Diesel to show for first time in Milan next February, alongside Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Dsquared2

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Dec 14, 2021

Diesel is set to hit the runway in Milan next February. Up until 2018, the brand hosted shows in the Lombard capital for its premium Diesel Black Gold line, but now it's the turn of the company's core denim label to step into the spotlight. The move comes as the next logical step following the appointment of avant-garde Belgian designer Glenn Martens, who also shows his collections for Y/Project in Paris, as the brand's creative director last year.
 

 
In a press release, the star brand in Renzo Rosso's portfolio said that it "is proud to announce its official listing on the Milan Fashion Week (womenswear) calendar for the Fall/Winter 2022 show season," further specifying that "this marks Diesel's first time formally participating in MFW’s womenswear segment." The show will open the fashion week, at 1PM on Wednesday, February 23, and will reveal the second women's and menswear collection designed by Martens for the jeans maker. Diesel will also show its Spring/Summer 2023 collection in Milan in September.

This is all good news for the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (CNMI), which has seen its fashion week shrink considerably over the last few years, due to the growth in popularity of coed shows and the desire of some of the most emblematic Italian houses to break free from the fashion calendar during the pandemic. Diesel is not, however, the only brand to have decided to show in Milan next season. Several other big names have already announced their return to the Lombard capital in February, including Gucci and Bottega Veneta. 

As for DSquared2, which had taken to presenting both its men's and womenswear during the menswear fashion weeks in January and June, the brand has decided to abandon this strategy and go back to showing its collections separately. In a recent interview, the label's designers, Dean and Dan Caten, revealed that they believed their womenswear collection had lost visibility by being presented upstream of women's fashion week. In line with this belief, they will unveil their collections for next winter with two shows, one for menswear in January and another for womenswear in February. 
 
In other news, CNMI has teamed up with Valentino for a partnership that will spotlight a young Italian designer through the Rome-based fashion house's social media channels every season, with a particular focus on Instagram. The collaboration kicks off in February, with Marco Rambaldi having been selected as the first guest designer. 
 

Finally, CNMI president Carlo Capasa has announced a new parallel project that aims to increase synergies during Milan Fashion Week. The project takes the form of a partnership between the Italian fashion organization, research platform White and Confartigianato Imprese, the employer association bringing together Italy's artisan businesses, with the support of ICE, the Italian agency that promotes Italian companies abroad and supports their international development. 

The partnership's objective is to coordinate initiatives and services in order to attract the largest possible number of international buyers to Italy. Through the collaborative program, more than 1,200 top buyers will be selected and invited to Milan during next February's fashion week, with Capasa explaining that chosen companies will be offered a range of services to facilitate their work.