Glenn Martens, a graduate of the prestigious Antwerp Royal Academy of Fine Arts, launched his debut collection last week. He is a next generation talent coming on the heels of his predecessors Martin Margiela, Dries Van Noten, and Ann Demeulemeester, who made Belgian design from Antwerp a major force on the world fashion map in the early 90s.
Martens' collection is inspired by his hometown Bruges, and the city's Gothic architecture serves as the backdrop for his tweed skirts, wool trousers, and coats.
The show was more of an artistic presentation rather than a runaway show, taking place in a loft space in a obscure courtyard way in the back of a municipal building in the Marais. The room was dark and on the walls was a slide show of various modern paintings as the models walked by very slowly in almost robotic manner with slow, New Age instrumental music playing. The clothes took on an interesting dimension against the slide show and at the end the models posed against a still of an Oriental tapestry, looking like a modern day Dutch portrait, with their pale white complexions and statue-like stance.
The collection, like Aganovich yesterday, was long and mostly covered up with a mixture of long skirts and pants. There were a few looks that showed some skin like a silver sheath with slits starting from above the waist with a short black skirt underneath and a lovely white organza jacket just barely coverage the model's breasts. I can see an already distinct style from Glenn Martens and he is a smart, sensitive designer with a strong vision. However I think he needs to add a little more sexiness to the clothes or to the look of the show. It may have been the styling more than the clothes that contributed to the coldness of the overall look, with the models wearing white nurse-like shoes and their pale almost unmade-up faces, looking more like waif teenagers than women.
I wish Glenn Martens much success for the future and I will be very interested in seeing how his work progresses.
In addition to my Eye Prefer Paris Tours, we now offer Eye Prefer New York Tours, 3-hour walking tours of New York's best neighborhoods including Soho, Meatpacking/West Village & Tribeca. Tours cost $195 for up to 3 people and $65 for each additional person.Come take a bit of the Big Apple on an Eye Prefer New York Tour!
Come experience my blog ìliveî with my Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I lead. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.Tours cost 195 euros for up to 3 people, and 65 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris. www.eyepreferparistours.com
New! Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes
I am happy to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes. Come take an ethnic culinary journey with me and chef and caterer Charlotte Puckette, co-author of the bestseller The Ethnic Paris Cookbook (with Olivia Kiang-Snaije). First we will shop at a Paris green-market for the freshest ingredients and then return to Charlotteís professional kitchen near the Eiffel Tower to cook a three-course lunch. After, we will indulge in the delicious feast we prepared along with hand-selected wines.
Cost: 185 euros per person (about $240)
Time: 9:30AM- 2PM (approximately 4 1/2 hours)
Location: We will meet by a metro station close to the market
Class days: Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday
Minimum of 2 students, maximum 6 students.
Click here to sign up for the next class or for more info.
Yikes...those shoes! Would hideous be too strong? Will they be seen on the streets of Paris? Given your family's connection with the shoe biz, what were you really thinking?
Posted by: Eleanor aka Vanessa | March 07, 2012 at 02:40 PM
Have the parisians lost their sense of style? Or have all the women been eating McDonalds and put on weight during the winter? These look awful to me, and I am from unstyle city, Baltimore!
Posted by: Anne | March 07, 2012 at 07:39 PM
Richard......this is awful! The clothes have almost a Chinese Coolie look to them...really drab and depressing.
The young designer can probably do much better than this!
Posted by: Doris | March 07, 2012 at 07:40 PM
loved this one....
Posted by: Laurie | March 07, 2012 at 07:41 PM
Nice clothes, but what's with the AWEFUL shoes!?? They are a distraction beyond belief from the beauty of his designs! Hated them.
Posted by: susan | March 10, 2012 at 10:55 AM
Thems' some FUGLY clothes. Very Bruges.
Posted by: julie | March 10, 2012 at 07:27 PM