We caught up with Diesel’s Creative Director Andreas Melbostad to talk stars, silhouettes, and 70s synthpop after the SS15 show

There were plenty of studs, of course, and the usual rock n’ roll fixings of leather, denim, and black, but this season’s Diesel Black Gold brought us something new. It was a girlier look: still tough, yet flirtier, more fun, and replete with graphic star details. After the show, we caught up with designer and Creative Director Andreas Melbostad to talk stars, silhouettes, and 70s synthpop chart-topper Gary Numan.

Tell us something about the collection we wouldn’t necessarily learn from just from looking?

We started with the image of a rockabilly girl, then she grew into a sort of New Wave performer, like a 70s, early 80s post-punk moment. I was looking at many images of artists from that time – from Blondie to Kraftwerk, so kind of a range of music. I loved the sharp stylised look of all those different characters.

How did you translate those ideas?

The music really informed the look and from there it was the idea of the silhouette; it was very new for us to bring the focus to the waist. We’re usually more boyish in terms of past silhouettes, so in a way it became a much more feminine expression. Feminine, but still in control – powerful and sexy.

Where did the recurring star motif come from?

The star motif came from one of the key performers I was looking at – Gary Numan – and I found a picture where he was wearing a studded jacket with some stars on the shoulders. The metal accents and studding is very important to the vocabulary I’ve been playing with for the four seasons that I’ve done this, and the star studs just felt a little bit more animated, a little bit more playful, and from there grew the prints and other elements, so it brought an ‘icon’ feeling.

What was the most difficult part of this collection for you?

The study of the silhouette was very interesting because once we brought the waist up, everything else became like playing with accessories.

Words: Seymour Glass