It was like landing on Planet Denim at Diesel, where models with alien-like colored contact lenses walked an expansive catwalk covered in roughly 15,000 kilograms of denim scraps and deadstock, shredded to form a textured carpeting that challenged the gait of the cast and guests alike.
The striking set-up – which was flanked by a voiceover giving a lecture on the fabric, its origins and its indissoluble bond with the brand – was intended to loudly restate Diesel’s DNA as well as its circularity efforts (the set itself will be reused and repurposed).
Such commitment ramped up under the guidance of creative director Glenn Martens, who has focused on improving the company’s sustainable practices by using regenerative and recycled denim and introducing the Library line since he joined Diesel in 2020. For spring 2025, Martens again focused on dignifying waste and revealing the beauty in what’s distressed and destroyed.
In a lineup that looked more mature compared to the irreverent cheekiness and very short-hemmed fashions of his beginnings at the brand, Martens included artisanal pieces made from leftover denim threads – like a cropped jacket and a coat reprising the shredded effect of the set – or crafted from scraps from Diesel’s own denim production, as seen in a floor-skimming monk’s coat.
Most of the collection was denim-centric and worked with different techniques, from weaving lengthy fringes into denim to magnify its worn-out appearance to recreating whiskers via embossed details. The same flair for optical illusion ran throughout, with denim overdyed or sprayed to look like leather or camel fabric in sculptural cutout minidresses and outerwear, respectively; leather jackets treated to resemble denim instead, and body-hugging knitted frocks lasered into a distressed appearance.
Highlights included a series of sleek dresses and tailored pieces that had Prince of Wales patterns printed on PVC and extra-long fringing wrapped up around the neck, as well as the jersey knotted frocks and tops that closed the show and that reworked Diesel vintage scarves and archival prints for a trompe l’oeil effect.
Yet the most sustainable style choice was made by Diesel’s global ambassador and Måneskin’s lead vocalist Damiano David sitting front row. He forwent his kimono-like look and left the location half naked, displaying the many tattoos on his bare torso for the screaming joy of the crowd outside to see him and the likes of K-pop star Hoshi, Christine Quinn and Madison Bailey.
