At Glenn Martens’ SS26 Diesel presentation, models stood encased in transparent pods like sci-fi artefacts. It was a bit Matrix, a bit Spinal Tap. It was all part of Martens’ plan to shake up the format this season. Rather than the usual runway show, this presentation coincided with a good old-fashioned egg hunt. Taking place this evening, Diesel invites the public to scour the streets of Milan in search of 55 egg-shaped containers, each concealing a full look. Those who find an egg, win prizes.

The collection inside these eggs? Peak Martens: radical construction, irreverent detail, avant-garde technique. Distorting form and fabrication, biker straps burst from tailored lapels, and knits are kitted out with ties at the neck. Bleached from the inside out, denim resembles eerie X-Ray scans, while a unique satin denim created using recycled polyester forms sleeveless bikers and apron dresses. Everything is lasered, distressed, reworked, painted, cut, cropped, stripped and strapped. Layers of jersey are bonded and layered with surreal proportions, and trompe l’oeil knit jumpsuits are sliced together from hybrid garment ideas, stitched with open seams like a wearable game of Exquisite Corpse. Everything makes you question, makes you double-take, makes you smile. The hunt is on.