Glenn Martens’ time at Diesel has been a glorious showcase of what a creative mind can do with a singular, sole fabric — and SS24 was no exception.
While denim (and by extension, the sturdy jean) has been so entangled with the brand’s heritage, Martens’ helm is pushing the boundaries and forging a new legacy on what makes Diesel, Diesel.
This season, prudence never occurred to be intended; not that it ever has been with Martens’ lead. Conservative numbers found their way as layered lattice-cut tops or distressed denim, but SS24’s level of dishevelling seriously one-upped FW23’s Sucsexful show of sheer panelling and teasing rips. The tongue-in-cheek trompe l’oeil, a signature of Martens’ at both Diesel and his personal label, Y/Project, took a backseat, as skeletal belt skirts and skin-tight galore presented a freeing narrative to the human frame. The literal destruction of denim transpired too. For the textile-heavy segment of the season, the material was butchered, hacked at, and shredded to macramé form. Perhaps this was Martens’ way of exacting his decree for the brand: no longer will Diesel maintain an association with dowdy denim.
Backed with cult-meets-underground NTS Radio, the show’s collective approach to fashion did not exclude, but democratised. The 7,000 pax-strong audience of the accessible eight-hour rave programme bore witness to that. A smart move, when you realise that a large majority of its audience comprised would-be customers of the brand; and the presentation was a mere home-shopping experience that showcased the next “must-own” pieces to its target clientele.
The result was an audio-visual exemplification of, well, Successful Living. Martens’ way of surrealism was graphic, sensual, and crude, but always balanced, and never tired. In fact, it was an exhilarating display of liberty. Nothing much is left to the imagination. But in an otherwise stuffy industry where self-referencing is so prized, Martens’ method of imaginative execution is freeing.
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