Brooklyn-based art collective MSCHF has partnered with Mercedes–AMG for an unexpected collision of automotive engineering and radical design. Launching during NYCxDesign 2025, the collaborative project titled MSCHF x AMG: Not for Automotive Use features a sculptural furniture collection that transforms high-performance car components into experimental design pieces. The show runs May 14–17 at MSCHF’s Brooklyn studio, marking the first time the collective has opened its doors to the public.
FURNITURE
The collection repurposes actual Mercedes-AMG parts into irreverent domestic forms like chairs, standing lights, bins, and more. Each object is produced on a made-to-order basis and draws inspiration from the 1960s Radical Design movement in Italy, particularly the work of Achille Castiglioni, known for his playful use of industrial materials. The collaboration balances AMG’s mechanical precision with MSCHF’s disruptive, anti-functional aesthetic.
Alongside the sculptural works, MSCHF and AMG are debuting a limited apparel and accessories capsule. The collection features graphic T-shirts and outerwear printed with engine scan imagery, as well as an unconventional fragrance tree shaped like an apple tree, a cheeky nod to Affalterbach, AMG’s German hometown, whose name translates to “apple tree brook.”
Held at 62 Bayard Street in Brooklyn, the show offers a rare opportunity to explore MSCHF’s physical space, typically closed to outside visitors. The project joins a growing list of cross-disciplinary events redefining NYCxDesign as a platform for conceptual experimentation and cultural crossover.
Whether interpreted as a design stunt or a genuine experiment in recontextualization, MSCHF x AMG: Not for Automotive Use offers an unexpected twist to design week. It reframes luxury car parts as domestic artifacts, stripping them of their function while preserving their symbolism, an apt metaphor for the exhibition’s broader mission.
