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Renzo Rosso, Founder of Diesel, On Why Stupidity Is At The Root Of His Success

Posted by: Arjowiggins Creative Papers

Date added: Thu 26 Apr 2012

Renzo Rosso, founder of Diesel, explains to the Blank Sheet Project why being stupid is at the root of his success

For its third super-creative, The Blank Sheet Project from Arjowiggins Creative Papers has found a passion for fashion, with inspirations from Diesel founder and chairman, Renzo Rosso. So what does Renzo Rosso mean exactly when he tells us that he has built one of the world’s most successful fashion empires on the back of being stupid?

Not only is ‘be stupid’ Renzo Rosso's mantra, it is a fundamental philosophy of the Diesel brand and its irreverent and spirited advertising. What he actually means, is revealed in an interview D&AD’s Tim O’Kennedy on Arjowiggins Creative Papers’ inspiration platform: www.theblanksheetproject.com

‘When you did things before others,’ Renzo Rosso explains, ‘they think you are stupid ... smart people think how things are today but stupid people are those who think how things could be.’

He believes he is in good company, referring to Gandhi and Mandela as people who were, at one time, also considered out of kilter with the mainstream; and he relates how the Americans thought he was ‘stupid’ to launch a pair of jeans in the States for $100 when everyone else’s were $52 a pair. Of course, he had the last laugh there.

What he means, is that you have to be brave, visionary, ‘an interpreter and a pioneer’. The interview reveals a man who is, without doubt, single-minded; a self-confessed workaholic, yet, surprisingly,

The interview reveals a man who is, without doubt, single-minded; a self-confessed workaholic, yet, surprisingly, a firm believer in collaboration and communal effort:

‘You have to work in a team,’ Renzo explains. ‘Me alone can be nothing ... the team is very important.’

This respect for everyone, which comes, he says, from his family and his father, a hard-working and principled farmer, is the driving force behind his Only The Brave Foundation, a charity involved extensively in development work in Africa.

Renzo Rosso sits comfortably with other passionate leaders on The Blank Sheet Project, like Sir John Hegarty and Neville Brody, who hope to inspire the next generation to be pioneers. And he clearly delights in energetic young people, particularly the ‘social interpreters’ who contribute brilliantly refreshing ideas to Only The Brave Foundation’s valuable work.

The goal of The Blank Sheet Project is to encourage individuals and businesses to be more innovative, thoughtful and sustainable. It asks creatives, if given a blank sheet of paper ‘how will you leave your mark?’ It is something that Renzo Rosso has thought carefully about; he hopes that, ‘the day I die, people will say, “this was a good man”’.

For more information on the Blank Sheet Project