Inspired by innovation

This one-of-a-kind capsule collection is made from hundreds of unadorned and undyed Mercedes Benz airbags. The collection pays the perfect homage to the airbag as the life-saving feature celebrates its 50th anniversary and 40 years of its use in Mercedes-Benz. The collection sees an assortment of garments made from upcycled airbags, which would otherwise go to waste. A jacket emulates the airbag inflates and deflates, a skirt, uber-cool workwear trousers, and a cape with a drawstring hood, which could be the least useful product of the otherwise feasible collection.

Sustainability is the name of the game, and luxury brands from all walks of life are getting better at playing it. Making an incredible example of innovation are American fashion designer Heron Preston with Mercedes-Benz by bringing forth a capsule collection that reuses the airbag in ways that trigger our imaginations.

American artist Heron Preston has collaborated with Mercedes-Benz to make streetwear out of airbags.

Bettina Fetzer, Mercedes-Benz AG’s vice president of communications and marketing, said “At mercedesbenz we are very proud of our unique, global #fashion engagement, which has developed a close relationship with the industry since 1995. Working with co-creators in this field that reflect our values enables us to further push sustainable luxury design into the future. Heron’s unique take on sustainability and the way he approaches the topic through the lens of culture is what made him an outstanding partner to work with on this project.”

“The Airbag concept collection is inspired by two anniversaries of the life-saving technical innovation: the Airbag patent 50 years ago and the first serial introduction into our flagship model, the S-Class back in 1981. We are convinced that co-creation and collaborative projects create memorable and unique moments with our brand.” “Mercedes-Benz and my brand share a common value of reducing our impact on the planet, and that was the starting point of the co-operation”, says #heronpreston. “Upcycling and celebrating sustainability have been my earliest approaches to design, since launching my collection, and I loved lensing a celebration of the airbags anniversary in this way to create a beautiful collection from recovered materials alongside some of their most advanced fleet of fuel efficient and electric vehicles. #mercedesbenz is an iconic brand which has such a strong hold on culture – and me being fascinated with culture and someone who shapes it – the partnership felt both exciting and natural.”

Editor’s tip: On the occasion of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Berlin, we always recommend booking your hotel or a place in the restaurant in advance. We recommend the KPM Hotel & Residence (Englische Straße 6) as a suitably stylish hotel and the starred restaurant Golvet (Potsdamer Straße 58) for dining. One thing should be revealed: you will not be disappointed.