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2010 Young Creative Chevrolet Award Ceremony and Exclusive Preview of a Chevrolet World Premiere

Chevrolet Fashion Catwalk - 100 Years of Fashion and Automotive Design

2010-09-29

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Chevrolet sparkles with Grand Couturier Frank Sorbier at Paris Fashion Week

(Paris) – Chevrolet Europe stages an exuberant event in Paris tonight to celebrate creativity and inspiration in the arts. In the three-part Chevrolet Fashion Catwalk gala, held at the stunning Théâtre du Merveilleux in the Pavillons de Bercy, Chevrolet pays homage to rising talentas well as icons of groundbreaking style and limitless imagination.

Frank Sorbier and Chevrolet bring back "Les Belles Elégantes"

In tribute to the great tradition of "Les Belles Elégantes" the evening combines couture fashion, iconic Chevrolets and, of course, dogs as supporting characters on the catwalk in the style of tradition past. Grand Couturier Frank Sorbier presentes pieces from past and present collections to pay tribute to four of Chevrolet's most famous cars from key milestones in the brand's 100 year history. The 1928 Chevrolet Tourer, followed by the 1957 Bel Air, the 1963 Corvette Stingray with a split window and the cult-status 1976 Camaro "Bumblebee", roll down an elaborate runway before depositing Sorbier-clad passengers ­– and their elegant canine companions – onto the catwalk.

The highlight of the fashion show is the world premiere of the seven-seater Chevrolet Orlando, along with Sorbier's exclusively-created Orlando pieces (officially named Orlando centenaire Chevrolet Mondial de l'Automobile). Each of the seven family members wear a unique piece based off of the woman's belted trench coat in wool satin and silk printed in silver ink-jet and textured silver pigments.

Iconic Chevrolets and unique re-inventions exhibited

In honor of Chevrolet's 100-year anniversary in 2011, models from key decades in the brands history are on display. A collection of four vintage Chevrolet cars dating from 1928 to 1976 are on display outside the venue. In contrast, four exclusively re-designed Chevrolet Sparks – from the Young Creative Chevrolet (YCC)-winning WTCC model to a fully functioning Spark-turned-DJ deck – challenges the evening's guests to rethink the future potential of the automobile.

One day after the gala event, Chevrolet will officially unveil the Chevrolet Orlando MPV/family van, along with three other world premieres, at the Paris Motor Show.

European applied arts contest winners revealed

Stars of the evening also include the winners for this year's Young Creative Chevrolet (YCC) contest, which was launched in 2007 as a pan-European competition for students of applied arts. The award ceremony recognizes the winners – in the disciplines of fashion, music, photography, video and visual arts – who bested stiff competition from 135 applied arts schools in 20 European countries. The awards are presented to each winner by Chevrolet Europe President and Managing Director Wayne Brannon, along with the international YCC jury. The evening also marks the kick-off of the next edition of YCC, which challenges young artists to respond to creative briefs revolving around Chevrolet's 100-year anniversary.

Photos taken at the event can be downloaded here: www.flickr.com/photos/youngcreativechevrolet/

About "Orlando" outfits by Frank Sorbier

Woman: Belted trench coat in wool satin and silk printed in silver ink-jet and textured in sterling silver pigments over a black tulle slip.

Man: Cinched black leather coat with a single row of buttons featuring black velour pockets with silver imprints over a pullover and trousers. The leather coat was specially treated by the Sorbier couture company.

Girls:  Black cross-around cardigan and skirt in black cotton satin printed in silver ink-jet and textured in sterling silver pigments over a black tulle slip.

Boys:  Black felt hooded sweater printed in silver ink-jet and textured in sterling silver pigments and black trousers.

About Frank Sorbier

• Chevrolet and Fashion Designer Frank Sorbier

Fashion designer Frank Sorbier has been interested in the automotive world for a long time. When he heard that Chevrolet has been supporting art students around Europe since 2007 and that Chevrolet was preparing to celebrate its centenary, an idea began to take shape in his mind: What better way to blend the worlds of fashion and car design than with a "Concours d'Elegance" during the Paris Fashion Week and on the eve of the Paris Motor Show.

Chevrolet is delighted to have Frank Sorbier create the very special fashion show "Les belles Elégantes" at the Museé des Arts Forains. It's a great opportunity for Frank Sorbier to invest all his talents to combine his art and technique to celebrate automotive technology.

The fashion designer dared to enter haute couture by transforming tulle scraps. With great patience, he has never stopped inventing and poetizing fabric materials of simple, precious matter. He likes to use very different types of fabrics (lace, tulle or silk) to create his unique "compressed" style of materials. From the beginning this has been his signature style.

The refined elegance of Frank Sorbier designs is daring in nature. His ideas and dreams of fashion are very grand and he gathers his inspiration from the art of living.

• Frank Sorbier - Biography

Since presenting his first collection in Paris in 1987, Frank Sorbier has made his name as one of the city's most original creators in the world of haute couture. Thanks to his first commercial collection in 1991, he was soon in demand by big names in the fashion world, from Cartier to top buyers for Neiman Marcus and Seibu and created his own company. By 1996, Sorbier was sponsored by Donald Potard (Jean Paul Gaultier) and Simon Bernstein (Sonia Rykiel), and invited to join the Fédération Française de la Couture, du Prêt-à-porter des Couturiers et des Créateurs de Mode. In 1999, he became a member of the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. In 2004, the French Ministry of Culture named him Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres. In 2005, Sorbier earned the coveted title of Grand Couturier. Apart from haute couture collections, Sorbier has created designs for the opera, top-billing musicians and a variety of world-class brands, from Vuarnet and Swatch to Devernois and, most recently, Chevrolet. In July 2009, Frank Sorbier created a new type of fashion show on the internet. His virtual presentation was honored with the U.S. Webmaster Award, the Grand Prix Stratégies/Condé Nast du Luxe, and a special mention at the Meribel Advertising Festival. Also in 2009, Frank Sorbier scripted and directed his first movie, called La Haute Couture n'est plus ce qu'elle était! SO WHAT! ("Haute Couture is not what it used to be. So what?!"), and presented it at the French Ministry for Culture and Communication. The Lyon Textile Museum featured a six-months exhibition in 2009 by Frank Sorbier about 10 years of haute couture. In 2009 and 2010, Sorbier made his first foray into interiors, with a single-edition collection of silverware portraits ("Drôles de Trognes") made from recycled plates and cutlery.

About Chevrolet

Chevrolet is General Motors' largest global brand with annual sales of about 3.5 million vehicles in more than 130 countries. It is the fourth biggest global car brand in terms of sales and also one of the fastest growing brands in the world. Chevrolet Europe delivers attractive, distinctive design, practical, economical cars and outstanding value for money. After re-launching the brand in Europe in 2005, Chevrolet more than doubled its sales to over 500,000 in 2008. In 2009, Chevrolet held its market share in Europe at 2.3 percent, selling 426,000 cars. Chevrolet has a network of 2,900 dealers and service points in Europe. The Chevrolet line-up includes the all-new Spark city car, the small Aveo, compact Cruze sedan, Captiva SUV, mid-size Epica and the legendary Corvette sports car. In 2011, Chevrolet will launch the Orlando, an all-new family van, the Camaro coupe and convertible, the new Aveo and the Cruze hatchback as well as re-launching the Captiva SUV with four new engines. Chevrolet's biggest markets in Europe are Russia, Italy, Germany, France, Spain and the U.K. Established in the U.S. by Swiss émigré Louis Chevrolet in 1911, the brand is preparing to celebrate its centenary with the launch of the ground-breaking Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle. More information on Chevrolet can be found at http://www.chevroleteurope.com or http://media.chevroleteurope.com.