Despite his Belgian-bred credentials of radical cool and experimental prowess, Diesel’s Glenn Martens seems to find the business side of fashion just as compelling. During a showroom appointment at the label’s sprawling HQ, he talked turnovers, sales, and revenues with a touch of irony, as if he himself didn’t quite believe he was so proficient at discussing figures.
Catapulted in a sort of culture warp from the Paris studio where he creates the hyper-influential label Y/Project to the provincial shores of Breganze, Italy, the realm of Renzo Rosso’s Only the Brave, Martens is in the eye of a creative tornado. He seems rather busy juggling collections and multiple Diesel projects cooked up by Rosso and his kinetic team. A haute collaboration with Jean Paul Gaultier Couture, due out in January, is the cherry on the fashion cake; it will seal his status as a sought-after star in the industry’s revolving door of creative directors.
In his brief tenure at Diesel, Martens has already made his mark, spearheading a couple substantial projects that reveal his affinity for OTB’s move-fast ethos. The one he seems most proud of is the Diesel Library, a repertoire of denim essentials redesigned with a progressive genderless approach and provided with a sustainable pedigree. It’s certainly a big undertaking. “We basically revisited the production chain,” explained Martens. “We achieved amazing results in such a short time, but Renzo isn’t afraid of anything; he just did it. Probably at other companies it would have taken eons to do.”
The range of responsible practices put in place is prodigious, and it starts with using low-impact materials. Organic and recycled fabrics are treated with techniques that significantly reduce the use of chemicals and water waste; leather is chrome-free; buttons aren’t galvanized; and tags and cellulosic trims are made with recycled fabrics and Forest Stewardship Council–certified materials. It’s also an educational project, as the Diesel audience can learn how each garment is produced through the company’s QR-coded digital passport.
As complex and challenging as building the Diesel Library was, Martens’s definition of pre-fall was, as he put it, “straightforward.” While keeping the offering real and appealing to the Diesel following, he worked his intriguing magic on that straightforwardness, twisting puffers into enormous specimens printed with hallucinogenic kaleidoscope twirls and coating dusters and side-zipper denim pants with a scratched patina of destroyed metallic shine. Camouflage was given a sexy turn in tiny, tight-fitting, asymmetrical dresses in stretchy chiffon, and branding was explored extensively, attacked (his word) with a raw attitude and experimental finesse.
Breaking his reluctance to dig deeper into the collection’s rationale, he said that every garment holds a contrasting dynamic: “One orientation is very military and distressed, the other is very pop and futuristic. There are lots of eclectic, fun moments in the look book, as I really wanted the models to look like CD covers from the 2000s, so we shot the images with a ring light that isn’t fashionable anymore. They’re like pop stars ready to rock the night, to celebrate and party.” As much as he seems to be enjoying the ride, you could tell that he cannot wait to get back to the clubs.
