Cars that are fashion statements on wheels

A luxe roadster is a fashion statement on wheels. Today's car makers are teaming with the rag trade's big guns to make their marque

A luxe roadster is a fashion statement on wheels. Today's car makers are teaming with the rag trade's big guns to make their marque

You wouldn’t know it to judge by the average car exec but the auto industry yearns to be fashionable. It casts envious eyes at frock-jocks for their sway over youth, easygoing glamour and constant reinvention. For car-makers, timeless style is tricky but occasionally achievable; being up to the minute means making a lucky guess. Lead times are so long it’s virtually impossible to predict whether we’ll buy sedans or SUVs years down the track. It’s like trying to figure out what will be the new black. Car-makers refer to a “design freeze’’ as the point when they become mere bystanders to the future whims of customers. The same buyers who have become increasingly fussy about how a car looks. Makers have responded by co-opting the catwalk and going out with the in-crowd. These days, all the best marques have a fashion house riding shotgun.
At the heavy ammunition end of the scale are event sponsorships, which give an auto badge a broadside of allure from racks of hangers – and loads of celebrity hangers-on. Mercedes-Benz no longer funds Australian Fashion Week but the money hasn’t run out on home soil – it strutted through Berlin’s July extravaganza arm in arm with thoroughbred clothes-horse Eva Padberg and it has naming rights on fashion collections in New York and LA, plus a swimwear show in Miami. Young and hip wannabe designers offer plenty of scope. Elsewhere on the US fashion calendar it’s hard to find a date that doesn’t involve GM, Cadillacs and a roomful of rappers.
The fashion industry is a goldmine for brand ambassadors, too, and car marques benefit from gilt by association. Audi has long included Collette Dinnigan on its roster and the Sydney and Melbourne motor shows wouldn’t be the same without models adorned by her dresses. We’d have to concentrate on the cars.
So far, Dinnigan has stuck to her knitting but other fashion doyens have tried their hand at automotive trim. Three years ago, Mercedes signed Giorgio Armani to personalise a CLK Cabriolet with sand-coloured deco and reams of brown leather, then built 100 examples of the classy result. This June, a special Aston Martin coupe was created for the Paris show by Savile Row tailor Kilgour, featuring a midnight-blue cabin with polka dot seats. Suits you, sir.
Some brands seem made for one another. In case the regular LP640 supercar isn’t assertive enough, Lamborghini buyers can sign up for a power-dressed Versace edition built for Milan fashion week. In white and black, Versace motifs adorn the doors and quilt-pattern the seats. You’ll need another million or so for the Bugatti Veyron unveiled at the Geneva motor show in March. It has more Hermes labels than Monte Carlo and at more than $2.5 million is the most expensive piece of luggage on the planet. Even supercars must accessorise, with their tiny cargo compartments ripe for bespoke solutions. Maserati’s GranTurismo cries out for the ultimate fashion accessory: a set of customised Salvatore Ferragamo suitcases.
Philip King is The Australian newspaper’s motoring editor