A Magazine Curated By

A MAGAZINE CURATED BY GLENN MARTENS

A Publisher is pleased to announce that the 27th issue of A MAGAZINE curated by is curated by Paris-based Belgian designer, Glenn Martens, creative director of both Diesel and Y/Project. With A MAGAZINE curated by celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, the publication is excited to be returning to its Belgian roots.

Martens’ work is steeped in gothic imagery taken from Flemish masters but is often is reworked through a contemporary digitally-informed lens. This juxtaposition plays a central role in his issue, balancing the historical with the now. A substantial portfolio shot in Martens’ hometown of Bruges plays on this theme; Photographer Arnaud Lajeunie and stylist Ursina Gysi photographed 10 years of Y/Project on iconic Belgian models like Anouck Lepere, Delphine Bafort, Kim Peers, Anne-Catherine Lacroix and Roos Van Bosstraeten throughout the medieval city.

The fascination of a muse, in this case the Pre-Raphaelite artist Elizabeth Siddal, is dissected in an essay by Nicole DeMarco, exploring how all redhead muses of history might owe their it-girl statuses to Siddal. The longest extensions made by hair artist Cyndia Harvey is photographed in a series of images by Jordan Hemingway and stylist Robbie Spencer inspired by women like Siddal.

A continuation of this contemplation, Paul Kooiker photographs a longtime muse, using clay and forms to play with the shape of the body. The sitter becomes sculpture. Similarly, a carte blache beauty series by makeup artist Inge Grognard and photographer Zhong Lin makes the face into a artwork’s canvas.

Martens sees his designs as a way to create a frame past the limits of the body. And extending the mind to architecture, architects Michelle Deng of OMA and Michael Abel of ANY NYC ponder the relationship between faith and the human need to build churches and chapels to explore our connection to faith.

And lastly off of his Whitney Museum solo show last year, artist Josh Kline explores Diesel’s denim as the most American commodity and how Marten’s approach to the fabric media landscape using technology like deepfake and AI tools to create the familiar with the unfamiliar in his first-ever fashion story.

Contributors include:

Arnaud Lajeunie, Cyndia Harvey, Fredrik Nielsen, Inge Grognard, Jordan Hemingway, Josh Kline, Kacper Kasprzyk, Micheal Abel, Michelle Deng, Mohawkmania Bob and Julie Bagnall, Paul Kooiker, Senjan Jansen, Silvia Prada, Ursina Gysi, Zhong Lin

About GLENN MARTENS

Having started his eponymous line in 2012, Glenn Martens was invited just a year later to become creative director of Y/Project, the avant-garde Parisian fashion brand after its founder suddenly passed away. In the 10 years since, Martens has built a community of loyal fans of his conceptual blend of street and ready-to-wear, one that combines immaculate fabric development with contemporary silhouettes that push the boundaries of traditional pattern making.

Martens’ particular interest in using denim throughout his Y/Project collections peaked the interests of Renzo Rosso, owner of OTB and its brand Diesel, who tapped the young designer to become creative director of Diesel in 2020. Since joining, Martens has revitalised the denim focussed brand, not only making Diesel the buzziest fashion brand of late, but also pushing denim technique to the nth degree.

In 2022, Martens was also invited by Jean Paul Gaultier to design a collection for the couture house, as well as a collaboration of ready-to-wear for Y/Project. These two collections helped relaunch the iconic maison and its signature silhouettes for a new generation.

UK cover price: £35