Diesel licenses luggage line to Chinese producer Unicorn, which opens European subsidiary in Bologna

Diesel‘s new licensed line of luggage and travel goods has premièred at the Mipel 128 trade show in Milan. The Italian jeans label, owned by the OTB group, has signed a five-year license deal, with a renewal option, with Chinese producer Unicorn. The latter has in the meantime opened a European subsidiary in Bologna that is led by Luca Bellucci, who is also the designer of Diesel’s luggage collections.

“Commercial interest and local connections have led Unicorn, a Chinese manufacturer of high-quality leather goods and luggage, to open a European subsidiary in Bologna. Unicorn has manufacturing units in various countries in Asia, in Bangladesh, the Philippines and in China, where it has four factories,” said Luca Bellucci, CEO of Unicorn Europe, speaking to FashionNetwork.com. “Unicorn used to produce under licence for other brands, notably leather goods for Skechers and Head, and its real know-how is in leather goods. Over time, we have added other product categories to include luggage, for which Unicorn operates a production site in China. Everything we design is 100% produced by us,” he added.
 
Diesel’s first collection of suitcases and other premium travel items consists of six distinct lines. It features two high-level lines, with items respectively made using carbon fibre and aluminium; a third line in a robust metallic material that is typical of Diesel’s aesthetic; another in washed canvas, again fully consistent with the brand’s DNA; one in moulded polycarbonate; and a last one also in polycarbonate, “characterised by a tool-box look and finished with a typical Diesel-style ‘worn’ treatment. It’s very distinctive, and it’s our favourite,” said Bellucci. “This first release, available from January 2026 at Diesel stores and selected retailers, reflects the brand’s codes but without any overlap – not even in prices – between the six sub-lines, which don’t cannibalise each other. The collection is still limited in scope, and other items will be progressively added season after season,” he said.

Meanwhile, Unicorn will continue to produce leather goods under licence for Head and BCBG, plus other smaller Asian brands.
 
“With Unicorn Europe we haven’t yet established specific revenue targets. We are effectively a start-up, and we’d like to aim as high as possible,” said Bellucci. “We have to be aware that luggage is a tough category, with its own rules and price brackets, so we have to tiptoe into it and try to stand out for style and character, creating something different from the rest of the market.”