• by Tanya Gazdik , Yesterday

Ford Motor Co.’s collaboration with contemporary clothing company alice + olivia goes beyond adding Ford logos to clothing. 

A limited-edition 10-piece capsule aims to fuse the Ford Bronco SUV’s adventurous DNA with the fashion brand’s bold and expressive aesthetic, according to the automaker.

The project extends beyond fashion to vehicle design. The Ford Brand Design team worked closely with alice + olivia to translate its creative assets into two custom-designed Broncos, the "Storm Floral Edition" and "Denim Chevron Edition." 

The concept vehicles feature innovative materials like gold-painted hardware and marine-grade vinyl that mimics denim. The custom-designed Broncos will tour the Hamptons this summer, culminating in an auction benefiting God’s Love We Deliver, a nonprofit that provides meals to seriously ill New Yorkers.

Other pieces in the fashion capsule feature statement denim, vintage-inspired graphic tees and digitally printed silks influenced by classic Bronco ads and Americana.

“Partnering with alice + olivia, a brand that embodies female self-expression, uniqueness, and freedom, is an opportunity to show women that, yes, they can conquer deserts dunes and mountain paths and forest trails, but can also enjoy Bronco on a beach, doors off, roof off, being free and having fun,” writes Lori Maday, Ford’s global creative director, brand design, in a blog post on the Ford From the Road website. “That’s also Bronco. As a woman in the auto industry, that opportunity spoke to me. Because Ford reaching women as they want to be reached is as important as women reaching Ford.”

The mission of Ford’s Brand Design team  is to build the systems that shape how Ford tells its story visually. 

“Unlike our standard projects where vehicle design is the immediate focus, this collaboration originated with alice + olivia's merchandise line,” Madey says. “They provided distinctive creative assets — bold designs and patterns — and our task was to translate that energy onto and into the Bronco without sacrificing any of the Go Over Any Type of Terrain capability that’s been a Bronco hallmark for 60 years. The result is style, color, and material choices that show Bronco in a different light, just as we intended.”

One of the team members charged with completing the project was Adam Mohamed, Ford’s global brand expressionist, who spent 15 years in fashion working with brands like Macy's, Bloomingdale's, and Gap Inc. before joining Ford. Madison LaLonde, one of Ford’s designers, took the lead on the design vision, diving deep into alice + olivia’s ethos and consumer mindset. 

The collaboration proves Bronco can do style and luxury without sacrificing hallmarks like capability and functionality, she says. 

“Taking these concepts from sketches to rolling artwork showed us that Bronco partnerships don't have to fit a single mold,” Madey says. “I hope that when people see these vehicles, they not only see alice + olivia's designs, but that unexpected collaborations can speak to new audiences in their own language.”