{{short description|Australian fashion designer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2026}} {{Infobox person | name = Martin Grant | birth_date = {{birth date text|1966}} | birth_place = Melbourne | education = Victorian College of the Arts | occupation = Fashion designer | known_for = | spouse(s) = | children = | website = {{URL|martingrantparis.com}} }} '''Martin Grant''' is a Paris-based, Australian fashion designer. He has created outfits for Naomi Campbell, Cate Blanchett, Emma Stone, Tilda Swinton and Lady Gaga. The National Gallery of Victoria has held exhibitions of his work in 2004 and 2025.
== Early life ==
Born in Melbourne, Australia, Grant was one of six siblings and became interested in fashion at a very early age with his kindergarten drawings featuring dresses.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Rocca |first=Jane |date=2025-05-03 |title=Martin Grant NGV exhibition traces the designer's moves from Melbourne to Paris Fashion Week |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-03/martin-grant-ngv-fashion-paris-cate-blanchett/105224808 |access-date=2026-01-26 |work=ABC}}</ref> He was taught to sew by his seamstress grandmother.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2004-08-22 |title=From Nunawading to Naomi |url=https://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/fashion/from-nunawading-to-naomi-20040822-gdyi1f.html |access-date=2026-01-26 |website=The Age |language=en}}</ref> He attended Nunawading High School until the age of 15 when he left to pursue fashion and joined the evening wear designer Desbina Collins.<ref name=":1" /> In 1982 Grant launched is first ready-to-wear line.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stolz |first=Alice |date=2013-04-16 |title=The man behind Qantas' new uniforms |url=https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/the-man-behind-qantas-new-uniforms-20130416-2hxkc.html |access-date=2026-01-26 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref> He built a reputation through the Fashion Design Council, which staged runway shows of emerging and avant-garde designers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Precocious style: the Fashion Design Council, 1983–93 {{!}} NGV |url=https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/essay/precocious-style-the-fashion-design-council-1983-93/ |access-date=2026-01-26 |website=www.ngv.vic.gov.au |language=en-AU}}</ref> In 1988 he received the Cointreau Young Designer award.
Despite his rapid rise in fashion at the age of 21 Grant enrolled in sculpture at the Victorian College of the Arts but cut his studies short after two years to relocate to Paris to once again pursue fashion.<ref name=":0" />
== Move to Paris == Grant decided to leave Australia in 1990 and lived for a time in London before settling in Paris. Grant worked in Paris making garments; at first with Australian artist Liz Sterling, and later under his own name.<ref name=":1" /> In 1996 he opened a boutique in the Rue des Rosiers. It was here that Grant's big breakthrough came when Naomi Campbell modelled at his boutique.<ref name=":0" />
In 2013 Martin designed the uniforms for the Australian Qantas airline.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Elle |date=2013-12-11 |title=Martin Grant talks Qantas uniforms, new collections and coming home |url=https://www.elle.com.au/fashion/fashion-news/martin-grant-talks-qantas-uniforms-new-collections-and-coming-home-1816/ |access-date=2026-01-26 |website=ELLE |language=en-AU}}</ref> The National Gallery of Victoria exhibited Grant's work in 2004 and again in a major retrospective in 2025 after Grant donated more than 200 designs from his archive to the gallery.<ref>{{Cite web |last=BAZAAR |first=Harpers |date=2024-07-12 |title=Martin Grant on the joy and discomfort of donating his archive |url=https://harpersbazaar.com.au/martin-grant-ngv-interview/ |access-date=2026-01-26 |website=Harper's Bazaar Australia |language=en-AU}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * [http://www.martingrantparis.com/ Official website]{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, Martin}} Category:Australian fashion designers Category:Living people Category:Australian expatriates in France Category:1966 births