“Fashion has always been one of my passions. I’ve loved trying to express myself with the way I dress. I’ve always wanted, at some point in my life, to be involved in a fashion project.”
Charles Leclerc, the Monégasque who races for the Ferrari Formula 1 team, is explaining why he is launching a collection of clothes and accessories under the banner of the famous prancing horse.
“Being a Ferrari driver for quite a few years now and seeing Rocco joining the family and opening a whole new part of Ferrari, embracing the lifestyle of it, was super interesting. We had a discussion about a collaboration.” Rocco refers to Rocco Iannone, the creative director of Ferrari, who joined the company in 2019 and is responsible for designing its fashion collections and developing all things non-automotive to do with the brand.
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Leclerc says the beige zip-up hoodie best represents his personal style
“The whole goal of it was to represent not Charles the driver but Charles the person,” Leclerc explains. In this respect the new collection is less catwalk and more streetwear, less red carpet and more chilling in your crib. Or motorhome.
Leclerc is something of a reluctant superstar. Naturally reserved, he is unembarrassed about how much he loves his dachshund, Leo, and confesses to writing songs on a Steinway Model B piano. But fashion design is a passion, and he’s been wanting to develop a collection for a while now. It just took Iannone to help make it a reality.
“This wardrobe is the perfect fusion of aesthetics, design and functionality, encapsulating both Charles’s unique spirit and the essence of Ferrari,” Iannone says. “Together we’ve crafted a sporty, contemporary look.”
“It was all new to me, so it was supercool to see behind the scenes of the fashion world,” Leclerc says. “It [the collection] takes my feelings as its starting point — the things I feel most comfortable with. What are the colours that define me as a person? For me, it’s blue, it’s white, it’s beige — colours which remind me of the Riviera and Monaco, places that are part of me.” Leclerc was born and bred in Monte Carlo, and the sunny Mediterranean municipality has clearly made its mark on the casual, laid-back style of the driver.
“Then, once you have done this,” he continues, “it’s all about the textiles. We continued the discussion with Rocco to come up with different techniques… like the way we’ve done the denim, for example.”
The tie-dye treatment applied to the denim suggests clouds
Denim is key to the collection, and Iannone explains that this is where the two men really connect. In particular he talks of expressing the spirit of the Riviera through a tie-dye treatment applied to the denim that suggests clouds.
As well as the denim jeans and jackets there is an entire wardrobe of staples here, drawn from what Leclerc likes to wear — T-shirts and sweatshirts with motifs that reference racing, trousers in cotton with ample pockets, parkas, tops that display the letter L in relief, fashioned from technical yarns, and even styles that mimic driver racing suits.
But it is the hoodie that seems to be the favourite of both the F1 pilot and the creative director. Iannone calls it the collection’s hero product, and Leclerc says the beige zip-up hoodie best represents his personal style.
The hoodie, the collection’s “hero product”, is the favourite of both the F1 driver and the creative director
“I’ve always felt particularly comfortable with hoodies, and more so recently,” he explains. The appeal is not just aesthetic. “F1 is on the global stage and my life has changed a lot from ten years ago when I was just a “normal” person. The hood is a way for me to hide, to protect myself and be a bit more discreet.”
He also likes the colours: “It’s a colour palette I love to wear.” As well as beige, the collection employs navy, light blue and white. All pieces carry the Ferrari x Charles Leclerc label that features the white and red of the flag of Monaco.
To complete the offer there are accessories including sunglasses and baseball caps, as well as sneakers and driving gloves. Three handcrafted limited edition travel trunks are also available, in brown leather and with jacquard linings. One is a portable wardrobe to hold clothing, one a case for a crash helmet and a smaller one carries sunglasses and watches. There’s also a new version of the Nello, the Ferrari Tool Case bag, in the same leather as the three luggage pieces, which is decorated with metal bolts.
Intriguingly, it’s not only human customers that the young driver has in his sights. Leo the dachshund has not been forgotten. As well as a Ferrari x Charles Leclerc collar and lead, your pet can have a hoodie like your own from the collection. Now that’s what we call a total look.
The Ferrari x Charles Leclerc collection is available at store.ferrari.com, at the Ferrari boutiques in Maranello, Milan, Rome and Miami, and at the Ferrari pop-up at the Fairmont hotel in Monte Carlo
