Australia’s most iconic beer has joined forces with Australian designers Strateas Carlucci to create a range of luxury clothing and take knock-off drinks to stylish new heights.

The collection debuted this evening at Paypal’s Melbourne Fashion Festival, surprising the well-heeled crowd as models strutted the catwalk in a range of VB-inspired t-shirts, knitwear and much more.

Designed and produced locally in Melbourne, the collection draws on the heritage of VB – incorporating vintage fabrics and the ‘hard earned thirst’ tagline along with images of VB cans and posters. It is combined with Strateas Carlucci’s renowned androgynous style to create a range of unique designs for lovers of VB and high fashion.

VB Head of Classic Brands, Hayden Turner, says they are proud to partner with the fashion powerhouse Strateas Carlucci, a brand that shares many of the same core values.

“The unexpected collaboration brings together two brands that were born in Victoria to redefine the knock-off occasion”, said Turner.

“We know the notion of the knock-off has evolved with work days changing and social outings not being taken for granted. It isn’t just about enjoying a beer, it’s also about bringing style to the occasion”, concluded Turner.

For PeterStrateasand Mario-Luca Carlucci, this is more than a fashion collaboration, with the pair having personal ties to the brand.

“Collaborating with an iconic Australian brand like VB is incredibly sentimental for both of us. The VB long-neck bottle brings back many feelings of nostalgia. Our grandfathers would re-use the VB longnecks when making home-made tomato sauce and enjoyed many a VB over knock-off drinks”, said Mario-Luca.

“We wanted to create a range that challenges the stereotype of traditional ‘workwear’, swapping high vis for high fashion to create unique designs to help VB drinkers knock off in style.”

“VB is more than just a beer, it’s engrained into our Aussie culture. and we wanted to ensure this was reflected in the prints and heritage references we’ve included in the pieces whilst also remaining true to our signature style”, concluded Peter.

The capsule collection is underpinned by three pillars:

FABRIC PRINTS
Inspired by the heritage of VB and humble beginnings of a person’s story, Strateas Carlucci took an archival image of a VB can and morphed this into two faces. These faces for the designers represent modern Australia, and how this idea has evolved over time. The scrunched image also represents the idea of a crushed VB can, however, also ties into the concept of ‘redaction’, where they eliminate key details via the crushing of the image, to encourage the viewer to look at other details of the image.

KNITWEAR
The artworks for the knitwear were inspired by archival VB posters and advertising. The wording and phrases from these posters are used to create a new updated version.

ACCESSORIES
Using the redacted words ‘HARD / THIRST’ and the Strateas Carlucci logo on the back of the caps, this piece will complete any fashion look.

For fans wishing to get their hands on a piece of VB history, the limited-edition capsule will be made-to-order. To place your order, head tohttp://victoriabitter.com.au/merch/limitededition/SCxVBfor your chance to own your very own VB x Strateas Carlucci items.