Forza Fashion: An Automotive Call to Action
It would be a severe offense to distill the automotive experience down to a handful of abstract concepts. Nevertheless, we all have favorite aspects of our rides. Some favor utility, others the fuel economy their whip affords. But these perspectives tend to rest solely within the commuter corners of the automotive market.
For enthusiasts, petrolheads and other similarly-monickered driving nuts, three main criteria rise above the others — performance, engineering and design. Most especially within the supercar and hypercar markets, this trifecta of elements are amplified and twisted to form the automobiles we adore today.
Enzo Ferrari, the de facto poster child of performance driving once said, “The fact is I don’t drive just to get from A to B. I enjoy feeling the car’s reactions, becoming part of it.”

All of that is well and good, but in reality, the market has given plenty of attention to these performance-focused minds in recent years. For example, machines like LaFerrari, the McLaren Senna and the Koenigsegg One:1 have dominated the public conscience and have made a name for themselves for their brutal, circuit-focused performance. But these titans of track and sultans of speed have had their day. It’s time to bring back the beauty.



Certainly, however, the world of enthusiast-focused automobiles puts a great emphasis on the look and design aura of their products.
Some manufacturers, like Pagani Automobili, creators of the Zonda and Huayra, tend more toward this appreciation of aesthetics. Horacio Pagani, founder and lead designer of Pagani is known to speak at length about his fascination with the art behind his cars.

“In our particular case, at Pagani, the search for beauty goes above and beyond, because we believe that automobiles can be works of art,” Pagani said in an interview for the film “Apex: The Story of the Hypercar.” “In fact, I do not wish to trivialize the word ‘art,’ but I believe that the work of my designer colleagues, of my artisan colleagues, of those who work with their hands, is a true artistic expression.”
This admission of artistic adoration is a welcome sign of a similar perspective on aesthetics. Unfortunately, it is little more than an obsession with clean, striking design. But what about something a little more scandalous, a little more adventurously gauche?
In all truth, no buyer of a high-performance or other niche car does so with humility in mind. These conveyances are little more than big, noisy, braggadocious toys. And it seems like it would be fitting to turn up the heat on this self-indulgence.
It seems that the past has an answer for this contemporary quandary.
Cars, by their own nature, are a fashion statement. The commuter buys a Toyota whereas the more discerning driver mills around town in a well-to-do Audi or Mercedes-Benz. You buy not only four wheels and a motor, but a lifestyle.
In the early ’70s, car manufacturers began to recognize this, and started saturating the market with fashion world collaborations which now appear all too good to be true.
The genesis of this fabulous, gaudy automotive odyssey began with a collaboration between two supremely unlikely brands — Gucci and American Motors Corporation (AMC). In 1970, AMC introduced to the world a bland, boxy, clunky garbage can of a car by the name of the Hornet. By the time the 1972 model year rolled around, the company decided that this banal boat needed to be spiced up with a luxury trim which would offer an interior designed by none other than Dr. Aldo Gucci.


This horror show was the beginning of a series of similar collaborations for Gucci which included the Cadillac Seville and, most appropriately, the Fiat 500. Other brands took notice and ran with it.


Following the debut of the Gucci/AMC collaboration, Lincoln came to the fore in 1979 with a Continental Mark V which was blessed with Givenchy styling. Later, in the mid-80s, Ford released a version of the famous Thunderbird with a Fila trim — for which the famed tennis player Björn Borg was a spokesperson. Is there anything more ’80s than that?



Ever since, many other collaborations have taken place. Bugatti and Citroen have worked with Hermès, Lamborghini and Versace, Infiniti and Thom Browne, Mini and Paul Smith — the list goes on. Despite how adventurous and exciting these collaborations were, one aspect leaves enthusiasts unsatiated.




Each of these collaborations remains miniscule in comparison to the vastness of the automotive market. Some only last a year or two, others are produced in limited quantity, others are one-offs and others still remain only concepts — never to achieve commercial production.
It seems then that we need a renaissance. As the banality of high-performance sets in, it seems necessary that the car industry indulge a little and bring to customers the chance to have a designer experience in their daily drive, or on the track. Let’s all get a taste of the bespoke lifestyle through scandalous, indulgent fashion.
The Santa Clara, October 31, 2019
