Diesel Spring/Summer 2022 by Glenn Martens

Spring/Summer 2022 marks Glenn Martens’ first collection as creative director of Diesel. The cult brand, part of the OTB group, tapped the Belgian designer and founder of the label Y/Project back in October to revamp its cool potential. And it paid off. On June 21st, Martens unveiled his first collection with a short film directed by London-based artist Frank Lebon and with original music by Leon Vynehall. On the verge of reality and hallucination, the film follows red-haired model Ella Snyder in her tribulations from waking up at an afterparty, to running down the street in slow motion surrounded by a crowd of Diesel silhouettes, to finally witnessing a proper fashion show in a corporate building’s elevator.

Her character is reminiscent of Leeloo, Luc Besson’s enigmatic heroine in The Fifth Element (the fiery hairdo, the distressed white top…), and just like in the 1997 film, her journey leads to a new tomorrow – that is, a new era for Diesel with Glenn Martens in charge. The collection couldn’t be more true to the Diesel DNA, all the while finding synergies with Martens’ very own sense of style. With an all-gender approach, it features Diesel’s iconic denim – also a favorite of Martens – as the main event, while the designer’s signature style is found on asymmetric shapes, daring cuts, high-waisted silhouettes, 5-pockets denim trousers, and built-in boots. The Spring/Summer 2022 collection also marks the launch of the DIESEL LIBRARY, a sustainable “made-to-stay” collection component acting as a permanent baseline for each new collection, ultimately urging Diesel’s aficionados to buy less and wear better. With Glenn Martens as creative director, Diesel might just have circled back to their roots to design a better future… “For successful living”.