Mercedes-Benz has teamed up with Swedish designer Gustaf Westman to transform the CLA Class into a soft-toned spectacle, and the result is anything but ordinary. As the second installment in the automaker’s Class of Creators series, the pastel pink CLA it a rolling installation of Westman’s signature aesthetic.
CARS
Launching May 23, the collaboration delivers a modified Mercedes-Benz CLA that feels straight out of a candy-colored dream. Westman’s version of the four-door coupé features reimagined wing mirrors, a fold-out picnic table, and even a rooftop ten, tailored for road trips that don’t take themselves too seriously. The project straddles art and functionality, elevating the car beyond transportation into an experience that’s personal, nostalgic, and joyfully impractical.
At the core of the design is the meeting of Mercedes-Benz’s sculptural lines and Westman’s chunky visual language. Known for creating bulbous, oversized furniture and candy-colored decor, Westman brings the same playfulness to the CLA with soft forms and unexpected additions. The pastel paint job alone makes it unmissable on the road, but the small interventions, the tent, the mirrors, the table, feel like winks to anyone who knows his work.
To accompany the car, Westman created a capsule collection of lifestyle objects echoing the collaboration. Key items include The Star Plate, a divided dish that’s as charming as it is functional; The Chunky Picnic Blanket, ready for park afternoons; The Wing Mirror, reimagined as a decorative object; and The Hot Dog Plate, which leans fully into the designer’s humor and love for nostalgic forms. Each piece shares the same soft pink tone and cheeky sensibility that ties the project together.
“The project merges Mercedes-Benz’s design language with Westman’s signature chunky aesthetic,” the official press release states. “Soft lines, saturated color and impractical yet necessary functions.” That tension between useful and playful sits at the heart of this collaboration, creating a space where design doesn’t need to be serious to be smart.
Westman follows Ice Spice as the second creator in the Class of Creators initiative. The campaign will ultimately feature five global collaborators, chosen from across music, gaming, design, and art. Each is tasked with reimagining the CLA through their personal lens, opening up the conversation about what a car can be in a creative context. Where Ice Spice brought cultural cachet, Westman delivers visual storytelling grounded in fun and form.
The car and capsule collection are both on view at Protein Studios in Shoreditch during a two-day pop-up running May 23–24. Fans can also shop the collection online through Gustaf Westman’s website. Whether you’re there for the picnic blanket or the pink CLA itself, the message is clear: design doesn’t have to be neutral, and this summer, a little pink goes a long way.
