a chaotic dialogue between fashion & street culture
The Diesel Fall/Winter 2025 runway show broke new ground, transforming a traditional catwalk into an oversized, inflatable, and occupiable artwork. Set within what is said to be the largest graffiti installation ever created, the space takes shape with over three kilometers of hand-painted fabric, wrapped in the raw, expressive marks of more than 7,000 graffiti artists. The show is created as a visual manifesto. The set, sprawling and unconventional, invites spectators into a chaotic dialogue between fashion and street culture.
The set design is a collaborative artwork of unprecedented scale. Glenn Martens, Diesel’s creative director, enlisted a global street art collective, spanning artists from China, South Africa, the United States, and beyond. Weeks before the show, six miles of blank white fabric were sent out to graffiti artists, both amateur and professional, across the globe. By the time it returned to be assembled for the show, the fabric was covered with spray-painted signatures, murals, and abstract expressions, each a personal contribution to the whole. Martens, reflecting on this process, emphasized that ‘the true democracy of Diesel’ was on display.
diesel resurrects an inflatable icon
An important element of the Diesel Fall/Winter 2025 show is the return of an iconic figure — the colossal inflatable doll from Diesel’s Spring/Summer 2023 runway. Originally used as a symbol of the brand’s rebellious spirit, the massive figure was resurrected and reimagined, this time as a canvas for the graffiti artists’ work. Designed by Studio Dennis Vanderbroeck, the towering sculpture loomed over the runway, its surface now covered in vibrant, spontaneous graffiti. No longer a symbol, the doll is transformed into a sprawling artwork, embodying the collaborative energy that defined the show. Its reappearance added a sense of continuity, but also a bold evolution — what once felt like a provocation is now a celebration of artistic community.
image courtesy Diesel
the collaborative work on a global scale
With its Fall/Winter 2025 show, Diesel did something uncommon in high fashion, which is to give the space back to the streets. The set celebrates street art with an installation on an unprecedented scale. The graffiti is neither polished nor controlled — it is raw, unfiltered, and deeply personal, yet shared by a collective of artists from around the world. From bold tags to intricate murals, the diversity of styles creates a patchwork of voices, speaking in different languages but united by a common form of expression.
Diesel didn’t just invite a global audience to view the show, it invited them to create it. Fabric was dispatched to artists from places as far apart as the United Arab Emirates, Italy, Japan, and India, as Diesel shattered the usual boundaries of a fashion show. This way, the set was built by thousands. As Dennis Vanderbroeck noted, the project is ‘a celebration of artistry, community, and inclusivity.’ It gives artists — whether from prestigious art schools or grassroots graffiti crews — the freedom to contribute. In an industry often defined by exclusivity, this show created a platform where the creative process became open and shared.
image courtesy Diesel
image courtesy Diesel
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