The gap between cars and streetwear is continuing to get smaller and smaller. Mercedes-AMG and Palace are returning with for their second collaboration, which features four art cars and matching apparel. Each car is inspired by one of the four cities where the British skateboarding brand was established a flagship — London, Los Angeles, New York, and Tokyo.
Streetwear and workwear staples have been decked out to match one of the four cars’ color schemes, with the corresponding city added to the co-branded graphics. You can go for the garage look with Carhartt-style jackets, vests, and pants or something with less stolen valor via dazzling gradient T-shirts.
In the fast lane —
Consisting of the Mercedes-AMG A 45 S1, Mercedes-AMG GT 63, Mercedes-AMG SL 63, and Mercedes-AMG G 63 models, each car is complete with a hand-painted, seven-layer fade paint finish. The aesthetics are intended to match their respective cities, like the edgy black and yellow GT 63 for New York and the topless SL 63 Roadster for LA. The 45 S1 nods to London’s car scene in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, while the G 63 draws inspo from Japan’s fantasy culture.
Co-branding is front and center with the brands’ logos and emblems, along with other intricate designs like a roaring snow leopard and a wild horse. Interiors take after Palace’s signature style with moody color palettes, and other details include individually designed floor mats, headrests, and embossed armrests.
Everything but a keychain —
Design teams drew connections from the worlds of high-performance sports cars and street skateboarding to create the collab, focusing on performance, speed, adrenaline, and, of course, an overall coolness factor. The apparel, consisting of 23 pieces total, features pants, hoodies, jackets, t-shirts, vests, and headwear inspired by the “motor mechanic” aesthetic.
Car collabs are quickly becoming unavoidable in streetwear, as sneaker designer Sean Wotherspoon did a Porsche earlier this month and artist Jeff Koons added a BMW collab to his belt in February. Palace and Mercedes-AMG took to the tracks last year for their first collaboration, though this one takes things to the next level with four times as many cars produced.
While the Art Cars are all one-of-ones not up for sale, the Mercedes-AMG x Palace apparel drops at 11 a.m. ET Friday, March 25, online and in-store. Following the somewhat bland release of A$AP Rocky’s AWGE and Mercedes-Benz collab, Palace’s Lev Tanju may just have the upper hand when it comes to thoughtful creative direction.
