On Friday 17 June 2016, at the eve of Milan Menswear Fashion Week, Renzo Rosso presented a new book “Radical Renaissance 55+5 – A book by Assouline” and inaugurated an exhibit in Milan, Via Delle Erbe 2.
"Denim was freedom, denim was the biggest dream"
The cocktail party was held at the presence of top international fashion personalities within an exhibition curated by modern art expert and curator Caroline Corbetta and built as a path presenting a selection of golden framed macro images from the book.
While celebrating this visionary entrepreneur's 60th birthday, the book traces the evolution that Rosso personally went through as his group of companies did. Featuring provocative photography from some of most eye-catching campaigns, groundbreaking runway shows, and previously unreleased behind-the-scenes images, this volume explores the worlds of designers from Martin Margiela (making an unexpected cameo appearance) to John Galliano, from Consuelo Castiglioni (designer and founder of Marni), Nicola Formichetti to Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren (founders and designers of Viktor & Rolf).
The book traces back from Diesel's early days when in the 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 personally involved in philanthropic work with his Only The Brave Foundation.
“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 manages OTB, the alternative luxury fashion group that owns 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, each of them embodying in their own way the group’s mantra, “Only The Brave, challenging the rules, fostering creativity” or, as Rosso explains in a significant quote from the book: “It is about emotion and lifestyle. I am looking for designers and brands who can create iconic items with modernity.”
The book contains a foreword by Renzo Rosso and was written by Dan Thawley, Australian-born journalist and editor based in Paris.
As of this summer, the publication, made up of 204 pages and 150 illustrations, will be sold in Assouline boutiques, but also in selected Diesel, Maison Margiela and Marni stores worldwide at USD125, €115, or £85.
