The godfather of streetwear has brought his uniquely minimalistic aesthetic to Leica’s cameras. The German camera maker teamed up with renowned designer Hiroishi Fujiwara and his company Fragment Design to reskin the Leica M10 Monochrom and the Leica Q2 Monochrom.
Fujiwara decided to add his mark to two of Leica’s Monochrom cameras, so they’ll only be able to shoot in black and white as the name implies. But the collaboration is fully embracing a black-and-white approach, even on the exterior, since it excludes the iconic red dot Leica logo. It’s not the first time that Leica removed its recognizable logo, since they did the same with its Q2 Reporter camera, but it is the first time they’ve worked with Fujiwara.
The legendary Japanese designer and his Fragment Design brand have been known to collaborate with fashion and streetwear brands like Louis Vuitton, Nike, and Supreme. But, he’s also worked outside of the fashion world for certain collabs, like with MSI for the limited-edition Creator Z16 laptop.
Blacked out —
According to Leica, the Fragment editions of the two Leica cameras will use a special cowhide leather that wraps around the body of the camera, instead of the normal leather used for its regular models. The specialized M10 Monochrom and Q2 Monochrom also feature the coveted dual-thunderbolt logo engraved onto their top plates, next to some Fragment Design lettering.
Other than those external accents, the specs for both of the cameras remain the same. The Fragment edition of the Q2 Monochrom is still a full-frame camera with a 47-megapixel sensor and a fixed 28mm Leica f/1.7 lens and the customized M10 Monochrom still has a 40-megapixel sensor and a quiet shutter.
Extremely limited —
Leica priced the Fragment Edition of the M10 Monochrom at ¥1,375,000, or roughly $10,700, and the Q2 Monochrom at ¥990,000, or about $7,700. But, it’s unlikely you’ll get your hands on either one as Leica is only making 20 units of each. Plus, the Fragment Edition Leicas will only be available at the end of May at Leica’s Ginza Six store in Toyko, coinciding with the store’s fifth anniversary. Considering the Fragment Design brand name and the extremely-limited quantities, you can expect these Leicas to sell out fast and probably see very inflated resale prices.
