When Two Worlds Collide: Our Favourite Fashion Collaboration Cars

When Two Worlds Collide
Our Favourite Fashion Collaboration Cars

Words: Jack Shepherdson

Alpine recently pulled the covers off their latest special project. It’s an A290 Rallye made in collaboration with the fashion brand Lacoste, and it’s really hot. Alpine have packed more muscles onto this already muscular hot hatchback with a big wing, trick wheels and a body kit, while Lacoste have gone to town on the interior. Of course, they haven’t held back on the crocodiles, even incorporating one into the rear deck.

Images courtesy of Alpine.

But there’s a problem: you can’t buy it. Alpine won’t be putting the A290 Lacoste into production, and it will remain a one-off design exercise. It’s a shame because there’s actually a long history of fashion brands collaborating with car brands on fun special editions that you and I could get behind the wheel of. In 2026, it feels like every day there’s a new ‘Brand x Brand’ collaboration announced, but in the car world it’s nothing new.

Here’s a few of our favourite fashion collab cars.

Images courtesy of Peugeot.

Peugeot 205 x Lacoste

The new Alpine is far from the first car Lacoste has worked on, sprinkling a bit of their sporty French magic on another French hatchback hero, the Peugeot 205.

This little 80s French hatch is widely considered to be one of the best driving hatchbacks ever, so when Lacoste came to the party they heaped some style onto this already brilliant little car. The Lacoste edition made purely cosmetic changes, but those changes turned it into the chicest car you could be driving in 1984. It launched alongside the French Open, and it’s basically tennis whites you can drive. All white with a green coach line wrapping the car and mirrors, body colour dished hubcaps, and lovely little exterior details such as the black badge ovals on the C-pillars being finished in a tennis net grid pattern. Same story on the inside - green carpeting and Lacoste badging in all the right places.

The best thing? There are 24,000 of them out there, and they’re still quite affordable - so get hunting.

Images courtesy of the Powerhouse Museum Collection.

Ford Laser x Carla Zampatti

It would be strange today if Australia’s most prolific and lauded fashion designers lent their design and name to a small Ford runabout, but that’s exactly what happened in 1979 when Carla Zampatti put her spin on the Ford Laser.

Ford Australia worked completely independently from the US Ford at the time, so the Laser was developed specifically for the Australian market, hence Carla coming onboard to give it a makeover exclusively for the Aussie market.

The Zampatti edition was targeted specifically at women, but Carla knew what women actually wanted from a car, and it wasn’t something pink and fluffy. It had seriously cool telephone dial wheels, custom Carla Zampatti cloth upholstery, and a glovebox-mounted mirror, with a special slot to store your nail files. These small changes amounted to a car dripping in chic cool, with just a few subtle Zampatti badges on the rear. These are quite a lot rarer than the Lacoste Peugeot, as only 108 Carla Zampatti Ford Lasers were built, but they were exclusive to Australia so they do still hit the market from time to time.

Images courtesy of Fiat.

Fiat 500 x Riva

The Fiat 500 is basically a fashion accessory on its own, so it’s only natural Fiat used their 500 as a canvas for a bunch of fashion houses to put their spin on. Gucci and Armani all had their takes, but the Riva stands out.

Strictly speaking, Riva is not a fashion brand - they build boats. The northern Italian boat maker produces the most gorgeous timber boats you’ve ever seen, perfectly at home on Lake Como or the canals of Venice. With this in mind, it’s no surprise their Fiat collab is full of nautical notes.

The dashboard - usually plastic body colour matching the car - is full Riva timber varnished exactly like the boats. That’s topped off by white leather seats with Riva stitching and body colour piping, a lovely deep metallic navy body, chrome hubcaps, and some subtle Riva badging. It’s the ultimate Fiat 500, combining two Italian brands in a seriously stylish car.

Images courtesy of Renault.

Renault Twingo x Kenzo, Benetton, ELite Model Management + Perrier

Everyone loves the Renault Twingo! This handsome little scamp has had Europe going “how cute!” since 1992, and Renault built a bunch of special editions to keep it right in the zeitgeist.

The Kenzo edition is my pick, featuring special metallic paints and a velvet flower-patterned interior, Kenzo floor mats, and special wheels. Renault are so proud of it they’ve let one escape from their museum, and it’s currently on display at the Renault store on the Champs-Élysees in Paris.

Images courtesy of Collecting Cars.

Mini x Paul Smith

An iconic English designer meets the most iconic English car - that’s a match made in heaven. Right at the end of production of the original Mini in 1999, they dropped this Paul Smith special edition. Similar to the collabs above, all the changes were purely cosmetic, but they somehow managed to make the Mini even more English.

It’s got dark blue paint with blacked-out classic Mini wheels, gold Paul Smith badging around the car, an acid green map of the UK cut out and mounted to the front grille, plus a matching green fuel tank under the bonnet. Just 1800 left the factory, and despite the 60s design, this car was actually made in 1999 - so if you can find one today they’re reliable and easy to daily drive. This is the perfect London car.

Images courtesy of Stefano Giovannoni.

Fiat Panda x Alessi

I’m breaking the rules again because Alessi isn’t strictly a fashion brand, but if you’re familiar with their exquisitely designed kitchen appliances with pops of colour and Italian flair, you’ll let me off the hook.

For this collaboration Fiat created a special edition 2004 Panda in bright colours, with a neon green interior and black and white wheels matching white bumpers, turning it into a two-tone car. They included a dashboard-mounted blackboard, for notes that simply couldn’t wait until you got home, though my favourite change was a light-up aerial mounted on the roof, making it look like a toy remote control car.