Mercedes-Benz and Moncler are bundling up the G-Class this winter.
The German automaker and French fashion label unveiled a special one-off version of the iconic 4×4 at London Fashion Week on Monday. The unique off-roader, dubbed Project Mondo G, brings the worlds of luxury motors and ultra-chic puffer jackets together like never before.
First things first: The collaboration, which made its debut during Moncler’s “The Art of Genius” show, is really more of a work of art than a functional vehicle. The brands spent over a year working on the project to ensure it fused their respective design languages just right.
The resulting 4×4 is basically a G-Wagen with a removable top and wheels made from Moncler’s trademark quilted fabric. At its heart is a three-door version of the SUV—which Mercedes doesn’t sell, unfortunately—with a visible patina. This detail is meant to highlight its versatility and is accentuated by the gloss of the quilted elements. The stylish modifications also turn the vehicle into something of a monster truck. Its body is 18 inches shorter than a standard G-Wagen, but because of the cold-weather clothes, it stands over nine feet tall and 11 feet wide. We imagine there are more than a few off-road enthusiasts who wouldn’t mind if these were the SUV’s actual dimensions.
“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 Mercedes first collaboration with the fashion world. The marque previously teamed up with late Louis Vuitton creative director Virgil Abloh for the one-off Project Maybach coupé. The sporty off-roader made its debut at Art Basel Miami, just days after the designer’s tragic passing. Abloh also worked with Mercedes on a G-Wagen race car called the Project Geländewagen, which, like Project Mondo G, was more of a sculpture than a working vehicle.
Click here for more photos of the Mercedes-Benz x Moncler Project Mondo G.
