Diesel SS27 Turns Glenn Martens’ Farewell Into One Last Endless Party
For his final collection at Diesel, Glenn Martens chose not to look back. Instead, he pushed the house further into the world he has spent the past six years building: raw denim, visual disruption, sensuality and clothes that seem to come alive through wear, movement and imperfection.
Presented for Spring/Summer 2027 at Milan Fashion Week, the show unfolded as an immersive club experience, imagined as the kind of party no one wants to leave. Red light, pounding music and performers from (LA)HORDEturned the venue into something more physical than a conventional runway. As the show progressed, the distinction between audience, performance and fashion became increasingly blurred.
That atmosphere was important because the collection itself followed the same trajectory.
A Club That Slowly Comes Undone
The runway was designed like a party you never want to leave, and the collection followed the same logic.
Early looks played with checks, layered shirting and denim, mixing familiar everyday pieces with distorted proportions and trompe l’oeil effects. Checked layers appeared stacked and misaligned, creating a slightly dishevelled effect that felt intentional rather than messy.
There was a sense of getting dressed, undressed and redressed all at once.
Denim Gets Smaller, Sharper and More Provocative
Denim remained central, but Martens kept pushing it away from the obvious.
There were distressed washes, coated surfaces and reconstructed shapes, alongside tiny denim bootie shorts that became especially important later in the show.
One of the strongest styling ideas paired oversized shirts with the shorts, with the shirts fastened by just a single button and partially tucked into the denim booties. The look felt spontaneous, like something thrown together after hours rather than carefully styled for a runway.
As the show moved toward its final stretch, the clothing became increasingly minimal, with skimpy silhouettes, low rises and more exposed skin reinforcing the theme of desire.
Soft Draping Against Harder Denim
The collection was not all aggression.
There were also fluid draped dresses that moved easily around the body, bringing softness into a show otherwise dominated by distressed denim, cutaways and sharper construction.
That contrast worked especially well. A loose, flowing dress could suddenly appear after a series of tighter, more revealing looks, making the collection feel less one-note.
Orchids, Cutaways and Illusion
Orchid motifs appeared repeatedly, sometimes embroidered around cutaways and sometimes worked into knitwear as if the flower were eating into the fabric. They also appeared in jewellery, creating a recurring visual symbol that tied the collection back to Diesel’s wider exploration of desire.
Trompe l’Oeil and the Illusion of Layers
Another recurring technique was trompe l’oeil.
Foil printed surfaces cracked open to suggest other garments underneath, while layered effects created the illusion of clothes sitting on top of clothes when they were actually part of the same construction.
It gave the collection a visual instability that matched the show itself. Nothing felt completely fixed.
Colour Stayed Raw and Night Ready
The palette moved through washed blue denim, faded beige, black, dirty neutrals and deeper club ready shades, with occasional brighter accents cutting through the darker base.
Rather than using colour decoratively, Martens let texture do most of the work. Pale denim looked sun worn, darker pieces felt almost scorched or coated, and metallic or foil finishes added flashes of artificial light.
D-One Bags and Accessories
The D-One bag, introduced in the previous season, returned as part of the SS27 accessory story. Compact and soft rather than overly rigid, it sat naturally with the collection’s undone silhouettes and night out energy.
Accessories generally followed the same logic as the clothes: useful, but slightly distorted. Extended gloves, stretched cuffs and jewellery worked almost like extensions of the body rather than separate styling pieces.
Smudged Beauty Completes the Story
The beauty look pushed the sensuality further.
Makeup was deliberately imperfect, with smudged lipstick and blurred edges giving the models a post-party appearance. Rather than polished glamour, the effect suggested heat, movement and makeup that had been worn for hours.
That slightly undone face worked perfectly with the one-button shirts, micro shorts, draped dresses and exposed skin.
Everything felt connected to the same story.
Ella Snyder Brings the Story Full Circle
The closing look carried a more personal kind of significance.
Ella Snyder, the model who opened Glenn Martens’ first Diesel runway collection for Spring 2022, returned to close his final show for the house. Over the years, Snyder became closely associated with Martens’ Diesel, appearing in campaigns and returning to the runway for key moments.
For SS27, having her wear the final look created a quiet full-circle moment inside an otherwise loud, chaotic show.
The same model who introduced Martens’ Diesel era was there to bring it to a close.
For his final Diesel collection, Glenn Martens did not close the party politely.
He let it run until morning.
