Fashion meets the motor industry

Christian Dior had Parisienne socialite Mitzah Bricard. Karl Lagerfeld has Ines de la Fressange - and so for that matter did Jean Paul Gaultier and a few others . Yves Saint Laurent had the divine Catherine Deneuve.

And Nora del Busto had the Chevrolet Volt.

Cars are not generally a source of inspiration for chic clothing - even when it’s a vehicle as avant garde as Chevrolet’s electrically powered concept.

It usually works the other way around, with body and trim designers looking to fashion and fabric trends to ensure whatever they devise will look fresh when it hits the showroom floor.

But Busto, and four of her fellow students from Chicago’s International Academy of Design and Technology, took home the top prizes in this year’s General Motors Student Design Competition by creating clothes inspired by cars from the GM range.

In keeping with the forward thinking promise of the Volt, Busto’s dress is a futuristic silhouette in metallic textures, with a skirt constructed of three dimensional silver extrusions that could be in danger of attracting any stray electricity in the area.

Of the five winners among the 75 finalists Busto’s design cues seem most strongly related to the car in question.

But admittedly the elegant pinch waisted lines of Anastasia Chatka’s dress echo the shaped portholes and waterfall grille of the Buick Enclave, though thankfully bearing no relation to its bulk.

And Robin Clayborne’s zippered jacket has a sporty attitude that is in keeping with the Camaro convertible concept.

But it’s hard to relate Shalanda Jarrett’s brown toned ensemble with ‘rock beading’ to the Saturn Aura Green Line Hybrid, until you discover the earth and stone approach was a celebration of the vehicle’s environmental commitment rather than its looks.

And while the sleeveless frock with mock French cuffs designed by Amber Lindblom is certainly an attractive proposition, it’s entirely in the eye of the beholder whether or not it ‘captures the entrepreneurial spirit’ of the Cadillac CTS.

Or at least in the eyes of the judging panel of experts from the fields of auto design, fashion and unsurprisingly, with that kind of description — marketing.