Mercedes-Benz celebrates 20 years of partnership with fashion

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Oct 5, 2015

Over the last 20 years, Mercedes-Benz has established itself as one of the top sponsors of the Fashion Weeks. The automobile group began its patronage of fashion events in 1996, with Sydney's Mercedes Australian Fashion Week.

The manufacturer then followed suit with Melbourne, New York, Berlin, Milan, Beijing, Miami, Madrid, Moscow, Stockholm, Mexico City, Tokyo, Johannesburg, Malta and Istanbul.

Despite recently disengaging from some of the Fashion Weeks, such as New York and Milan, Mercedes remains very active during the Fashion Weeks through various initiatives: making car fleets available, organising VIP evenings, shows and events, etc. The car manufacturer currently sponsors 41 world fashion events in 27 countries.

The German group is also active in favour of young designers, notably having launched the 'Road Couture' programme, featuring collaborations between young stylists and the car brand.

This support for emerging designers will now be even stronger. Mercedes-Benz France has indeed announced "the setting up in the coming weeks of a major partnership with an international designer, in order to develop ways of supporting young, innovative and ambitious designers." For the time being, the car manufacturer doesn't wish to provide more details on this initiative.

A partner of the Fédération Française de la Couture (French Fashion Federation) since 2008, this season Mercedes-Benz has once again worked alongside Paris Fashion Week to, for the third time, hold a grand fashion party to end the week, on Tuesday 6th October.