Rihanna Wore a Diesel Shearling Coat to Paris Fashion Week - InStyle

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At Paris Fashion Week, underway since Monday of this week, Rihanna proved once again that her style truly exists on its own level. Upon arriving to the Off-White runway show, the last featuring the late Creative Director Virgil Abloh's designs, Rihanna wasn't decked out in any of the week's best-known global brands. (Chanel or Louis Vuitton, the house last helmed by Abloh, might be obvious choices.) But instead, her piece de resistance was a one-of-a-kind shearling coat pulled straight from the Diesel runway, which had shown only days before.

Wait a minute. Diesel? As in, Eurotrash mall brand behind the cringey low-rise denim of our youth, Diesel? Yes, that one. As it turns out, Diesel has quietly been undergoing a metamorphosis that's taking it out of the time capsule where we left it and into the most influential fashion circles.

Before Rihanna's all-eyes-on-her arrival in the impossibly exclusive shearling, another recent, culturally captivating moment was also powered by the brand. Julia Fox's first date with Ye, the one she chronicled in a photo-forward tell-all in Interview magazine, was wardrobed almost entirely by bold leather and studded denim Diesel pieces. Not to mention the barrage of stars and cool kids occupying the front row in full Diesel regalia during the brand's Milan Fashion Week show: Teyana Taylor, Patricia Manfield, Richie Shazam, and — of course — Fox.

While celebrities help usher in the era of "New Diesel," the real force behind this cataclysmic vibe shift is Glenn Martens, the designer also behind beloved downtown brand Y/Project and recent collaborator with Jean Paul Gaultier, who was recently appointed Diesel's new Creative Director.

But it's not just A-listers taking notice; fashion amateurs and industry heavyweights are more than a little curious to watch this story unfold. In fact, according to fashion search engine Tagwalk, Diesel's FW22 show (the first released under Martens' direction) attracted more viewers than that of uber-trendy Bottega Veneta, whose fall collection was also the first from a new creative director. To put it into perspective, Bottega Veneta was considered the 10th hottest brand at the close of 2021, according to data platform Lyst, while Diesel didn't rank at all among the top 20 reported.

It begs the question: Could demand for Diesel outweigh that for, say, a coveted Bottega Cassette bag? Only time will tell, but if Rihanna has anything to do with it, we're guessing ascent is inevitable. Below, shop Diesel pieces at Amazon and Farfetch before the brand gets too hot to get your hands on.