Diesel Black Gold to go coed this June

London - Diesel Black Gold has jumped on the coed bandwagon and is set to merge its menswear and womenswear shows from June.

Both lines from the Italian label, designed by creative director Andreas Melbostad, will be shown during Men's Fashion Week in Milan. The combined show aims to strengthen the link between menswear and womenswear, which revolves around individualism and freedom from established divisions. Melbostad, who was hired in 2012 to oversee the creative direction of the brand's womenswear and later took on responsibility for the label's menswear line, designs modern, basic pieces which sit in line with the authentic concept of Diesel.

"With today's culture moving towards less gender conformity, combining the men's and women's shows feels like a natural step for us," said Diesel Black Gold creative director Andreas Melbostad in a statement. "With this new strategy, we can better communicate our creative vision when we launch our collections. It gives more momentum to our ideas about fashion, and at the same time makes the creative process a lot more challenging."

The collections from Diesel Black Gold will not be unisex, unlike some other others. Rather the coed shows will consist of 50 percent menswear and 50 percent womenswear. In addition to presenting its womenswear and menswear collections side by side in January and June, Diesel Black Gold is also set to reduce the number of collections it launches per year. The label is set to release two womenswear collections per year instead of four, while the pre-collections for men will remain alongside of the main collections.

"I have always been a big supporter of co-ed shows," adds Renzo Rosso, president of Diesel's parent company OTB. "We actually launched Diesel Black Gold in New York with a men's and women's show at the very beginning. Diesel Black Gold is now a point of reference for the contemporary market and it became crucial to communicate a strong, cohesive seasonal message."

Diesel Black Gold continues to focus on Europe and the US and is set to expand in the Middle East. However over the next three years the label aims to focus on expanding its presence in Asia, in particular strengthening its position in the Chinese market.

Photos: Courtesy of Diesel Black Gold