Mercedes - a new fashion star is born
As part of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin Spring/Summer 2009 the ‘Mercedes,’ will be conferred for the first time on July 19, 2008.
The new award will honour exceptional personalities in the international fashion scene in three categories: Platinum, Best Collection and Newcomer. In an extraordinary fashion show, top international models will present fashions exclusively designed for ELLE as well as selected favourites of renowned designers including Chanel, Armani, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and Jil Sander.
“We’re delighted to be able to add another highlight to Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin as part of the ELLE Fashion Star event,” says Dr. Olaf Göttgens, Vice-President Brand Communications Mercedes-Benz Cars. “Our aim with the ‘Mercedes’ award is to honour extraordinary contributions to international fashion design while emphasizing the perfect match of Mercedes-Benz and fashion.”
“I’m proud of the fact that these great designers are appearing together on one runway in our honour,” says Sabine Nedelchev, Editor-in-Chief, ELLE Germany.
Backed by the brand name’s rich heritage, the Mercedes statuettes bear the time-honoured Mercedes emblem on their bases. They have been drafted, modelled and produced at the Mercedes-Benz Design Centre in Sindelfingen (Germany) by design strategist Matthias Runar and modeller Heike Fladung. “While creating Mercedes, we’ve demonstrated that the creative design process, whether for cars, fashion or art, follows similar principles. All draw on the same sources of inspiration. We’re very sensitive to zeitgeist and current trends, and that gets reflected in our products,” explains Prof. Peter Pfeiffer, Senior Vice-President Design.
Award categories
# Platinum – honouring a fashion designer’s extraordinary lifetime contribution
# Best Collection – awarded to the season’s best collection
# Newcomer – awarded to the most talented upcoming fashion designer
The event in Berlin on Saturday the 19th of July will see many celebrities from the international fashion and non-fashion world like Karl Lagerfeld and Claudia Schiffer as well as Annie Lennox who will perform at the gala event.
