Glenn Martens’ Jean Paul Gaultier couture collection is a roaring success.
Glenn Martens’ first experience at couture was nothing short of spectacular. The Y/PROJECT creative director collaborated with Jean Paul Gaultier and took over the French maison to interpret the iconic Gaultier DNA for SS22 through his eyes of distortion of silhouettes. The Belgian designer brought back a sense of the dark ‘90s fashion shows with a hint of mystery and drama, whilst injecting his own spin on classic Gaultier symbols such as the cut-out tailoring (with a Y-shaped spin), as well as a couture rendition on the mariniére element through lace-up corsets in cream and dark grey knitwear.
Belle Époque fabrics and crimson shades brought memories of the Gaultier diva, strong and fearless, and gave her a 2022 spin with a heavy reconstruction from Martens that gave looks a heavy, redefined gravity feeling, making the environment mould into the fashion. Big, heavy gowns full of silk taffeta with voluptuous train gave the romanticism of the Victorian Gaultier aesthetic with the Glenn Martens gravity-defying shaping.
Overall, this collaboration showcased the brilliance of Glenn Martens to study, interpret and put his own signature on the extensive legacy. Jean Paul Gaultier’s work cannot be put into simple definitions, as this is a designer who defined and created a powerfully dramatic and sensual era of performance, theatre and fashion together, being a blueprint for many of today’s great designers and fashion students. The play on draping and corsetry, combined with the modernity and heaviness of the Y/PROJECT aesthetic, has solidified Martens as a creative genius and gives us excitement for what’s to come for him, couture-wise and in the future.
