PARIS — Y/Project, the fashion label that brought you viral items including $315 “janties,” is for sale.
Following the death of cofounder Gilles Elalouf in June and the departure of creative director Glenn Martens last month, the company was placed into receivership by a Paris commercial court on Sept. 26, according to legal filings.
Potential buyers have until Oct. 16 to place an offer for the company, which has 24 employees and posted revenues of just under 11 million euros in 2023, according to an announcement published by administrative receiver firm 2M & Associés.
Y/Project announced on Sept. 6 that Martens was stepping down after an 11-year tenure and it was canceling its spring 2025 runway show, initially scheduled to take place on Sept. 29 during Paris Fashion Week.
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Court documents indicate the company suspended payments to creditors on Sept. 4. Cash flow issues had already forced the label to scrap its fall 2024 show, underscoring the tough landscape for small and mid-sized brands navigating the slowdown in luxury spending.
The court proceedings follow the passing of Gilles Elalouf, the cofounder of the brand, last June. His brother, Daniel, has inherited his majority stake in the brand, the legal filings confirmed.
Y/Project has won a cult following with its trademark twisted constructions and collaborations with brands including Brazilian footwear label Melissa and Jean Paul Gaultier.
Celebrities including Hailey Bieber, Rihanna and Kylie Jenner have sported its designs, including the notorious thigh-high scrunched boots and denim panties.
The label won the ANDAM Grand Prize in 2017 and was a finalist for the 2016 edition of the LVMH Prize for Young Designers.
Pascal Conte-Jodra, who joined Y/Project as chief executive officer last year, told WWD last November he planned to double the number of doors and ramp up its fledgling accessories business, possibly with the help of a new investor. He left the company in July and recently joined Fusalp as CEO.
Martens had been involved with Y/Project since it was launched in 2010 by Yohan Serfaty. Having worked as Serfaty’s first assistant, he took over the creative reins following the founder’s untimely death in 2013.
The Belgian designer retained the foundations laid by Serfarty — the graphic, elongated sharp lines — while reenvisioning the brand through his own experimental lens. He also expanded Y/Project to womenswear.
Martens was named creative director of Diesel in 2020, and has won plaudits for his revamp of the denim-focused Italian lifestyle brand with disruptive show formats and viral items such as the B-Berny belt skirt and 1DR logo handbags.
