Anybody who has spent any time on the streets of a major Indonesian city in the last few years would instantly be able to discern which of the many motorcyclists on the road work as ojeks (motorcycle taxi drivers) for the country’s biggest ride-hailing service, Go-Jek, by the distinctive green jackets that serve as the company’s uniform.
The ubiquity of the Go-Jek jacket is such a familiar sight in Indonesia that netizens here were quick to notice when luxury designer Gucci’s new collection featured a men’s jacket that bears an uncanny resemblance to that of the ride-hailing unicorn’s uniforms.
https://twitter.com/amasna/status/1014675303493300224
https://twitter.com/MSTPND/status/1014679050072162304
Gojek = Gucci pic.twitter.com/UK3gWNGqgD
— Alex (@alexsetiawan02) July 5, 2018
Besides the jacket’s strong resemblance to the commonplace ojek driver attire, netizens were also shocked by the jacket’s eye-popping US$1,500 (IDR21 million) price tag .
But, to be fair, Gucci’s “Tiger patch technical jersey jacket” doesn’t look exactly like the Go-Jek design. The patterns are a bit different and, of course, the Gucci doesn’t have the Go-Jek logos, motorcycle images, etc.
Instead, it has this snazzy image of a tiger on the back (which we assume is made out of actual tiger fur, given the cost).
Much as we’d like to say this luxury apparel was inspired by the look of our homegrown ride-hailing heroes, we think it’s more likely the designer was cribbing style notes from the iconic scorpion jacket worn by Ryan Gosling in “Driver” (yes, it’s white instead of green, but they’ve both seem to be going for the same 80’s retro-so-cheesy-it’s-cool look with the ridiculous animal patches on the back).
This isn’t even the first time that Indonesian netizens have pointed out a similarity between a piece of ridiculously expensive luxury apparel and the Go-Jek jacket. Last year, Hermes released a green and black jacket that some online also joked bore a striking resemblance to Go-Jek’s getup.
As integral as Go-Jek’s jackets have become as a part of the company’s brand in Indonesia, the green and black designs are apparently being abandoned abroad when the company soon launches its new expansions in Vietnam and Thailand (named Go-Viet and GET, respectively) which will use new localized branding designs and color schemes.
