INITIA TION Chapter 1

The Belgian designer discusses helming the long-lasting brand built around denim—what he considers the most democratic fabric in the world.

“Have fun, sex, live your life, don’t give a shit about anything,” enthuses Glenn Martens, unravelling the irreverent energy he’s been trying to maintain since taking over Diesel two years ago. “And don’t take yourself too seriously, it’s really important to have fun. We try to put this in everything we do.”

Living across two capitals, though, Martens’ own free time for fun is becoming less and less. On any given Monday morning, the designer finds himself flying into Milan—where Diesel calls home— then heads back to Paris from Wednesday onwards to work on his on-going job at Y/Project. Triggered by self-reflection during COVID-19 lockdowns, he took on the double duty after questioning the impact of his work. “I began to wonder if I wanted to keep nourishing my ego and become an unsupportable designer,” he says. “Or If I wanted to talk bigger and louder and to more people.” Ultimately, he chose both. But the new task was more than just something for the 39-year-old Belgian to prove to himself. Despite its global commercial outreach, the core essence of experimentation and conceptualization that’s followed Martens throughout his career is simply shape-shifting at Diesel. “It has more reach than your classic luxury house,” he explains. “It’s really about how I feel and how I want to be empowered, which is way less fashion in the traditional sense; it’s more emotional and society-oriented. It’s about who I am talking to, and how I can empower them through these designs, because the conceptualization and experimentation of garments are always at the core of what I do.”

Growing up in Bruges, Martens recalls washing dishes at the age of 14 illegally in the back of a bar to save up money for a pair of Diesel jeans. It was a pivotal moment long before he studied fashion at Antwerp’s acclaimed Royal Academy of Fine Arts that taught him about the power of emotional marketing. “It was the first time I bought something consciously not because of the garment, but because of the brand itself,” he remembers. Decades later, both Y/Project and Diesel share common design philosophies under Martens’ eye despite their seemingly polarizing perceptions. “I’m always trying to find something in the unexpected or push the limits of what we know or consider to be acceptable,” he says. “Y/Project is based on construction, it’s really me looking at how I can reconstruct a garment, and build it up to challenge the norm of what we already know. The starting point for Diesel is always Diesel—they have an ethos of successful living.” Of course, delving into a storied brand with a strong aesthetic identity—and without making it overtly nostalgic—has become one of Martens’ magic tricks. “You always have to reconnect to the founding values of the brand. It’s not always necessary to reinvent it,” says the designer, who also guest-designed a couture collection for Jean Paul Gaultier earlier this year. “It’s about celebrating those founding values.”

Pairing technical design principles with conceptual practices, Martens’ Diesel is a surrealistic 2000s fantasy. Pieces vary from flared track pants and boxy biker jackets to the new Prototype sneaker, and of course, denim, which comes in both straight leg and ultra baggy silhouettes. Early co-signs included Kanye West and Julia Fox: shortly after their infamous first date, the musician filled a hotel suite with every piece of Martens’ debut Diesel collection. Cementing that the fabric—which Martens passionately declares “the most democratic in the world”—remains elevated in every garment he touches: “It’s not about money, but it’s an ethos and way of thinking. Only denim has the capacity to have this versatility. Your sexuality, money, location, or where you grew up doesn’t matter. A denim pant is a denim pant and everyone will own one. You can wear the same pair with sneakers to Berghain that you then wear with a heel to a cocktail. And that’s why it’s so fun to work with.”

But the designer is also quick to assert that the textile can also be very polluting, explaining Diesel’s significant efforts toward sustainable design. “Now we have one of the cleanest denim in the industry with 50 percent of our fabric made out of recycled and organic cotton and the other 50 percent made of [Better Cotton Initiative] cotton,” he says. “Not to mention denim also becomes better and sexier the more you wear it.” Playful irreverence aside, there’s also a positive ideological force that’s being ushered into this new chapter. “In the bullshit times we’re living in, we all want to be conscious and work towards a better future,” he says, “We’ve really committed to trying to change reality through environmental sustainability, and while we’re doing that we also have to try and enjoy life as much as possible.”