Diesel Black Gold goes co-ed

After Etro’s announcement just last month, it’s the turn of Diesel Black Gold to declare that it is opting for a co-ed show, following in the steps of fashion houses from Burberry to Gucci, not to mention Bottega Veneta, Calvin Klein, Vivienne Westwood, Coach, and Philipp Plein, amongst others.

In a press release, the high-end line from the Italian jeans brand - owned by the OTB group and headed by creative director Andreas Melbostad - explained that from June, the label will combine its men’s and women’s shows during the men’s fashion weeks in Milan.

Speaking to FashionNetwork on the subject of mixed shows just last year, the head of OTB, Renzo Rosso, appeared open to the idea: “Mixing men’s and women’s shows could be done. It’s because men’s and women’s collections were shown together in New York that I went there with Diesel Black Gold. But after a while, for business reasons, I had to separate the two segments,” he said.

“Black Gold is now a reference point for the current market and it is essential to communicate a strong, coherent message in line with the times,” he declared on Monday.

Andreas Melbostad added that “this new strategy will allow us to better communicate our creative vision and to introduce the collections to the market simultaneously.”

“With the shift of contemporary culture towards less gender conformity, and also with two strongly linked collections, the unification of the men’s and women’s shows feels like a natural step for us,” continued the Norwegian designer, who has overseen the label, established for the autumn of 2008-9, since February 2013.

Further to the change, the label will be dropping its women’s pre collections, instead holding two Diesel Black Gold ready-to-wear shows per year, presented in January and June during the men’s fashion weeks. The brand will maintain its two men’s pre collections alongside its main collections, the company said.

The label plans to consolidate its presence in Europe; in the US; in the Middle East; and in Asia, particularly in the Chinese market, the brand said in the release.

Diesel Black Gold goes co-ed

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