The French fashion house Christian Dior and the Italian car manufacturer Piaggio were founded in 1946. In 2021, they both turned 75. The collaboration between the two houses to mark the anniversary reflects fashion style and technical sophistication. With the Vespa Dior, the new noble scooter was born.
The Vespa culture
With the Vespa, the world moves. The Vespa is a passion. It connects people and cultures. The “wasp”, as Enrico Piaggio called the prototype, has accompanied the youth, music, culture and lifestyle scene for decades. It has become synonymous with the scooter and part of the global world.
The Dior fashion house
The fashion house named after its founder was founded in 1946, the year in which the Vespa was created. The Dior style of luxury fashion influenced emancipated women. The designs were taken up by the mass market. Dior is one of the world’s leading fashion brands. For women, it is the Haute Couture collection as well as the ready-to-wear line such as leather goods, handbags, perfumes and accessories. Men know the Dior Men line and children into their teens have the Baby Dior collection.
The Vespa 946
The design study in 2011 was reminiscent of the first Vespa from 1946 and came with a new air-cooled three-valve four-stroke engine with 125 and 150 cc. The interest of the riders was overwhelming. It went into series production.
The Vespa had a chassis made of sheet steel. The front mudguard, the handlebars and the side covers were made of an aluminium alloy. For safety, an anti-lock braking system (ABS) and traction control (ASR) are integrated. In addition, the headlights are equipped with LED lamps.
The Vespa Dior
The joint anniversary made the collaboration perfect. The noble scooter was born. The world was to be given a new vision of innovation and creativity for the anniversary, according to the motto of both companies. The limited-edition special model could be reserved and was available for purchase in selected Dior boutiques and selected Piaggio Motoplex stores at the end of April 2021. The Noble Vespa will be offered in Germany, Italy, France and England at the jubilant price of 18,000 euros. A Dior bag comes with it.
The details of the Noble Vespa
The House of Dior made the luxury scooter even more noble by means of selective touches. The metallic add-on parts and the rim shoulders are gold anodised. The floating saddle and the handlebar grips are made of fine blue leather with tone-in-tone stitching. The shopping hook under the seat nose is a hanging device with an exclusive CD logo. Optional accessories in the coveted Dior Oblique motif include a top box, shopping bag or jet helmet. The patterned top case, designed by Marc Bohan in 1967, was attached to the luggage rack and makes the noble scooter unmistakable.
A look into the future
With its subtle graphic lines, the Christian Dior scooter continues to pay tribute to the heritage of both houses for many years to come. It reflects the joint commitment to excellent as well as detailed craftsmanship. The anniversary Vespa was designed by Maria Grazia Chiuri, the designer of the women’s collection. The Dior scooter combines superb savoir-faire with sporty elegance.
The timeless and striking design, inspired by 1946, is the showpiece of Italian scooter design for all eternity.
Source of the cover picture: www.vespa.com
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