To mark Diesel’s 38th birthday, the Italian denim brand has launched a new project entitled #forsuccessfulliving. It includes a series of 50 campaign images showcasing a diverse cast of models, who each present a different rule. According to Diesel, the rules offer “positive advice on how live well and be an upstanding model citizen.”

The project is a playful interpretation of the controversial 1990s campaign series of the same name, which tackled religion, sexuality and race through powerful images of kissing sailors, guided weapons, obese diners and religious leaders.

In true Diesel style the new campaign continues to challenge conventions and celebrates outsider beauty, whilst addressing wider issues through humour and flamboyant visuals. We sat down with Diesel’s creative director, Nicola Formichetti, at their brand new flagship store in London to discuss the meaning of success and his rules for living.

“I’ve always believed that you need to be brave, take risks, trust your heart and your instincts – it’s always been my motto and still is to this day.”

Nazanin Shahnavaz: In the course of your career, what have been your rules for successful living?
Nicola Formichetti: The most obvious rule for me is to ‘be brave’– it’s funny because it’s really inline with Diesel’s ethos. I’ve always believed that you need to be brave, take risks, trust your heart and your instincts – it’s always been my motto and still is to this day.

NS: How do you define success?
NF: Initially, the idea behind the ‘Successful Living’ campaign was tongue-in-cheek. Diesel was making fun of being successful, talking about success in an ironic sense – so the ads are cliches of success and being fabulous! For me personally, success means being satisfied with what you do and to stay true to your beliefs. I don’t measure my success with how many pairs of jeans we sell, of course it’s nice that people buy the jeans, but at the end of the day you have to love what you do and be proud of it.  

“Diesel was making fun of being successful, talking about success in an ironic sense – so the ads are cliches of success and being fabulous!”

NS: Why did you commission Terry Richardson to shoot the campaign?
NF: I’ve been working with Terry for a long time, he’s such a cool guy. I wanted to do something direct and he’s one of the best portrait photographers. He’s quick and fun and captures images in a very instant and contemporary way – so he was an easy choice for me.

NS: The campaign features fifty images in total, which image resonates with you the most?
NF: We were actually supposed to choose something like four or five images, but when we finished the shoot I was blown away by the diversity of the cast and decided to include all the images, so I can’t choose one! For me, Diesel isn’t just about one girl or one boy with a bag, we are not high fashion and we are not creating dreams of expensive clothes that you can’t buy. We are inclusive – that’s what jeans are –  jeans are for everybody.

NS: The new store looks great by the way, were you involved with the design process?
NF: I worked with closely with Mr. Katayama of Wonder-Wall, he’s created some of the most exciting retail spaces and I have been a huge fan of his work since I was really young. The idea was to move away from the big blockbuster stores and instead create something more intimate. In the past we’ve had huge-super-brand-stores and they were right at the time, but for me, moving forward, I wanted to have a space that had a homely feeling where people can hang out and chill. The concept was inspired by a conversation that I had with Diesel’s founder Renzo [Rosso], one of the his first stores that he opened in the late 70s was based on his own house and living space, so I thought that was a cool way to start the design process with Mr. Katayama.

Diesel’s new Knightsbridge flagship store is located at 73 Brompton Road, SW3 1DB