Balenciaga has appointed Martine Rose as its new creative director, bringing one of British fashion’s most distinctive independent voices into one of luxury’s biggest houses. But who is the designer behind the name?
Born in London in 1980, Rose is a British Jamaican designer whose work is deeply connected to the city’s subcultures. Growing up around London’s club scene, football culture and the music and style of the 1980s and 1990s, she developed an understanding of fashion that was less about traditional ideas of elegance and more about how people actually dress, identify and express themselves. Her older sister’s wardrobe and the club nights she attended as a teenager were among her early influences.
Photo: Andreas Larsson
She launched her eponymous label in 2007, initially focusing on menswear and shirting. The beginnings were far from glamorous. Rose received a £1,500 loan from the Prince’s Trust to establish the business and spent years trying to make the label financially sustainable. At one point, unable to afford a full collection, she presented just one look for Spring/Summer 2015. It was a slow build, but her approach was already attracting attention.
What makes Rose’s work recognisable is her treatment of proportion. Oversized tailoring, exaggerated shoulders, cropped jackets, wide trousers and deliberately awkward silhouettes have become signatures. She takes familiar pieces of menswear, from football shirts and tracksuits to formal suits, and shifts their proportions until they feel unfamiliar. Her collections also challenge conventional ideas of masculinity, often mixing references that would traditionally sit on opposite sides of the fashion spectrum.
Her influence became more visible when Demna brought her into Balenciaga as a menswear consultant in 2015, a role she held until 2018. She contributed to the house’s first menswear collection under his direction. The collaboration was also an important turning point for her own label, providing financial stability and allowing her to invest in its growth.
Since then, Rose has worked with brands including Nike and Napapijri, created looks for Kendrick Lamar’s The Big Steppers tour and continued to build a following that extends beyond the traditional fashion audience. In 2023, she was named British Menswear Designer at the Fashion Awards.
Her appointment at Balenciaga is particularly interesting because she has built her reputation outside the conventional luxury fashion system. Rather than rising through the creative departments of established houses, she developed an independent label with a very specific cultural perspective, gradually earning influence across the industry.
Now, she returns to Balenciaga with a very different responsibility. Having once helped shape its menswear under Demna, she will take charge of the house’s creative direction from 16 November.
The question is whether the designer who built her reputation by looking beyond the traditional fashion establishment can bring that same perspective to one of its most powerful institutions.