Y/Project goes up for sale as it files for receivership

Just weeks on from the exit of its former creative director Glenn Martens, Parisian luxury label Y/Project has been put up for sale. The move appears to have come on the heels of the company moving into receivership earlier in September.

The future of the brand, which is owned by the French firm In-Carnation, had already been thrown into doubt in June, when one of its co-founder, Gilles Elalouf, passed away at the age of 58 after a long illness.

This future came further into question when Martens announced his departure. The Belgian designer, who also serves as creative director for Diesel, had been at the helm of Y/Project since 2013, and had been responsible for elevating the brand through what it described as a “fascinating narrative”.

At the time of the announcement, it was unclear what the reason was behind his exit. Now, however, it appears that Y/Project has set about looking for a buyer, as confirmed by an ad on the 2M & Associés site. Here, Marine Pace has been named as the judicial administrator of the process, which requires interested parties to submit an offer prior to October 16.

In the ad, it was reported that for the 12 months as of September 30, 2023, Y/Project had made a turnover of 10.979k euros, compared to this year, as of September 30, 2024, when it made 9.443k euros. Court documents seen by WWD also indicate that the company had suspended payments to creditors in September 2024. FashionNetwork, meanwhile, has reported that the brand went into receivership on September 26.

Cash flow issues had already become evident mid-February, when Y/Project made the last minute decision to cancel its show for the season, citing “uncertain times” as the reason. The brand instead turned its attention to showcasing its autumn 2024 collection via a lookbook.