ASSOULINE Iconic Brands | Fashion | Radical Renaissance 60

“Denim was freedom, denim was the biggest dream,” says Renzo Rosso of the early days of Diesel, the premium casual brand he launched in 1978 revolutionizing the denim market. Today, Rosso stands at the helm of OTB, the alternative luxury fashion group that encompasses iconic fashion brands Diesel, Maison Margiela, Marni, Viktor&Rolf. These companies are connected by the same streak of rebellion that has marked Rosso’s own career—a sense of going against the grain and a commitment to creation that goes above and beyond commercial restraints, each of them embodying in their own way the group’s mantra, “Only The Brave, challenging the rules, fostering creativity”.

Radical Renaissance 60 traces the evolution of this forward-thinking visionary and his group of companies that bring humanity and philanthropy to the workplace and marry craftsmanship with industrial production. Featuring provocative photography from the most eye-catching campaigns, groundbreaking runway shows, and previously unreleased behind-the-scenes images, this volume explores the worlds of design visionaries from Martin Margiela (making an unexpected cameo appearance) to John Galliano, from Consuelo Castiglioni and Nicola Formichetti to Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren, making it a must-have for any fashion enthusiast and industry professional.

In the early 1970s, a young Renzo Rosso commandeered his mother’s sewing machine to create a pair of extravagantly flared pants. He wore them, his friends wanted them too, and a clothing pioneer was born. Today he is the father of seven, an organic food enthusiast (“The luxury of the future is eating well”, he says), and a Millennium Development Goals Global Leader to the United Nations, thanks to his philanthropic work with his Only The Brave Foundation.