PARIS — Y/Project, the Paris-based fashion brand known for its twisted constructions, is ceasing operations after failing to find a buyer.
“After 14 fruitful years, Y/Project has made the challenging decision to stop operations,” the company said on Thursday in a statement shared exclusively with WWD.
The brand is the latest to fall victim to the slowdown in luxury spending. Small apparel firms have been rocked by slow payments from retailers, the demise of Matches, political and economic uncertainty, and lingering effects from the pandemic.
Last year saw the closing of such firms as Mara Hoffman, The Vampire’s Wife, Calvin Luo, Dion Lee, Harlow and Interior, among others.
Y/Project was placed into receivership by a Paris commercial court on Sept. 26 following the death of Gilles Elalouf, who cofounded the brand with the late Yohan Serfaty, and the departure of creative director Glenn Martens.
Court documents show that only one potential suitor stepped up: Hong Kong-based asset management firm AA Investments, which has snapped up a string of distressed assets in recent months, put in an offer of 45,000 euros. Y/Project declined to comment on the bid.
The company had 24 employees and posted revenues of just under 11 million euros in 2023. Following Elalouf’s passing last June, his brother Daniel inherited his majority stake in the brand.
Y/Project, spring 2024
Giovanni Giannoni/WWD
Helmed by Martens since 2013, Y/Project won critical acclaim, scooping the ANDAM Grand Prize in 2017 and reaching the finals of the 2016 edition of the LVMH Prize for Young Designers.
It earned a cult following with viral items including $315 “janties” and thigh-high scrunched boots, as well as collaborations with brands including Brazilian footwear label Melissa and Jean Paul Gaultier.
Celebrities including Hailey Bieber, Rihanna and Kylie Jenner have sported its designs.
Pascal Conte-Jodra, who joined Y/Project as chief executive officer in 2023, told WWD at the time that he planned to double the number of doors and ramp up its fledgling accessories business, possibly with the help of a new investor.
Conte-Jodra left the company last July after cash flow issues forced the label to scrap its fall 2024 show. It suspended payments to creditors on Sept. 4.
“Y/Project and the team thank all partners and Y/P supporters for their unwavering dedication to the brand throughout the years. Special thanks to Glenn Martens, Pascal Conte-Jodra, and the late Gilles Elalouf for giving their team the space to create and grow,” the brand said Thursday.
It plans to donate several archive looks in honor of Gilles Elalouf to institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City; Antwerp’s MoMu fashion museum; Palais Galliera, the fashion museum of Paris, and the French capital’s Musée des Arts Décoratifs.
Martens was involved with Y/Project since it was launched in 2010. 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.
Gilles Elalouf and Glenn Martens at the ANDAM Fashion Awards in 2017.
Courtesy of Y/Project
