Scania just announced a custom-made couture jacket made out of upcycled fan belts that is supposed to celebrate truck drivers.
Show truck builder Svempa Bergendahl and World famous fashion designer Bea Szenfeld teamed up to create what they call The Griffin Jacket. Scania reported, “The duo share an unfaltering passion for innovation and custom made design, resulting in the co-creation of a truly unique piece of couture fashion.”
The jacket is made out of 656 feet of reinforced fan belts from Scania. The jacket weighs about 27 pounds. The jacket was created by stitching 800 feather-like shapes.
Sophie Haftor, Director of Scania Vehicle Accessories and Branding Products, claims to understand a truck driver’s daily life and the role this jacket would play. She says, “Knowing that the driver jacket is an iconic and favorite product for all truck drivers, we decided to initiate this collaboration. The driver jacket is not just a functional piece of clothing for the drivers, but a way of expressing individual style too. With Svempa and Bea’s amazing effort, we have created a one of a kind driver jacket to salute all professional truck drivers on the road.”
Since the jacket weighs 27 pounds, we are not so sure how functional this jacket really is.
Fashion designer Szenfeld says, “This was both a surprising and obvious collaboration. Whilst a lot of my work has involved using upcycled materials, usually paper, cutting reinforced fan belts from Scania trucks was a mammoth task and thought-provoking. It made us reimagine how we use resources and repurpose them!”
Truck designer Bergendah says, “Having designed over 500 Scania vehicles, working with Bea on the Griffin Jacket was an excellent change of pace. We wanted to create something that celebrates the driver and brings the essence of Scania to life. Nothing embodies Scania more than the Griffin, which has grown to be an iconic symbol of Scania and the most recognizable feature of the brand.”
To add insult to injury, Scania claims that this jacket keeps in mind, and even caters to, the demanding challenges faced by truck drivers.
This jacket will be auctioned off online on Barnebys beginning November 7, 2017, and ending November 22, 2017. A portion of the profits will be donated to ActionAid, a leading international charity which works with women and girls around the world by providing support to those affected by climate and environmental changes.