Mood board: There’s something liberating about the lavish. There’s escapism in opulence. Glenn Martens took the creative helm of Y/Project in 2013. In recent seasons he has steered his label away from the confines of ultra-cool streetwear into something more magnificent, haute couture-inspired and dramatic. Young designers today are not to be defined by one passing trend. Looks are bold. Decades are mashed up. Silhouettes are tongue-in-cheek. Y/Project’s A/W 2019 collection includes dreamlike medieval dresses, 1980s denim hotpants, spliced and diced 1940s fur coats, and a final section of hilariously hyperbolic evening gowns. A Renaissance faux fur, faux leather pleated dress and a body swathing meringue-like ball gown.
Finishing touches: Y/Project’s gaiter-like boots have become an accessory signature. Only emphasised by the brand’s 2018 collaboration with Ugg on huge shearling-lined waders. For A/W 2019, these were imagined in leather, and had both a swashbuckling and equestrian élan.
Best in show: Building up a strong set of accessories is an essential for a blossoming brand. Often bags, shoes and jewellery are the commercial bread and butter of a fashion label. Y/Project’s hyperbolic catwalk jewellery is gaining momentum, and offers a deliciously ironic comment on how these pieces vye for attention on the runway. For A/W 2019, styles were huge. Shards of coloured glass or hammered metal twisting around the ear lobe, bold chokers formed from the figures of nude women, huge spirals of metal, dangling from the ear towards the décolletage.
Y/Project A/W 2019.
Y/Project A/W 2019.
Y/Project A/W 2019.
Y/Project A/W 2019.
-
Feldspar's furniture is designed to make you smileFeldspar's furniture debut includes a dining table, side tables, a bench, a floor lamp and the possibility of a cheval mirror, all made in their workshop in Devon
-
Broken up into six pavilions, this brutalist Mexican house is embedded in the landscapeSordo Madaleno’s brutalist Mexican house, Rancho del Bosque, is divided up into a series of pavilions to preserve the character of its hillside site, combining concrete, curves and far-reaching views
-
Etihad Airways’ A321LR redefines the single-aisle experienceAbu Dhabi’s flagship carrier brings wide-body sensibility to its new generation Airbus aircraft, a rethink of what short and medium-haul travel can feel like
-
What the Wallpaper* editors are looking forward to at fashion week, from blockbuster debuts to rising starsThe Wallpaper* style team pick their highlights from the upcoming fashion month, a definitive season as the industry’s major players start their latest chapters, beginning in New York tomorrow
-
Wild side: the story behind our September 2025 Style Issue cover shootAn animalistic mood permeated the A/W 2025 collections, captured by Nicole Maria Winkler and Jason Hughes in our September 2025 Style Issue cover shoot. Here, they tell the story behind the pictures
-
How Bureau Betak transformed the runway show: ‘Our currency is emotion and memory’Pioneering production company Bureau Betak has masterminded some of the most inspiring runway sets of the last 30 years, dazzling both real-life guests and an ever-growing virtual global audience. Hugo Macdonald meets the people behind the magic
-
Ten boat shoes that put a playful twist on the footwear classicFrom Miu Miu’s viral riff on the nautical staple to those that are studded, slip-on, square-toed or two-tone, the Wallpaper* team select the best boat shoes of the season – a style set to be ubiquitous over the coming months
-
Glenn Martens’ thrilling Maison Margiela debut was a balancing act between past, present and futureThe Belgian designer made his debut for the house last night with a collection that looked towards medieval decoration for a new expression of opulence
-
Haute Couture Week A/W 2025: what to expectFive moments to look out for at Haute Couture Week A/W 2025 in Paris (starting Monday 7 July), from Glenn Martens’ debut for Maison Margiela to Demna’s Balenciaga swansong. Plus, ‘new beginnings’ from JW Anderson
-
The collections you might have missed this S/S 2026 menswear seasonBetween the headliners in Paris, Milan and Florence, a few off-schedule displays are deserving of honourable mention – from Martine Rose’s sexually-charged portrait of Kensington Market to Sander Lak’s appointment-only namesake debut
-
‘They gave me carte blanche to do what I want’: Paul Kooiker photographs the students of Gerrit Rietveld Academie for Acne StudiosHeralding the launch of a new permanent gallery from fashion label Acne Studios, the celebrated Dutch photographer’s new body of work praises the bravery of ‘people who choose to go to an art school at a time like this’
