It’s more than a little weird to envision a car being transformed by “fashionistas” into jewelry, shoes, even a trench coat. But Lexus – the luxury car division of Toyota – apparently felt this would be a good way to demonstrate the “recyclability” of the modern-day motor vehicle.
One thing’s for sure with this, however: whether you love or loathe the “fashion art” wrinkled out from the Lexus CT hybrid sedan, the project surely proves its ultimate point – vehicles today can be recycled into just about anything once they’ve reached the end of their life cycle.
For this "fashion project" (if that’s what we can call it) Lexus challenged four fashion designers to create “fashion art” from the more than 2,000 individual parts of a completely dismantled Lexus CT hybrid – a vehicle Lexus claims is more than 90% recyclable.
Here’s what they came up with:
• The Environmental Crown of Virtue: This piece, designed by Moss Lipow using a transmission starter and exhaust manifold gasket, frankly looks like something out of the movie Forbidden Planet if you ask me. Then again, the dude came up with this using exhaust manifold GASKETS for goodness sakes. That’s pretty inventive, regardless of your artistic taste.
• The Valve Collection: Designed by jewelry creator Eddie Borgo using valve lifters, crank bearings and hose clamps, this definitely looks like something that will win big points in the punk rock community.
• Nomadic Sanctuary: This trench coat, shorts and clutch (seen at right) designed by John Patrick started out as floor mats made from plant-based plastic, sustainable sound-dampening material, wire harnesses, leather seat covers and cargo covers. Best of all, it’s the most “practical” item produced by Lexus’s “Fashion Workshop” project.
• The Luna Shoe: Created by Alejandro Ingelmo using armrest leather trim and clear plastic tubing, this shoe would look no different if displayed next to the Manolo Blahnik products made famous by Carrie Bradshaw (played by Sarah Jessica Parker) on the Sex and the City miniseries.
By week’s end, all four pieces [and you can click here to see them all -- including a photo of the Lexus CT hybrid pre-disassembly!] produced by this “fashion project” are expected to be sold via private auction during Art Basel Miami Beach, with proceeds benefiting the Council of Fashion Designers of America/Vogue Fashion Fund (CFDA).
Now all we have to do is get a big ol’ Class 8 tractor involved in a “fashion project” like this, for I can’t wait to see what a top fashion designer comes up with based on a diesel particulate filter, let me tell you.
