Left image via Katrina Wittkamp / right image via Bafic/ Project Geländewagen //
Virgil can design anything…
Continuing to push himself as a designer and creative juggernaut, Off-White visionary Virgil Abloh has teamed up with Mercedes-Benz for their new G-Class collaboration, with Abloh recreating the G-Class model as an artwork. The piece is then being made into a to-scale replica, after which it’ll be auctioned off for an estimated $60,000 USD to $80,000 USD ($83,000 AUD to $110,000 AUD). The move comes after both Abloh and Mercedes-Benz felt “compelled to help support the arts and the international creative community at a critical time,” according to a press release from Mercedes-Benz Chief Design Officer Gorden Wagener.
Abloh added “Mercedes-Benz is a brand that stands for luxury and exceptional performance. Truly a perfect chassis to interject modern artists’ ideas of what the future can be stylistically, within conceptual car design.”
Whoever wins the auction will gain exclusive access to Abloh and Wagener, with all proceeds going to a select charity that supports the arts. Along with the G-Class collab, the auction will feature various works spanning postwar to contemporary art, with arthouse superstars Helen Frankenthaler, Kenneth Noland, Kerry James Marshall and more being featured in the auction.
Along with his own spin on the G-Class car, Abloh also teamed up with Mercedes-Benz to create an all new racing-glove, featuring a gorgeous white and red colour scheme with the Mercedes-Benz logo in the middle.
Virgil Abloh x Mercedes Benz 🧤
Picture credit @ASVPNVST pic.twitter.com/uLwe3xUrVw
— Ovrnundr (@Ovrnundr) September 5, 2020
“My ultimate goal in this project with Mercedes-Benz is inspiring young artists, engineers, designers to question the status quo, in addition to experimenting with my own design abilities,” Abloh added. “For me it’s all about providing opportunities for those coming after me and giving this next generation a foundation for success, both here with Mercedes-Benz and through my own Virgil Abloh™ “Post-Modern” Scholarship Fund.”
It’s a pretty dope initiative from both Abloh and Mercedes-Benz, and will no doubt inspire many young designers to come. Check the official reveal of their G-Class collab below.
