Glenn Martens Takes Maison Margiela to Shanghai

Summary

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The Run-Through with Vogue

Episode: Glenn Martens Takes Maison Margiela to Shanghai

Date: April 2, 2026
Host: Nicole Phelps
Guest: Glenn Martens, Creative Director of Maison Margiela & Diesel

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Overview

In this episode, Vogue Runway Director Nicole Phelps sits down with Glenn Martens, the multifaceted creative director of both Maison Margiela and Diesel. The conversation, recorded at Paris Fashion Week, dives into Martens’s bold decision to take Margiela’s shows to Shanghai, the heritage and future of the brand, working methods, transparency in fashion, and his balancing act across two powerhouse brands. Personal stories, philosophical insights, and charming moments—like Martens’s secret technique for team morale—bring a human touch to high fashion.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Shanghai? Margiela’s Massive Move (02:36–06:05)

• Martens explains the strategic and emotional reasons for staging both Margiela’s couture and ready-to-wear shows in Shanghai, canceling appearances at Paris Fashion Week.
  • China’s importance: The brand has grown here since 2019 but never did a significant event there.
  • Not a “cruise show”: Instead, Margiela is “going deep,” connecting with a newer, younger Chinese audience and unpacking the brand’s codes for them.
  • Accompanying exhibitions: Four themed exhibits across China, each spotlighting a “founding quote—a hero story” of Margiela:
    • Bianchetto (white painting, the act of transforming any object into Margiela via white paint)
    • Anonymity (masks and focus on clothes, not models or celebrity)
    • The Tabi (iconic split-toe shoe)
    • Artisanal (celebration of craft and unconventional couture)
  • Quote:

    “Anything that is painted white can become Margiela.”
    —Glenn Martens [03:43]

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2. Building the Collection: Process, Inspiration, and Techniques (06:05–17:04)

• Collection developed specifically with China and Chinese history in mind; porcelain dolls from Edwardian times serve as core inspiration.

  • Thrift store sourcing: “We went to Les Puces de Saint Ouen” to gather vintage pieces, echoing Martin Margiela’s own archival approach.
  • Notable artisanal pieces include:
    • Dresses painted and peeled to leave “the memory of a 19th-century gown on a minimal chiffon block.”
    • A beeswax-dipped, restructured Edwardian mourning gown referencing China’s invention of beeswax candles.
  • Martens’s techniques fusing Margiela archive traditions with new material innovation, often discovered during his time at Diesel.

• On Martin Margiela’s legacy (08:32):

  • Not strictly a minimalist: “He was more like a purist… like brutalism. Straight to the point.”
  • The brand is “probably the most plundered house in history” for modern fashion references.
  • Martens feels “honored to celebrate this legacy.”

• Quote:

  “The starting point…is a porcelain doll. Edwardian silhouette…all very romantic, very Alice in Wonderland, let’s say. That is really the core silhouette.”
  —Glenn Martens [07:24]

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3. Team Dynamics and Unexpected Leadership Tricks (17:04–18:48)

• Adapting to Margiela’s in-house team culture was “stressy” and involved building trust.
• Martens’s secret for team bonding: He brought his puppy to the studio.
  • “Week three, I brought in the puppy and everything calmed down. Everybody was smiling, the doors got open, people were screaming, playing around. Honestly, bringing a little puppy into the office is really, like, the change.” [17:55]

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4. Maison Margiela Folders and Digital Transparency (23:37–25:52)

• The “Maison Margiela Folders” is a new digital project launched with the Shanghai show, intended to make the creative process and Margiela heritage accessible globally.
  • Archive stories and processes (casting, planning, fittings) are openly documented for public education and transparency.
  • Part of a stand against the rampant “plundering” of Margiela ideas by others, and to invite broader audiences into the process.
  • “It’s a global little workshop. … This is not a creative director moment. This is a global brand moment.” —Glenn Martens [25:33]

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5. The Bianchetto Workshop – Participatory Fashion (25:52–27:28)

• An interactive event in Shanghai:
  • Thousands of visitors can bring their own garments (of any brand) to be painted Margiela-white and hand-finished (“bianchettoed”) by the team.
  • Playful openness: “They have the freedom. They can turn anything into Margiela. … That’s the beauty. Everything can become a Margiela.” [27:13]
  • Hopes to bring the event to New York in the future.

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6. Design Philosophy, Generational Change, and Social Media (32:37–34:40)

• Martens reflects on the unprecedented wave of young creative directors revamping heritage brands.
  • The pressure of social media critics vs. traditional critics is stronger than ever before.
  • The “Margiela folders” initiative is partially meant to educate and protect the brand’s legacy.
  • Quote:

    “It’s a little bit like the Hunger Games… Reviews come from people who maybe are not so educated about the brands. … That can have as much impact as the classics.”
    —Glenn Martens [32:42–33:31]

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7. Balancing Margiela and Diesel: Creativity Across Contexts (29:11–31:20, 34:40–38:06)

• Martens discusses the differences:
  • Margiela is “serious, elevated, unconventional couture.”
  • Diesel is “about attitude, fun, party, cheeky living.”
  • Creative energy is sustained by maintaining boundaries—retreating to the countryside, gardening, “digging holes to plant trees,” and using his bulldozer.
• On recent Diesel show: Used “an ocean of party memorabilia” from the Diesel archive as set design; even a live “plushie pig” performer.

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8. Why Project: Early Career and Ethos (38:06–40:07)

• Y/Project (“my baby for 12 years”) celebrated experimentation, wearability, and individuality; a critical phase in Martens’s evolution as a designer.
  • “Nothing was supposed to be worn the way you wear it,” and logoless in the era of logomania.
  • Run ended two years ago after the passing of his business partner.

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9. Personal Style & No Eponymous Ambitions (41:03–41:46)

• Martens values collaborative creation over self-branding:
  • “I really don’t care… If it’s under my name or anybody’s name.”
  • Focuses on work, team spirit, and delivering beautiful products.

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10. Murphy the Dog – Studio Mascot (41:46–43:11)

• Charming close: Murphy, Martens’s puppy, even has a white lab coat for studio morale (though he doesn’t like wearing it).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Anything that is painted white can become Margiela.” —Glenn Martens [03:43]
• “Maison Margiela is probably the most plundered house in history. … With the work I’ve been doing in the past, I think, also more than a designer, [Margiela] is a school.” —Glenn Martens [08:32–09:39]
• “I brought in the puppy and everything calmed down… bringing a little puppy into the office is really, like, the change.” —Glenn Martens [17:55]
• “This Shanghai show is not a creative director moment. This is a global brand moment. … This is about clothes, about love for fashion, about passion for the house.” —Glenn Martens [25:33]
• “It’s a little bit like the Hunger Games… you have a new generation of people with way more followers… and maybe not so educated about brands. That can have as much impact as the classics.” —Glenn Martens [32:42–33:31]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:36–06:05 — Why Shanghai? Brand strategy, themed exhibitions
• 06:05–09:55 — Creative process, vintage inspiration, Margiela’s legacy
• 12:19–17:04 — Approaches to design, upcycling, fabric manipulation
• 17:51–18:48 — Studio morale: The puppy solution
• 23:53–25:52 — Maison Margiela folders: digital transparency
• 25:52–27:28 — Bianchetto workshops, interactive fashion
• 29:11–31:20 — Balancing two global brands, downtime rituals
• 32:37–34:40 — Generational shift, pressure of modern criticism
• 38:06–40:07 — Y/Project, early experimentation
• 41:46–43:11 — Murphy the dog: the unofficial mascot

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Episode Tone

The conversation is warm, open, and reflective, balancing technical insight with quirky personal anecdotes. Martens is candid about his approach, the pressures facing today’s designers, and the joys and challenges of his dual creative roles.

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For listeners and non-listeners alike, this episode is a masterclass in contemporary fashion leadership, creativity, and the enduring power of play—whether through radical design or the simple act of bringing a puppy to work.

Transcript

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[Nicole Phelps]

Hi y'.

[Glenn Martens]

All.

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[Nicole Phelps]

This is the run through. I'm Nicole Phelps. Today we have one of the busiest men in fashion on the podcast. It was truly a surprise he even had time to record this episode. Glenn Martins is the creative director of both Maison Margiela and Diesel and he showed his latest Margiela collection yesterday in Shanghai. We recorded during Paris Fashion Week at the Margiela headquarters and Glenn told me about the Maison Margiela folders project, why he bought himself a bulldozer for Christmas and a secret weapon for winning over the Margiela team when he first arrived. Here's my conversation with Glenn Martins. Glenn, thank you so much for joining us.

[Glenn Martens]

Thank you very much for coming. Very happy to have you here.

[Nicole Phelps]

So am I. I saw you earlier this week. You showed us the collection that you are going to be presenting at Shanghai Fashion Week and it's a month to go. To me, you seem very well Prepared. How are you feeling?

[Glenn Martens]

Yeah, we still have a month to go, so miracles happen in one month. Even though actually the collection gets shipped, I think on Friday or tomorrow. So. But yeah, no, it's a big thing. It's really big. Especially also because we decided to actually cancel Paris Fashion Week both for Ready to Wear as couture. So it's a bit painful not to be part of this whole. This whole party. But it's going to be also really amazing to actually have this really bongus massive show in China where we actually have the two collections together in Shanghai.

[Nicole Phelps]

So tell us about the decision to take both shows to China. Why is the brand doing this at this moment?

[Glenn Martens]

Well, obviously China is a partner of us that we really appreciate and love, but we never really did something really there been growing quite a lot since 2019. But Margiela never really went to reconnect with our Chinese friends. We also didn't feel like doing a cruise show. I mean, that's of course very lovely for some other brands. But we normally, when we do something, we try to really go deep. And so we really decided, okay, this is really worth giving all the attention and voila, bring this whole collection there. Also, on top of that, as we are quite young, let's say in China, we also felt the need a bit of making this bigger because, I mean, Meso Margiela has so many things to talk about. You know, there's such a massive archive, there's so much history that maybe isn't that clear for younger markets. So, of course, this show explains why we do artisanal also there it's to explain the artisanal part of the collection of the brands, the way that we actually present couture in a very alternative way. But we also decided to link the show with four different exhibitions all over the country. And each exhibition is explaining a founding quote, a hero story of the brand. So one exhibition will be about Bianchetto, which is the white painting. As you can see everywhere, the Meso Margiela intends to think that anything that is painted white can become Margiela. Then we have the whole story of anonymity. As Martin started in the beginning, also masking his models because he really wanted people to focus on the clothes. And it's something we really do also because for us, really, the reason why we do fashion, why we do Maison Magella, is because we love clothes and craftsmanship and garments, and we don't want to focus on the person wearing it. We of course, very happy to have beautiful people wearing Our clothes. But when we present it, it's really about what makes that garment. Then we talk about the tabby, which is one of our hero hero products and one of the most beloved sho, I think, in this industry. And I think the last chapter is artisanal. Oh, yeah. Voila. That's it. Artisanal. So, yeah, as I said, yeah, indeed. Like, it's about bringing. I mean, like, what is luxury? What is couture? I mean, there's, of course, coats, and the French Federation has really established that at Maison Margiela, we want to be unconventional, and we think that anything that has a lot of power and pleasure and beauty and thinking, anything magic, can become couture. So we try to find new ways of bringing that. So exhibit will be in the middle of Shanghai, in the streets. People don't even have to subscribe. They just can't pass by and see the history of more than 60 looks. I think somewhere between Martin, John and me. So it's really beautiful. A lot of China.

[Nicole Phelps]

So when you're developing the collection that you're showing, you knew you were going to China. How did that influence what you wanted to do?

[Glenn Martens]

Well, obviously, it was really. I mean, the moment of going to China and the moment, of course, of explaining these founding quotes is great for China, but also worldwide. You know, like, we also wanted to bring this as a as again, this is a takeover, the global fashion week for us, or it's our moment to present a collection. So we definitely went very institutional. The starting point, it's about bianchetto, it's about second skins, it's about upcycling. That was definitely the schoolwork. But then also I wanted to reconnect with what was the creative world more and the universe around the house. And Martin originally always started from the thrift store, from the secondhand markets, and tried to find things which didn't really have a luxury appeal and then twisted the point of view on it and turned it into something fashion. I mean, he's the one who came with a plastic bag from Monte Prix and made it a luxury item. So we went to the thrift store. We went to Les Pieces de Saint Ouen, which is a city within a city outside of Paris, which is an amazing experience when you go there and decided to gather all kind of things which could link to that new collection. Obviously, knowing that we went to China, we also wanted to have a link with China. And then we were thinking about the artisanal collection or an artisanal piece, which is very enigmatic. And Legendary. It's this jacket that Martin built out of china, out of porcelain. Porcelain China. You know, china invented, of course, porcelain. So the starting point of the collection really, silhouette wise, is a porcelain doll. So in Edwardian times, they would have made a lot of this kind of porcelain little dolls just as decorations. And it's really beautiful little ladies wearing crazy dresses. All very romantic, very Alice in Wonderland, let's say. And that is really the core silhouette, where the whole collection is built on. Then we, of course, try to represent those dolls. We make also full silhouettes out of porcelain. The Edwardian silhouette is then taken down, painted in white. It's quite elaborate. There's a lot of techniques. I'm not very known to be a minimalist.

[Nicole Phelps]

Let's say it was Martin Margiela, known to be a minimalist. Would you say he is such a cultish figure today? He's been out of the business at least 20 years. Right.

[Glenn Martens]

I'm personally, like, definitely one of this Margiela generation. Kids of them, you know, like, as Martin, a minimalist? I don't think so. I think he was more like a purist in the way that he was really raw. I was like, that's the concept. That's what you get. It's like brutalism. Like, it's really straight to the point. Yeah. And therefore, I think he's one of the most enigmatic designers ever. I mean, like, this whole industry right now is kind of living on his heritage. I think Maison Margiel is probably the most plundered house in history. I mean, his brands and creative directors living on his heritage, which is fine. I mean, like, as I said, I think I'm also part of that generation. I think with the work I've been doing in the past was very linked to Martin, I think, also more than a designer. He's a school, in my opinion. I think he's really. Yeah, he's a school. I think he's like. He really changed the way how we look at fashion, thanks to his oeuvre. I think people of my generation really look differently to clothes and try to find things or to look at things differently and find solutions in an alternative way. Some of them do it more literally than the other ones, but I definitely think it changed the way how we look at fashion. And I think it's an amazing honor for me to, of course, be here now and to try to take over this legacy and celebrate it well.

[Nicole Phelps]

When he was in his prime, you were a young kid. Do you have early memories of seeing his collection or how did you become aware of him?

[Glenn Martens]

It was very unconscious. I think it really happened organically in a way that I'm coming from a very small town, Bruges, in Belgium. I'm also Belgium. As Martin, there was no fashion there, really. Like, the fashion didn't exist for me. Fashion was very much historic dresses that you would see in paintings about Marie Antoinette or whatever. And I think when I went to the Antwerp Academy, I also was not really aware of, I mean, I knew, of course, Karl Lagerfeld, McQueen. And I also saw fashion more as kind of like aesthetic dream. And I don't think I really connected with Martin yet because it was way too conceptual for me. And I think I was way too young and way too junior to go into that. I was really. For me, everything was about John Galliano, Dior. I mean, really like the fairy tale. Martin only came later, I think, in my awareness mostly. I guess, after graduation even. I mean, of course I knew who he was, but I wasn't yet. So, I mean, I was really more, like, dreaming about the drama. So, yeah, no, I mean. And of course, I mean, the longer. I mean, on the other hand, I think the Belgian way of thinking is always about, like, trying to find a spotlight on something unexpected. I mean, if it's Martin or there's Van Olten, I think that's what we have in common. What I often say is, like, I don't think it's a country which is by nature so beautiful, so we're obliged to look at something different because it's not Italy or France. And then also, I think the way of being Belgium is to go really into detail and be quiet, harsh in that and don't do compromises in my career, I think, obviously, the more I was working, the more I was actually becoming more and more Belgian. And it's true, that actually was quite embarrassing, I feel, a little bit, because when I arrived here last year, I went deep into the archive of Martin. I had, of course, now the power to actually pick them out of the archive and, like, see them in real and do stylings and just test a bit and then warm myself up. And it was quite controversial to see that, actually. Most things I thought I had invented at my former jobs here had done way before me. So, yeah, it's definitely genius.

[Nicole Phelps]

So you said that this was the first time that you began incorporating vintage pieces. I mean, granted, you've only been here designing for the last six months or so and going to thrift markets, repurposing garments. Talk about going into the Poos, you're with your team. How are you deciding what to grab there?

[Glenn Martens]

Well, it was definitely. It's a different approach for me. Normally I'm a person as a designer who starts from construction and my former brand Y product was all about building from scratch around a mannequin. At Diesel, it's all about like treatments. I've never really had that storytelling. It's not something that I do. And obviously like, you know, when I arrived at Margiela, of course I had this massive weight of like taking over this really enigmatic house coming after John Galliano. And I had four months to make a collection and I was okay. I really need to own this moment. So it was very, very self centered. That first couture collection that came out in July was really all about me. I drew the whole collection by myself in hotel room in Venice. Really came here for my first day somewhere in February with like the full lineup sketched out. So the, the colors were chosen, the, the inputs were there and they had to develop it because I really wanted to own the failure or the success. I mean there was something very important for me that okay, this is my moment, but it needs to be my moment. I don't want to be able to feel like I could blame this on somebody else on a system that is not working. So obviously like the second season that I did was ready to wear was a little bit more like connected to the day wear of Margiela because I really wanted to bring Margiela back to the streets and to the reality. And it was of course linked a bit again to that first couture collection continuation which was about Bruges and Belgium and Flanders and paintings and things like that. And I felt now the third season, the third collection was like, okay, let's reconnect with the, the starting points which is find something beautiful out of nowhere. So it's less me in that way. It's really more like the way how the house has been thinking, the upcycling way of thinking. So yeah, we went to. I didn't actually, to be honest, I didn't really have the time to go to the secondhand markets my team went, but they came with just like yeah, little treasures and things. And within we knew the kind of storytelling, of course the moment when that little porcelain doll came up. We knew that we had something in something there and that went then the direction of this whole Edward in celebration. And then obviously like we went further into. What I really love to do is of course, and that's thanks to my 5 years at Diesel is definitely the fabric manipulation, something I never did at Y projects. So it's really about, like, how can we recreate fabrics? And so, yeah, so we came with furnitures and sofas and distressed 19th century dresses which had no life anymore and which we now use actually as embellishments. So we actually glue them on top of like very minimal a lines chiffon dresses. We glue them on and I rip them off. So you have the memory of a 19th century gown on a very minimalistic, super pure block. We have moments where we have like recreated Victorian dresses in plastic to use them as a mold. And then we paint. We use the bianquette, which is the white paint of Martin that she launched. We mix the white paint together with latex on top of those Victorian dresses and then peeled off the paint. And the paint by itself is actually a dress. So there's a lot of this kind of crazy techniques which I discovered a passion for at Diesel. As before Diesel, I never really had the money or the possibility to actually work on materialization. So it's very rich on textures.

[Nicole Phelps]

Yes. There's one beeswax piece. Is that right also?

[Glenn Martens]

Yeah, that was a thing also because like in our little researches that we were doing about China and of course China has invented so many things, but there was one thing which I also thought was quite cute that I didn't know is that they invented the bee wax candles. So another dress that we actually are bringing in the couture is another dissolved Edwardian morning dress. Actually, it's a morning dress and very cute because obviously the people were 1 meter 50 globally. So the dress is really like for a doll. So we had to restitch it and try to make it more fitting to a height of 2026. And then we completely dropped it into wax. So it's becoming a walking candle kind of thing. It's full waxed in black. And then like it's very. It's a little bit scary. Stay away from it.

[Nicole Phelps]

Light lit matches.

[Glenn Martens]

It came out a bit more scary than expected. But there's also beauty in that mystery and in that kind of the dark drama. We're very excited. I think the biggest challenge definitely was to actually link that with ready to wear, obviously, because you're not gonna put like a denim and a T shirt next to a bee wax candle dress gown. Morning gown from 1850. So a lot of those kind of experimentation did in artisanal. We actually managed to quite a lot with our factories and then. Yeah. And then try to figure out what is a silhouette which can be linked to all this drama? So it's a very elevated collection. I feel. It's very evening wear, which is part of the house also. And I think it's also really beautiful to bring that to China.

[Nicole Phelps]

So when I was here a couple days ago and you were showing us pieces, it's a very interactive situation. The team and you seem to sort of work very symbiotically. I'm curious about coming here and taking charge of a team.

[Glenn Martens]

So it's very, very stressy arriving in a new house. It's like a bit of, of course, flirting. It's like a dance, you know, you dance around each other and try to get to know each other. I think the team on itself, I think, was always a bit strange, too. I mean, to adapt to a new creative way of thinking. And you have very different standards than a lot of people, and I see work differently, let's say like that. But I had a little trick, though.

[Nicole Phelps]

What's that? Tell. Tell us what the magic is. I can use it at my office.

[Glenn Martens]

It's like on your feet. Week three, I brought in the puppy and. And everything calmed down. Everybody was smiling, the doors got open, people were screaming, playing around. So honestly, like, bringing a little puppy into the office is really, like, the change.

[Nicole Phelps]

We have to see if Conde Mast will let us have dogs at the office.

[Glenn Martens]

That was really funny, like, so. And he was, of course, just. I mean, we got him March 10th or something like this, like last year. So it's kind of now a year ago, which was within my first month at Magellan. I mean, who cannot melt in front of a little border chair, which is as big as a hand and sleeps everywhere.

[Nicole Phelps]

So he feels right at home here.

[Glenn Martens]

He's very. I mean, he's definitely the therapy dog. It's kind of cute because in the morning he comes in, he just goes to say hi to everybody. So I lose him for one hour. I have no idea where he is. Just like, na, na na na na na. Hello, hello, hello.

[Nicole Phelps]

Wonder what Murphy makes of it all.

[Glenn Martens]

He just wants to cuddles, cuddles, cuddles and food. It's very easy.

[Nicole Phelps]

Okay, we're going to take a quick break.

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[Nicole Phelps]

You're only the third person to have this job, following Martin himself and John Galliano. And when you look around at fashion now, there's a lot of other houses where, you know, it's a much, much longer line of designers. So it's a privilege. Yes. To be the third in line.

[Glenn Martens]

It's an amazing privilege. But also it's a privilege because I think something that John has done, I haven't seen myself, I never noticed that or was aware of that in the industry where I've never lived, it is that he really turned a designer's brand into a house. I mean, until Martin was a designer's brand, he was the founder and it was linked to his name. John managed to make this a global luxury house. And I don't know, I don't think I've ever seen it happening before. I think it happens, of course, at Diorgy, eventually they all did it, but I wasn't born at that time, let's say. So, yeah. So now I'm number three. To really now be at the head of a house, it's a big privilege, especially because, as I said earlier, I think my two predecessors are probably my two biggest fashion heroes. I don't know if you remember, there's Madame Butterfly collection from John at Dior. I had it on repeat during my graduation stitching collection because the soundtrack was amazing. And I just had it on repeat on YouTube stitching my graduation collection in the Antwerp Academy. And even though we don't have anything really in common, I think aesthetically, but I just think that it was such an amazing. I mean, he's done so many amazing things. Big shoes to step in. But for the moment, everything goes very well. So we're very happy.

[Nicole Phelps]

Yeah, that's such a special thing when you sort of Bump up against your icon like that, right?

[Glenn Martens]

Yeah. Oh, my God. Yeah. It's very humbling, but I think it's motivating because you want to honor them also. You want to also make sure that your legacy is honoring all the work that they have done and that your legacy is at the same level and that they also look and you don't want to copy them because it's your turn, it's your moment to bring a different way of looking at this house. But you want to celebrate them and respect them. So. Voila.

[Nicole Phelps]

Voila. So this is the first traveling show for you? And what are the challenges of doing something like that? Traveling shows have become quite popular in fashion, I think, over the last 10 years.

[Glenn Martens]

I mean, challenges for me, I don't think we have that many challenges because we're really proud of how we're doing it, because it's not a traveling show. It's really like we are deciding that the headquarters of Margiela will for three weeks be in China. And the production is there, everything is there, the casting is there. It's not just doing high and buy. I think for me, the most important thing is, of course, I mean, when you understand that your global brand, Margiela is a global brand, is loved all over the world, I think it's very important to understand who you're talking to and who you're engaging with and to understand the needs of everybody. I don't think it's in my personal opinion, but I don't think like working from your little Parisian bubble is relevant when you're global brands. So for me, it's always extremely fascinating. And I've always loved traveling around and. And listening and talking and seeing what they love, for which reason people love what the challenge that we have is just to make sure that I just hope everybody has fun. That's really. But I think we will. It's a very playful.

[Nicole Phelps]

So do I have this right that simultaneous with this, like, 21 day road trip, you're also doing something online where you're sort of putting folders up and they're open to the public and people can access all sorts of Margiela?

[Glenn Martens]

It's part of this transparency policy that we're trying to play with and present a little bit. And I think, of course, it's a bit linked to what I said earlier. I think Maison Margiela is the most plundered house in Paris or in Europe. So completely plundered. And of course, a lot of people don't understand that this is part of the codes of the brands which were here way before me. So with China, we also enjoy that moment to actually do global a little bit like, yeah, school, let's say it's a global little workshop. And yeah, we decided to bring out the Magella folders, which is. First of all, it talks about the archive. So all the stories you're going to see on the Runway or in exhibitions also represented inside the folders with the archive of Martin and John on top of that. Also, we have the whole process of working. So I think it's quite nice for people in industry, which maybe don't understand so well how things happen, to see what is the casting, what's the planning, how much time does it take to do fittings. Now we're going there. Now we're going there. So you can actually really follow up every single step of the whole team and understand what's happening behind such a massive project. Because it's not just a creative director coming and doing some magic sticks, it's an army of people working together, building something together. And it's really like we Margiela. And I think it's quite nice to, I feel, also part of the whole policy of the brand. I mean, I should not in theory be here talking to you because I've always said since day one that I don't want to be the spokesperson for this house because it's really about to close. It's not about the people. Of course it is, because it's you and I respect you a lot

[Nicole Phelps]

and

[Glenn Martens]

I couldn't say no. But, yeah, it's definitely important for, I think, for the world to understand that this Shanghai show is not creative director kind of moment. This is like a global brand moment. This is all us. This is about clothes, about love for fashion, about the passion for the house. And yeah, to be very transparent on

[Nicole Phelps]

that, the bianchetto part of the project, I think, really taps into that idea that we. Margiela, can you explain what's happening? Because it sounds very cool and I hope you bring it to New York City someday.

[Glenn Martens]

I think we will because we were very proud of it. It was very exciting. So basically I hope it works out, though. We have to test it out, but basically we are privatizing a huge badminton aula, I think. I don't know how many fields there are. It looks like two football fields together and. And plays an army of mannequins, Stockman mannequins. And I think each time there's like around 500, maybe kids who can. Kids or People, whatever, who can come put their garments on the mannequins. And then together with the whole team, we are doing a bianchetto workshop. So we are all painting those jackets and the pants and whatever. And then there's a drawing moment ceremony also around it. And then we stamp it, give it four stitches because there are official Magella items, because they're done with the Magella team and so everybody can come home with the artisanally made bianchetto branded Margiela Armand. So I think it's quite amazing, it's quite fun. I think we're expecting to see paint fly around. Yes, yes.

[Nicole Phelps]

And it'll be so interesting to see what people bring. Are they bringing vintage Margiela? Are they bringing some other competitive Paris label?

[Glenn Martens]

It would be kind of cute, actually. I'm always laughing with the idea that they bring some competitive brands and then just stamp Magella on top of it. But yeah, but it's up to them. They have the full freedom. They can turn anything into Magellan. And that's the beauty. I mean, everything, everything can become a jealous.

[Nicole Phelps]

So in China, what do you want to do besides your job? What is on your agenda? You'll be there for quite a while.

[Glenn Martens]

That is a very good. Because obviously we're going to be there for three weeks, so we need to. I mean, it's going to be a lot of work and fun. But I mean, I'm a little bit of a.

[Nicole Phelps]

Because I asked. Because you are a big adventurer, like I've seen on your Instagram, you like to go sort of as remote as possible. So where are you going to go in China?

[Glenn Martens]

It depends. I have a double thing. I think I like to go camping for like two weeks in the north of Norway and sleep deep in the wild, as I also am very. I love history. I'm very. A bit of a history geek. So obviously I won't have a time, I guess, to go to the Chinese mountains or some kind of desert. The planning is quite intense, but I've never been to Beijing and never seen the Forbidden City. I've never seen the Great Wall. So hopefully I think we're going to have some time to do those kind of things and see some pandas with a bit of luck.

[Nicole Phelps]

Don't make Murphy Jet jealous.

[Glenn Martens]

No, no. I mean, it's going to be painful not to see him for three weeks, but okay. He's got to get to become a big boy.

[Nicole Phelps]

We're going to take a quick break. So you are one of the busiest men in fashion you are running two brands, you're creative directing two brands right now, Margiela and Diesel. So I think that's a really hard thing to do, manage two brands. How do you get it done? How do you divide your time?

[Glenn Martens]

This is very hard, but I'm also very lucky because I think both brands are quite alternative to the industry. I'm thinking Magella Bicor, of course is a luxury brand, but it's so independent that there's no, I don't feel any kind of competition. So I don't have that weight of the game of fighting against somebody else. Because we're really unconventional, we're really independent. Diesel is exactly the same. It's like it's alternative to the luxury market also because it's a lifestyle brand. We maybe show in Milan, but we are all about denims and T shirts and sweaters. So it's really like about attitude more than actually fashion. It's like about like be cheeky and successful living. So the whole kind of weight of competition is not there, which helps a lot. Then secondly, I think we're very blessed. The teams feel really friendly. We really enjoy, I mean Adidle, of course a bit more than the Magella because Magella is way more serious. But Diesel is really about like party and fun and drink. So I think it never really feels like going to the office. And then I think the biggest secret is for me to really get away in the weekends. I mean, just like go to the countryside with the dog and dig holes to plant trees.

[Nicole Phelps]

Yes, 40 trees or something like that last weekend.

[Glenn Martens]

Yeah, I had to. I shipped 40 grown up trees to my countryside house and I was digging them myself.

[Nicole Phelps]

I saw the footage. You rented a bulldozer or something?

[Glenn Martens]

I bought a bulldozer for my Christmas. Yeah. It was my own Christmas present. I have like a little, I don't know, you call it a bulldozer, like the thing who digs holes?

[Nicole Phelps]

Yeah.

[Glenn Martens]

I felt like a proper boy.

[Nicole Phelps]

My nephews would know. I don't know.

[Glenn Martens]

Yeah, mine too. That's really like. You really feel like a boy. I never thought I would become that kind of person, but it's really addictive. But that house or that kind of countryside moment really gives you a lot of calm and I think that's really the thing, the power of being work. I mean, I'm a workaholic and I love my work and I have no problem. But I think sometimes to be able to completely cut off is really my discovery for a clean brain. And of course cutting trees definitely makes you they'll think about something else. It's too intense. Yes.

[Nicole Phelps]

So watching this Paris Fashion Week unfold, you sort of addressed this at the beginning, but are you missing it at all, not being in the.

[Glenn Martens]

I do. I mean, actually the nice thing, to be frankly honest, I mean, of course I'm missing it. The nicest thing that I discovered though is that as you don't have a show, you don't have the late nighters with the models fittings or whatever. So I'm having like Paris Fashion Week dinners every night and have time to see you guys coming over. I'm not that stressed. I mean, like when you came, of course you came like a few days ago, I was busy, but I was not like crying either, actually also quite nice because I really have time to actually socialize and mingle and meet people, which I normally wouldn't do. But yeah, we're going to be back in September. I mean, unless my CEO has another idea of going somewhere else. But I think it's nice to. I mean, we also, I mean we are a global house for sure, but the founding and we started in Paris and it's very much linked to Paris. So I think it's quite important to be here and to show em Paris.

[Nicole Phelps]

This has been such a big time of change. I think you were part of a group of something like 15 or 16 designers who sort of started refreshing these heritage labels. What do you see when you look around at your generation?

[Glenn Martens]

It was really impressive. No, I don't think in history that happens.

[Nicole Phelps]

No, I mean, I think it's completely

[Glenn Martens]

unprecedented, but I think it happens just organically. I don't know why it happened like this, but. Yeah, no, I think what I, I mean, I hope just people enjoy it because it's a little bit like the Hunger Games, you know, like. Yeah, it's also to be very honest, of course, and it's not a critique, but of course 2026 is really, we have to play also the game of social media and we have to play the game of, of what's happening outside of the classic part of people really of the industry. People like you, of course have, know about fashion and have studied it and have seen it. So of course when we receive reviews from you, I really know it comes from somewhere and I take it serious. But you also have this whole new generation of people which are entitled to also give critics through social media and maybe have way more followers than you and me have together and maybe are not so educated about the brands and they don't know so much about it because they may be too young and they weren't born when those days were happening. And that can have. Those critiques also can have actually as intensive backlash on your work. That's, I think, also one of the reasons why we did the Magella folders, to really like claim who we are and teach people what we've done in the past. But I know that actually, yeah, between me and my colleagues, this is. It's a very different era for sure. It's really like, it's not always purely about the creativity and so I know it brings a lot of stress. So I just really hope that all my friends are enjoying it because at the end of the day, I think fashion is really that. That's the. Why we started fashion is because it brings joy. And I think that's. I mean, if it's like a sexy Diesel denim, which like lifts your ass and makes you look hot, great. But if it's like an amazing artisanal collection which brings you away from your reality and you dream away, that's the other way, you know. But what they all have in common is that it brings joy and happiness and I think that's what we should try to do. Yeah.

[Nicole Phelps]

Well, let's talk about your Diesel show last week in Milan, because I think it did bring us in the audience a lot of joy. We walked into this enormous space and where you've shown before and done just as impressive installations. But this time it was. The number I heard was like 50,000, 500,000, I think. 500.

[Glenn Martens]

I think there's a mistake somewhere in the marketing was 500,000.

[Nicole Phelps]

So tell us how all of those, everything was chosen. I mean, I was sitting in front of a piece of an inflatable raft with a piece of pizza on it.

[Glenn Martens]

The pizza was added at the end.

[Nicole Phelps]

I have to say, you weren't storing that from some long lost show or

[Glenn Martens]

collection, but like a little cherry on the cake. But yeah, another idea is, of course with Diesel, we always try to play this a bit alternative also because obviously we are part of the Milan Fashion Week, so we're next to Prada and Bottega, all these beautiful brands, but we actually are very different because we are lifestyle and we are denim and things. So that doesn't mean that we don't belong there because I think when we do clothes, especially treatments, they are so developed, they have a take, they are part of fashion. So, yeah, bringing, I think within this fashion week, we always try to find sets or ways how to explain what we do with a Little twist. Diesel has always been a brand that has thrived on parting way before me. And Diesel is actually, thanks to Renzo Rosso, I think it's a brand which has kept a lot of their memorabilia. The archive of 45 years of diesel is exploding. It's like a three story high building full of T shirts and denims or whatever. But they also have in the set a lot of memorabilia from shop experiences and openings and raves and birthday parties. So instead of letting them open all, like get dust there, we decided to take them out and actually celebrate the past and all those years of partying. So it was an ocean of party memorabilias from 78 till 2026. And the models were kind of like finding their ways through it.

[Nicole Phelps]

There was a plushie pig who was lying down in a bed. He had clearly had a very exciting night too. And he was. Was dead still for the whole show. And then he started to turn his head and then we couldn't take our eyes off of him.

[Glenn Martens]

Well, he only was allowed to move at the finale. But that was a bit like, I wanted to freak you guys out a bit because I was thinking, like, they're all there for like 15 minutes watching this installation and this PR bear a pig. And I thought that was kind of cute, that at a certain point they will come alive. And so I hope you. I hope. I hope it works. But yeah, it was like four. There were four different pics because in each side of the venue there was a pig. So it was four lovely Italian men who had to chill for like 20 minutes in a sweat. Sweat.

[Nicole Phelps]

You can sweat, not chill for that chill.

[Glenn Martens]

But they didn't complain. They were really just there laying. It was kind of cute. Yeah.

[Nicole Phelps]

So we should also speak briefly about why Project. Because that is the brand. Your tenure there, where you put yourself on the fashion map. And I actually felt like I saw a little bit some Y Project isms in that Diesel show, especially the sweaters that were all sort of rumpled up and misbuttoned at the beginning. But tell us about Y Project.

[Glenn Martens]

Y Project, of course, was my baby. It was such an amazing time. 12 years, because I really grew and became the designer I am through Y project and everything. There was also about experimentation. It's really a brand which started from playing with wearability. Nothing was really supposed to be worn the way how you wear it. It was a brand which was really talking about individuality. So we didn't believe in this kind of army effect, as everything was twistable and there was vise and Everything. And everything there are multiple. There's no way you could actually wear the item the same way as you saw it on the Runway. Even me, I couldn't start it the exact same way because I just enliven itself. And it was really trying to celebrate individuality. I think that was a. It really became big. And, well, we grew in a time of logomania, where all those brands, luxury or not, were just putting big logos everywhere. And we decided to do the opposite. So we were really hoping that our customers would actually look at themselves in the mirror and really have that reflection of, like, who am I? How do I want to be perceived? And I think clothes can really change so much. That's why I'm wearing at Margiela Bousse Blanche. You know, like, I mean, everybody in this brand is wearing a blouse Blanche because it's part of the tradition, but it's also part of, like, trying to take away who you are to become, like, more neutral. And so we all work together at the same level. But, yeah, if I would wear a crazy Y project item, I would definitely be the center point of the attention. So, I mean, like, clothes can so much alterate your perception. I think it was an amazing time. And I think it closed down two years ago because my partner, Viz's partner, passed away, Gilles. And so the founder and the CEO and Volan and the family didn't feel like continuing it. And that was quite fine, to be honest. I think it was a very. It's, of course, a very painful moment because of course you lose your best friends and your partner in crime. But, yeah, we all got over it. And I think it was beautiful. We celebrated well. And thanks to all of those crazy things we've done together there, I managed to end up at Magella.

[Nicole Phelps]

Yes.

[Glenn Martens]

Here you are. I don't think I would have gotten this job. Nice silk little flower dresses. I mean, I think it's also. Renzo was really impressed by the way how I.

[Nicole Phelps]

We all were. Is it true that you had an eponymous brand that was called Glenn Martens before?

[Glenn Martens]

Very. In the beginning? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, like, from the very beginning, I really knew I was going to be very, very bad assistants. So that was quite clear. I'm very stubborn. I'm like, I always know things better. It's very annoying to be around me. But so, yeah. So I was like, okay, I'm not going to be able to work in this industry inside of a house in a more classic way. So I quite knew it was not going to be a success. But I also thought that if it's not a success, maybe it's going to be a portfolio. And that's thanks to that portfolio, I became the creative director of Y Project, and then was at Y Project. And then thanks to the Y Project portfolio, I became the creator of Diesel. And now I'm here.

[Nicole Phelps]

So do you have ambitions to have your own eponymous label again, ever?

[Glenn Martens]

Not at all. I really don't care. I really think it's really about the beauty of work and the team spirit and, of course, being able to make products that you really enjoy doing. The nice thing now being 42, is that I'm young, but I'm also old enough to have said I did a lot. And I have an amazing platform, which is Margiela, where I can really do all the crazy experimentations. But I also just indeed loved making an organic T shirt, a Diesel Day organic with a logo. And I think that's. That's where it stops, really. It's really about the work and the product and making people happy. If it's under my name or anybody's name, I really don't care. So, yeah, it's about work.

[Nicole Phelps]

All right, well, we're gonna let you back to work, but one more question. We have to know. Does Murphy have his own white lab coat?

[Glenn Martens]

Oh, he does. I think we should get it out, though. I mean, I was quite cute. I mean, so basically on his birthday, January, I was in my office doing some kind of meeting, and my assistant comes in, like, sos, Glenn sos. And I'm like, what's happening? You have to come to this meeting room, actually, in this office here. So I'm coming there. Murphy always follows me everywhere. Tick, tick. And the whole studio had done a surprise birthday party for him. So he had his first. I mean, I'm 42. Never had a surprise birthday party. This little Buddy has, like, Year one, he had it. And they had made secretly when I was doing other things, they had made it a lab coat for him. So he's part of the family, but he officially hates it. He's not really into clothes. He's a wild boy. He likes to. He likes to. But there it is. We're gonna try to put that on with all the love and passion, but it's really amazing. It's really. I do think that's also why I'm. I'm. I'm quite more peaceful. I think the moment, the evening, you're just like with Buddy, you forget about work completely.

[Nicole Phelps]

Oh, yeah.

[Glenn Martens]

You don't like this? No. You don't like this look.

[Nicole Phelps]

He's got a little grimace on.

[Glenn Martens]

Look at you. Oh, isn't that perfect? I finally had two fittings. I don't. I really. I wasn't aware of it.

[Nicole Phelps]

Well, Glenn and Murphy, thank you so much for joining us on the podcast.

[Glenn Martens]

Thank you so much for coming and meeting us in Paris.

[Arden Fanning Andrews]

The run through with Vogue is produced by Chelsea Daniel, Alex DePalma and Alex John Burns, with help from Emily Elias. The show is engineered by Brand Bandy and mixed by Mike Kutchman. Bye.

[Glenn Martens]

From prx.