All photos by Sonnyphotos
Dear Shaded Viewers,
Glenn Martens didn’t say goodbye to Diesel. He threw a party.
In Milan, the venue became a purpose-built club with a charged mood, and from the first look it was clear this was no ordinary farewell. The artist collective (LA)HORDE planted 200 performers among the guests. Some of what they did was sensual, some was unsettling, and all of it was electric. The tension kept building until the show ended in climax and release, set to a rework of Donna Summer’s “Love to Love You Baby.” Pure Diesel, pure Glenn.
“The party always comes first at Diesel,” he said. “Let’s take a ride one more time.” We did, and we never wanted it to stop.
The collection sums up everything Glenn gave the house: disruptive, sexy, fluid and fun. Garments merged into each other, with a waxed leather jacket over a topstitched blazer over a ribbed knit, the seams cut away in orchid shapes. Skirts looked demure from the front and turned into a party in the back. His trompe l’oeil was as witty as ever: tweed and heavy winter coats printed onto lightweight shirts, denim bombers foil-printed as biker jackets, and even a print of the shearling coat from his first Diesel show. Cutaways sank to impossibly low waists, and slip dresses and twisted tailoring looked like you’d dressed too fast after an intense night.
It all came back to denim, as it should. There were bootcut kicks, jeans lasered to look like leather, slits for stilettos and the most micro shorts imaginable, a manifesto for the party. Then the full-circle moment: Ella Snyder, who opened Glenn’s debut Diesel show, closed his last one. Chills.
The accessories were irresistible too. The D-ONE bag came in endless treatments, a sock turned into a pouch and a newspaper into a clutch, and there was the new LOCK-D bag and lingerie boned and embroidered with orchids, the signature flower of Only Desire.
Since 2020, Glenn Martens has made Diesel the most exciting, inclusive and joyful house in Milan. This final collection was a love letter to all of it. Bravo, Glenn. Thank you for the ride.
Later,
Diane
