Freedom, pleasure, experimentation, play: Diesel stands for democracy, freedom of choice and sex positivity as human rights. During the presentation of the FW23 collection, the models walk around a mountain of 200,000 Durex condom packages. The installation is a preview of the Durex capsule collection due out in April 2023 – the first time Durex is designing a collection for a fashion brand.
Diesel is more focused, experimental and ambitious than ever. But the collection is also accessible, with moto denim cut low on the hips and bleached with whiskers. Denim tops appear modeled, while moto leather is finished with a metal logo. Pinstripe skirt suits feature prominent shoulders and are just as wild as denim looks.
Diesel’s denim devoré, developed in-house, looks like jeans with a used look, but allows skin to show through. The body keeps showing with a variety of styles – from oversized shirts and jeans to denim knitwear, skirts and dresses, with some dresses embellished with crystals.
Distressing gains in intensity, such as on a jersey dress that’s lasered all over except for the DIESEL lettering that swirls around the design. The laser cutting is found on utility hoodies, jogging pants and dresses, which continue to degrade over time and wear. Double-layer jersey pieces are cut to reveal the underlying color; a long hooded jersey coat treated to look like cracked leather. Printed tops and shorts are ripped to reveal creases and prints underneath, and screen prints that both highlight and shade Diesel logos are featured on a black and white hoodie, for example, which reads “SUCCESSFUL” across the front.
Draped chains hold a silk dress in place; white bandeau jersey tops and black jersey dresses are held together by metal D logos. Pop prints emerge from hyper-realistic close-ups of faces showing smiles with too many teeth – printed on zip-up jackets, tops and skirts.
Artistic pieces combine different materials, like biker jeans that have been given metal details, or a shearling jacket that has been bonded to denim and then worn down, revealing the shearling again. Nylon stockings left over from old linings are covered with plastic and then heated, creating an effect reminiscent of someone else’s fur. Discarded faux fur is painted, then also covered with plastic and heated to create an effect reminiscent of liquid fur. Technical biker jackets with matching trousers break up the looks.
Slip-on heels are studded with diamonds, denim boots feature handy pockets. A new sneaker – the Prototype 3 – is introduced, whose oversized sole seems to grow upwards. Introducing a new bag, the D-Charm, crafted from quilted padded denim and finished with a charm chain, while the 1DR features a pop face print. The new Diesel Eyewear collection, in special collaboration with EssilorLuxottica, introduces a new frame where the lenses float on the wire temples. There’s also a brand new watch, the Vertebrae, whose face is held by a case shaped like the bones of the spine.
