Automotive and fashion collaborations are not something entirely new. Think Paul Smith and his various bespoke Mini creations, for example.
But this latest example is something a little more left field resulting from a partnership between German car giant Mercedes-Benz and high-end Italian luxury fashion house, Moncler.
Called the Project Mondo G, it is a £131,000 Mercedes G-Class cloaked in a puffer jacket. And it’s probably the oddest machine born of a collab between the two sectors we’ve seen yet.
The 4X4’s rear and side windows and enormous monster truck-style tyres are covered in the glitzy nylon fabric used for the fashion label’s luxury coats, while the roof – also draped in the material – even has a zip that runs from the top of the windscreen over to the boot lid.
The Mercedes in a coat: The German car giant has collaborated with fashion label Moncler to drape a luxury puffer jacker over a G-Wagen to create the Project Mondo G
The Abominable Mercedes snowvan: The concept vehicle has been created for a display at London Fashion Week
If you haven’t heard of Moncler, the Milan-based fashion house specialises in flashy outerwear, with its puffer jackets generally coming with a price tag well in excess of £1,000 per item.
The one-off concept has been created with Mercedes as part of the label’s ‘The Art of Imagination’ showpiece for London Fashion Week, which started on 17 February and runs until today.
The design merges the characteristics of the G-Class and the fashion brand’s coats, resulting in one of the strangest four-wheeled creations we’ve ever set our eyes on.
The 4X4’s rear and side windows and enormous monster truck-style tyres are covered in the glitzy nylon fabric used for the fashion label’s luxury coats
Design drawings from the partnership show how the two brands wanted to merge the luxury items to create a one-off piece of art
The design drawings show the intention to line the underside of the hulking 4X4 in the puffer jacket fabric
The roof – also draped in the puffer jacket material – even has a zip that runs from the top of the windscreen over to the boot lid
It’s the first automotive collaboration Moncler has been involved in. And if this design is anything to go by, we hope it’s the last.
‘The theme ‘Art of Imagination’ is an inspirational message to dream big and to explore their own firsts: breaking new ground, put the impossible in reach, and discover without limits,’ Mercedes says.
Britta Seeger, Mercedes-Benz Group AG’s marketing and sales boss, describes the G-Wagen creation as an ‘X-factor brand moment’.
She added: ‘At Mercedes-Benz, we are committed to engage in culture and society.
‘Our co-creation with Moncler offers an unexpected experience of both brands.
‘This debut collaboration with Moncler opens new horizons and a potential of opportunities for more news to come soon.’
The one-off concept has been created with Mercedes as part of the label’s ‘The Art of Imagination’ showpiece for London Fashion Week, which started on 17 February and runs until today (21 February)
The huge tyres have added over half a metre to the G-Wagen’s height, raising it from 2.2 metres to 2.8 metres, while the weight has remained around the same at 2.5 tonnes
The design merges the characteristics of the G-Class and the fashion brand’s coats, resulting in one of the strangest four-wheeled creations we’ve ever set our eyes on
The combination of a G-Class 4X4 and the ‘style-defining’ Moncler puffer jacket has resulted in a moon buggy that wouldn’t have looked out of place in the background of East 17’s popular 1994 Christmas hit, Stay Another Day.
The Mercedes has been given a patina effect, with the panels sprayed for an aged look.
‘This forms the visual counterpoint to the perfect, high-gloss reflective surfaces that underpin the claim to luxury,’ the two companies explain.
If you haven’t heard of Moncler, the Milan-based fashion house specialises in flashy outerwear
Moncler puffer jackets generally come with a price tag well in excess of £1,000 per item. The brand was founded in 1952 in Monestier-de-Clermont, France
Project Mondo G is Moncler’s first automotive collaboration. And if this design is anything to go by, we hope it’s the last
The combination of a G-Class 4X4 and the ‘style-defining’ Moncler puffer jacket has resulted in a moon buggy that wouldn’t have looked out of place in the background of East 17’s popular 1994 Christmas hit, Stay Another Day
The brands add that the huge zipper is ‘another deliberately striking and eye-catching element’, adding: ‘The zipper is a practical reference to the versatility and variability of both products, vehicle and jacket.’
The huge tyres have added over half a metre to the G-Wagen’s height, raising it from 2.2 metres to 2.8 metres, while the weight has remained around the same at 2.5 tonnes.
The quilted wheels also make the G-Class creation 3.4 metres wide – an increase from the 2 metres of the standard car.
It means the Project Mondo G is the same width as two Ford Fiestas, so trying to park it would undoubtedly be a major headache.
The Mercedes G-Class’ bodywork has been given a patina effect, with the panels sprayed for an aged look to form a ‘visual counterpoint to the perfect, high-gloss reflective surfaces’ of the jacket material
While automotive and fashion sector collaborations is nothing particularly new, we can’t recall another resulting vehicle that dons a zipper
One of the most famous – and longest-running- fashion and automotive collaborations is Paul Smith (left) and his various bespoke Minis dating back to 1999. This was the first – an original Mini with the iconic stripes of his own fashion collection
