World famous fashion designer Bea Szenfeld and a leading truck builder Svempa Bergendahl have created a ‘one of a kind’ jacket made of upcycled fan belts to celebrate truck drivers across the globe.

Inspired by the Scania Griffin symbol and created from 200 metres of reinforced fan belts from Scania, The Griffin Jacket weighs around 12kg. The Griffin Jacket has been cut into 800 feather-like shapes and stitched together.

“Knowing that the driver jacket is an iconic and favourite product for all truck drivers, we decided to initiate this collaboration. The driver jacket is not just a functional piece of clothing for the drivers, but a way of expressing individual style too. With Svempa and Bea’s amazing effort, we have created a one of a kind driver jacket to salute all professional truck drivers on the road,” said Sophie Haftor, Director of Scania Vehicle Accessories and Branding Products.

Experiential style

Bea Szenfeld, whose designs have been worn by Björk and Lady Gaga, is known for her experiential style that uses unconventional materials to create extraordinary pieces, was excited by the commission to create a unique piece of art for Scania.

“This was both a surprising and obvious collaboration. Whilst a lot of my work has involved using upcycled materials, usually paper, cutting reinforced fan belts from Scania trucks was a mammoth task and thought-provoking. It made us reimagine how we use resources and repurpose them,” commented Ms Szenfeld.

Svempa Bergendahl, who designs the world’s most famous show trucks, said: “Having designed over 500 Scania vehicles, working with Bea on the Griffin Jacket was an excellent change of pace. We wanted to create something that celebrates the driver and brings the essence of Scania to life. Nothing embodies Scania more than the Griffin, which has grown to be an iconic symbol of Scania and the most recognizable feature of the brand.”

Ready-to-wear line

Inspired by The Griffin Jacket, Scania has also designed a limited edition ready-to-wear line, featuring design elements seen in The Griffin Jacket; the dark colour palette, feather patterns and the Griffin symbol.

With drivers in mind, the collection caters to the demanding challenges faced by truck drivers daily. The collection, consisting of both women and men’s wear, was created with sustainability in mind. With material choices such as organic cotton, recycled polyester and recycled metal, the collection includes caps, key rings, t-shirts, hoodies and driver jackets.

The Griffin Jacket will be auctioned online on Barnebys, raising funds to support ActionAid, a leading international charity which works with women and girls around the world by providing support to those affected by climate and environmental changes. The auction will take place from 7-22 November.

www.scania.com