Glenn Martens, Diesel’s creative director, gave us an early Easter. Who knew an egg hunt for a runway would have people running around Rome like small children collecting their Kinder Surprise eggs on Easter morning? Nostalgia arose throughout Rome as spectators walked around, hunting down 34 crystal eggs placed strategically throughout the city. Martens commented during a WWD magazine preview that he and his team found spots around the beautiful city that portrayed —what he believes— Diesel stands for. Martens has been steering the brand toward a concept that is relatable to all, regardless of social status, background, sexuality, or gender. The models inside the crystalline cases exhibited 55 looks throughout the night for Diesel’s new Spring Summer 2026 Ready to Wear collection.
This runway transformation allows us to understand Martens’ interest in the democratization of fashion. He is quite literally giving every single person the opportunity to have a front row seat at his show. Martens’ interest, according to Vogue, was to show that Diesel was for everyone and how he, as a creator, created for all. Therefore, it makes sense that he wanted both major fashion personas and the public to view the collection at the same time, developing an equal playing field. Personally, I think having the general public view the eggs at the same time as high-caliber fashion figures is an amazing marketing strategy.
As usual, Martens subverted the expectations of the fashion establishment via his unconventional runway presentation. This display attracted more than 5000 preregistered participants. According to Martens, the first five people who found all the eggs would win a fully tailored look of their choice from the collection. The second five would win any Diesel denim look of their choice. And then, the next ten would win a Diesel accessory. Once again, allowing everyone to become part of the Diesel family.
Unpopular opinion, but during the pandemic, the fashion industry perished, and to this day, it hasn’t fully recovered. Fashion shows have become events and are no longer appreciated as an art. Stunts like these that challenge traditional fashion standards, though risky, create an exciting and immersive relationship with the consumer. Though fashion will always be an industry where business is always prioritized, I don’t like how commercialized it has become. Now, designers have stopped having fun with fashion, toning down their work to make audiences happy. I miss the big runway shows when the audience felt like they were being transported into new and different realities, back when fashion was taken seriously as an art by mass media and was used as an outlet for self-expression. Now these feelings have diminished, and runways are now viewed uniquely as buying and selling opportunities. I believe the fault lies with the designers because they, in the end, got manipulated and reduced to the box everyone wanted them to fit in. So, I liked it when Glenn Martens mentioned during the live broadcast of the egg hunt how he thought it was fun to bring a bit of fashion back into Rome. He mixed both a punk-like aesthetic and a refined version of Diesel (destruction-as-creation) into this collection.
Many people were surprised that there was no runway, but Marten’s experiments with fabric—particularly his repurposing of denim—are always present in his showings to dazzle us all. Denim, being Diesel’s signature, was interwoven with recycled poly-satin fabric, later distressed and treated to create iridescently surfaced dresses and biker-accented outerwear. Additionally, bleach was applied to linings, leaving a rough outline stenciled on the garment surface (“X-ray bleach denim”). Other textile experimentation involved double-layered items that combined jersey and taffeta with technical fabric, resulting in a cracking that revealed the layers beneath. Similarly, recycled polyester that was laser-etched to resemble a worn and cracked surface alluded to the recurring idea of discovering what’s inside. Not only did garments stand out due to the textiles, but also bright colors like purple, lime, and obviously denim blue, an iconic symbol of the brand due to the fabric’s natural coloring. Busy patterns (florals or bleach designs) also decorated the garments. Silhouettes were also interesting and varied: the skin-tight cut-out jumpsuits, distressed chiffon placed on the shoulder projecting a bubble-like silhouette, and oversized denim jackets that were somehow tailored to perfection.
My favorite looks would have to be: 5, 20, 22, 41, 46, 48, and 50. Look 5 was composed of a pencil skirt, vest, and top, all made out of denim, and different vibrant colors. I enjoyed the very stiff look of the denim, a manifestation of the fabric manipulation. Look 20 consisted of a floral-patterned middy skirt in earth-like tones, with a mustard yellow button-down shirt under a gorgeously huge, mossy green color jacket that stood out to me because of its structured barrel-type sleeves. My favorite part of Look 22 was the fabric on both the jacket and pants, and how, because of the experimentation it underwent, it looks like cracked leather. Once again, in this look, the barrel silhouette in the jacket’s arms is evident, dramatic, and beautiful. Look 41 consisted of a stylish long shirt with a modified peplum and a gorgeous flower motif that we see throughout the rest of the outfit. I love the denim bloomers on this, but the heels that you can’t quite figure out if they are tights or boots tie the entire look together. Showing how Diesel can create both beautiful modern clothing and also unique and fun accessories. Look 46’s jacket was what stood out to me; the reworked fabric in the garment gives it a rough look, balanced out with the perfect baggy fit, playing with an interesting but subtle silhouette. The denim pants of the look also used the modified fabric and were paired with a floral-pattern dress shirt. Look 48 stood out once again because of the cracked look of the fabric and the utilitarian look of the cargo pockets, a design featured throughout the collection. I appreciated that the use of this exciting textile didn’t limit itself to exterior wear, but extended to the dress shirt underneath. Finally, Look 50 was a gorgeously draped denim middy dress that stood out due to the drapery and overall construction of the garment. It completely shocks me how this look was completed uniquely in denim. Martens has directed and focused the brand to be wearable, whilst democratizing fashion for all, and never losing the playfully industrial style Diesel is known for.
Words by Ariana Sancho
Graphics by Ariana Sancho