The puffy silver Moncler bits gleam like the reflective foil on a space capsule, while in stark contrast, the exposed parts still identifiable as being Mercedes in origin have been treated to a "rough patina" that looks like it's been left unpainted in the rain to rust for a year, then driven through a bushfire.
People do this sort of thing to guitars as well, burning, peeling and pre-aging the paint, sanding, scratching and digging chunks out of the wood. Jeans too; the idea is to be able to sell them directly off the rack in such a profoundly munted state that they look like they've traveled the world and could tell a thousand adventure stories, even if their new owners wouldn't feature in any of them.
That's fashion though, baby! And fashion is what this Mondo car is all about. It's an art piece that Mercedes has pitched in as part of Moncler's "The Art of Genius" live show during London Fashion Week. It's not here to do anything as quotidian and glamorless as drive around. It's here for androgynous, food-averse individuals with a deep belief in the Moncler vision to stand in front of, po-faced and smoldering, draped in haute couture that challenges both the form and the function of the common puffy jacket.
Yes, like this one. The steely eyes show confidence. "Yes," they say, "Welcome to my ice moon. Witness my inflatable space-Benz. The prepuce of my puffy jacket has been rolled back to a pleasing degree, and if I move, everything may be ruined. You call that a hood? This is a hood."
It's certainly a conversation-starter. Please feel free to continue the conversation in the comments below, or perhaps take a moment to check out the video below and see this machine in its natural habitat: on an ice moon, doing very little, as people in puffy clothes bounce and leap toward and around it. Now excuse me, I feel like buying a $7,000 puffy jacket for some reason. I may have been Moncled.
Source: Mercedes-Benz