Glenn Martens brings avant-garde versatility to H&M with a collection designed for transformative style

Belgian designer Glenn Martens, currently the creative director of Maison Margiela, has joined an esteemed roster of fashion luminaries, including Karl Lagerfeld, Olivier Rousteing, Stella McCartney, Rei Kawakubo, and Versace, in collaborating with the Swedish retail giant H&M on an exclusive capsule collection. This highly anticipated line, set to launch on October 30, promises to bring Martens’ distinctive vision to a broader audience.

Martens and Ann-Sofie Johanson, H&M’s head of womenswear design, characterize the collection as youthful, fresh, and brimming with "ingenious and fun" elements. This ethos is vividly expressed through transformative pieces—bags, jackets, and boots—that challenge conventional design. Martens elaborated in a video conference, describing them as "small works of art, convertible pieces that change their structure," utilizing metallic finishes and concealed wiring to allow wearers to accentuate or conceal parts of the body as desired. The underlying concept is versatility, enabling a seamless transition "from the office to the nightclub," where one can embody a "lumberjack by day and a very different person by night."

The collection serves as a retrospective tribute to Martens’ distinguished career, particularly his twelve years at the now-defunct French label Y/Project, founded by Yohan Serfaty. It was during this period that Martens cultivated his highly personal and eclectic aesthetic, elements of which he revives for this H&M capsule. Notable inclusions from that era are invisible straps and generously proportioned, suggestive T-shirt dresses. Martens describes it as "quite a flirtatious collection that can be as sexy as you want it to be," offering a playful and empowered approach to dressing.

Adding a whimsical yet subversive touch, Martens incorporates a nod to British fashion, aiming to both embrace and deconstruct stylistic clichés. For the collection's campaign, he conceived an imaginary British royal family, portrayed by the acclaimed actress Joanna Lumley (79) and actor Richard E. Grant (68). Martens wryly noted the unavailability of King Charles and Camilla, humorously explaining his choice. His intention is to create accessible garments with hints of Highland style and a preppy essence, designed to "make people happy, help them feel strong and empowered, and reflect who they want to be."

The campaign itself is described as "fun, very crazy," featuring striking visuals such as boots that extend to the groin but can be artfully folded down to shorten their length. Martens reinterprets classic wardrobe staples like trench coats, quilted jackets, and tartan, using H&M basics as his creative foundation. Denim emerges as a pivotal fabric, with naturally worn-in creases achieved through standard washing processes, a detail Martens found "amazing." He unequivocally identifies the bag as the key piece of the capsule, stating, "I’ve always loved accessories because through them you can represent the brand."

For this collaboration, H&M granted Martens considerable creative freedom, or "carte blanche," acknowledging the careful balance required to translate innovative ideas into brand-appropriate offerings. Ann-Sofie Johanson highlighted their goal of finding partners who align with H&M’s values, proudly declaring it "one of the most creative collaborations we’ve done." For Glenn Martens, the project has been an "exciting" journey, a heartfelt "love letter" to his personal design trajectory, featuring designs that recall earlier stages of his career—stages, he concludes, "that I will never do again."