Diesel-branded furniture and lighting will debut next month at the Milan Furniture Fair in Italy and is expected to be ready for U.S. distribution sometime later in the year, although sales and marketing plans have not been finalized.
Earlier this year, Diesel officially entered the home classification with the introduction of a home textiles collection that debuted at Heimtextil in Frankfurt, Germany. Noted European resource Zucchi is the licensee and showed the bed and bath line at its booth. No American distribution plans have been announced for those textiles.
The furniture line comes in partnership with Moroso, the Italian firm that has worked with such designers as Tom Dixon, Ron Arad and Ross Lovegrove. Moroso recently opened a flagship store in New York’s SoHo area.
Foscarini, another Italian company, will be doing the Diesel lighting. Both licenses are for four years and include worldwide rights although at this point only Europe and the United States will be targeted. The company said distribution will be with “the best furniture and lighting showrooms, as well as in Diesel stores and in selected department stores.”
“At last, we have found partners who are able to satisfy our needs in terms of quality and know-how,” said Renzo Russo, president of Diesel and the driving creative force behind the brand. “Diesel is a lifestyle brand: Consumers choose us not only for the product but also for what Diesel represents.
“We decided to start with this adventure to offer to our consumer the possibility to express himself and personalize his home with products he feels near his taste.”
The company said the line will be created by the Diesel Creative Team, headed by Wilbert Daz. “It will be developed around innovative materials and styles,” the company said. Specifics on the products were not available and Diesel only released conceptual renderings of what products might look like.
“It only took one meeting with Renzo Rosso for us to realize that despite all our differences, we had a lot in common,” said Roberto Moroso, vice chairman of the company bearing his name: “An insatiable creativity, the drive to reach ever-greater levels of excellence and the determination to explore new worlds.”
The entire collection will debut in dedicated space at the Milan fair, with the furniture shown at the Moroso stand and the lighting at the Foscarini stand that is part of the Eurolace exhibition. All products will be shown together at Diesel’s Milan headquarters as well.
Diesel joins Armani Casa in the ranks of Italian fashion labels that have moved into the home business. The Giorgio Armani-created line debuted in 2000, but its American distribution has been largely confined to its own stores in selected markets. — Warren Shoulberg