Y/Project at Paris Fashion Week Men’s S/S 2019

Mood board: Glenn Martens, fresh from showing his capsule project with Diesel in Milan last week, held the show for his S/S 2019 Y/Project collection in the gardens of la Faculté de Pharmacie de Paris. In a short time, he has become known for his spirited, punkish elegance. The collection for summer was inspired less by a film, person or artwork and more about the process of building silhouettes using classic suiting and sportswear as a base.

Best in show: Season upon season, the label’s tailoring incorporates a second skin in Lycra, giving the jackets and trousers their own kinetic force. This season, Martens wanted to make this element more graphic and so classic suits were wrapped tightly in contrast Lycra, ruched around the shoulders and chest or over the lapels. They said something about the bombastic body. Technical jackets were ruched to the extreme at the neck to look more operatic; jeans were worn layered too, engineered with chap-height gapes at the top of the thigh.

Sound bite: Boxy jean jackets and trousers use a ‘pop out’ 3D construction – the movement and life of garments is important to Martens. The look is meant to be playful. ‘It’s about challenging us. It is about experimentation,’ he said. ‘It’s still about versatility but in a different way. We always used to work with buttoned on layers or sleeves you can take off, but now that attitude has become part of the silhouette. We are still a young brand and we still want to have fun.’