Glenn Martens leaves Diesel after six years: the tenure in dates, OTB's filings and the CEO seat

Diesel announced on 18 September that Glenn Martens's run as creative director ends with the Spring/Summer 2027 show in Milan on 22 September. Renzo Rosso, who founded Diesel, said Martens "brought Diesel back to the centre of the global fashion conversation". What the reposition looks like in the group's own filings: by 2023 the women's collection was almost half of Diesel's business, and Gen Z was 35 percent of its customers. Lyst named the Diesel D its Logo of the Year for 2022. OTB, Rosso's group, closed 2025 at 1.7 billion euros of turnover across Diesel, Jil Sander, Maison Margiela, Marni and Viktor&Rolf. Diesel's next creative lead is to be announced in due course.

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The post, as it ran

01GLENN MARTENS IS LEAVING DIESEL AFTER SIX YEARS. HIS FINAL SHOW IS IN MILAN ON 22 SEPTEMBER.

02HE ARRIVED ON 8 OCTOBER 2020, INTO A SEAT DIESEL HAD LEFT EMPTY SINCE NICOLA FORMICHETTI'S CONTRACT RAN OUT IN DECEMBER 2017.

03THE AUDITION WAS DIESEL RED TAG: A GUEST COLLECTION FOR SPRING 2019, SHOWN IN 2018, TWO YEARS BEFORE THE JOB.

04HE DIDN'T HAVE DIESEL TO HIMSELF FOR LONG. Y/PROJECT STAYED HIS UNTIL SEPTEMBER 2024, AND MAISON MARGIELA ARRIVED ON 29 JANUARY 2025. UNDER FIVE MONTHS WITH ONE JOB.

05HIS FIRST RUNWAY SHOW FOR DIESEL WAS ON 23 FEBRUARY 2022 IN MILAN. TWO MONTHS LATER THE BRAND ENTERED THE LYST INDEX FOR THE FIRST TIME, AT NUMBER 15.

06OTB DOESN'T PUBLISH DIESEL'S REVENUE. THE ERA SITS ON RECORD AS RATES: TURNOVER UP 13.1 PERCENT IN 2023, UP 3.2 PERCENT IN 2024, AND IN 2025 THE BRAND'S HIGHEST PROFITABILITY IN TEN YEARS.

07THE CEO SEAT HELD LESS WELL. ERALDO POLETTO LEFT AFTER SEVEN MONTHS IN FEBRUARY 2023, AND RENZO ROSSO STEERED DIESEL HIMSELF UNTIL ANDREA RIGOGLIOSI WAS NAMED ON 14 JANUARY 2026.

08THE SHOWS WERE THE METHOD. DIESEL OPENED ITS SPRING 2023 SHOW TO THE PUBLIC IN 2022; FOR SPRING 2026, 55 LOOKS WERE SEALED IN TRANSPARENT EGGS AROUND MILAN FOR THE PUBLIC TO FIND.

09HE KEEPS MAISON MARGIELA. HIS FIRST ARTISANAL SHOW THERE WAS ON 9 JULY 2025, AND OTB REPORTED THE HOUSE UP 8.4 PERCENT IN 2025 WHILE THE GROUP FELL 4.8 PERCENT.

10DIESEL GAVE FOUR DAYS BETWEEN THE ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE FINAL SHOW. DRIES VAN NOTEN GAVE THREE MONTHS, MARCH TO JUNE 2024. THE NEXT NAME COMES IN DUE COURSE.

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