Diesel, Creative Director Glenn Martens To Part Ways

MILAN — Glenn Martens and Diesel are to part ways.

The Belgian designer will exit the brand following Diesel’s spring 2027 runway show, scheduled to take place at 4 p.m. CET on Tuesday, the opening day of Milan Fashion Week.

The brand — which is part of OTB Group along with the likes of Maison Margiela, Marni, Jil Sander and Viktor & Rolf — said Friday that a successor will be revealed in due course. As for Martens, he will stay in the OTB Group’s orbit in his role as creative director of Maison Margiela.

Since his appointment as creative director of Diesel in 2020, Martens has injected fresh energy and catapulted the brand back on the hype radar, relaunching the pop culture relevancy of the denim label founded by Renzo Rosso in 1978.

“Glenn Martens’ contribution to Diesel has been extraordinary,” Rosso said in a statement. “Through his vision, talent and commitment, he has transformed the way the brand is perceived, forging a strong connection with younger generations and creating a solid foundation for its future. He brought Diesel back to the center of the global fashion conversation while preserving the openness, energy and accessibility that have always distinguished us. We are deeply grateful for everything he has achieved.”

Martens’ irreverent yet approachable collections expressed his inventiveness in coming up with different takes on denim and fashion credentials at large, building on the legacy of his work at Y/Project, where he accrued a reputation for his experimental approach and earned a cult following for his twisted constructions.

The affable Belgian designer applied twisting, wrapping and textile manipulation with gusto to Diesel as well, in addition to plenty of fabric experimentation and trompe-l’oeil effects. His creative tenure saw him initially referencing Diesel’s heyday and the early 2000s, as Martens hammered for many seasons on three key pillars: denim in all its forms, utilitarian influences and MTV-heyday-evoking pop aesthetics.

More recently, pop prints and shrunken proportions have given way to longer hems and tailored silhouettes, as Martens looked to embrace a more mature audience after having secured Gen Zers’ attention — and their pockets.

Yet the designer’s impact on the brand was not limited only to the collections. He contributed to rev up the Milan fashion scene thanks to his inventive and democratic show formats, unconventional collaborations and the bold advertising campaigns conceived for the label.

His upcoming show next week promises to be another cheeky affair, at least judging by the teaser Martens shared with his 367,000 followers on Instagram on Thursday that showed a woman’s butt and men’s abs behind a steamy glass panel.

The Diesel spring 2027 show will wrap up Martens’ official six-year creative tenure but actually Rosso had the designer on his radar for several years prior to his official appointment at the brand. Rosso first tapped him in 2018 as a guest designer of its experimental capsule series Diesel Red Tag, one year after Martens won the prestigious ANDAM fashion prize, of which OTB is a historical sponsor and mentor.

Martens grew up in the Belgian city of Bruges and graduated from Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts in 2008. He was famously recruited by Jean Paul Gaultier — whom he has lauded as a “true inventor” — after Gaultier saw his graduation show and conscripted him as junior designer for his women’s pre-collection and the G2 men’s label.