Diesel Black Gold A/W11

Back at last season's Pier 94 (but without the river view this time), Sophia Kokosalaki showed a DBG collection that felt like the perfect marriage between the denim brand's contemporary casualness and the Greek designer's love for all things fur, suede and leather. The Autumn Winter season obviously enables Kokosalaki to go to town with her fave fabrics, and most outfits we saw had some sort of animal hide present. Using a pleasantly earthly colour palette, Kokosalaki focused on khaki green, a rusty red and brown, but she managed to sneak in a tougher and harder all-black section towards the end.

Jean shirts with raw edges contrasted with OTT fur coats, and denim evening jackets fought with leather corsets for attention. A typical outfit boasted a silk shirt with suede jacket and leather trousers. A few dresses came out in over sized knitwear. All this while the guys were dressed fairly casual, most of them in pea coats or leather jackets. If anything, the guys had slight 18th century army cuts in their jackets which added to a nice direction for the menswear. 

Dazed Digital: What was the starting point for the collection?
Sophia Kokosalaki: A bit dressing up and opulence which is interesting for a contemporary brand that is not about luxury... This is much more fun to do than a minimal and clean collection. 

DD: There was a lot of sued and leathers in there... it felt very Sophia Kokosalaki, maybe more than previous seasons?
Sophia Kokosalaki: Sometimes yes, but it was a Autumn Winter collection so the black and tougher bits always come through. It felt right for the moment.

DD: There seemed to be a few 18th century military influences in the menswear...
Sophia Kokosalaki: That look is a big thing for Diesel and the Black Gold collection as far as the heritage goes, and it's a casual way of dressing. But I tried not to just do 20th century military so i went back to the 19th, 18th and 17th century for inspiration.  

DD: Do you have a fave piece in the collection?
Sophia Kokosalaki: Every piece servers a purpose, but I really like the jackets that are shorter in the back and longer in the front.

Daily coverage from the shows >