Glenn Martens ended his six-year time at Diesel with models and performers loudly moaning from the audience during his final show for the brand, before bowing to the crowd at the end.
Presented on 22 September at Milan Fashion Week, the Spring/Summer 2027 collection combined Diesel's denim with revealing designs and a theatrical show, highlighting how much the brand has changed since its early days. The collection was a cross between a traditional runway and an immersive performance.
The Crowd Gets Freaky
The show, made with the Marseille group (LA) HORDE, featured about 200 performers among the audience.
The runway lit up red as audience members made out, touched, and moaned along to a remix of Donna Summer's 'Love to Love You Baby', before joining together for an energetic headbanging finale.
'Every season we try to do something unexpected. This one was a bit more experimental,' Martens said. 'I think the whole celebration of being body positive and loving each other is part of the Diesel DNA.'
The performance reflected a broader idea in Martens' work at Diesel, where sexuality, self-expression, and unusual styles helped form its identity.
Denim Takes New Forms
The collection continued Diesel's experimentation with denim, leather and distressed fabrics.
Knitwear seemed to break down into different fabrics such as denim and leather. Trompe-l'oeil techniques mimicked the look of shearling and other materials without actually using them.
Other pieces combined different clothes into new shapes, including hybrid jackets, shirts, and trousers. Jeans stretched into sock-like footwear, while coated and laser-cut denim looked like leather.
The clothes also became more revealing as the show continued. Shorts grew increasingly brief, while shredded denim and fleece left models wearing only strips of fabric.
Laser-cut T-shirts and distressed tops added to the messy style, with smudged lipstick suggesting the clothes were worn after a long night out.
A Six-Year Diesel Run
Martens joined Diesel in 2020, taking over a brand known for jeans and casual wear and gradually expanding its fashion identity.
Before Diesel, the Belgian designer was known for his work at Y/Project, which is known for deconstructed designs, asymmetrical details and exaggerated proportions.
He brought this approach to Diesel while keeping denim central to the brand.
During his time, Diesel combined its jeans-and-T-shirt basics with worn-looking clothes, blended styles, large shows, and unique ways of presenting collections.
The change attracted a younger audience. Vogue reported in 2025 that Diesel's sales grew 13% in 2023, with consumers aged 16 to 25 making up 36% of sales.
Martens became creative director of Maison Margiela in 2025 while still leading Diesel. Both brands are owned by Italian fashion group OTB, which also owns Jil Sander, Marni and Viktor&Rolf.
Martens Says Goodbye
The collection marked the end of Martens' six years at Diesel, bringing together the ideas he introduced when he first started as a farewell gesture.
'At Diesel, we never pretended to be a luxury brand, even though we were on during fashion week,' he said. 'We also wanted to do more alternative things and think about the community. I think that's what I try to celebrate, but also with respect for the clothes.'
His final show linked back to the start of his Diesel story. Model Ella Snyder, who opened Martens' first Vogue Runway-reviewed Diesel collection for Spring 2022, returned to close his last show.
People gave Martens a standing ovation after the finale. He will now focus on Maison Margiela, where he succeeded John Galliano after the designer left in 2024. Diesel has not yet announced Martens' successor.
