Diesel puts on a superlative show in Milan

Translated by

Cassidy STEPHENS

The countdown is on. Five, four, three, two, one! A siren sounds. The packed Allianz Cloud sports hall in Milan holds its breath. The show can begin, offering, as Diesel

Denim coat transformed into fur by Glenn Martens – Diesel

The first mannequins enter the arena at full speed, bypassing the giant inflatable dolls (the largest inflatable structure in the world, according to the house), which tumbled to the centre of the stage, extending their arms and legs like disproportionate tentacles towards the stands. The silhouettes look almost tiny, making up Diesel’s cool new tribe.

The elaborate collection reviews the thousand-and-one ways of dressing in denim, and above all the countless possibilities offered by denim through all sorts of treatments, washes, dyes, special prints, textural effects and finishes. The palette ranges from a faded ash-blue to a yellow-white, to the darker notes of grey, black and brown, before exploding into bright orange and pink.

Trousers, jackets, tops, mini and maxi skirts, coats, but also suits, leggings and sweaters and even santiags and stiletto boots with pockets, strictly in denim; nothing is missing. Creative director Glenn Martens

The garments are full of details and surprises, such as denim dresses treated in the manner of devoured velvet, extended with an embroidery effect in a transparent organza veil, or a denim coat with a wide neckline, whose bushy fringed edges are reminiscent of the fur edges of glamorous coats. Elsewhere, ensembles are completely slashed with a cutter, forming thin strips between the garment’s seams, offering an ultra-chic version of ripped denim.

A “trompe l’oeil” effect with different prints and textures – Diesel

Diesel’s Belgian designer continues the experimentation that is so dear to him and that made his Y/Project brand famous. He has no equal for playing with the most unexpected constructions. For example, a coat made of 15,000 Diesel tags aged and brushed or a pair of jeans stretched upwards to form a corset.

Blue canvas squares are assembled as they are, leaving the excess fabric along the sleeves and legs, undulating like ruffles. The belt wraps from the waist to the bust in a single movement. Sometimes it spirals around the upper body to form a top, while a belted long jacket becomes a “trompe l’oeil” miniskirt jacket.

“Glenn is not a stylist, he is a couturier. He’s managed to do something totally new by putting the 44-year history of Diesel into this collection. He has managed to transform our DNA into something extraordinary,” enthused Renzo Rosso

“I have passed the baton to a very special person. With him, the brand is living a great moment,” he said.