5 designers with a passion for cars

For years the world of fashion and that of cars seem to chase each other to the sound of more or less successful collaborations. Between a rework of a historic car and a capsule hides the authentic passion for four-wheelers carried on in a more or less hidden by some of the most influential names in the fashion industry. A passion that knows no age and no sector to which it belongs, passing through some of the pivotal names of the hype culture to other leaders of the formal one. An encounter between passion and collecting that very often has found an outlet in the work of the designers themselves, capable of translating their passion into collections and real tributes.

Ronnie Fieg

The founder of Kith crowned his passion for cars with the collaboration between the New York brand and BMW which took place in 2020. On the occasion of the launch, Fieg had told his connection with the German company by sharing a vintage photo that portrayed his aunt next to his grandfather's BMW E21. A bond that had given life to a capsule of 94 pieces, but above all to a unique model of the BMW 1989 E30 M3, updated in the interior and customized with the Kith branding.

Daniel Arsham

Before collaborating with Porsche, Daniel Arsham had already expressed his passion for the world of cars in the exhibition 3018. The American designer had in fact reinterpreted with his style a Ferrari 250GT California similar to the one that appeared in the film A crazy day off by John Hughes and an iconic DeLorean DMC-12, a clear reference to the Back to the Future trilogy. Putting aside the references to pop culture, Arsham then cultivated his dream like a car enthusiast by first creating an "eroded" version of the Porsche 911 and then a custom version of the 1986 930 Turbo.

Kerby Jean-Raymond

Designer of Pyer Moss and artistic director of Reebok Studies, in an interview with SSENSE Kerby Jean-Raymond, had talked about his passion for cars, from his origins with his parents to his strictly top-secret collection. Despite never having worked with a car company, he had no problem compiling a top 3 of his favourite cars: the Aston Martin Superleggera, the McLaren 720s and the Porsche GT3RS.

Teddy Santis

Aimé Leon Dore founder has made vintage aesthetics one of the keys to his success. In addition to an immoderate passion for knitwear, Teddy Santis has never hidden his love for cars by sharing dozens of photos of Range Rover and Porsche on his Instagram profile. The German company was the protagonist of two collaborations with the New York brand which saw the restoration of a 911 (964) Carrera 4 and a 911SC. 

Alessandro Sartori

Not only the collaboration with Maserati but the artistic director of Ermenegildo Zegna has also always revealed his passion for cars. In an interview with the New York Times, he said he was obsessed with cars, revealing three vintage models that are part of his collection: midnight blue 1965 Mustang, a 1970 Porsche 911 and a 1982 Porsche Turbocitrus orange.