(Publ. 23 FEB 2018) The Italian fashion brand Diesel has launched a collection under the name of Deisel. With the cover “All copies are not copies” Diesel has sold items that are supposed to be percieved as faked but which are really authentic products. The collection was launched during the New York Fashion Week in February 2018.

The collection is part of Diesel’s “Go With The Flaw” campaign, launched in conjunction with the New York Fashion Week in a pop-up store on Canal Street in New York – a street known for shops selling counterfeited products. The garments in the collection had large misspelled labels (Deisel) and were sold at almost half the price compared to Diesel’s regular price level.

At first, the small store was open without any marketing and a few curious customers discovered the store. However, from the customers who dared into the store, Diesel produced a movie (see below) and marketed the Deisel collection as a limited special edition to the fashion conscious target group who visits New York Fashion Week, resulting in the collection being sold out very quickly . The garments were also available in limited edition at Diesel’s own webshop before they quickly sold out even there.

Diesel is a company that works hard to combat piracy. According to an article in the New York Times, Diesel closed down 86 webpages that sold pirated products in 2017. In an interview with British Vogue, Diesel’s CEO Renzo Rosso challenges counterfeit and believes that, although it is flattering that other actors want to exploit their goodwill, they do not tolerate piracy and make every effort to fight it, both online and offline. Rosso continues his reasoning that he does not see any risks of producing his own “fake products”. Instead, he believes that Deisel strengthens the Diesel brand by creating attraction and demand for this limited collection.

What Diesel’s production of own “pirate copies” has a long-term impact on the Diesel brand and for piracy in general remains to be seen. However, Diesel has filed a trademark application in the US for DEISEL FOR SUCCESSFUL LIVING.