Glenn Martens is leaving Diesel after six years defined by experimental denim, viral runway shows and a profound creative reinvention.
The fashion industry is facing another major creative shift. Glenn Martens is leaving Diesel after six years at the creative helm of the Italian brand. His upcoming Spring/Summer 2027 collection, which will be presented during Milan Fashion Week, will mark his final chapter at a house whose identity he managed to transform without abandoning its original irreverence.
Martens’ departure was confirmed by Diesel on 18 September, bringing to an end a tenure that began in October 2020. At the time, Renzo Rosso, founder of the brand and chairman of OTB Group, entrusted the Belgian designer with the task of reinventing a label known worldwide for its jeans and introducing it to a new generation.
Six years later, it is difficult to separate Diesel’s new visual identity from Martens’ work.
The designer turned denim into his ultimate creative laboratory. He distressed, manipulated and deconstructed it, pushing the fabric into unexpected territory through experimental treatments, distorted silhouettes and extreme proportions. The aim was not simply to revive Diesel’s historic codes, but to demonstrate just how far they could evolve.
The transformation also extended to the runway. Martens quickly understood that a fashion show could become a cultural experience capable of reaching far beyond the traditional fashion circuit. Under his direction, Diesel presented collections surrounded by gigantic inflatable figures, created a set featuring 200,000 boxes of Durex condoms, and staged a free rave attended by thousands of guests.
For the Spring/Summer 2026 presentation, the city of Milan itself became the setting for an enormous Diesel egg hunt. Projects such as these helped establish an identity that blended provocation, humour and spectacle, while opening up the fashion show experience to a much wider audience.
That approach also contributed to the company’s commercial repositioning. In 2025, OTB reported that Diesel had achieved its strongest performance in a decade, demonstrating that creative renewal could exist alongside business growth.
Rosso highlighted precisely this transformation when announcing the designer’s departure, saying that Martens had changed the way the brand was perceived and brought Diesel back into the global fashion conversation without losing the accessibility and energy for which it has long been known.
His most recent collection, Autumn/Winter 2026, once again demonstrated his ability to find beauty in unexpected places. Drawing inspiration from the aftermath of a night out, Martens presented garments featuring permanent creases, twisted constructions and distressed finishes. The set also incorporated objects from different decades of Diesel’s history, creating a dialogue between the archive and the present.
His departure, however, also reflects a new professional reality. Since January 2025, Glenn Martens has served as creative director of Maison Margiela, taking over the role following John Galliano’s departure. During this period, he has balanced both responsibilities within the OTB universe, an arrangement that is now coming to an end.
Before Diesel and Margiela, Martens spent eleven formative years at Y/Project, the Paris-based label he left in 2024. His career has been defined by precisely this ability to disrupt familiar codes, experiment with proportions and discover new ways of understanding a garment.
Attention now turns to who will succeed Glenn Martens at Diesel. The company has yet to announce a replacement, stating only that it will reveal its plans for the brand’s future creative direction in due course.
