The SPIN OFF presents a portrait of Andrea Rosso, as seen by Tobias Bayer, editor, TextilWirtschaft, and editor-in-chief, The SPIN OFF, both publications of DFV Group.Andrea Rosso is the eldest son of Diesel founder Renzo Rosso. He grew up with Diesel and has held many positions in the company. Now Contact online >>
The SPIN OFF presents a portrait of Andrea Rosso, as seen by Tobias Bayer, editor, TextilWirtschaft, and editor-in-chief, The SPIN OFF, both publications of DFV Group.Andrea Rosso is the eldest son of Diesel founder Renzo Rosso. He grew up with Diesel and has held many positions in the company. Now he is a sustainability ambassador. With a passion for the product and processes. And with a sense of humor, as his appearance in a five-part documentary series proves.
Now that''s a promotional video with a difference. Presenter Lea Ogunlami enters Andrea Rosso''s office and unabashedly asks the son of Diesel founder Renzo Rosso: “You are the ambassador for sustainability. This position sounds a bit fictitious to me.” Andrea tucks the tip away with a smile and replies: “It''s fictitious.”
It’s a scene of the first episode baptized “Behind the Deinm”. The sportswear brand takes customers behind the scenes and shows how she manages to produce her denim items in a more environmentally friendly way. The first three episodes have been broadcast, with two more to follow in October and November.
The program is hosted by Ogunlami, who works for Sony Music and the fashion magazine “i-D”. Her style is not didactic, but lively and flippant. She doesn''t keep her distance but throws herself into the action. She is reminiscent of Charlotte Roche, who conducted interviews for the music channel Viva at the turn of the millennium that resembled cabaret pieces, and for which she was awarded the Grimme Prize.
The approach is highly unusual for fashion, as sustainability communication is often dripping with moral pathos. Not so with Diesel. With its documentary series, the sportswear brand is building on its rebellious past, as it made history with its provocative campaigns in the ’90s.
The “Behind the Denim” short films are not intended to shake up or scandalize, but to make customers aware in an entertaining way of how much effort must be made to produce fashion in a more environmentally friendly way.
Instead of models, Diesel employees and suppliers appear in front of the camera. Creative Director Glenn Martens and Head of Sustainability Sara Betteghella were also involved, and Andrea Rosso too, who has been Diesel''s sustainability ambassador since 2021. This may sound like a “fictitious role” to presenter Ogunlami, but it is probably the most important role that Andrea has taken on in his father''s company to date. And also, the one that suits him and his abilities perfectly. Photo: Diesel Lea Ogunlami interviews Glen Martens “Initially, I was worried that the tone of the documentary series might be too ironic. Now we realize that we have put a smile on people''s faces. People have responded well.”
Andrea Rosso sits in his office in the Milan Diesel branch in Via Stendhal. The premises of Fendi, Moncler and Zegna are just a few meters away. Rosso has a mustache, his hair is shaved short, and his body is wiry. He looks very young. Only on closer inspection do you notice the gray stubble
At 46, he is the oldest of Renzo Rosso''s seven children. In contrast to other offspring of the Italian fashion dynasties such as Prada heir Lorenzo Bertelli, son of Patrizio Bertelli and Miuccia Prada, or Edoardo Zegna, son of Gildo Zegna, who both took over key departments at a young age and are now in charge of communication and marketing, Andrea has taken a special path and has already had to cope with setbacks.
He began his career with the diesel subline 55DSL. It was aimed at young people and exuded a do-it-yourself atmosphere. Andrea, who was creative director, drew inspiration from music and album covers. “Hip-hop and breakbeat. And techno and rave, which were all the rage at the time.”
The company was based in Balerna, a community of 3,000 people just over the border in Chiasso, Switzerland. Andrea was surrounded by a team of 20 people. It was a close-knit community that often spent the evenings together. Andrea describes 55DSL as a “beautiful island” in retrospect: “It was a comfort zone.”
“That was a very hard and difficult moment for me,” says Andrea. He was called to the head office in Breganze, where he was entrusted with Diesel''s license business.
Watches, glasses, furniture. A three-digit million turnover. “When I was at 55DSL, I had a niche mentality. The licenses taught me not to be too underground, but much more commercially friendly.” Nevertheless, the memory of 55DSL continued to haunt him.
“There is still a certain nostalgia today. For many people, 55DSL remains a secret love,” he says. And you get the impression that he is also talking about himself. Photo: Diesel Andrea Rosso It was no coincidence that Andrea launched his own label at exactly the same time as 55 DSL was first. He named it Myar. It is the anagram of Army and a play on words from the English pronoun my and his initials, AR. Andrea uses upcycling to transform old military clothing and deadstock into urban pieces. “Myar expresses my personal way of acting. I pull the positive out of the chaos of negativity”. It sounds like a motto for life.
As a sustainability ambassador, Andrea has arrived at the heart of the company, because sustainability is a personal mission for his father Renzo. “I''m green, even though my name is Rosso,” Renzo Rosso told TextilWirtschaft in June 2022, when he was honored at the Greentech Festival Green Awards. “I grew up on a farm. My parents taught me the values that I have carried into my company,” had said Renzo Rosso.
Rosso forged the OTB Group, which includes brands such as Marni, Maison Margiela, Jil Sander, Viktor & Rolf and the licensed subsidiary Staff International alongside Diesel. In the 2023 financial year, it increased its net sales by 12% to €1.8 billion.
In the medium term, Rosso would like to float OTB on the stock market. This could happen in 2026. He is attracting investors with his philosophy of “unconventional luxury”, with which he wants to set himself apart from the large French luxury groups LVMH and Kering and their mega brands. “The other brands are focusing more and more on entertainment. We are moving in the opposite direction. We are focusing on creativity and further developing the beauty of our products,” he said in April 2024, when he invited the press to his home to present the third OTB sustainability report.
He also goes his own way when it comes to sustainability. Renzo Rosso gets upset when fashion brands tell soft stories about the environment and people and condemns this as “greenwashing”.
He speaks unapologetically about unpleasant truths: “My generation has destroyed the planet. I thought we in fashion were beautiful and cool. When I found out that our industry is one of the biggest polluters, I couldn''t believe it at first.”
To equip OTB for the tasks ahead, Rosso has organized his management team to Bocconi University in Milan for a crash course in sustainability. He has created a corporate sustainability unit, which is headed by Sara Betteghella. She does not come from a PR background but is a lawyer. She and Andrea form a congenial tandem. Together, they have defined the “For Responsible Living” strategy. Photo: Diesel Diesel Rehab Betteghella brings a methodical approach and ensures that OTB does not make any claims to customers that are not supported by the facts. Rosso Junior communicates internally and externally that OTB and Diesel are serious about their commitment.
The first thing they had to do was win over the employees. “There were those who weren''t interested in sustainability; those who thought it was just a short-term trend. And the one who thought it cost too much. Today, sustainability is gradually becoming an integral part for everyone.”
Andrea benefits from the fact that he enjoys a high level of credibility. He knows everything about Diesel, after all, he grew up with the brand. He was born in 1977, Diesel in 1978, and his cradle was in the factory. With his brother Stefano, who is now CEO of Marni, he used to romp around the warehouse, fooling around with tape and building a miniature house out of cardboard boxes.
Andrea is what they call a “product guy”. At the age of 12, the Diesel seamstresses taught him how to use a sewing machine. He learned quickly and sewed dresses for his little sister Alessia. At 17, he helped out in quality control and traveled to suppliers in Indonesia and Hong Kong. After school, Rosso moved to Los Angeles. “I surfed a lot.” He also enjoyed skateboarding and snowboarding.
In New York, he began studying at the Fashion Institute of Technology. His favorite store was the A-1 Record Shop. “New York was still analog back then. Spotify and web radio didn''t exist. If you wanted to know where and when a band was playing, you had to go to a record store.”
He spent hours at Pearl Paint on Canal Street. There was everything painters and sprayers could wish for on seven floors. “It was a paradise.” He spent time at flea markets. “That became my passion.” He hasn''t bought anything new since New York. “Old clothes are often nicer. If you do your research well, they almost always last longer. I grew up with this mentality.”
He throws himself into his role at Diesel with this passion for the product. He is working on processes such as lasers, ozone and synthetic pumice stones, which replace the old stone-washed process and use significantly less water and chemicals. “We''ve already come a long way, but I want to go even further.” He is driving the Diesel Rehab Denim project forward. “That''s the top of the pyramid.” With the weaving mill Tejidos Royo, Diesel blends fibers made from 100% recycled cotton, recycled elastane and Refibra-Tencel.
Andrea believes it is possible that cotton can be replaced at some point. “We are looking for alternatives, both for denim and for clothing in general.” Everything “fictitious”? There is still a long way to go. However, he has already seen promising samples. With his own eyes. READ ALSO:
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