Louis Vuitton and Kith are redefining luxury automotive collaborations in the most spectacular ways
Imagine a classic Porsche 911, painstakingly restored by hand and dressed by one of the most influential creative directors in global fashion. That scenario is now a reality, and it perfectly illustrates how luxury automotive collaborations have fundamentally changed in nature. Louis Vuitton and Kith have each just unveiled a project that goes far beyond simple co-branding.
A complete ecosystem built around the car
Louis Vuitton has partnered with Singer, the specialist in restoring classic Porsche 911s, to reveal two exceptional models. The Porsche 911 Reimagined by Singer – Classic and the Porsche 911 Reimagined by Singer – Classic Turbo were designed by Nicolas Ghesquière, artistic director of women’s collections at the French house. Both cars sit within Louis Vuitton’s philosophy around the Art of Travel.
What sets this project apart from previous luxury automotive collaborations is its sheer scope. An entire wardrobe was conceived around the two vehicles: a racing jacket, a bespoke suit, jeans, driving gloves, driving shoes, sunglasses and helmets. A long list of travel accessories rounds out the offering.
- Custom trunks and document holders
- Helmet bags and luggage for the front boot
- An exclusive watch and a surfboard
- Personalised keys and key rings
Nicolas Ghesquière described the venture as a chance to reconnect with the fascinating world of the automobile, and an opportunity to explore truly exceptional vehicles. That framing captures the logic behind these new partnerships perfectly: the car is no longer a simple communications vehicle, it becomes the centrepiece of a complete lifestyle project.
A heritage stretching back to 1897
The connection between Louis Vuitton and the automobile is far from new. As early as 1897, Georges Vuitton was offering trunks specially designed for motor cars. In 1909, Pierre and Jean Vuitton, grandsons of Louis Vuitton, even designed their own vehicle, built on a sporting chassis by the manufacturer Stabilia.
More recently, in 2020, Virgil Abloh, then artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s men’s collections, teamed up with Gorden Wagener, chief design officer at Mercedes-Benz, to reimagine the G-Class as a motorsport-inspired concept. Yet the project with Singer marks a clear evolution: fashion-automotive partnerships are now more deeply integrated and far more focused on content creation.
Kith and BMW: a fourth anniversary chapter
Kith is following a comparable trajectory. The brand launched its partnership with BMW in 2020, and has just unveiled the fourth chapter of that collaboration. Ronnie Fieg presents two iconic models: the 1972 BMW 3.0 CSi and the 1987 M6 E24. The launch coincides with Kith’s 15th anniversary and serves as the starting point for a clothing collection expected on 17 August.
When the two brands first joined forces, Markus Flasch, CEO of BMW M GmbH, explained that the alliance allowed them to reach an entirely new target audience. He noted that the lifestyle fashion scene brought a new form of exclusivity across many areas. In other words, for car manufacturers, these luxury automotive collaborations are less about selling cars than about winning over a new generation of consumers.
What these partnerships are really changing
For fashion houses, the logic runs in the opposite direction. The car brings a credibility that a handbag or a sneaker cannot deliver on its own, because the automobile embodies an industrial craftsmanship, a history and a culture that few objects can match.
Over the past decade, Porsche has collaborated with Aimé Leon Dore, Tag Heuer, Rimowa and Puma. Mercedes-Benz, for its part, counts fashion houses such as Sacai, Moncler and Off-White among its partners. These fashion-automotive alliances are multiplying, but their nature has shifted profoundly.
Where these projects once focused on the vehicle itself, today’s luxury automotive collaborations build a complete commercial ecosystem around the car: clothing, accessories, luggage, watches. It is this all-encompassing dimension that defines the new partnership model, and explains why these projects generate a genuine cultural moment that resonates far beyond a simple product launch.
