Renzo Rosso was just 23 years old when he joined the company of Adriano Goldschmied, a fashion designer specializing in denim. This was 1978, a time of oil and energy crises, when diesel fuel was a progressive alternative to gasoline. The young entrepreneur Rosso liked the idea of being different and so he renamed the company, which had previously operated under the name “Moltex”, to “Diesel”.
After seven years of steady growth, Rosso, who hails from northern Italy, bought out the other shareholders and took over Diesel entirely. Two years later, in 2002, Rosso bought the company Staff International (specialized in the production and distribution of Dsquared2, Just Cavalli), further acquisitions followed, and Rosso finally founded a holding company. He called her “Only the Brave”, which later became the acronym “OTB”. The OTB fashion group is now the parent company of Maison Margiela, Marni, Viktor & Rolf and Jil Sander.
The Diesel brand experienced its heyday in the 1990s and 2000s. The world was different back then, there was no internet and no social media, fast fashion wasn’t that popular. Diesel has become synonymous with denim with a fashion twist. Also thanks to the irreverent and cheeky advertising campaigns, Diesel overtook the long-established, classic American jeans brands. At the time, a Diesel pair of jeans meant the ultimate and also a status symbol, especially since Diesel jeans were more expensive than those from Levi’s, for example.
Oliver Hadlee Pearch
The timing for a Diesel comeback seems perfect: it took Belgian Glenn Martens less than two years to put the brand back on the fashion radar. Cleverly, he only changes what is absolutely necessary.
In the mid-2000s, the world began to change, the Internet and globalization took hold, people’s needs changed and consumer tastes became quieter. Diesel struggled and eventually fell into oblivion. They had missed the connection to digitization. But Renzo Rosso isn’t one to give up easily, so he appointed Belgian designer Glenn Martens as creative director of the Diesel brand in the middle of the pandemic, in October 2020. That decision seems to have been the right one. Linked to the underground, Martens was already known for his brand Y/Project and work for the Gaultier couture line. Rough aesthetics, vulgar sexiness and architectural designs have made Martens a hip fashion star in the recent past. Glenn Martens relocated his office from Breganze, the historic location of the Veneto headquarters, to Milan. The OTB company headquarters are located there today. And there the Diesel creative director gave us one of his rare interviews.
Mr. Martens, the Diesel brand was very popular in Germany in the 1990s and 2000s. What memories do you have of that time?
GLENN MARTENS: That didn’t just apply to Germany, it was a global issue. That was the heyday of diesel. Those were my teenage years in Belgium, where I come from. Diesel was the very first brand I consciously wanted to own. So I washed up in a bar to earn some pocket money and buy those brown Diesel waxed jeans. And I think that was one of the first things I ever bought. It definitely was then die brand, right?
I bought the Only the Brave t-shirt back then and I still have it. What did you change at Diesel to bring the brand up to date?
GLENN MARTENS: It may sound strange, but I haven’t changed that much. Diesel has been around for forty years. And as is the case with many brands, at a certain point they forgot which gold mine they were sitting on. As an outsider I was able to see all the beauty and values. I revisited the diesel world of yesteryear—from utility wear to the pop MTV days—and how it should be today. The brand’s archive is incredible, like a museum. Every single piece ever produced was preserved. Some of the old campaigns seem a bit sexist these days. I also took care of the fundamental brand values based on having fun and living life to the fullest: The well-known claim “For Successful Living” is uncomplicated and direct.
David Lachapelle / Paradiset DDB Stockholm
Breaking a taboo, superbly staged by photographer David Lachapelle: This motif was featured in magazines as part of Diesel’s 1995 “For Successful Living” campaign. The claim is still used today.
Diesel already had a pretty big influence on advertising in the 90s because the campaigns played with certain taboos, addressed minorities or social problems. How this was then implemented in diesel advertising, namely humorously and controversially, introduced a broad mass to these topics and ultimately also promoted understanding and openness. I tried to bring that back because this kind of communication is in the DNA of the brand. In addition, a global label has a certain responsibility to contribute to global education. This is one of the main focuses. In addition to social issues, it is therefore also about sustainability and the environment. But Diesel also means celebrating your own identity and living sexiness. But not without fun, wit and irony – and above all, not taking yourself too seriously.
So you want to make diesel really cool again…
GLENN MARTENS: I think it’s cool, isn’t it? I really feel very blessed. I’ve only been here a year and a half, my products have actually only been in stores since December and the premium was huge. I didn’t expect it to go so quickly. I think the brand is so relevant because of its core values. People want to have fun, they want to enjoy life and own it. They want to be cheeky and we reflect that sentiment.
What became of the controversial Mohican head logo?
GLENN MARTENS: My first act at Diesel was to retire that logo. I was in office for about a week. To be honest, this isn’t mohican, it’s punk. Renzo Rosso wanted to be the outsider and the alternative to luxury. The punk culture from London reflected this idea very well. The logo was then incorrectly associated with the Mohican tribe of Native Americans. I could have done two things: go back to the original punk reference or drop it. I didn’t want to start this fight because today’s fast-moving society could have taken it the wrong way. Of course I would have liked to keep it because it’s a strong logo. But we also have so many other beautiful stories to tell.
Diesel
It remains Italian and rich in detail at Diesel: the current designs for the coming autumn and winter.
Do you plan to work with celebrities?
GLENN MARTENS: A little. Personally, I’ve never done that with my more alternative, underground brand. But Diesel is different and so are the types of people who follow the brand. This is great because it allows us to use different communication channels. Celebrities and talent have a voice, and we love hiring them. For example, we worked with Toni Braxton. She was an incredible legend and as a black woman she conquered the R&B world all by herself 20, 30 years ago.
How would you like to position Diesel in the market?
GLENN MARTENS: Well, it’s supposed to be an alternative to luxury, but we’re trying to be democratic. This is possible thanks to the very extensive collections with very different pieces: in the show we had a Casicle collection with about ten artisan pieces, all made with upcycled materials and made in Italy. Of course, these pieces are very expensive and border on luxury, but we also have many other products. The range is wide and retailers buy what fits in their shops.
Riccardo Raspa / Diesel
Denim architecture: Jeans is still the main theme at Diesel.
Frank Polley
Like each other: Diesel creative director Glenn Martens and fashion entrepreneur Renzo Rosso.
You talked about communication in the past, which used to be very daring, and you said you’d like to revive that vibe. How exactly?
GLENN MARTENS: Of course the situation today is very different than it was in the 1990s. If only because we now have social media and can easily reach a global audience. This makes everything much more powerful and at the same time more sensitive. For example, we launched the Pride Month capsule collection in Berlin with very simple and intimate images of the LGBTQIA+ community. Posting this and communicating it on our platforms was provocative as it reached countries where it is not legal to be queer. Diesel’s first new face, Ella Snyder, is also a transgender woman. This campaign also reached countries where being transgender is not allowed.
Speaking of Berlin, how is your relationship with Berlin?
GLENN MARTENS: I love Berlin. I wasn’t there for five years, also because of Covid-19. Then I came for a weekend to see my friends. I felt very grown up because I went there with the idea of seeing her and having a nice dinner. But I ended up in Berghain for fifteen hours. It wasn’t the plan at all, but then… It’s really therapeutic to dance that long, you just switch off. That was very inspiring. I also like the free atmosphere of the city; freedom is very present here. You won’t be judged, you can be whatever you want – as long as you respect others. That’s something very special and you don’t find that everywhere.
What are the next plans?
GLENN MARTENS: There’s still a lot to do. For example, we’re just starting to think about the store design. Then we will do a fashion show in Tokyo. In Japan, denim is something that adults are more enthusiastic about than children. We would like to reverse the trend there. Last but not least, we are already planning the September show (for Milan Fashion Week, editor’s note)which I can’t say anything about yet, except that it’s going to be very impressive.