The Mercedes-Benz G-Class celebrated its 40th anniversary last year, making it one of the longest produced vehicles in Daimler’s history. What was originally developed as a military vehicle, the Geländewagen over the last four decades has become one of the most popular luxury SUVs money can buy. As a tribute to the icon SUV’s celebrated history, renowned American designer and entrepreneur Virgil Abloh has created an artwork called ‘Project Geländewagen.’ in collaboration with Gorden Wagener, chief design officer at the German automobile maker. The Louis Vuitton menswear designer and founder of the hipster brand Off-White collaboration with Gorden Wagener, chief design officer at Mercedes-Benz, on the project and it will be revealed on 8th September via an online event. The artwork was to debut earlier at a physical event that had to be canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. “The union with Virgil Abloh, one of the most influential and inspiring creatives of our time, represents the idea of Zeitgeist’s Mercedes-Benz, co-creation and fascination, both for our products and for our brand”, said Bettina Fetzer, head of marketing at Mercedes-Benz AG.
Abloh described the project as “a perfect chassis to interject modern artists’ ideas of what the future can be stylistically, within conceptual car design.” Following the launch, a home-scale replica will be auctioned online and all proceeds will be donated to charity organizations that support the arts and the international creative community. Describing the project as a unification of fashion and art with automotive, Gorden Wagener said: “Mercedes-Benz today is much more than a luxury carmaker, it is a design brand and luxury label. One major reason for our success story is our aesthetic soul and the unique style of our house. The next step in pushing Mercedes-Benz’s design is our collaboration with Virgil Abloh. We are set to create something unseen in both of our branches.”
[Via: WWD]
