Diesel

Renzo Rosso founded Diesel in Molvena, Italy in 1978 with a vision to make denim a vehicle for self-expression. He was 23 years old, the son of a farming family in the Veneto region, and co-founded the brand with Adriano Goldschmied. The name Diesel was chosen because it represented an alternative fuel, a symbol of the counterculture populism Rosso wanted the brand to embody. He bought out all co-founders and took sole ownership in 1985, operating Diesel as an independent brand under his OTB (Only The Brave) group. The brand's first major global moment came in the 1990s with its "For Successful Living" advertising campaigns, which deliberately inverted the logic of aspirational fashion advertising. The campaigns were ironic, politically loaded, and often provocative, winning multiple Cannes Lions advertising awards and establishing Diesel as the denim brand most associated with counterculture positioning. The formula worked through the 1990s and into the early 2000s, then struggled as the brand failed to adapt to the digital era and youth fashion's shift away from premium denim. The comeback under Belgian creative director Glenn Martens, appointed in 2020, is one of the more discussed turnaround stories in contemporary fashion. Martens had previously worked with the brand on its experimental Diesel Red Tag capsule series in 2018, one year after winning the ANDAM fashion prize. As creative director, he repositioned Diesel as alternative luxury: experimental runway silhouettes, a stated "fashion is for everyone" ethos, and Milan Fashion Week shows that became destination events in the industry. The brand reported double-digit growth year over year from 2022. OTB also owns Maison Margiela, Jil Sander, Marni, and Viktor and Rolf. Diesel's FW26 show at Milan Fashion Week featured Yunho of ATEEZ in the front row. In July 2024, Diesel named Hoshi of SEVENTEEN as its APAC brand ambassador, underscoring the label's strategic focus on the Asia-Pacific market. The partnership escalated in March 2025 with the release of Diesel x HOSHI, a 14-piece capsule collection inspired by his personal wardrobe. The collaboration, developed with direct input from Hoshi on silhouettes and styling, was one of the more substantive K-pop fashion partnerships of the year.