December 5, 2022 |
It’s been a big year for Saul Nash. The menswear designer, whose clothes push the boundaries of sportswear, took home the International Woolmark Prize back in April. He was also the recipient of The Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design, acclaimed for his designs which come informed by his Guyanese heritage, his youth in London and his training both as a dancer and choreographer.
The rising talent can now add Mercedes-Benz collaborator to his long list of accolades. Celebrating the 25th anniversary of SK Gaming, the car manufacturer – which has previously collaborated with Palace, Proenza Schouler and the late Virgil Abloh – has worked with Nash on a performance-enhancing, miniature capsule collection.
Consisting of The Dashboard Jacket and The Digital Gradient Top, the collection is driven by the desire to utilise movement to liberate the wearer.
“Movement is at the core of Saul Nash. It is always exciting to be given a new space and challenge to explore this,” says Nash. “The automotive world, gaming and dance are three spaces that at first glance may not fit together. What is exciting here is that movement translates across these three spaces, whether virtually, physically or in the literal sense of driving.”
Nash – who made his official London Fashion Week debut with Fashion East in 2019 – says he has always been “obsessed with the sharp and sleek lines of car interiors”, which inspired the design process. “I created a reversible jacket which on the black side pays homage to the sophisticated sleekness of Mercedes but on the reverse side leans into the colourful and playful side of SK Gaming,” says Nash, who lined the jacket in a lilac-blue mesh pattern made from recycled polyester. The compression top, Nash says, follows a more traditional athletic silhouette to convey that gaming is itself a sport.
“I have always been drawn to the bold and sophisticated aesthetics of Mercedes-Benz and think that this was a great opportunity to explore how this translates and marries into the world of Saul Nash.”
Photography courtesy of Mercedes-Benz. Shop the collection here.
