BEAUTY: Clothing--Y/Project

Glenn Martens--and his Y/Project brand--was the guest designer this year at Pitti Uomo and the folks who run the event gave Martens carte blanche to do whatever he wished in whatever venue he chose. And he chose to show his FW '19-'20 collection in the cloisters of the Santa Maria Novella basilica, at night, in the dark, with only the lights of flashlights provided to the audience to light the models. It's an interesting device...presumably it makes the audience more invested and particpatory. It also feels somehow...holy...to see a show in the cloisters of such an iconic church, under the stars, by the equivalent of candlelight.

I like Martens' sense of volume and his penchant for a sort of crumpled, crunched silhouette. Jackets, sweaters, coats, and suits are cut boxy and roomy. Details like carpet scarves and layers of argyle and sheer material in the fourth image are intriguing. But I honestly LOVE the extremely high boots (waders?) that are cut at the femoral artery...you can see them in leather and suede in the third and fifth images. Marvelous.

https://www.yproject.fr/