Glenn Martens opened Milan Fashion Week with Diesel's fall/winter 2026 collection, centered on the concept of a 'walk of shame' drawn from the brand's 48-year history. The runway featured over 50,000 pieces of memorabilia in the set, while garments emphasized twisting, wrapping, and textile manipulation to evoke post-party disarray. The show highlighted Diesel's focus on successful living and celebration.
On the opening day of Milan Fashion Week, Diesel's creative director Glenn Martens presented the fall/winter 2026 collection, themed around the 'walk of shame' as a celebration of the brand's party legacy. "It’s the moment that maybe we don’t remember. We all had some of them, when you don’t really know where you are when you wake up and wonder, ‘What happened last night?’" Martens said in a preview. The show invited guests to navigate an installation of 50,000 artifacts from Diesel's archives, including a giant dinosaur, astronaut costume, car, motorbike, inflatable animals, jewelry, clothes, shoes, toy Santas, employee desk objects, and costumes from founder Renzo Rosso’s birthday parties.
The collection embodied 'successful living,' with Martens noting, "Diesel is about successful living. And part of successful living, of course, is about successful walks of shame." Garments featured permanent twisting that cannot be uncreased, layers of confetti as if from lying on the floor, and silhouette prints mimicking bodies. Techniques included resin-stiffened knits and denim with crystalized creases, trompe-l’oeil looks like T-shirts tucked into checkered miniskirts, tailored coats and suits from layered wool scraps, foiled garments revealing patterns underneath, and patchwork colorful fluffy fake furs from deadstock. Floral elements appeared in intarsia knits with cutout flowers and printed pleated dresses blending botanical patterns, alongside washed-out colors on velvet separates and denim, plus color-blocked painted leather. Models were covered in glitter and encrusted with crystals on T-shirts and pants.
Since joining Diesel in 2020, Martens has driven spectacles like a mountain of condom boxes for FW23 and a 7,000-person rave for SS24. The brand saw revenues grow 13.1% in 2023 and 3.1% in 2024, becoming its most profitable in a decade under parent OTB, despite a 5% group sales drop. Gen Z now represents a third of the business, up from near-zero, and women account for more than the prior 20%. "We know 90% of our customers are not specifically fashion orientated," Martens said, emphasizing lifestyle energy over construction. Repurposed elements included faux fur jackets from factory deadstock and denim using 57% recycled or regenerative fibers. The set reused existing items, aligning with past efforts like 14.2 tonnes of denim waste for SS25.
