Glenn Martens may still be prepping his debut collection for Diesel, but he’s already leaving his mark on the brand. The Belgian designer, who was tapped as the Italian brand’s creative director last October, has imagined a new store concept for Diesel, an immersive branding experience in itself.
Painted floor-to-ceiling in the brand’s signature red color, the new concept is being introduced at two temporary pop-up stores in Amsterdam and on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., at the mall Tyson’s Corner Center.
The company said it will be extended to other pop-up units and be flanked by experiential initiatives, and the concept will also appear in the first permanent unit, called Diesel Hub, that the brand will open in Shanghai later this year.
“This new pop-up represents a first step toward elevating the design and brand experience of Diesel, starting from its iconicity and heritage,” said Massimo Piombini, Diesel’s chief executive officer. “It is a bridge to the new permanent store concept coming at the end of the year, starting from our Diesel Hub in Shanghai.”
Paying homage to the brand’s DNA, Martens has had a giant Diesel logo and “For Successful Living” catchphrase brushed across the spaces’ elements, including displays and shelves, which customers will be able to read in their entirety upon entering the store, giving the impression of jumping into the brand’s tag.
Both pop-ups will carry the spring 2021 and pre-fall 2021 assortments — which were not designed by Martens. Parent company OTB, controlled by Italian industrialist Renzo Rosso, recently said the first collection designed by Martens will bow for spring 2022.
The Paris-based Martens arrived at Diesel nine months after Piombini, previously CEO of Balmain, was named CEO at Diesel, and amid brightening prospects for the flagship property of OTB.
Rosso has had Martens on his radar for several years and tapped him in 2018 as a guest designer of its experimental capsule series Diesel Red Tag, one year after Martens bagged the prestigious ANDAM fashion prize, of which OTB is a historical sponsor and mentor.