they switch from being businessmen, lovers, loving fathers to ravers.