It’s a little strange to say that someone is “killing it” in 2020 because, like, it’s all bad. Yet it has proved to be a good time for Evan Mock, Donte Colley, and Julia Fox, whose stars continue to shine even through a pandemic. The trio star in Diesel’s Fall 2020 campaign—screened by Rayscorruptedmind—brings some blue-ribbon to a label that’s ready to recapture its ’90s heydays again.
Winds are shifting at Italy’s favourite denim upstart, after a root and branch review of top-level management, which also saw the return of Creator Renzo Rosso. The modern Diesel aims to be leaner (less diffusion lines and collaborations) and, most critically, greener — see the Responsible Living strategy. In the age of sweatshirts as uniform, repositioning its brand on the market is not necessarily a simple job, but it has an unforgettable background in storytelling to fall back on the admiration of many of its peers. Looking back over the last 10 years, it’s hard to get your mind around how a label that was predicated on pissing people off somehow overlooked the entire streetwear boom.
“The ads that stand out the most in my memory are the ‘Be Stupid’ ones,” Uncut Gems star Fox said via e-mail , relating to the 2010 tongue-in-cheek project that featured a woman taking a frantic shot of her nether regions while a lion prowled behind her (won top prize at the Cannes Advertising Festival and then banned in the UK). Since then, the internet has toughened crowds, and it’s impossible to tell if the regular millennial will take a second look at these kinds of posters on their D2C edgelord-dominated IG feeds today. Perhaps the influencer has more weight. In any case, evidence will be in the item, and Diesel hopes that new technology — like encouraging consumers to tailor a patch on their limited edition 2020 Fallen Design jeans — can eventually win over a new wave of fans.
As for her own taste in denim, Fox claims she likes a low-rise black stretchy skinny jean, or a soft wash, high-waist mom jean. “If you pair a belt with your high-waisted jeans, it frames your booty and makes it appear perkier while also making your waist snatched.” And the bootcuts — acceptable, or not? “Yes , absolutely!” she replied, enthused.
Bringing the Diesel back as well as the bootcut jeans? Oh, if anybody can, it’s Fox.
