Diesel makes obscenely priced T-shirts to promote real estate venture /

Put your best foot forward / Diesel may have been creating furniture since 2008, but the brand has been making clothing since 1978, with its range of garments being the most iconic and distinguishable brand asset. The Diesel Wynwood condominiums have nothing to do with Diesel clothing, but the brand is leading this campaign with a range of tongue-in-cheek T-shirts. Diesel understands that by putting something familiar and recognisable front and center, this new business venture will gain attention from the press and extend its reach. This is a stunt, but it’s not just for PR. When development is complete, Diesel will have 143 multi-million-dollar properties and the first step in selling them is to make sure that people know they exist. The Condo T-shirts campaign is an excellent way to achieve this.

Build it and they will come / The Diesel condominiums are designed with hip young fashionable socialites in mind. This is reflected in the campaign’s creative, with the hook being centered on fashion and use of young models in the launch film. Business Insider interviewed letting agents from wealthy areas of New York, California and Florida to understand what millennials with high incomes wanted from a property. Sally Forster Jones of Compass Real Estate said that ‘Millennials tend to prefer contemporary homes with contemporary finishes’. The article also details that private outdoor living spaces and swimming pools are important, all of which have been built into the design plans for the property. 

Fashionable living / Expanding from clothing to furniture and lifestyle products can be a natural transition for fashion labels, especially for brands that have a unique and popular style. For example, in 2018 luxury brand LVMH bought travel and hospitality group Belmond, which includes several high luxury hotels across Europe. The five-star hotels are visited by A-list celebrities and LVMH purchase of the hospitality group and integration of its own products and designs has heightened the perception of the luxury experience. As a result, Diesel’s expansion into private and residential properties to some extent mirror that of LVMH’s strategy.

Creative Director of Diesel Licenses Andrea Rosso told Contagious that, ‘Today the house is a place where you spend much more time compared to the past, which is also why it has become such a symbol, because it is an expression of your lifestyle: "I am what I show you". When people vacation in or own such spaces, they are immersing themselves with the brand, and advertising that this is part of their lifestyle, which equally bolsters the quality and status perception of Diesel living.’