Mercedes-Benz collaborated with French fashion label Moncler to create a special one-off version of the iconic G-Wagen which was unveiled at London Fashion Week on Monday. Most automotive concepts are over-the-top creations with exaggerated and non-practical design elements but this one is purely absurd. Called Project Mondo G, the one-off G-Class is meant to look like a monster truck with massive dimensions and giant wheels but the execution has left me scratching my head. The concept aims to blend the world of rugged off-roading and high-end fashion by dressing a three-door G-Class 4×4 in Moncler’s shiny puffer jacket. The SUV’s wheels and removable top are fashioned out of a shimmering silver puffer jacket, only to make it look like a military vehicle with a funny hairdo. There’s even a gigantic zipper running down the middle of the roof.
The one-off G-Wagen is 18 inches shorter than a standard G-Wagen, but the puffed-up design elements of the creation make it 9 feet tall and 11 feet wide. The timing of Project Mondo G is also a little odd as the peak winter season is already behind us. “The collaboration with Moncler inspired us to create a real iconic sculpture on wheels—a very bold design statement: our Project Mondo G,” Gorden Wagener, Mercedes-Benz’s creative director, said in a statement. “Based on our design philosophy Sensual Purity, this art piece merges extremely contrasting forms and surfaces: spacecraft shiny materials with a used patina look; strong geometry of the G-Class with organic forms of Moncler puffer jackets.”
This isn’t the first time the German marque partnered with the fashion world. It collaborated with Virgil Abloh for the one-off Project Maybach coupé and Project Geländewagen before the famous American fashion designer tragically passed away in 2021.
