[Source: BMW Group, Sept 09 2011, Munich]
Canadian design duo DSQUARED2 and MINI have joined forces in the battle against HIV/AIDS. With their “Red Mudder Foulard by MINI & DSQUARED2” they are presenting a flamboyant neck scarf in a strictly limited edition. This high-quality collectors’ item will be available in the MINI Online Shop at www.mini.com/shop ( www.dsquared2.com) from 16 September with a price tag of 50 euros, with part of the proceeds going to AIDS LIFE.
This non-profit organization is the driving force behind the Life Ball, Europe’s biggest AIDS charity event, and supports projects that combat the immunodeficiency disease. The collaboration with MINI is a longstanding one: since 2001 more than half a million euros has been raised for this organization by specially styled Life Ball MINI models.
The motif on this fashionable accessory is based on the sketch of the MINI ‘Red Mudder’, which the creative twins Dean and Dan Caten designed for this year’s Life Ball – Europe’s leading AIDS charity event. The rugged off-roader, featuring a maple leaf on both doors and the DSQUARED2 logo on the front windscreen and tires, bears the unmistakable signature of the design duo. The license plate displays the birth year of the brothers, who have immortalized themselves with characteristic irony in the two raccoons hanging onto the roof rails. The scarf comes in an elegant black box embellished with the DSQUARED2 and MINI logo.
“Our scarf is the new season’s must-have for all fashion lovers who not only want to look good but are also active and committed types,” say Dean and Dan.
The “Red Mudder Foulard by MINI & DSQUARED2” celebrated its official premiere on the occasion of Vogue Fashion’s Night Out in Milan on 8 September. The first examples of the limited-edition scarf changed hands during the exclusive cocktail party in the DSQUARED2 store.
DSQUARED2 and MINI.
Dean and Dan have long been dedicated fans of the MINI brand. Last year, freely based on the slogan “Time to pack my… MINI Countryman”, they kitted out the MINI crossover model with what they regarded as the essential travel accoutrements for a perfect weekend: for the 2011 Life Ball the two designers stamped their own look on a MINI Cooper S. The MINI ‘Red Mudder’ is a robust vehicle that is suitably equipped for any adventure that may come its way.
The social commitment of the BMW Group.
Worldwide measures to combat HIV/AIDS are one of the main elements of the corporate and social policy pursued by the BMW Group. The company’s involvement in South Africa is particularly wide-ranging, covering a comprehensive workplace program for employees and their families, plus a number of different projects in the local communities and further afield. The car-maker is also committed to fighting this pandemic in other affected countries, such as Thailand or India. Membership of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GBC) underlines its long-term commitment at its various locations.
Today, MINI became the first car brand in the Netherlands to open an official Brand store, which offers a large assortment of MINI accessories and lifestyle articles. Visitors can also compose their own MINI on a large screen.
We’ve never seen Queens guards that look like this, and don’t know if they’ll be participating in the change of guard ceremonies at the palace or what-not, but then again they are much more pleasant to look at than the usual stuffy old men in big black fluffy hats that we are used to seeing.
