Five questions with Sophia Kokosalaki

Diesel's new creative director shares her new-collection inspirations...

This week saw Sophia Kokosalaki's first collection since taking over as Diesel Black Gold creative director and after all the action of the show, I sat down with the woman herself for a quick five-minute chat...

What was your inspiration for the collection? The Diesel Black Gold label has a contemporary, urban, rock'n'roll sensibility and I wanted to retain these principles, thus designing a collection based on this. Using these as my main inspirations to create a fresh contemporary look for today's woman that is effortless and sexy.

What was your favourite piece in the whole show? Tough choice, but I would have to say the 'look 29' pale blue jeans - as they really represent the combination of my signature design aesthetic with Diesel's unique know-how in denim. The jeans fuse three layers of yarn to achieve an authentic, lightweight worn-in look that is feminine and that has sex appeal.

Do you design with a particular woman in mind? I wanted to create a collection for the modern woman, a woman with a contemporary taste for elitist dressing or a woman who is tough and urban. The collection can reach out to all.

When it comes to choosing denim yourself, what's your favourite jeans style? This is the great thing about denim - there is such a vast choice that you can have a favourite style for different occasions. Usually I wear skinnies or straight-leg at work, but I also like wide-leg jeans with high heels.