Diesel For Successful Living
The remarkable Renzo Rosso, at the age of fifteen, used his mother’s sewing machine to make low-riding bell bottomed jeans for himself and for his friends that he would charge 3500 lira per garment.
He later attended an industrial textile manufacturing high school in Padua, Italy, after which he joined a clothing manufacturer called ‘Moltex’ in Molvena, Colceresa, Italy, owned by Adriano Goldschmied.
At ‘Moltex’, Renzo was able to realise his ambition of creating a lifestyle brand that would stand for passion, individuality and self-expression, and in 1978, Rosso and Goldschmied combined the sartorial elegance of Italian craftsmanship with American styled casual wear, and successfully launched Diesel Jeans.
Headquartered today in Breganze, Italy, Diesel S.p.A. has evolved from being a leading pioneer in denim to an international, retail clothing company of premium casual wear. The Diesel brand has also diversified to include fashion accessories such as footwear, eyewear, watches and a line of fragrances.
1. DIESEL Fashion, Francesca
Advertising Agency: Publicis, Milan, Italy
Renzo Rosso: “I am very proud of ‘Francesca,’ and of the DIESEL values that inspired this story. When we created ‘For Successful Living’ many years ago, our thought was the same then as it is today. Individuality, pride, and the power to live as one wants, is the ultimate success in life; and being true to oneself is the single most important element of life. (Source: Gloria J. AdStasher 17 June 2020)
Directed by François Rousselet, in collaboration with ‘Diversity’, an Italian association committed to promoting social inclusion, Francesca is played by the eminent, multi-talented Canadian transgender model and activist, Harlow Monroe.
The story centers on Francesca’s transgender journey from being assigned male at birth, to the awakening of her female identity and feminine self, and living-out her soul-felt calling of becoming a nun.
2. DIESEL Fashion, Make Love Not Walls
Advertising Agency: Anomaly, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Directed by David LaChapelle, this topical and vibrant commercial features the moody and ambient strains of “Higher Love” by Alex Vargas and stars Ukranian balet dancer, Sergei Polunin.
The rainbow tank featured in the commercial Diesel aims to use and promote as a symbol of hope on a tour to New York, London, Berlin, Shanghai and Tokyo.
3. DIESEL Fragrances, Spirit Of The Brave
Advertising Agency, Buzzman, Paris, France
Directed by Mark Zibert, ‘Spirit Of The Brave’ is an intimate story about Neymar Jr and the Diesel fragrance he helped create.
His hard-fought, ten-year journey to international football stardom amidst relentless public scrutiny, and huge social pressures, are the epitome of a ‘brave spirit’.
Neymar Jr has commemorated each milestone in his life with a tattoo and to date, he has over 70 of them. The ‘Spirit Of The Brave’ bottle design, shaped like a fist, was inspired by one of his iconic tattoos.
The music soundtrack features Zack Hemsey’s ‘The Runner’.
4. DIESEL Fashion, Go With The Flaw
Advertising Agency: Publicis Italia, Milan, Italy
DIESEL’s much acclaimed ‘Flaws’ campaign is a very unusual, and certainly mould-breaking theme for a fashion brand.
The campaign’s controversial approach, tends toward paying homage to the physical flaws of appearance and countenance many people are born with.
DIESEL’s message of encouragement is to stop seeking societal norms of perfection, and embrace those imperfections that define one’s identity, individuality, and uniqueness and enables an interesting life worth living to the fullest.
The ‘Go With The Flaw’ commercial directed by Francois Rousellet, depicts a novice filmmaker’s ‘flawed’ attempt at splicing various bits of film together into some cohesive, partially effective, semi-documentary, story that is worth watching.
The soundtrack features songstress Edith Piaf’s haunting “ Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien”. No, I Regret, Nothing.
5. DIESEL Fashion, Keep The World Flawed
Advertising Agency: Publicis Italia, Milan, Italy
Also directed by Francois Rousellet, ‘Keep The World Flawed’ is a romantic reminder that corrective surgery does not remove any perceived appearance flaws from one’s inherited and inherent genetic makeup or DNA.
The commercial additionally, contains hidden clues that contain links, like the scene of unmatched socks, that leads viewers to the Instagram page of @wantedsocks.
The soundtrack features ‘What’s a Matter, Baby?’ by English Rock Group, Small Faces.
6. Diesel Jogg Jeans, A to Z of Dance
To promote the freedom of stylish, expressive movement that the hybrid combination of denim and ‘sweat’ fabric provides to Jogg Jeans wearers, Diesel teemed up with Vice Media for a duel-branding campaign with Vice’s i-D Magazine.
Directed by Jacob Sutton and filmed in Los Angeles, USA, the ‘A to Z of Dance’ commercial, features 26 of the world’s best cult dances, and showcases many of the dancers that made them famous.
The commercial is superbly directed and edited, packed with energy, and a delight to watch from the beginning to the end, and then to watch again, from the beginning.