After exiting Y/Project back in September of 2024, Glenn Martens has officially landed at Maison Margiela. OTB Group and the French luxury house announced Martens’ immediate appointment as creative director on January 29.
As Fashionista reports, this is the second top design position the Belgian designer currently holds (he also helms Italian luxury brand Diesel, which coincidentally – or perhaps not – is also owned by OTB). “I feel extremely honored to join the amazing Maison Margiela, a truly unique house that has been inspiring the world for decades. And I thank Renzo [Rosso, founder and chairman of OTB] for the trust he is putting in me,” Martens said in a statement.
Martens succeeds John Galliano, who served as the luxury house’s creative director for 10 years before leaving that position in December of 2024. Galliano has yet to land at another label, but rumors are swirling about him taking the reins at another big house like Fendi or even Dior, where he previously served as creative director from 1996 to 2011.
“I have worked with Glenn for years, I have witnessed his talent, and I know what he is capable of,” Renzo Rosso, chairman of OTB Group, said in a press release. “After Martin [Margiela], who gave life to the Maison and its unique Artisanal line, and John 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.”
The news confirms reports in WWD and Miss Tweed over the weekend of the designer emerging as a frontrunner. Martens’ appointment also follows Y/Project shutting down earlier this year after it failed to find a buyer. No announcement has yet been made regarding Martens taking a step back from his top creative role at Diesel, so the designer is likely to once again juggle helming two fashion houses.
“Maison Margiela is at a key moment of its history and on well-defined and solid tracks. The appointment of Glenn will further build upon the heritage of the house which we are beyond proud to have in our Group,” Stefano Rosso, chairman of Maison Margiela, said in a press release.
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