There's been change afoot at Diesel—former Phi designer Andreas Melbostad took over the women's Black Gold collection, and ex-Mugler creative director Nicola Formichetti is taking on artistic director duties at Diesel—but the men's Black Gold label is staying its charted course. Its DNA has always been about leather and denim—often distressed, never polite. In that spirit, a thudding blast of Joy Division filled the room at the 9:30 a.m. show, and guys in paint-lacquered brogue boots clomped along to the beat. The jeans come a bit looser and cuffed high for spring, and the jackets offered every way station on the rock 'n' roll spectrum between bomber and moto. Even the tailored jackets looked beaten up and stitched back together. It's a tough world at Diesel. Which made it all the more curious that the unexpected floral trend that's cropped up at Italy's menswear shows, from Kolor at Pitti to Prada and Gucci in Milan, bloomed here, too.
