Porsche and Boss want to turbocharge your wardrobe

Style and motorsports have had a love affair for a long time highlighted by Hollywood and style icons like Steve McQueen. Fifty years ago the actor shot a very famous film sequence featuring a Porsche in a racing movie called Le Mans where he played an effortlessly cool driver for the sports car company. McQueen’s passion project has since become a cult classic.

A racing enthusiast even off screen, you still would have found the star behind the wheel of some fast car dressed in his signature well-made leather jacket, casual cardigan or blazer and classic trousers. A quote from a television interview sums it up: “I can really only relax when I’m racing. I loosen up at high speeds”, McQueen once said. Believed to also have said that racing is life, two design giants echo his sentiment and may have even unwittingly given a nod to McQueen, a few times.

Boss has been kitting out the Porsche Formula E (an electric racing team) and the global motorsport team, both on the track and in their workshops, as their official apparel partner since 2018. Even decades before that, in 1975, Boss once supported Jochen Mass, a German racing driver and also backed German-Finnish world champion Nico Rosberg.

Now all fans and trendsetters have the chance to enjoy the sleek lines of a menswear collection inspired by the aesthetics of a Porsche sports car.

References to the iconic racing machine are unmistakable in the strong capsule range. Of course, black and red dominate the colour palette with a bold and dark olive as another anchor for the autumn and winter campaign.

But the other more subtle choices include curved seams that echo the cars silhouette, a perfectly cut crew-neck tee or polo, fit for performance or drawstring waist pants finished with racing stripes as a detail.

Highlight pieces include a matte black matte outwear jacket that reverses to a glossy red puffer design and glossy mixed leather sneakers. You can’t escape just how much they recall the luxurious interior and exterior of the super car with its embossed branding.

Down to the key pocket inside every jacket on the left-hand side, which corresponds to the position of the ignition, while the racing stripe taping instantly mimics the car’s distinctive backlights.

The hoodies made from durable mercerised cotton lend a younger and modern feel to any look and have been crafted with cutting edge design technology that make them smart and sustainable.

Relaxed but also effortlessly confident, denim and jersey fabrics join tailoring and leather in this new creative collection. Even the slim-fit blazer is made from stretch fabric.

The hybrid zip-through knit cardigan is super-light with channel-quilted nylon front panel and matches the aerodynamic grooves of the Porsche Taycan, which features in the campaign film. To add here that this all-electric “hypercar” goes from zero to 160 in 2.4 seconds. Everything the two design titans have chosen seems to reinforce German engineering but always with a sense of playfulness.

Boss has always loved sports - from football to golf to sailing - but motor racing as its longest relationship, has always been especially dynamic.

As Formula E’s return is anticipated for November, and the clothing items are available in store, all of a sudden even racing track and runway feel interchangeable. 

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For more information, visit the Hugo Boss website.

This article was sponsored by Hugo Boss.