Glenn Martens signs the 27th issue of A MAGAZINE curated by
Diesel's creative director returns to his Belgian roots
June 12th, 2024
The 27th issue of A MAGAZINE curated by has been curated by the Belgian creative director, based in Paris, Glenn Martens. A MAGAZINE curated by celebrates its twentieth anniversary this year and the publication is excited to return to its Belgian roots by bringing together the perspectives of the creative director of Diesel, his consistent portfolio, and 200 pages of contributions with the collaboration of numerous contemporary and influential artists and photographers. Martens' work is imbued with gothic imagery drawn from the Flemish masters, often reworked through a contemporary digital lens. This juxtaposition plays a central role in his issue, balancing history and present. The allure of a muse, in this case the Pre-Raphaelite artist Elizabeth Siddal, is analyzed in an essay by Nicole DeMarco, which explores how all the red-haired muses in history might owe their it-girl status to Siddal. The very long extensions created by hair artist Cyndia Harvey are photographed in a series of images by Jordan Hemingway and stylist Robbie Spencer inspired by women like Siddal with the style of Diesel, Y/Project, and Jean Paul Gaultier Couture. In a series of groundbreaking self-portraits, the Iranian-American adult performer Sharok brings his work into a discussion about self and representation.
Fresh from his solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum last year, artist Josh Kline explores the denim fashion of Diesel conceived by Martens. As for the most 'American' of fabrics, Kline dissolves the landscape of American media using technologies like deepfake and AI tools to create familiarity with the unusual in his first fashion feature. A “carte blanche” beauty series by makeup artist Inge Grognard and photographer Zhong Lin transforms faces into canvases of artworks - the striking cover image of A MAGAZINE curated by Glenn Martens comes from this series. Extending the mind towards architecture, Michelle Deng of OMA and Michael Abel of ANY NYC reflect on the relationship between faith and the human need to build churches and chapels, which transcends the limits of our connection to faith.