"Sexy, optimistic and active": this is how Glenn Martens imagines the new Diesel

. The firm that was co-founded in 1978 by the Italian businessman Renzo Rosso and the designer Adriano Goldschmied (Rosso became the sole owner a few years later, in 1985) was one of the first to make unconventional denim garments accompanied by equally suggestive advertising campaigns. Against this background, will Martens, renowned for its innovative use of materials, finally be the perfect odd match the lifestyle brand has been waiting for?

“At first I had to learn a lot,” Martens confesses about his recent appointment. “I had never been the creative director of such a large company.” This former student of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp – at the head of the Parisian firm Y/Project since 2013 and winner of the ANDAM Prize in 2017 – has made a name for himself based on avant-garde silhouettes that challenge the limits of tailoring. Let's not forget the collaborations with which he almost broke the internet (like, by far, the famous thigh-high UGG boots that we saw on Rihanna).

So what does Martens want to bring to Diesel? "We're never going to pretend to be a luxury home," she says. “We are an alternative to luxury”. Days before the launch of his new collection, available from June 21, we met with the designer to talk about his debut, to tell us what it's like to work for two brands and why the future of fashion knows no gender.

“I am from Bruges, in Belgium, which is a fairly small museum city, and since I was little I have always been passionate about history. I was always drawing historical figures like kings and queens, and above all I was looking at the clothes”.

“Diesel was the first brand I bought on purpose when I was 15, because to me it was the brand you had to wear to be cool and attractive. It is a big brand with a powerful message that reaches anyone in the world, beyond fashion. We work with social responsibility and that was what made me most excited”.

“For me, the key is to be sexy, optimistic, active, and focus on denim. But it also has a fun point with a lot of special twists.”

“It was easy because that way I was able to focus without having all those outside meetings. We focused as much as possible and everything happened much faster than I expected. I have had to digest a lot of information, but now I am up to date”.

“I like it because they are very different brands. Diesel is more blunt and direct. At Y/Project, there are 25 people working at the headquarters, while at Diesel we are 900. I spend three days a week in Italy and the rest in Paris. The trip is super calm because I live very close to the airport”.

“The languages ​​of Y/Project and Diesel are very different; here [at Diesel] more importance is given to the fabric than the construction. But, obviously, there is room for versatility because, after all, that's what I do. There is always a bit of play at the end, because we are talking about easy-to-wear fashion”.

“It is a global collection designed for different markets. First of all, there are reinterpretations of denim basics, like the classic five-pocket jean. Second, we have sports and work clothes. The latter are experimental garments that value craftsmanship, and that is why they are more luxurious, but they are made 100% with remnants of material from our warehouse”.

“We do not pretend to be a typical fashion house. It's not a runway video, it's more of a hallucinogenic movie. It has been made by the artist Frank Lebon, with artistic direction by Christopher Simmonds and styling by Ursina Gysi, all people I had worked with before and wanted to have by my side on this journey. Everyone is super excited."

“The bookstore is going to be a collection of essentials for everyday life. We have adapted the entire supply chain so that our treatments do not use chemical bleaches and minimize the use of water. We have even changed the way of sewing. There will be full transparency on where the garments are made and we will include a note inside the pockets with a QR code detailing [information on each item].”

“Everyone should be able to wear whatever they want. Our denim is genderless, and the new collection is mixed and fluid in itself. Traditionally, Diesel used to be a men's brand, but my goal is to expand that concept."