Creative director Wilbert Das took intriguing elements of the heyday of jazz and gave them the Diesel treatment in a collection shown to the soundtrack of Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue.” The designer’s torch singers were street-smart women in outerwear and suits in fabrics and patterns with a smoky look, which recalled the ambiance of small clubs. Slouchy coats were tossed over sequined or chiffon-veiled silk dresses with lingerie touches.

In men’s wear, however (see images), the collection evoked impoverished robber barons, facing down the Great Depression in their now-wrecked Gilded Age wardrobes. Suits patterned with variants of Prince of Wales checks came pre-rumpled, stained and mended. Diesel’s message to modern men: If this recession becomes chronic, you know where to find us.