Basic Instinct

This week we're running a special #DIESELTRIBUTE takeover in celebration of Nicola Formichetti’s new role as artistic director and his newly launched Tribute collection. From exclusive mixtapes to behind the scenes footage from Nick Knight’s campaign shoot, we’re exploring all things Diesel, denim and DIY – rounding it off with an exclusive Dazed Diesel party this Thursday.

The following article has been extended from the December 2013 issue of Dazed & Confused:

To create the gold-and-navy patchwork print on the t-shirt and underwear in the new Diesel Reboot collection, Nicola Formichetti simply went with instinct. In the Diesel archives in Breganze, Italy, he uncovered a trove of vintage patches, arranged them on the floor, and snapped a photo. “It was Diesel history all in one print,” he says. He was accompanied by co-founder Renzo Rosso, who told Formichetti stories about each piece they unearthed. It’s no wonder that the core aesthetic of the collection is of looking and feeling lived in – it’s all about clothes with history (even the underwear).

“I wanted the collection to have a handmade feeling,” Formichetti says, “Like how I design, it’s very organic – I just used my feelings.” This led him to denim jackets and vests accented with natural wear-and-tear and adorned with retro-patches with a sense of humour. The best patches in the collection? A large eagle that bows across the back of the women’s and men’s denim vests and faded triangle patches tucked perfectly into the corners of the vests’ collar.

For clothes that could have lived in by the open road’s original DIY-ers, it seemed fitting to find a model who is herself on the verge of breaking out: Felicity Gilbert, who has a role in Lars von Trier’s new film Nymphomaniac as Shia LaBeouf’s secretary and hopes to go to Cannes this May for Duane Hopkins’ second feature, Bypass. Asked whether she would wear a Diesel denim jacket on the red carpet, Gilbert says it will all come down to – once again – instinct. “I find it interesting when people make bold choices based on what suits them and their own personality rather than what is expected. I don’t really set rules about what I or other people should wear, so it would just depend on what I felt like wearing on the day.”

On the November 8th, Nicola Formichetti will be at the Diesel Covent Garden store from 4pm - 6pm for a meet and greet 

CREDITS

Photography: Sarah Piantadosi

Styling: Emma Wyman

Hair: Halley Brisker at Jed Root using Bumble and Bumble

Make-up: Lucy Burt at Premier Hair & Make Up using Nars

Models: Felicity Gilbert at Storm, Anataol Modzelewski at Nevs, Arran at Select

Photographic Assistant: Jori Komulainen

Styling Assistant: Viktorija Tomasevic

Hair Assistant: Kumiko Tsumagari

Special thanks to Prolighting London