Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines… This season, Philipp Plein revs up and unleashes a tire-screeching, engine-roaring spectacle of fast and glorious fashion. As 15 super cars including Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsches and a metallic McLaren race around a track at breakneck speed ,and performers courtessing a live rendition of Greased Lightning, a gang of boy racers and tough girls pound down the runway. Buckle up: this is pedal-to-the-metal style for Spring/Summer 2018.
The quiffed men strut like juvenile delinquents from West Side Story, cigarette stuck behind their ears, Marlboro packs rolled in their t-shirt sleeves. Feeling the need for speed, these rock’n’roll rebels are ready for action: their frayed denim and studded leather jackets are covered in patches of chequered flags, flaming eight balls, fiery skulls and ‘Glorious Bastards’ insignia; their jeans decorated in hand-sewn appliqued red flames.
With all the high-school swagger of Rizzo from Grease, the girls hold their own in leather bomber jackets, cropped tops, leggings and killer heels bejewelled in words like ‘Rock, ‘Roll’, ‘Love’ and ‘Kiss’. But these are not trophy women waiting in the pit-stop, they’re petrol heads like the boys, with sequinned roaring tigers and coiled cobras hand-stitched onto their wardrobe. These are blood brothers and sisters, all members of the same speed-obsessed squad.
Mirroring the fetish of customizing muscle cars into one-off works of art, Plein’s signature embellishment excels into top gear for this collection. Hooded crocodile and leather biker jackets are decorated with airbrushed paintings of ‘Death Proof’ hot rods and skulls with lightning bolts - the same designs emblazoned across the hoods of the cars skidding past. Each is a limited edition piece of pimped-up couture.
Whether it’s embossed leather stars on t-shirts and red python go-faster stripes on bomber sleeves or the fine-tuned pistons of an engine, this gang has an eye for detail. They understand that every single element counts; it’s the difference between winning and a wipeout on the track, and on the street. And, like their cars, they want hyper, adrenaline-fuelled fashion for life in the fast lane. Noise, power and speed is their religion. No guts, no glory their mantra.