Renzo Rosso

Renzo Rosso (born 15 September 1955, Brugine ) is an Italian clothing designer, founder and owner of the Diesel clothing company.

Rosso attended an industrial textile manufacturing school and after graduating in 1975, began making his own clothing. In 1978 he joined forces with several other manufactures in his region to form the Genius Group, which created many successful brands still widely known today, such as Katherine Hamnett, Goldie, Martin Guy, Ten Big Boys and, of course, Diesel. In 1985 Renzo took complete control of Diesel by buying out the other partners and becoming the sole force behind the brand. Thereafter the company began a period of remarkable growth and expansion.

It was thus that, in 1996, Renzo Rosso and Diesel received the "Premio Risultati" award from the prestigious Bocconi Institute in Milan for being the "Best Italian Company of the Year". Renzo was also nominated by Ernst & Young as "Entrepreneur of the Year" in 1997 for the company's strong moves in the U.S. In December 1997, the English music and trend magazine "Select" included Renzo in a special classification of the 100 most important people in the world who will contribute to the shape of the new millennium. In 2005 the German edition of GQ has named him "Man of the Year". In 2005, Diesel celebrated the 50th birthday of its president founder Renzo Rosso with a book called Fifty: "a book that sums up and displays the unique Diesel attitude and lifestyle reflected in its collections, its business approach and its creativity applied to virtually anything, from communication to interior design." Under the supervision of Rosso himself, the book was designed by Barcelona-based agency Vasava and written by Mark Tungate, a British writer on branding, advertising and fashion. The book includes chapters on key moments in Diesel’s history, the brand’s communication and retail approach and Diesel’s views of the future.

External links

• Interview with Renzo Rosso