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Is Martens at Margiela positive news for the leather supply chain?
Credit: Y/PROJECT
What does it mean for the leather supply chain to have a creative director like Glenn Martens at Maison Margiela? We asked ourselves that question after the appointment of the Belgian designer, who was called to replace John Galliano at the helm of the brand that is part of the OTB group, of which Diesel, where he is already creative director, is also a part.
The answer lies in the collections: in addition to the brand founded by Renzo Rosso, where clearly denim is the protagonist and experimentation is focused more on this material (although there is no shortage of forays into the world of leather, especially in the men's world), Martens was creative director of Y/Project until last September, where for a good 13 years he had free ground to play with fabrics and processing.
From the very first collections, leather has been one of the materials with which the designer has been able to dare the most both to exacerbate the sensuality of his garments (such as chaps stolen from the cowboy world and worn with matching hot pants) and to push the envelope on the key elements of his style. Which has in the overabundance of fabric one of its cornerstones, as in the boots that have become the brand's must-have, mid-thigh and huge, with the soft leather forming large folds on the leg.
Big and messy might be two keywords to describe Martens' style, which even when he adopts traditional workings such as woven, he does so by constructing oversize cages with patterns that seem almost random, made by someone approaching this technique for the first time.
A child's eye on an adult's craft: perhaps this is the Belgian designer's secret. A clean, innovative look that certainly does not betray the spirit of founder Martin Margiela, but rather carries it forward in an almost natural way.