Shreds of cool, sexy villains and sharp edges lead the charge in Diesel’s spring-summer 2025 show.
Diesel’s Glenn Martens focuses on silhouettes as if they’re fine art. He is constantly finessing the myriad effects of denim and creates a slew of proposals that look good from up close and afar. With this collection, a great emphasis on repurposed waste proved just how ingenious he can be.
“There is beauty in waste, in what is distressed and destroyed,” stated Glenn Martens, creative director of Diesel. “It’s in the circularity of denim waste, and into the distressing that we build into the collection. This is the disruption of Diesel: we are pushing for circularity in our production as hard as we push the elevation of design.”
Starting with a monologue that welcomed guests to their seats, the immersive show experience for SS25 is created from 14,800kg of denim scraps, to highlight the beauty of waste. “The future of Diesel is circularity, a commitment to finding synergistic ways to reuse materials,” the show notes detail. “For instance, denim waste is repurposed to create denim rolls, used in the automotive and insulation sectors. After the show, the entire set will be reused and repurposed.”
The result was a pool of innovative pieces that conjured the most outrageously sexy and sharp volumes: cotton sweatshirts, mini-dresses and tanks have necklines that look distressed (the material used is actually a devoré jacquard, the cotton burnt away to the tulle beneath to create the distressed effect).
Meanwhile, tailoring is constructed from a double loom jacquard: when lasered, the remaining warp and weft are seen from two different sides. It looks like it’s by chance, but everything is intentional.
Martens’ technical virtuosity was spent on jersey tanks and long-sleeve dresses printed with traditional Prince of Wales checks and, in turn, bonded everywhere apart from the chest, letting the body beneath express itself. For the most part, this was a collection that represented a designer in bold control of his talent: it was Martens at his hype-filled best.
by Chidozie Obasi