Glenn Martens exits Diesel after provocative Milan finale

Chris Dalton · 2026-09-23T10:20:31.510Z

Martens really went out with a bang at Diesel, that red-lit show with the shrinking shorts was something else.

Glenn Martens exits Diesel after provocative Milan finale — Photo: Marcus Queiroga Silva / Wikimedia Commons (Pexels)

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Glenn Martens presented Diesel's women's Spring-Summer 2027 collection at Milan Fashion Week on Sept. 22, 2026, ending a six-year tenure that began in 2020. He remains at Maison Margiela within parent company OTB. The runway was bathed in red light to Donna Summer's "Love to Love You Baby." Models planted in the stands moaned, writhed, kissed and headbanged; Vanity Teen reported 200 performers from the (LA)HORDE collective seeded in the audience. A model walked in ripped denim with nothing underneath visible through the holes. The collection used trompe l'oeil to mimic shearling and leather, knitwear that appeared to disintegrate into denim, laser-cut T-shirts with smudged lipstick for a walk-of-shame look, and shorts reduced to a strip of fabric across the bum. Martens said, "Every season we try to do something unexpected. This one was a bit more ... experimental." He said Diesel "never pretended to be a luxury brand, even though we were on during fashion week," and that he tried to celebrate community "but also with respect for the clothes." Left-rated coverage led with moans and barely-there looks; right-rated coverage led with body celebration. No factual disputes found in record.