MILAN - Diesel is wishing denim dreams with its latest Diesel Living collection, bowing this week during Salone del Mobile.Milano.
Diesel Living's rebellious ceramics debut at Milan Design Week
Along with furniture specialist Moroso, the brand is introducing The Baggy Collection, designed under the creative direction of Glenn Martens in collaboration with Controvento and comprising a bed and matching side tables translating the brand's denim world into welcoming pieces for interiors.
The highlight of the range, the Diesel Baggy Bed was designed to exude comfort and simplicity with its generous shape, upholstered in a custom jacquard with a denim effect created specifically for this collection. The matching bedside tables echo the easy lines and come with a playful silhouette concealing practical storage compartments within a denim-wrapped shell and rounded out by the satin finish of the top surface.
"Design has become a natural extension of Diesel. Upon my intuition 15 years ago, we entered this world starting with bedding and home textiles, the categories closest to fashion. Over time, we've built an increasingly comprehensive language, bringing our approach and DNA also to furniture and interior design," said Renzo Rosso, founder of OTB Group, whose portfolio includes Diesel, Marni, Jil Sander, Maison Margiela, Viktor & Rolf and a stake in Amiri. Manufacturing arms Staff International and Brave Kid are also part of the company.
"With Diesel Living, we've brought the same spirit that has always guided us in fashion to the home: to be an alternative to traditional luxury, with a rebellious and distinctive attitude. It's not just a complement, but a way to enter even more deeply into people's lives, going beyond retail and creating experiences," he added.
As part of the Diesel Living universe, the brand also marked its 10th year of partnership with Iris Ceramica, celebrated with a cocktail on Monday.
For the occasion, the two parties revealed the project "Reloaded: Diesel Living With Iris Ceramica," a new collection of ceramic surfaces including large slabs and small formats layering textures. These included "Distressed Rug," inspired by antique carpets and reinterpreting classical decorative elements rooted in Persian tradition, and "Acid Majolica," a ceramic surface inspired by traditional Portuguese majolicas and available in a variety of color options distorted with acid-like effects for a bolder result.
Rosso said the new collection of ceramic surfaces marks a significant evolution of the partnership and "a more direct, contemporary and experimental language, in which design and technology merge to create materials designed for architecture and interior design." For one, the offering can be enhanced by "Design Your Slabs," Iris Ceramica Group's innovative technology that offers the possibility to customize ceramic surfaces with any image or illustration to make each composition personal.
Rosso underscored how Milan Design Week is a key moment for the group's brands, for its ability to bring different worlds into dialogue. "For us, it's the natural place where fashion and design meet, giving rise to new forms of expression, experimentation and creativity," he said.
No wonder other OTB brands have been involved in the event. In addition to the presentation of Diesel Living's new collection, Jil Sander and Marni are staging projects throughout the week. As reported, the former has set up "Reference Library," an exhibition featuring books selected by 60 international creatives hailing from different fields.
The latter is teaming up with storied café and pastry shop Cucchi to celebrate Milanese social rituals, instead. Debuting this week, the Marni x Cucchi collaboration was envisioned by the brand's creative director Meryll Rogge in tandem with RedDuo Studio, the design and interiors firm helmed by Fabiola di Virgilio and Andrea Rosso, who's also sustainability ambassador at OTB. Stretching for three months until July 15, the takeover of the spaces - from textiles to pastry packaging to staff uniforms - features customized tableware with red and green stripes and polka dots that is flanked by a dedicated logo in the shape of a bow tie.
"Fashion and design today speak the same language, that is the one of lifestyle, of the way we choose to live," Rosso said. "It's no longer just about products, but about creating universes in which people can identify with - spaces capable of reflecting their identity and accompanying them in every moment of their daily lives."
To this end, the executive also enthused about the involvement of Maison Margiela at the design week. Along with Emirati developer Alta Real Estate, later this week the brand will stage the worldwide preview of the first bespoke piece of furniture designed by award-winning Italian architect Carlo Colombo for the Maison Margiela Residences that are set to open on Dubai's Palm Jumeirah.
