Diesel's Nicola Formichetti has launched his first capsule collection as artistic director: #DIESELTRIBUTE (yes, names come as readymade hashtags now).

The first full collection designed by Formichetti – for autumn/winter 2014 – won't be revealed until March. But the idea of this initial range is to look back and pay tribute to the history of the brand. It's been designed by pulling elements from Diesel's archive, located in Breganze, Italy, which covers 35 years of design.

There will be two #DIESELTRIBUTE ranges: the first focuses on denim, and the second, available in February, will be themed around leather. Both will be handcrafted at Diesel's factories in Italy. In the denim range, which launches next week, look out for western-inspired shirts, digital-print T-shirts and skinny jeans – all featuring fabric patches from previous collections.

We spoke to Formichetti about the future, his plans for a Venice show and his favourite gif.

Why did you decide to make the first collection an homage to Diesel?
I've been finding lots of cool bits while visiting Diesel factories and archives, and I wanted to do a patchwork collection with these found materials. Also before I present my main collection in March, I wanted to do something small – almost like a preview of what's to come. 

Tell us about how you've mixed the brand's heritage with your personal vision. 
I used denim as the base of the collection, because that's the most important DNA of Diesel. I've taken that, remixed it and presented it in a very futuristic way using digital and social media. I want to be both personal and digital at the same time. 

Is it true that you might show in Venice in March? 
We're still discussing it, so nothing is set yet. I want to do something different – a different experience to scheduling a normal fashion show. Venice is where we are, it's where the HQ is. It all starts here, and it happens to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world, so why not? 

You've talked before about your love of fantasy fashion and theatre – how do you plan to bring that into your work at Diesel?
Diesel is such a big global brand, there are lots of spaces to do interesting projects. What I'm focusing on right now is the collection. Once that's set, I want to get into performances and one-off pieces – almost like denim couture.

You're known for loving digital media. What's your favourite gif?
I love any gif with pandas… especially dancing ones.

 

So there you have it. To promote the capsule collection, Formichetti has collaborated with Nick Knight and SHOWstudio to shoot a campaign (pictured below). It's all very 21st century: a series of images and gifs that have been shot on iPhone and manipulated with digital filters, and will be distributed via Tumblr, Instagram and Facebook.

UPDATE: After the success of the #DIESELTRIBUTE Denim capsule, Nicola Formichetti has created the #DIESELTRIBUTE leather collection – get a taste in the video below – which launches worldwide on February 1 2014.