Creative director of Y/Project, Diesel, and, as of this year, Maison Margiela, Glenn Martens has partnered with H&M for a highly anticipated new collection.
“The H&M Glenn Martens collection transforms bestsellers from the H&M archive and signature gestures from Martens’ own design history into new classics, taking shape as manipulated denim, braided and deconstructed knits, delicately printed dresses, wired outerwear, reengineered trench coats, theatrical jewelry, hip-high boots, and shape-shifting bags, all infused with a bit of British heritage style,” the press release shares.
In honor of the launch, Ann-Sofie Johansson, H&M’s Creative Advisor and Head of Womenswear Design, told me, “Our first inspiration was everything we saw that Glenn did at Y/Project.”
(Image credit: H&M x Glenn Martens)
When I asked Martens how he’d describe the collection, he replied, “I’d say fun. It’s very absurd. Bit of jokes. It’s playful. Versatile… It’s adjustable to your personality a bit.” He added that one of his favorite pieces is the shoulder bag. “You can twist it,” he said. “You can completely turn it around and flatten it. It’s a little sculpture.”
Later that evening, at the collection’s launch party held at the historic Skinner’s Hall in London, I spoke with Cynthia Erivo, who was dressed in the Wool-Blend Coat and Printed Satin Dress. “I’ve been into slip dresses recently. When I do my concerts, it’s what I tend to wear—slip dresses, no shoes,” she commented. “And I saw this and thought it feels really, really sexy. I love that the straps are kind of invisible and fun and there’s all this lace and dainty. And then I wanted to find something that had a bit of structure to it, so this coat was perfect, and the weight on it feels really great. So I’ve got sort of the feminine and masculine mixed together.”
Shop the Y/Project–inspired collection below, available now in select stores and online.
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