The DIESEL FALL/ WINTER 2023 again was a Milan Fashion Week event. The denim brand shows no sign of stopping it’s coming back. They passed the ball to Glenn Martens, and he’s given Diesel; the fall 2023 collection, some noughties Salt & Pepper vibes and wanted us to talk about sex!
DIESEL FALL/ WINTER 2023 Runway
Since taking the creative helm at the brand, the designer brought back denim, the pop, MTV heydays, the fun, defilement and — most importantly — hype back.
Finale
He teased us with his low-rise jeans and short hemlines from the beginning of his tenure; he got pretty literal this season by partnering with Durex on a capsule collection to be released in April. The easy jersey separates, combining the condom company’s name with the D logo or fittingly retooling the brand’s motto into “For Successful Living”, will be flanked by an initiative promoting safe sex that will see Diesel distributing half a million condoms for free across its global stores.
Runway Report
“It’s essential to live your life, have fun, be sex positive but respect each other…. It’s the sex attitude of the brand, too, being straightforward but always respectful,” Martens said during a preview.
The first 200,000 condom boxes were displayed at the show, amassed in an installation around which the models paraded. The set-up made for a conversation topic but didn’t overshadow the substantial collection Martens created.
Hammering on the three pillars of his vision at Diesel — denim in all forms, utilitarian inflexions and pop aesthetics — and a fourth, the more artisanal touch he spotlights in his runway shows, Martens further developed the themes he introduced last season.
“I always push myself into be like ‘fewer stories, but deeper into stories’, and I think we did that quite well,” Martens said while detailing how what started as denim interwoven on organza for spring was maximized in its distressed effects for fall 2023. Cue the show’s first segment, which was rich in denim pants, long skirts and dresses dissolving in transparencies to show different body parts cheekily.
The same raw vibe ran throughout in different forms, ranging from post-apocalyptic laser-cut jersey minidresses and hoodies to double-layered separates revealing prints and textures underneath, as seen in a shearling denim jacket or metal Diesel lettering surfacing from a leather biker. Slip-on heels are draped in diamante; denim boots have valuable pockets. A new sneaker – the Prototype 3 – has.
Experimentation climaxed with deadstock biker jackets undergoing oxidation or blow-torched treatments or with leftover nylon linings and painted faux furs covered in plastic and heated up to create sculptural garments.
The finale came in the form of pop prints of close-ups of faces and “smiles with way too many teeth,” which further lifted the already upbeat mood.
“Sex positivity is something unique. We like to play at Diesel, and we are serious about it. Have fun, respect each other, and be safe. For Sucsexful Living!” Glenn Martens, creative director of Diesel.
Freedom, pleasure, experimentation, play: Diesel stands for democracy, choice and sex positivity as a human right. At the heart of this season’s runway, models walk around a mountain of 200,000 Durex condom boxes. In addition, there will be an additional 300,000 Durex condoms that will be given away free this April at Diesel stores around the world.
“Sex positivity is something unique. We like to play at Diesel, and we are serious about it. Have fun, respect each other, and be safe. For Sucsexful Living!” Glenn Martens, creative director of Diesel.
Do you need some Diesel in your life?
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CREDITS:
Photos Diesel
Creative Director: Glenn Martens
Stylist: Ursina Gysi
Concept and Set Design: Krzysztof J. Lukasik
Casting Direction: Calvin Wilson, Anita Bitton @establishmentny
Hair: Gary Gill