Glenn Martens' last show for Diesel with 200 dancers
Belgian designer Glenn Martens' latest collection for Diesel was presented yesterday in Milan. It marked the first day of Milan Fashion Week, dedicated to the spring/summer 2027 collections. The collection was an ode to everyday life, mixing denim with leather and celebrating the fun of opening one's wardrobe to mix things up.
“At Diesel, the party always comes first. It is about inclusivity, self-expression, pleasure and the democracy of experience. The collection is the essence of Diesel: disruptive, sexy, fluid, fun. We are all part of the same thing: let's take one last ride together,” noted Glenn Martens, creative director of Diesel, in a statement. Martens is now set to leave the brand.
The show's start also brought to life a series of performances by (La)Horde, the Marseille-based artistic collective. Among the audience, 200 performers engaged with guests and each other through displays of affection, kisses and risqué actions.
Their actions, which might have seemed spontaneous, are part of the “game” of everyday life.
Daywear becomes so desirable you want to wear it all at once
In the collection, daywear becomes so desirable you want to wear it all at once: a waxed leather jacket over a topstitched blazer, over a ribbed jumper fused with a tracksuit collar and shirt cuffs. These hybrid pieces run throughout the entire collection.
Denim pieces are coated and then laser-treated to create a leather effect. Trompe l’oeil prints bring winter into spring, with images of tweed coats and heavy winter jackets printed on lightweight shirts. There is even a trompe l’oeil print that reproduces a raw-edged shearling coat from Glenn Martens' first show for Diesel.
Slim trousers and tailored skirts are suddenly opened at the waist, creating an almost impossibly low-rise fit, and finished with orchid embroidery.
A top held in place by a belt recalls the very first look presented by Martens for Diesel.
The collection features bootcut jeans with volume created by inserts inside the ankle, or straight-leg jeans coated and laser-treated to look like leather. There are also denims with exposed topstitching; jeans with ankle slits designed to be worn with stilettos; and jeans with an applied denim shirt.
The D-One bag comes in a myriad of treatments, textures and shades. Its handles transform into straps featuring multiple buckles along the body of the bag. New for the season are ironic charms, with leather versions of everyday objects: a sock becomes a pouch and a newspaper becomes a clutch. The new Lock-D also makes its debut. It has a soft, deconstructed shape and uses the Double D motif as a clasp, which first appeared in Diesel's jewellery.