Wear your car on your sleeve
Do you love your Lexus the way you love your athleisure? Luxury automaker Lexus and footwear designer Salehe Bembury “electrifies” Champion silhouettes with all things NX, its series of SUVs.
“This collaboration was a new type of challenge for me. It is both challenging and rewarding to explore design outside of footwear and allowed me to think outside of my usual realm of design,” said Bembury, who merges his logo and signature fingerprint with graphic elements — like the word “electrified,” Lexus’ push towards the electrification of its vehicle lineup, based on the Lexus NX’s tail lights — all tied together by archway shapes symbolizing a pathway toward the future.
The apparel collection uses hand-applied dyes on Champion hoodies, T-shirts and hats in the popular Reverse Weave style. The fabric is dyed dark gray through a custom oil-wash process, giving a unique look to the Champion apparel. Colors are drawn from the Lexus NX exterior options and the incorporation of a hand-finished, wash tag appliqué in both English and Japanese at the front hem ties together all of the brands working on the project. The focal point of the unstructured baseball cap is Salehe’s fingerprint logo wrapping the brim. In addition, embroidered Salehe, Lexus and Champion logos complete the piece, which is adjustable using a strap and metal buckle.
This isn’t Bembury’s first work with Lexus. He has designed a rendering of the LZ-F Electrified concept interior as part of the Virtual Interiors Program in April 2021.
“This collaboration merges different design disciplines to create a modern collection rooted in heritage for fans across the three brands,” said Jon Ram, global president of Champion Athleticwear. “As a brand that continuously pushes the boundaries of creativity, Champion is excited to work with Bembury and Lexus to elevate the conversation around design, fashion and technology.”
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The collection will be available for purchase exclusively at HBX.com.
