The two-day fashion, music, and cultural pop-up Made L.A. took over L.A. Live’s Event Deck in downtown Los Angeles in June. The event, which is the brainchild of the team behind New York’s Made Fashion Week (part of the WME-IMG portfolio), had programming that included fashion shows by Jeremy Scott for Moschino, Hood by Air, and Tyler the Creator, as well as an open bazaar-style shopping experience anchored by Ford’s latest interactive design project known as Fusion Labs.
Automaker Ford jumped on board to co-create and curate a collaborative sustainability workshop within the event. Fusion Labs, as the activations were known, were inspired by Ford’s efforts to reduce waste in its vehicles. (For example, the Ford Fusion is made with recycled denim material equivalent to more than two pairs of blue jeans.)
Fusion Denim Lab included a live-sewing denim demonstration with emerging designer 69 Denim, featuring custom Ford Fusion patches. Fusion Elixery Lab offered original and organic superfood elixirs alongside Los Angeles-based health company Sun Potion. And Printed Fusion Lab with RTA Crew and Collective included a live screen-printing station with custom eco-friendly tote bags.
While it might seem surprising to see an automaker wrapped up in a fashion event, Ford Motor Company experiential marketing manager Kathleen Kross explained that the fit was actually a natural one. “Design and fashion are inherently connected, and successful design is about more than aesthetics—it connects with customers, speaks to their aspirations, and pleasantly surprises them,” she said. “Ford, and specifically Fusion, has always spoken to our customers’ desires and serves as a reflection of the world we live in. The new 2017 Fusion … [plays] up a very similar ethos in the fashion world, also evident in our partnership with Made.”
She explained that an idea to engage with such a partnership isn’t new for Ford. “We've always been believers in the connection between fashion, design, and technology,” Kross said. She said the Made pop-up offered a platform that spotlighted emerging design talent and brought forward-looking fashion to consumers, “while Ford aims to democratize great design and premium technology through our products and services.”
Specifically, the partnership allowed the brand to spotlight the new Fusion to a “young and dynamic audience and tap into an incredible network of emerging design talent."
In fact, Ford has worked on similar collaborations in the past, as a means to showcase different vehicles. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Mustang, the brand partnered with five top fashion designers from around the world. It resulted in a limited-edition line of T-shirts from designers like Anna Sui. Over the past several years, Ford Fusion has also collaborated with Milk Studios, Rent the Runway, and Vogue’s Fashion’s Night Out.
Ford has plans going forward to continue such partnerships, which might seem unexpected at first glance. “We always look for unique and engaging ways to tell our Ford story,” Kross said.
