Diesel Black Gold’s Andreas Melbostad on Milan’s new energy

Launched in 2008, Diesel Black Gold is Diesel’s hard-edged, high-end sister label, known for its utilitarian approach to luxury clothing. Last week the brand unveiled its pre-SS17 collection which, along with its signature leather jackets, came with references to the 90s – note the baggy trousers and crop tops. Here, we speak to DBG’s creative director Andreas Melbostad who tells us more about the collection, why he’s moved the women’s show to Milan and what he thinks about fashion’s need for speed.

Why is this collection inspired by the 90s?

Andreas Melbostad: The 90s were very defining for me because they were my student years. Fashion was really interesting then, and if you look at what we consider modern and cool today, much of it is inspired by the 90s. (The period) had a lasting impact on how people dress and express themselves, so I am always inspired by the decade. I love the Japanese designers of the 90s, designers like Helmut Lang of course, Ann Demeulemeester and the whole Belgian movement.

How do you think men are dressing today?

Andreas Melbostad: I think men are having more fun with fashion, there is more individuality in terms of how people want to express themselves. It’s becoming more normal to see guys dress in a stronger fashion, it’s more acceptable than in it was in the past and for us, that’s quite interesting to play with. Our guy is a quite masculine but he is quite fashion too.

How do you manage to make him masculine and fashion?

Andreas Melbostad: I don’t know exactly the answer to that, but it is really like a balancing act when you look at it. For me it’s important that things aren’t super futuristic or super intellectual. We play with the things you can recognise and that are kind of part of everybody’s wardrobe.

So who did you chose to embody this vision? Who are the models?

Andreas Melbostad: It’s Carl Sandqvist, he’s a Swedish model, he’s been in our last few shows. And then it’s Julie Hoomans, she closed our AW16 show. So yeah, it is two models who kind of fit our range of casting. I like a sense of realness in models, but also kind of a rawness. For the men’s show, we do our own casting. We do a lot of casting in London and bring them to Milan. 

How come?

Andreas Melbostad: Because London has sort of a different attitude that we want. We like the idea of characters also so we don’t go necessarily for the standard idea of beauty or model beauty. We like our guys to feel like a cool guy on the street, we want it to be believable that they are wearing our clothes and that is a little bit easier to find in London than in the Milan modelling world.

“You can feel it in Milan, you can feel it on the street. The city is becoming more creative” – Andreas Melbostad

And you’ve moved the women’s show from New York to Milan, right?

Andreas Melbostad: Yes, we’ve moved the women’s show. The men’s show has been in Milan for a long time and we moved the women’s last season. It felt right because we can give Milan a new voice and it was a good time. 

What kind of new voice?

Andreas Melbostad: Well we bring a tougher, more countercultural attitude. A couple of years ago it would have been a little bit strange to bring that to Milan and I don’t know if it would have been so well received, but now we’re at the stage where people know who we are and what we represent. Also, we felt Milan is having a nice moment right now – there is a good energy there, it’s getting a little bit more dynamic.

How would you describe that new energy?

Andreas Melbostad: You can feel it in Milan, you can feel it on the street. The city is becoming more creative. So it feels like a nice moment to join.

There’s been quite a lot of discussion about the pace of fashion recently? Do you think it moves too fast?

Andreas Melbostad: Yes, our rhythm is quite extreme. Maybe the solution will be for different brands to find their own individual approaches, approaches that feel true to their needs and capabilities. Everybody was forced into this system of producing a pre-season and the main season collection, and everybody is supposed to feed this system. My feeling is that we’re going to see more individual approaches. Alaïa has always walked his own path. He shows when he is ready to, and is able to do that. I think that very individual approach will become more normal.