Shayne Oliver Unveils a New Capsule Collection for Diesel in Paris
Shayne Oliver Unveils a New Capsule Collection for Diesel in Paris
In a ten-gallon hat, Cadillac button-down shirt, and weather-worn cowboy boots, Shayne Oliver looked like he was ready for the rodeo at the launch of Diesel’s Red Tag Project last night. “Imagine, I’m a car salesman and I’m selling denim,” said Oliver with a smile. Oliver is the first designer in a three-part series of collections to be made in collaboration with the Italian jeans giant. You could sense his disruptor spirit in the air quite literally, with models swinging from platforms that shook with earthquake-like vibrations, a fitting metaphor for the current political climate in the States.
Like many designers, Oliver has had Americana on the brain. He also has a knack for flipping the most familiar pop culture references upside down and inside out. Several iconic moments in denim history were in the mix here, including Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake’s epic turn at the Grammys in Texan tuxedos back in 2001, though you’d be hard-pressed to unpack them from the cool tableau of head-to-toe denim looks here. The standout pieces in the collection included an oversize denim jacket in a wash Oliver is calling sitcom blue, a passing nod to that famous Friends portrait. There were some great skinny jeans reconstructed from a classic jeans jacket, slouchy logo thigh-highs, and a dramatic maxi dress that Oliver described as a “bodysuit slash apron slash gown,” created to be styled five ways.
With Oliver’s DJ friend Ashland on the decks and cocktails floating around the room, the presentation had the club energy of the underground Hood By Air parties in New York that have fueled the label’s cult status over the years. Diesel head honcho Renzo Rosso was in the crowd soaking up the vibe. “All the cool is coming from America right now,” said Rosso. “It’s why we chose Shayne.” Oliver, for his part, harbors a secret childhood fascination with the Italian brand.” I remember begging my mom to buy me a pair of Diesel’s dirty jeans when I was about 11,” says the designer. His new jeans are bound to woo a whole new generation of denim heads.
