When KidSuper Met Mercedes-Benz: The Art Car That Stole Paris Fashion Week
As fall fashion week begins, it is impossible not to remember one of the defining cultural crossovers of the summer: KidSuper’s collaboration with Mercedes-Benz at Paris Fashion Week. Colm Dillane, the Brooklyn-born designer behind KidSuper, has built his career on playful imagination and bold storytelling, and his latest project placed him at the center of an ambitious experiment called “Class of Creators.” Mercedes-Benz invited five visionaries across art, music, and design to reimagine the new CLA, handing over their signature car as a blank canvas. Dillane became the third to unveil his vision, following Ice Spice in New York and Gustaf Westman in London, with Hot Wheels and Riot Games preparing their own turn.
His presentation took place on June 28 inside the Musée des Arts Décoratifs at the Louvre, where he transformed the CLA into a “superhero car.” It was not a marketing stunt but a sincere work of art. Turbine wings stretched from the body, balloons floated across its structure, a rally-style roof rack balanced on top, and a childhood memory appeared in the form of a slingshot. Patchwork elements stitched across the surface carried KidSuper’s familiar “Kissing Face” motif. Dillane even embedded nods to Mercedes-Benz history: wheels recalling the futuristic F 200 concept car from 1996, mirrors reflecting the shape of the legendary 300 SL. The result was a car that looked like it had leapt out of a comic book, yet every detail was carefully considered, linking heritage engineering to his free-spirited visual language.
The collaboration extended beyond the art car and into a 13-piece capsule collection that hit the runway the same evening. Inspired by the CLA’s design, the clothes blended KidSuper’s signature patchwork and tailored streetwear with the mechanical precision of Mercedes-Benz culture. The collection pulled from workwear and mechanic Americana while still carrying the elegance of men’s tailoring. Jackets, trench coats, trousers, and accessories such as hats, bags, and a suitcase were produced in cotton, canvas, jersey, wool, and vegan leather. One T-shirt offered a direct reference to the “Patent Motorwagen,” the first automobile ever built, merging Dillane’s playful aesthetic with Mercedes-Benz history. Launching in September, the collection gave the partnership a tangible presence in closets, moving the collaboration from the runway into everyday life.
KidSuper’s work matters because it shows how design can hold on to fantasy while honoring tradition. Mercedes-Benz has collaborated with visionaries before, from Virgil Abloh to A$AP Rocky, from Proenza Schouler to Moncler, but with “Class of Creators” the brand gave artists near total freedom. Dillane seized the opportunity not by following trend cycles but by building a story that touched on childhood, comic books, and personal symbols while folding in a century of engineering cues. In doing so, he reminded both industries that creativity survives when designers take risks.
The timing of this collaboration gives it staying power. Fashion Week thrives on fresh narratives, and this project delivered one that resonates across communities. It captured the attention of car lovers, style enthusiasts, sneakerheads, and anyone who appreciates cultural mash-ups. In a year where many brands search for ways to stay relevant with younger audiences, Dillane and Mercedes-Benz demonstrated how to connect with authenticity. The CLA art car and the capsule collection were not designed to disappear after the season; they were created to live as cultural markers that continue to inspire.
As KidSuper enters fall, his work with Mercedes-Benz remains one of the most significant moments of the year, a collaboration that blurred the lines between automotive innovation and fashion storytelling. It stood as proof that legacy and youth culture can meet without compromise, and that when given freedom, designers can turn a car into a superhero and a runway into a memory that lasts far beyond Fashion Week.
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