‘Street Style’: Genesis House Celebrates Iconic Designs from Runway to Roadway

N ame an award for automotive design and it’s likely that Genesis – the luxury car brand owned by Hyundai Motor Group – has won it. J. D. Power, Car and Driver, Kelley Blue Book, Edmund’s, Autotrader, IIHS, NFTSA – all of these kingmakers and more have recognized Genesis in recent years. The 2023 Genesis G90 in particular is stunning the industry, receiving Cars.com’s Best Luxury Car and Motortrend’s top luxury full-size car this year. All of which helped Hyundai CCO Luc Donckerwolke receive Newsweek’s award for “Disruptor Designer of the Year” in May.

Now, this winter, Genesis House, the company’s restaurant, showroom and library in New York’s Meatpacking District, is hosting “Street Style,” a celebration of Genesis’ extraordinary cars – as re-envisioned by seven of the city’s leading fashion designers.

There’s the G90 – their flagship executive sedan modeling the brand’s philosophy of “athletic elegance” with a refined silhouette and sophisticated interior – that’s wrapped in a surrealist floral print designed by Monse. “As a brand we often reference surrealism in our prints,” say Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia, the creative duo behind the luxury label. “For this print we wanted to create a composition where all the items are recognizable and symbolic, but put together in a way that only makes sense in a dream.”

The results are dreamlike indeed – a zipper running down the hood of the car reveals a menagerie of zebras and birds, lush flora and fauna, and vases and sculptures, all of which were painted by hand.

And there’s Christopher John Rogers’ “Gradient Dot” print that draws its inspiration from Victor Vasarely and Julio Le Parc, leading artists of the Op Art movement. Rogers has designed a number of garments in this print, which have achieved collector’s status, and its appearance on the G70 here emphasizes the radical effect of the car’s refined design. The long lines of its elegant silhouette create folds and layers on the dot pattern; the gradients and ovals draw attention to its refined symmetry. Five additional designs from Adam Lippes, Alice + Olivia, Altuzarra, Carolina Herrera and Rosie Assouline will be on view.

“Genesis House and the CFDA have a shared vision for supporting the design community, and ‘Street Style’ is the latest extension of our ongoing partnership celebrating innovation and artistry against a distinctly Korean backdrop,” says Rachel Espersen, executive director of brand experience, Genesis House and Studios, at Genesis Motor America. “With our ‘Street Style’ showroom activation, we’re excited to demonstrate the magic that’s created when the audacious design of the Genesis lineup meets the creative minds of today’s leading fashion designers.”

“Street Style” is one of several exciting events in Genesis House’s winter program. The season will also feature “The Innovation Playlab,” an immersive installation with cutting-edge robots by Boston Dynamics, including a dance-off between various Atlas models among the space’s hanji paper displays. And “Winter Lights” sees the GV60 reimagined through an interactive lighting display that transforms the vehicle’s design language into a riveting, wintery ocular phenomenon. It will also coincide with a new winter menu at Genesis House’s restaurant, whose culinary ethos is to introduce Korean hospitality to New York City.

The month-long series of events, running from 6 December to 7 January (“Winter Lights” and “The Innovation Playlab”) and 6 December to 14 January (“Street Style”) celebrates Genesis’ values as an audacious, progressive and distinctly Korean organization who seeks to give “a visual representation of innovation” – be it on the road or on the runway.

20th Century Design

The Holistic Design of Genesis House