After six years in the driver’s seat of one of Italy’s most iconic denim brands, Glenn Martens is stepping down from his role at Diesel. The Italian denim label announced today that the upcoming runway show in Milan next week will mark Martens’s final spin as the creative director of Diesel, bringing to a close a remarkably influential chapter in contemporary fashion history.
Martens was originally appointed to the position by Diesel’s founder, Renzo Rosso, in October 2020. Since taking the reins, the Belgian designer has worked tirelessly to radically restructure the company both inside and out, breathing new life into a brand that had long defined rebellious youth culture. Under his visionary guidance, Diesel underwent a comprehensive structural and creative evolution. According to OTB, the Rosso-founded luxury and fashion group in which Diesel serves as a significant cornerstone, the brand enjoyed its best financial and cultural performance in a decade by the year 2025.
Reflecting on the monumental impact of Martens’s tenure, Renzo Rosso shared his appreciation in an official statement released today. "He has transformed the way the brand is perceived," Rosso said of Martens. "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."
This upcoming departure will ultimately allow Martens to dedicate all of his creative energies to his high-profile Paris-based role as the creative director of Maison Margiela, another prestigious fashion house operating under the umbrella of Rosso’s OTB group. Martens was handed that coveted gig in January 2025, stepping into the role following the departure of legendary designer John Galliano. That appointment was widely seen as a testament to the surging energy, critical acclaim, and commercial success that Martens consistently demonstrated during his transformative run at Diesel.
When Martens first took over at Diesel, he made it abundantly clear that his ambitions for the brand reached far beyond traditional design paradigms. "I am not only here for fashion," Martens told L’Uomo Vogue ahead of his very first runway presentation for the label in June 2021. Elaborating on his vision for the powerhouse, he added, "Because Diesel is a social brand. And this is why I was so excited to come because I knew that we have something to do here that is about more than just making pretty fucking T-shirts!"
True to his word, Martens accomplished far more than just designing wardrobe staples. His opening phase at the Breganze-based brand saw him work closely alongside Andrea Rosso to radically restructure Diesel’s sustainable practices, ensuring that environmental consciousness became woven into the operational fabric of the company. Furthermore, he introduced innovative retail initiatives designed to engage modern consumers, most notably the brand’s acclaimed denim "library," which streamlined the shopping experience and celebrated Diesel’s rich heritage in textile manufacturing.
At the same time, Martens hit the ground running when it came to the runway, quickly establishing a reputation for staging some of the most talked-about, high-concept, and democratic spectacles on the international fashion calendar. He leaned heavily into Diesel’s historical reputation for irreverence, disruption, and provocative brand imaging, all while successfully appealing to the larger, younger audiences unlocked by the brand’s accessible luxury price point. Under his creative direction, Diesel fashion shows evolved from traditional industry presentations into massive, inclusive cultural events that regularly captured the global imagination and dominated social media feeds.
Among these unforgettable spectacles was the viral Diesel Easter egg hunt staged across the entire city of Milan for the Spring/Summer 2026 season, an initiative that epitomized Martens’s playful approach to audience engagement and his desire to break down the walls separating elite fashion from the general public. By merging high-energy performance art with boundary-pushing ready-to-wear collections, Martens ensured that Diesel remained culturally relevant, commercially viable, and relentlessly inventive. As he prepares to take his final bow on the Milan runway next week, Martens leaves behind a rejuvenated brand that is firmly re-anchored at the very heart of the global fashion conversation, setting a high bar for whoever will eventually step forward to take the wheel.
