• by Larissa Faw , January 26, 2018

Diesel is refreshing the fashion brand's "Go with the flaw" campaign to support the 2018 Spring Summer Collection and, the brand says, injecting a little fun into process as it does so.

Developed with Publicis Italy, a new film directed by Francois Rousselet celebrates individuality by showing the romance between a boy and girl who meet after they both had decided to alter their society-defined flaws.

They eventually learn that so-called flaws will always be stronger than any attempts to hide them.

The film includes subtle clues or Easter eggs that link back to a full, integrated campaign. For instance, the film includes symbols to direct viewers to an Instagram profile that chronicles unmatched socks (@wantedsocks) as well as the website of a fictitious restaurant called Bluffet (bluffet.com) where, in collaboration with BuzzFeed’s Tasty, three video recipes have been designed to fuel “flawed” behavior.

Another clue, layover.it, leads people to a "flawed" travel agency’s website, where anyone can search for and book legitimate flights with the largest possible number of layovers, "since the beauty of a badly planned trip is having many trips in a single one," says an agency spokesperson.

Although Diesel is undergoing significant challenges with its core fashion brand, these challenges didn't impact this campaign, says a Publicis spokesperson.

Artistic director Nicola Formichetti, who was widely credited with making the brand relevant to a new generation of fans, announced he was leaving in December when his five-year contract expired. He still was involved creatively with this initiative, says Publicis. His departure, notably, came just a few weeks after Ubaldo Minelli was named general manager for the brand's parent company, OTB.

There was no word at press time for Formichetti's replacement.