Mercedes-Benz is comfortable in its own skin. From the invention of the combustion engine at the tail end of the 19th century through to today’s focus on electrification, the German manufacturer has been at the heart of the changing look and feel of mobility.
Gorden Wagener, the company’s chief design officer since 2008, has stewarded its vast and diverse portfolio through fast-evolving consumer desires, legislative shifts and technological changes. At the same time, he has overseen the conceptual visions that drive the company forwards, as well as the design team’s expansion into non-automotive projects.
Partnerships are a crucial spoke in the circular world of luxury product design. ‘We only do very select partnerships, like the one with Virgil Abloh,’ says Wagener. ‘It’s about discovering what we have in common with another brand.’ The final fruits of this particular collaboration only surfaced after Abloh’s death in 2021, having begun with a radically customised G-Class the year before (W*257). The end result was a dramatic conceptual off-roader, dubbed Project Maybach. This pairing certainly pushed the envelope for Mercedes, and although the cars themselves were ostentatious, they were still recognisably practical and rooted in real-world requirements. For the company’s newest partnership, with Moncler, these considerations have been gleefully thrown to the wind. Instead of creating a concept car or an extreme custom piece, the collaboration has resulted in a striking piece of automotive sculpture.
Denne historien er fra March 2023-utgaven av Wallpaper.
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Denne historien er fra March 2023-utgaven av Wallpaper.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Guiding Light - Designer Joe Armitage follows his grandfather's footsteps in India, reissuing his elegant midcentury lamp and creating a new chandelier for Nilufar Gallery
For some of us, family inheritances I tend to be burdensome, taking up space, emotionally and physically, in both our minds and attics. For the London-based designer and architect Joe Armitage, however, a family heirloom has taken him somewhere lighter and brighter, across generations and continents, and into the path of Le Corbusier. This is the story of a lamp designed by Edward Armitage in India 72 years ago, which has today been expanded into a collection of lights by his grandson Joe.
POLE POSITION
A compact Melbourne house with a small footprint is big on efficiency and experimentation
URBAN OASIS
At an art-filled Mexico City residence, New York designer Giancarlo Valle has put his own spin on the country's traditional craft heritage
WARM FRONT
Designer Clive Lonstein elevates his carefully curated Manhattan home with rich textures and fabrics
BALCONY SCENE
A Brazilian island hotel offers a unique approach to the alfresco experience
ENSEMBLE CAST
How architect Anne Holtrop is leaving his mark on the Middle East
Survival mode
A new show looks at preparing for a post-apocalyptic landscape (and other catastrophes)
FLASK FORCE
A limited-edition perfume collaboration between two Spanish craft masters says it with flowers
BLOOM SERVICE
A flower-shaped brutalist beauty in Geneva gets a refresh
SECOND NATURE
A remodelled museum in Lisbon, by Kengo Kuma & Associates, meshes Japanese and Portuguese influences to create a space that sits in harmony with its surroundings