The stars have aligned and A$AP Rocky, PacSun's guest artistic director, is spearheading a three-way collaboration for the street-savvy retailer, bringing in Mercedes-Benz and RAWGE, Rocky's creative company.
"I grew up in the ‘90s, so it's one of the most important eras for me to draw back inspiration from," Rocky told Highsnobiety.
"This collection is paying homage to all the nostalgia that comes back to me every time I see the Mercedes emblem. ... PacSun felt like a natural partner to sell the collaboration."
Though a Mercedes-Benz S-Klasse W140, EQS, and F200 Imagination concept car appear in the campaign imagery, Rocky's collaboration centers entirely around wearables inspired by retro car merch rather than the rides he poses next to in the AWGE x Mercedes campaign imagery.
Specifically, Rocky's channeling the kinda stuff that might've been passed out at conferences and conventions back in the day.
Dropping on March 17 via PacSun's website and AWGE's web store, Rocky and AWGE's designs put Mercedes-Benz' inimitable logo front and center atop caps, hoodies, and sweatpants, realized with an old-school floral trim.
A safety orange bomber emblazoned with matching branding appears in some of the editorial photos but it's not actually available (yet, presumably).
"My relationship with Mercedes started in 2016 where we worked on a creative commercial together," Rocky continued.
"Since then, the relationship grew and developed to where it is now, where we are producing collaborative products together. I couldn't be more excited."
Rocky (or Mr. Rihanna, depending who you ask) has been plenty busy, dishing up PacSun drops that include an Eddie Bauer collab and flaming Vans mules between various other musical endeavors and his relationship with the Bad Gal but no official AWGE automobile yet, aside from some NFTs.
So, when's Rocky gonna get his own car?
"Man, that would be amazing," Rocky laughs. "We gotta make that happen."
If anyone will bring Rocky's four-wheeled vision to life, it's gotta be Mercedes.
Having already aligned with the likes of Virgil Abloh, Heron Preston, and Proenza Schouler, the German automotive giant clearly has good taste.
Really, it's just a matter of time: Rocky is very much in his bag right now, with loads of projects going simultaneously, including new album All Smiles (tentative title).
And when Rocky does finally create the Benz of his dreams, he'll have the 'fit to match.
