Just when you thought Colm Dillane couldn’t top what he did at last season’s Kidsuper show, he goes and collaborates with Mercedes-Benz for his new SS26 collection.
Let’s start with the obvious: that custom Mercedes-Benz CLA that all the celebrities were flicking up with before the show. As it turns out, Dillane is the third of five artists involved in the “Class of Creators” collaboration where they were handed the keys to the CLA to use as a blank canvas and create an art piece of their very own.
Dillane really let his inner child run free on this one and went with a handcrafted superhero theme for the car that featured patchwork-inspired elements (ofc he got the kissing face motif in there), turbine wings and even balloons that were attached to the car. He dug into Mercedes-Benz’s archive, too, taking inspo for the wheels from the 1996 F 200 concept car and side mirrors from the 300 SL. Dillane’s fingerprints were all over this one.
The collection carried on this playful yet artistic design language that’s become Dillane’s signature, with traditional silhouettes like the suit and the trench coat given the KidSuper treatment with various paintings and illustrations printed on. The artist of those paintings seemed to also be part of the collection, with one look even featuring an apron and a palette as an accessory with paint splatters all over the clothes. Accessories follow the same notion with hats that look like paper origami, stacked books as bags and even a hat that looks like a rose with the stem hanging down the side.
Mercedes-Benz even makes a comeback into the collection with a full maroon vegan leather look that sees a biker jacket with some classic automotive inspired design cues and the coveted Mercedes-Benz logo paired with matching trousers and a suitcase. A lightweight red car coat is also added into the mix with a mechanic-inspired Americana graphic on the back hit along with a logo on the chest.
Colm Dillane gets into his avant-garde bag in this collection too, showing off his pattern-cutting skills through a collaged dress with torn bits of water coloured illustrations that look like they’ve been stuck together. He even introduces a striped button up that features a rigid outline that runs from the neck to the arm, creating an outline around the wearer. He pairs that with the sleeveless front of a pinstripe coat that’s cut so oversized that it’s poking out of the model’s frame.
He closed the show out with the epitome of his childhood: football. And who better to finish the show than the football style icon himself - Mario Balotelli, wearing a fit you could see him in during his Manchester City days.
With all the politics and disasters going on around the world, Colm Dillane knows exactly how to brighten the mood to any Fashion Week schedule he’s in. From the Mercedes-Benz car and collaboration to the whimsical yet artistically-charged tailoring, KidSuper really brings it every single time.
Featured image via Mercedes-Benz©
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