Diesel's diligent SS23 collection

Diesel and their SS23 collection by none other than, Glenn Martens, continues with the environmentally-sustainable movement on the Milan runway, following their latest series, ‘Diesel Up Cycling For’, to realign with their core values as a brand. The brand's ethos concentrates on environmentally friendly practices through upcycling materials by using deadstock, alongside reducing use of new materials, energy, air, water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

With this ethos, Diesel have decided to issue a new designer to each DUCF collection to present their interpretation of upcycling, and Glenn Martens took the runway with the recent collections. Following his vision with the brand, Martens added to the newly launched ‘Diesel Rehab Denim’ capsule, with the use of upcycled denim, cotton and elastane in the SS23 collection.

“I wanted to open Diesel up to the public, for people who have never been to a fashion show before. They deserve a spectacle.” a quote from Martens shared by the Diesel website. The runway saw 71 environmentally sustainable and spectacular looks strut around an inflatable sculpture that centred the stage, and broke world records. Martens made the show available to 5,000 people- 3,000 of which were the public and fashion students from Milan, who were able to attend on free admission, to give everyone a chance to “be part of Diesel.”- Glenn Martens.

Martens explored every avenue of denim, to portray democratic fashion; models wore bleached and acid washed denim two pieces, mostly paired with complimentary denim shoes. Pieces made of denim merged with other fabrics, like mesh, were used to highlight a contrast. The looks consisted of a blend of denims, upcycled and stitched together, in the form of low rise jeans, trousers, skirts, bandeau tops, bags and dresses, to reflect a distressed and dystopian vibe. This also reflected the trends Martens incorporated, like lace and cargos.

Look 26 : The acid washed denim detailing is just fabulous. The contrasting leopard and snake print was underlined by the use of different materials. The distressed lining of the dress and its mini-slit, expresses the designer’s homage to Diesel’s founder, Renzo Rosso, and the one to introduce ripped jeans to high fashion. The distressed denim bag and black and white, snake print boots are both statement pieces, that support the fit without clashing with each other. A true opus.

Distressed denim corsets were wrapped around models with bleached denim belts, and denim cargo/utility trousers. Models also showcased denim midi dresses, skirts and vests with a distressed fringe trim and frayed edges, that successfully captured the faux-fur effect Diesel intended on- most of which were completed with matching knee-high denim boots. A contemporary post-apocalyptic theme was emphasised with trompe l’oeil print pieces such as, co-ords, and dresses, to break from the denim.

Look 22 : This look has my heart. The deep neck corset-top in itself is stunning, let alone the distressed trim belt, woven around the bottom, dramatising the look. The yellow and green tones uplift the light blue to a perfect gradient, which completes the top so perfectly. The veiled cargo/utility trousers match the yellow and green hues of the top, with the veil belt momentarily giving an inside-out effect. A provocative twist on everyday wear.

A preppy aesthetic was implemented through logo printed, zip-down knit jumpers and snake print belt, micro-skirts. The collection was broken down with metallics and abstract fluid art printed jackets, with the Diesel logo making subtle cameos on the pieces. Oversized bottoms, shirts, skirts and jackets led the range, alongside pops of colours like orange, red, pink and green to balance but, accentuate the grey, black, white and blue colour palette.

Look 37: This isn’t your average black maxi jacket. This look just screams urban opulence. The blacked-out outfit reminds us why black is the supreme colour. The raw hem adds excitement to the matte black texture, which is complimented by the matching glossy bag and boots- providing a certain je ne sais quoi.

Diesel’s democratic denim dream came to life in different variations on the runway. I am never not impressed by anything Glenn Martens does, I love his interpretation of everyday, casual wear, that he consistently conveys through his experimentation of fabrics and designs. The brands commitment to the environment is heroic, admirable and so inspiring, Martens really said, recycling can be luxurious honey.

🖤 Pooja x x x x x x x x x x