The Porsche safari by Daniel Arsham and Stone Island

Daniel Arsham and Stone Island have joined forces to customise a Porsche 930 and an Unimog 404 in an unprecedented collaboration. Arsham's Safari was built by Leh Keen, using a 1986 Porsche 911 Turbo as a base and then customised to be suitable for off-road use, using many original parts from the 1970s and 1980s. The Safari car was modified to rally car specifications, including an external headlight on the front bonnet, additional bumpers on the front and rear with an accompanying protective plate running along the underside of the car - all on off-road tyres and upgraded suspension, ready for any environment and in any conditions. In a typical rally, the main race cars are usually followed by a slower recovery vehicle in case of emergency, following this tradition, Arsham has also reimagined a Unimog U404 to accompany the Safari as a sort of recovery vehicle.

The Unimog is fitted with bespoke Stone Island Tela Stella in dark green to cover the truck bed, and the pair of vehicles have been designed in complementary ways, using Stone Island craftsmanship wherever possible. In both vehicles, the seat fabric was rethought from a functional point of view, using moleskin specially made by Stone Island to improve the grip of the seat for the driver on off-road terrain.  The fabric was dyed and then specially treated to achieve a dusted effect and then lasered with Arsham Studio's camouflage monogram, linking Stone Island's historic designs with the Arsham monogram to create something completely new. In addition to the interiors, the two also created a limited edition series of suits along with Tela Stella hand bags, intended exclusively for friends and family. The overalls, specifically designed for the Arsham Studio/Stone Island Safari Project are made of cotton moleskin, garment dyed, dried and then treated with a special finish lending a dusty coloured look to their surface. They are then laser printed, with the laser beam designing a camouflage inspired design on a grid composing the Arsham Studio logo.

A 10-minute short film narrated by Daniel Arsham with Leh Keen and directed by Jeremy Elkin tells the story of the restoration process of the Porsche 930 and Unimog 404, from the careful assembly of the vehicles in New York and Atlanta to the breathtaking views in the California desert. The film will be released starting March 18 on stoneisland.com and Stone Island's social media channels as well as RED Digital Cinema, while the Safari project will be on display at the La Brea Stone Island Store in Los Angeles on March 19 and 20 from 11am to 7pm.