MILAN — “It’s like a cathedral for Diesel,” creative director Glenn Martens said of the brand’s new store in Seoul.
During a viewing of the show on Teams in Paris on Friday, throngs of fans gathered outside the flagship store, where newly appointed ambassador K-pop star Hoshi attended a ceremony to celebrate the opening of Diesel’s third and most expansive store in South Korea. The space will follow Diesel’s first freestanding store, which will open in Seoul’s Hannam district in 2022, and its second, which was unveiled in the west Luxury Hall of the Galleria department store earlier this year.
K-pop star and Diesel brand ambassador Hoshi attended the opening of Diesel’s Dosan store in Seoul.
Diesel provided
The 4,843-square-foot space, which officially opened to the public this week, marks a continuation and development of the concept Martens envisioned for the Rue Saint-Honoré store unveiled last year, with the brand’s signature red color, as well as signage that dominates the interior, and extensive use of concrete and metal elements.
Spread over four floors and a rooftop, the new store features a bold facade covered in a giant Diesel logo that makes it stand out in Seoul’s Dosan district, and Martens said, “We already tested this concept in Korea two years ago,” referring to the Hannam store.
Diesel Dosan store in Seoul.
Diesel provided
“We’ve opened a lot of stores, but it’s always fun to take an older concept and reinvent it,” the designer said of the all-red painted areas. With a clever use of contrasting primary colors, these corners aim to highlight the brand’s blue designs, from its five-pocket denim to its ongoing Library line.
The first and second floors, which display Diesel’s women’s, men’s and accessories collections, have an industrial feel, while the third floor has a completely different atmosphere, with a VIP area offering customers a private shopping experience. For this occasion, a bespoke pink colour has been introduced to the cavernous lounge with bar, following the hospitality format of the “Cucina Diesel Farm” recently unveiled at the Shibuya store in Tokyo.
The VIP lounge at Diesel Dosan in Seoul.
Diesel provided
Elsewhere in the Diesel Dosan flagship, interior finishes and handcrafted furniture designed exclusively for the store have a worn feel with hammered and crushed surfaces that match the rustic spirit of the signage concept, which celebrates both Diesel’s vintage advertising and its most recent campaigns, including the wedding-themed Fall 2024 campaign that was unveiled last week and stars Christine Quinn.
“Diesel is definitely a brand that made history with its amazing advertising. It was the first brand to challenge advertising outside of the traditional beauty and fashion context and to be about lifestyle and statement,” Martens said. “In keeping with the heyday of advertising, we have big signage in different rooms throughout the store, Route 66 style, with big metal signs like you would see on the highway. And every few months when a new campaign launches, we don’t take down the signage, but rather build more on top of it, because layering is part of the brand’s history.”
Diesel Dosan store in Seoul.
Diesel provided
Martens pointed to the fall 2023 campaign as his favorite since joining Diesel in 2020. The ad reportedly featured models and hundreds of the brand’s staff, including Martens himself and founder Renzo Rosso, dressed in denim and featuring a bold take on the “Where’s Wally?” series, shot in Breganze, Veneto, Italy, where Diesel is headquartered.
Still, Martens looks nostalgically at the brand’s older ads: “Sometimes I feel quite envious because things were great in the past. In the early 2000s, things were a little easier.[The ads]were quite tongue-in-cheek and satirical, but subtle. Back then, ad campaigns weren’t shared as much, there was no social media, Instagram or the internet,” he said.
When asked about the archival ad that had the most impact on him, the designer pointed to Diesel’s spring 1995 campaign, photographed by David LaChapelle and depicting a gay couple kissing in front of a yacht. “I was 11 or 12 years old, and for me it was pretty groundbreaking, because suddenly I saw a gay couple in Bruges, a small provincial city in the ’90s that was still Catholic and everything was very standard and closed off. I think that was the first time in my life I’d seen gay people kissing,” Martens recalls.
Diesel’s Spring 1995 advertising campaign.
David LaChapelle/Courtesy of Diesel
“That’s something that’s very important to Diesel, that’s what Diesel has always done and that’s what I try to do today,” he continued. “We are very aware that our campaigns will be used all over the world and in countries that have a slightly less flexible political arena than Italy, Belgium or France, so our messages have to be a little softer… but we still try to include messages of love and respect in these campaigns. That’s definitely something that we promote in every image that we release.”
These are also resonating in the Korean market, where demand for the brand has boomed: a capsule collection exclusive to the market will soon be available at the Dosan store, and will include silver ready-to-wear items for men and women inspired by the brand’s 1DR bag.
“Opening such a big store is like a festival, not just for a weekend, but for several months. The capsule will open soon and there will be events. I personally would love to go back because I love Seoul,” Martens said. “I’ve only been there once in my life. Seoul is one of the most fun cities. The people are very kind, open-minded and friendly. I was very pleasantly surprised when I went to Seoul,” he continued, talking about his trip two years ago.
Diesel Dosan store in Seoul.
Diesel provided
The Korean market is relatively new for the company, which was founded by Rosso in 1978. Diesel first entered the Korean market in 1999, but local recognition of the brand has grown rapidly since 2021, when Martens’ creative direction began in earnest.
“When you take over a brand, it’s always more complicated to change a perception that’s been established for around 30 years because you have to prepare people mentally,” the designer said, noting that South Korea has responded particularly favorably precisely because it’s a “fresh” market.
Martens also pointed out that the local diversity in arts and culture is also a key factor: “[Korea]is not one-dimensional like Italy or France. There are a lot of styles and I think Diesel fits very well into this atmosphere because we are not imposing an aesthetic, we are talking about a lifestyle. It’s more about experimenting and enjoying life. It’s a very fun society and the eclecticism, versatility and excitement of our brand fits well into the environment. That’s why we invested in very big stores. Demand was so high,” Martens said.
Diesel Dosan store in Seoul.
Diesel provided
“It’s really nice to be able to build a store concept for a city that really wants it,” he continued. “Of course, there are moments when you have to do something to generate traction and try to get into a certain market, but this is the opposite: the appeal is already there, so it’s more about celebrating that appeal. That’s why it was a lot more fun to do (the store), because we didn’t have to convince them,” Martens said with a laugh.
The whole K-pop phenomenon has further boosted the brand’s popularity, and Diesel says that seeing images of local celebrities wearing the brand, especially while traveling abroad, immediately boosts local sales, especially when it comes to accessories such as bags.
Hoshi is a K-POP star and Diesel brand ambassador.
Diesel provided
That’s one of the reasons Diesel has forged a relationship with Hoshi, from K-pop group SEVENTEEN. After taking part in events like the Diesel fall 2024 runway show in Milan and the opening of the Diesel Shibuya store, Hoshi was announced last week as the brand’s ambassador for the Asia-Pacific market, further strengthening Diesel’s connection to the music scene after Morne Skin lead singer Damiano David was named Diesel’s first global male ambassador last month.
“Diesel’s collections and messages inspire me in many ways. Visiting the Diesel Dosan store in Seoul, which embodies the brand’s bold and experimental new store concept, allowed me to feel the energy of Diesel once again,” said Hoshi.