Glenn Martens responds to rumours he’s heading to Maison Margiela

Earlier this month, the fashion world was hit by the surprise news that Glenn Martens was leaving Y/Project. At the time, the announcement came as a shock: Martens’ 11-year tenure at the brand was considered successful, marked by a period of cult-like acclaim and outsize hype within the industry. “Y/Project thanks Glenn for his unique contributions to the label and wishes him the best for the future,” said the label, while Martens thanked the company and its late CEO Giles Elalouf “for giving him the support and freedom to express his vision while expanding on the creative artistry that the label established”.

As with any creative director departure, rumours instantly began to swirl about where Martens might end up next. As most know, the Belgian designer is also Diesel’s creative director, but leaving Y/Project meant a big gap in his résumé, and the potential for another brand to fill it. After the departure, the most persistent rumour seemed to be Maison Margiela, a brand which is famously under the direction of John Galliano. But – somewhat surprisingly – it may not be another fashion house that fills up Martens free time, but a coop full of chickens.

“My first focus is on chickens,” Martens told Vogue Business, in a piece published this morning. “I really want to have chickens. I’m actually planning to buy a little countryside house outside of Paris.” The poultry-based answer was in response to a question about what the designer plans to do with his free time after leaving Y/Project, and how he deals with the rumours about heading to other houses, like Margiela. “My big stress is how do I get those chickens to survive when I’m not there?” he continued, “because there’s foxes that might eat them. So this is my first focus. And then, we’ll see.”

Martens’ evasive quote comes from a wider interview with Renzo Rosso, CEO of Only The Brave (OTB Group), which is both Diesel and Maison Margiela’s parent company. In the interview, Rosso keeps schtum on speculation that Galliano is leaving Margiela and OTB for a different group, but is also realistic about the British designer’s trajectory, saying “it is only normal that talented designers are courted left and right.” Elsewhere in the interview, Rosso makes a comparison between Martens and Galliano, saying “Glenn is a couturier, not just a designer. Like John Galliano, couturiers have a different way of designing. Every single piece has a story to tell.”

Could the parallel Rosso is drawing be a hint that Martens is primed to take on Galliano’s role? Well, at another point, the CEO describes Martens’ transformation of Diesel as “so cool, so fantastic”, while Martens also refers to the Italian businessman as his “fairy godfather”. It seems that the pair are getting along great, and could be ready to renew their working relationship any time now.