Lifting the veil on the secret process behind a fashion show is something many designers have been tempted to play with. For example, there was Gucci's fall 2020 show that former creative director Alessandro Michele conceived to showcase the multi-layered ritual of designing, making, staging and viewing a fashion show.
At Diesel, Glenn Martens took the concept a step further by inviting anyone with a Wi-Fi connection to follow all the preparations for the show through a 72-hour live stream on the brand's official website, which It provided behind-the-scenes access to the casting and styling process, atelier work, and runway assembly.
It was a choice that fits perfectly with Diesel's democratic ethos and once again generated a buzz around the label in the run-up to the show.
But everything has a price, and in this case the anticipation that usually precedes the reveal of a new collection was spoiled a little. Walking into the show venue on Wednesday, one might know more or less what to expect. The illusion that there would be another coup de theater whose preparations eluded Diesel's cameras did not materialize.
The only touch of novelty was the unknown faces that appeared on the large screens installed around the place. A giant collective Zoom call involving 1,000 ticket holders who registered online set up the stage setup. The physical guests were seated (very close) in front of the screens and the “Who's Watching Who?” The game helped kill time before the show.
What the gimmick provided best was a snapshot of who Diesel's audience is, and it's clear they're anyone: from students tuning in to Istituto Marangoni classes to masked faces of monsters and even aliens. Some were caught reacting to the collection as it paraded in front of their screens, others took the opportunity to gain some visibility of their own. In this sense, it was like any other fashion show.
As for the collection, as Martens said in a preview with WWD, it was a “melting pot” of the codes he has explored so far in the brand and that further reaffirmed his penchant for manipulating fabrics through layering, coatings and many distressing details. .
It started with sleeker silhouettes and a more grown-up aesthetic that seemed to reference the corporate world with all the elongated tailoring and sartorial plaid fabrics; only here they had rubber coating or scruffy effects that hinted at these characters' 9-to-5 shift. It was preceded (or followed) by a rave party.
The irreverent vibe erupted in shaggy looks that offered the most unexpected and fun part of the show, both in a series of fitted, monochromatic blazers and coats and eye-catching ensembles covered in sheer mesh.
Layered constructions also found force in a series of quilted jackets with devoré effects, exposing the lining or padding through their mesh padding. No amount of cameras can replace the feeling of seeing those effects up close.
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