EXCLUSIVE: Diesel to Show During Milan Women’s Fashion Week for First Time

MILAN — Diesel will officially be part of the Milan Fashion Week calendar for the first time and stage its fashion show on Feb. 23.

The show is scheduled for 1 p.m. CET and will unveil Diesel’s fall 2022 collection.

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This will be creative director Glenn Martens’ second runway collection for Diesel and feature an all-gender wardrobe.

Additionally, the brand has also confirmed its participation in the city’s women’s fashion week in September 2022.

In June, for his official debut at the helm of Diesel, Martens showed at Milan Fashion Week a coed runway collection through an engaging short movie, which featured a gaming-like vibe.

Embracing an ironic attitude, the designer played with denim and streetwear essentials that he revisited through a sometimes sexy and surreal filter.

Martens’ renewed passion for manipulating silhouettes translated into a range of asymmetric designs where fabrics were twisted, draped and used inside out. Denim was also quilted to create fun separates that offered an ironic interpretation of the bourgeois style. In keeping with Diesel’s commitment to sustainability, Martens introduced upcycled garments.

The Paris-based Martens, who also is behind the Y/Project brand, is known for his reconstructed denim and avant-garde silhouettes and is tasked with overseeing style, communications and interior design at Diesel, which is helmed by chief executive officer Massimo Piombini.

Martens was tapped in 2018 as a guest designer of the experimental capsule series Diesel Red Tag, one year after the designer bagged the prestigious ANDAM fashion prize, of which Diesel parent OTB is a sponsor and mentor. Diesel has not had a marquee talent at the helm since Nicola Formichetti exited in December 2017 after a four-year tenure as artistic director.

Milan Fashion Week’s February calendar is filling up and is seeing an important return. Gucci’s president and CEO Marco Bizzarri said in November that Gucci will be back in Milan in February and that the brand will also stage two additional runway shows, in late spring and in September.

Gucci’s last show as part of the Milan Fashion Week official schedule dates back to February 2020, when the brand hosted a runway event to present the fall 2020 women’s collection. Michele’s latest show for Gucci was staged in Los Angeles on Hollywood Boulevard last month.

In February, Moschino is also returning to Milan, where creative director Jeremy Scott will show the brand’s fall 2022 women’s collection live on the runway. His last show in the Italian city dates back to February 2020, when he paraded the Marie Antoinette-themed collection.

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