Tokyo, 24 June 2021 — Maserati and Hiroshi Fujiwara, the Japanese godfather of street culture, come together for a partnership that crosses geographical and disciplinary borders into the unexplored territories of audacity, in a realm beyond which music is embodied in the form of a car and rule-breaking is allowed. Born from this collaboration and presented in an exclusive global première in Tokyo, an artwork in the form of a melodic duet, Operanera and Operabianca, two contrasting evocations of a Special Edition of Maserati Ghibli.
The partnership is fruit of the capabilities of the Maserati Fuoriserie customisation program, which permits customers to create their own Maserati, tailored to their unique tastes. The car is more than a simple object, it becomes a tailor-made garment, to be proudly worn on the road and along the streets of the world as an extension of oneself, and a symbol of contemporary luxury. Hiroshi Fujiwara is a revered trendsetter, a maverick. Pioneer/ of the streetwear culture of Tokyo in 1980s, he was one of the first DJs to import hip hop into the Land of the Rising Sun, and as a producer and musician he has worked with international recording stars. As a visual artist he specialises in expressing aspects of the urban experience moods. Like Maserati, he has the ability to break down barriers and be audacious. In the spirit of ‘itanji’ which means ‘non-conformist’ two audacious brands have come together uniting Italian design and Japanese perfection to generate an unexpected limited edition car.
Maserati’s style and Hiroshi Fuijwara’s character share a universal recognisability. Today, the encounter between the visual codes of Maserati and the street style of Hiroshi’s brand, Fragment, gives birth to a creative partnership which is a duet in the truest sense of the term: Maserati meets Fragment.
A song on wheels, based on the Ghibli sports sedan in Granlusso trim and created in two exclusive looks. A total of 175 cars for global distribution: Ghibli Operanera and Ghibli Operabianca. They are a bitonal duo, one in a glossy/opaque black and in glossy white and opaque black.
The uniformity of colour applies not only to the exteriors but also to the body-colour wheels and handles. The interiors, on the other hand, are in premium leather and Alcantara, with contrasting silver inserts for the vertical stitching and the Trident on the headrests. The seat belts are dark blue. The front grille is the iconic detail of this partnership: Fujiwara’s metropolitan style is reflected in a specific grille and in the logo, adapted uniquely for this edition. To complete the exteriors, Ghibli Operanera and Ghibli Operabianca are fitted with 20” Urano matte black wheels and a specific badge with the Fragment logo on the C pillar.
Last but not least, the code M157110519FRG appears underneath the three iconic side air ducts. This alphanumeric tag seals the partnership: the first four characters are the Ghibli ID code, the next six numbers record the date of the first meeting (5 November 2019) between Hiroshi and the Centro Stile Maserati, and the final three letters are the acronym of Fragment.
The launch of the car is accompanied by a capsule collection that will be available at Maserati Official channels. Iconic items designed in association with Hiroshi Fujiwara in the same unconventional spirit as the car itself.
