Exclusive: Gentle Monster Is Ready to Race With Disney and F1
Bobby Hundreds breaks down the bold campaign and offers a first look at the trio’s upcoming collection.
When Disney and Formula 1 debuted their new partnership last year, the first question many asked was, “Why are these the right fit?” We unpacked the question with Disney Consumer Products’ new vice president of creative for the Americas, Bobby Kim, aka Bobby Hundreds. After bringing Disney magic to life at the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, the two are now racing to another level by teaming up with Gentle Monster.
With the Disney x F1 foundation now established, Gentle Monster demonstrates the limitless potential of bringing these two titans together. A total of eight eyewear pairs across five distinct designs offer a range unlike anything Disney has created in its 103-year history. The optical specialists have leveraged sharp geometry to craft eye-catching canvases that channel the logomania of racing gear with prominent co-branding and thematic motifs.
Speaking on the high-energy combination of Gentle Monster and Disney x F1, Bobby Hundreds reconnected with us to discuss how the teams orchestrated this unapologetically bold collection, his creative vision for Disney, the magic behind Gentle Monster, and more.
Enjoy this exclusive first look at the collaboration and stay tuned for updates.
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How is the “Fuel the Magic” campaign expanding with new partners?
When I joined Disney, Gentle Monster was a pinnacle brand that I aspired to work with. It surprised me that it came to life through Disney and F1, but it makes complete sense now. You take two heritage brands that are at the cutting edge of innovation, let Gentle Monster bridge the two, and it all clicks.
By bringing in Gentle Monster, we’re opening up the scope for our campaign. It’s important for us to focus on top-tier partners with established names in fashion, toys, and other product spaces we work with.
Why pair Disney with F1 and Gentle Monster?
F1 is a tribal sport; you have a favorite team and driver, and it’s about whose side you’re on. Having Mickey and Friends walk into this space as the team everyone roots for — the dots all connected.
When you introduce Gentle Monster into the conversation, the tone shifts. Fans of the brand are sophisticated in fashion and knowledgeable in design. They appreciate its high standards and vision around product as they continue to push the envelope with eyewear.
Utilizing F1 as the vehicle for Gentle Monster and Disney to travel in is perfect. As a global sport, F1 brings many worlds together interculturally and allows for dynamic projects like this to come to life.
“The Gentle Monster team is insightful and imagine boundlessly — very much in the Disney way.”
What was it like working with Gentle Monster?
At Disney, we are the masters of art and design. From Imagineering to products, parks, and films that we bring to the big screen. We see a similar mastery demonstrated by Gentle Monster in eyewear.
To me, the Gentle Monster team is composed of utter geniuses. After working closely with them, I’m an even deeper and more passionate fan of the brand. They are insightful and imagine boundlessly — very much in the Disney way.
If you’re a fan of design and look at what Gentle Monster is doing, it’s about incredible, distinct designs. Beyond that, there’s a theater to the presentation that extends the brand experience. Again, just like Disney, you have three pillars of product, experience, and content, with each one informing the other. Applying our vision through the lens of Gentle Monster has been refreshing.
Logan Fairbrother/Hypebeast
Logan Fairbrother/Hypebeast
Logan Fairbrother/Hypebeast
Logan Fairbrother/Hypebeast
Logan Fairbrother/Hypebeast
How did you strike a balance between Gentle Monster and your team’s creativity?
As a global creative director, I architected the overall vision for Disney x F1, defining what it looks like and stands for. You have the high-level aesthetics that set the tone, as well as an honoring of brand guidelines. After establishing a foundation, Gentle Monster ran with it, translating our concept into their glasses.
How does operating as a heritage brand add complexity to a partner’s creative flow?
Collaboration is an interesting design process from Disney’s perspective. We do everything from putting brand guardrails in place to offering nuance on why a character is drawn a specific way and how it has shown up on product in the past. The key is ensuring each project stands apart from anything we’ve ever done. We have to honor the generations of hands and minds that have steered Disney to where we are today.
“The most interesting part of this collaboration was that Gentle Monster understood the rules yet still managed to break them and define new expectations.”
What else can we expect from the collection?
We landed on eight pairs across five different styles. They’re very novel and feel like Disney x F1. You’ll be able to tell from a mile away that a pair is from the collection, and I love it. That’s why we would work with a brand like Gentle Monster. If we wanted a traditional pair of eyewear, we could have pursued that with any number of designers.
Gentle Monster has never been about taking the road most traveled. What we wanted to accomplish together was to create product that is unexpected. We’ve encouraged our partners to think beyond the boundaries of what you consider to be traditional Disney merchandise.
The most interesting part of this collaboration was that Gentle Monster understood the rules yet still managed to break them and define new expectations for what we can expect from Disney and fashion. These are some of the products that I am most proud of since starting at Disney. I’m hopeful that they are emblematic of the types of design work you will see from us moving forward.
