Virgil Abloh’s departure is undoubtedly the most sensational news in the global fashion and cultural world this week, and following the presentation of his final fashion collection for the Louis Vuitton menswear department that he has been in charge of all along, another special project planned by him has also officially released its completed work – a project created jointly by Virgil Abloh and the German car brand Mercedes-Benz, featuring the Maybach model, officially debuted as Project Maybach.
Regarding the cross-border project named Project Maych, it is actually the second collaboration between Virgil and Mercedes-Benz, which was announced as early as two months ago and has not revealed the concept on which this collaborative model will be based. It wasn’t until recently that the car manufacturer officially announced that Project Maybach will be a collaboration design centered around an “all-electric vehicle,” continuing to be developed jointly by Virgil Abloh and the car manufacturer’s design director, Gorden Wagener. The finished product was finally unveiled recently, and what appeared before everyone was a never-before-seen, “Off-Road” version of the Maybach model.
As the flagship model of Mercedes-Benz, Maybach has always appeared in the form of a luxury sedan over the years. This time, under the creation of Virgil Abloh, it has adopted an appearance similar to a Safari off-road vehicle, which is a very breakthrough change. In terms of design, Project Maybach has simple and neat body lines, with the main body colors being black and brown, completely echoing the impression of “off-road”. The interior of the car is also uniformly replaced with a full sand-colored interior, and the traditional car interior structure has been completely eliminated, maximizing the space. Of course, as an Off-road vehicle, it is essential to have a roof rack.
In collaboration with Mercedes-Benz, you will find that Virgil has interestingly exchanged the original concepts of the two car models – with Project Geländewagen based on the G-Glass, he deliberately lowered the car model and changed it into a setting similar to a sports car or race car; this time focusing on Maybach, he deliberately raised the chassis to transform it into an off-road vehicle, mercilessly abandoning the stereotypical luxury sedan impression – from this, it can be seen that Virgil has a very deep level of communication with Mercedes-Benz.
In addition to the macro changes mentioned above, when you carefully observe Project Maybach, you will find many detailed parts that are also focused on this creation. First, it must be the long front end, with a long transparent hood on the fully electric Project Maybach, revealing the solar panels underneath completely, yet giving Maybach a futuristic feel. From the front view, you can even see the common off-road vehicle feature of a row of four external LED auxiliary lights, silver skid plates, and crash bars, with the latter protective vertical grille replaced by a more rugged upright front grille.
Apart from the front end, anti-slip boards, crash bars, and circular LED taillights are actually installed at the rear of the vehicle. Even inside the cabin, you can see door frames equipped with an “emergency use” Maybach axe, and the fully flat seats are designed with the same pattern as a regular military equipment box. The handle used to adjust the seat position in the past has been replaced with a rope design, and even the object grid typically installed in front of the passenger position in a car is hidden in the full electronic dashboard. All of these designs and concepts, in contrast with the futuristic appearance, create an interesting struggle between the primitive and high-end feelings.
To commemorate the birth of Project Maybach, Mercedes-Benz will showcase this new car at the Rubell Museum in Miami today and tomorrow, open to the public for viewing. They hope that everyone, especially students from local design schools, will have the opportunity to share the results of this project with Virgil and their hopes for the younger generation. Virgil passed away suddenly this Tuesday, and the car manufacturer expressed shock and sorrow in a statement, sincerely standing with his family and team. They also feel honored to have worked with him, as his genius attitude inspired the team, teaching them how to overcome and push boundaries to make things better.
Finally, you may want to take a look at the physical Project Maybach from Virgil’s good friend and designer Heron Preston, who stood by his side during the “Been Trill” era.
資料及圖片來源：Web Photo
