Diesel x Diesel – The Fake Smiles Campaign

Diesel x Diesel, a exciting new capsule collection by creative director Glenn Martens, was inspired by original founder Renzo Rosso’s unique vision and comes complete with a clever paradox in mind: the collection has adopted past and present Diesel as a way to reinvigorate the brand with a new perspective and a new future. The name was inspired by the unification of Diesel’s past heritage – such as Renzo’s research trips on the infamous Route 66 and the distinctive Diesel 1980’s college apparel codes – to cement its status an iconic brand of 2021.

Through that particular 2021 lens (and who could deny it’s been an interesting lens to view the world through so far?), Martens and Renzo worked alongside each other to create two fascinating and complementary angles to the collaboration: a 24-piece, tightly edited collection and an accompanying, laugh-out-loud new campaign called Fake Smiles.

The result is a uniquely bold and irreverent, yet iconic and layered offering that recalls vintage Diesel pieces and reimagines them for 2021. With the world looking so different to how it used to in the 80’s, Renzo successfully fused the two eras together to create classic staple pieces that brings the comfort of familiarity but firmly grounds it in the here, the now and future.  His creative journey is recognised in pieces like the distressed leather college jacket from 1990, which has been revamped and patched with a new Diesel logotype. Varsity bomber jackets feature lots of playful patchwork, and straight-legged denim pants are all underwritten with a distinctly North American aesthetic.

As the perfect accompaniment, Martens’ Fake Smiles campaign displays a near-surreal exaggeration of emotional expression as a reflection of society’s constant pursuit of happiness. The clothes are worn on characters who are situated in boring, mundane situations.  However, they are all scenarios that perfectly capture the nostalgia of Diesel x Diesel.  The video clip to the campaign even opens in a dated 80’s kitchen, with the cast in revamped staple pieces as clear reference to the iconicity of the original and beloved Diesel fashion aesthetic.  Along with the other exciting new directions the Italian denim brand has taken in the market recently, it can’t be denied – when it comes to Diesel’s push into premium fashion territory, this is no joke.

To watch the Diesel x Diesel campaign clip click here.

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