The Tamesis
“This pre-collection is very much a fusion of all things Diesel, including utilitarian workwear styles, more tailoring, and more millennial wear.” Glenn Martens spoke at his characteristically chaotic pace on a conference call about a collection that featured trompe l’oeil fabrics, radical clothing combinations and new accessory iterations.
From a code perspective, denim remains the foundation of Diesel. It was twisted into new unlikely articulations, including so-called “impossible” miniskirts (with tennis-style built-in shorts), denim jackets with faux leather treatments, grafted-wear half-denim blends including miniskirt/loose shirt rompers, and draped cuts in denim viscose. These freewheeling fashion experiments are balanced with slightly subversive interpretations of old-school standard core pieces, like cat-heel loafers with silver vamps or an oversized librarian sweater vest in a twisted indigo cable-knit.
The relationship between sportswear and workwear continues to expand, with key shots including jersey dresses with sporty side stripes, tennis jersey wrap dresses, and some strong utility jackets, pants and workwear in coated canvas or washed denim. Tracksuits paired with shirts and cropped trousers were like a post-millennial take on Le Smoking, while their transparency reflected the wider philosophy of full disclosure espoused by Martens. Of the lookbook, for example, he said: “The background is a real background backstage and it’s lovely. It reflects Diesel’s policy of focusing on lifestyle while showing what’s really going on.” In that spirit of transparency, he turned to discussing Diesel’s new collaboration with Tinder to celebrate Pride: “It shows that we support successful love and successful life,” he deadpans.
