Ferrari and Swizz Beatz take New York by storm with a collection that reimagines the Prancing Horse For the opening of its first SoHo flagship store, the brand has signed a very special capsule collection
On November 12, Ferrari will inaugurate the first permanent Ferrari Style flagship store in New York in SoHo, and to mark the occasion the brand has created a limited-edition capsule curated by record producer and Ferrari collector Swizz Beatz, designed together with the brand's Lifestyle Creative Director, Rocco Iannone. A project that sets Maranello and New York in dialogue — fashion and music, Italian craftsmanship and the energy of the Big Apple. To hear how this project came about, we met with the two of them, and each explained it from their own perspective.
The city as a nexus between different worlds
Why New York? For Ferrari, the answer lies in a long-standing relationship built on enterprise, competition, design and culture. «SoHo, in particular, represents one of the city's artistic and creative epicentres — a place where different cultures, languages and disciplines meet and cross-pollinate», explains Iannone. «That is precisely why we chose this neighbourhood for our first permanent flagship. The opening of the store gives our bond with the city a new contemporary expression and creates a new point of connection between Maranello and New York.»
On the other side of the Atlantic, that same bond began very early. Swizz Beatz, record producer, collector and "friend of the House," recalls growing up in New York with the Prancing Horse as an almost natural presence in the landscape. «I fell in love with Ferrari the first time I saw it on a poster — I think it was the Testarossa», he remembers. «Then I saw it on TV shows and thought: this car is incredible, I want one. But I was too young.» The first Ferrari he drove through the streets of New York was a yellow 360 Modena. «And from there, a real passion began.» Today, he admits with a smile, he has lost count: «More than twenty.»
Rather than a traditional collaboration, the work was approached curatorially. It started from Swizz Beatz's perspective as a collector — someone who moves naturally between art, music, cars, fashion and culture — to build a coherent narrative made up of references, materials and details. «Fashion, music and art are brothers and sisters», he says. «When you make music, it's a form of art; when you make fashion, it's a form of art. Working with Rocco was like making a record — a hit record. How do you make a hit record? You choose the best elements for the artist. In this case, the right elements for New York and for the opening of such an important store.»
The result had to feel local and global at once: «We wanted the colours to make you feel like you're in New York, for the energy to be that of the city, but with international appeal.» For Iannone, it is precisely this exchange that makes the project exciting: «New York thrives on cultural exchange and cross-pollination, and Swizz Beatz moves naturally between art, music, fashion and cars. This allowed us to look at Ferrari from a different perspective, while maintaining a clear and recognisable language.»
Reconditioned by Ferrari
The capsule was created within the framework of Reconditioned by Ferrari: pieces and accessories from past seasons are recovered, reworked and reinvented through handcrafted techniques, extending their lifecycle and giving shape to entirely new designs. «We started from some of Ferrari's most immediately recognisable codes: colour, materials, craftsmanship, technical precision and the Prancing Horse», says Iannone. «But we brought them into a different context — through reconditioned materials, artisanal workmanship and New York-inspired patches. The goal was not to reproduce Ferrari's symbols in a conventional way, but to transform them, giving them a new surface, depth and identity.»
It is an approach that also shapes the way the collection was conceived: «We approached the capsule in the spirit of reinvention, transforming existing Ferrari pieces into something entirely new. Every creation carries this spirit of transformation, and it could only have come to life for a dynamic and creative city like New York.» Swizz Beatz immediately ruled out the most obvious route — drawing inspiration from one of his cars. «At first I thought about incorporating one of the cars into the design, but that would have been too literal, too predictable. We looked at what worked best, at what felt right, without basing it on any particular car.»
The collection includes men's and women's ready-to-wear in leather, denim and jersey. Key pieces include a leather bomber jacket, the iconic Ferrari Suit inspired by racing overalls, a sculptural women's jumpsuit with an American-armhole neckline, a denim jacket to be paired with jeans or a midi skirt, and a selection of refined jersey essentials. Throughout the capsule, Nero Purosangue — Ferrari's distinctive shade — is set against New York-inspired graphics and patches. Accessories include special editions of the Ferrari Dino Bag in bowling, top-handle and mini versions, alongside two baseball caps featuring exclusive details developed for the collaboration.
The season also guided the styling choices. «In New York, during the period when we're launching the collection, we wanted a warmer palette suited to the season», observes Swizz Beatz. «Brown gives you warmth, makes you feel at home, and I like it. It's easy — it doesn't try too hard. With Rocco's taste and mine, the principle is "less is more": something easy to wear, easy on the eye, with an exceptionally high level of quality and design.»
Each style is offered in a run of three to nine pieces and carries a dedicated Limited Edition label. But for Ferrari, rarity alone is not enough. «Exclusivity is not simply a matter of scarcity. It comes from the meaning, the specificity and the identity of an object», states Iannone. «This capsule was created for New York and emerges from a very precise cultural and creative dialogue. The limited scale reinforces that bond, but what truly matters is the personal relationship each person can build with these objects, making them part of their own identity.»
Passion and the future
If fashion and automotive seem like distant worlds, Swizz Beatz identifies the point of contact in mindset. «I think we share the passion for being the best. I want to be the best at what I do, Rocco is the best at what he does, and Ferrari is certainly the best at what it does. It's the winning spirit: pushing limits, taking risks, understanding that life begins where your comfort zone ends.»
For Iannone, fashion is just one of the languages within a broader ecosystem. «My role as Lifestyle Creative Director goes beyond fashion. The goal for the future is to continue building a coherent dialogue across all the touchpoints of our Lifestyle ecosystem, interpreting the Ferrari universe through different disciplines with a clear and recognisable creative vision. The most interesting challenge is making them speak to one another, while continuing to expand Ferrari's creative vocabulary in a consistent and authentic way.»