The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG has become so popular it’s even made a successful cross-over as a model in the fashion industry. At least that’s where it found itself when Mercedes->ke187 joined forces with renowned fashion designer Gareth Pugh and photographer Nick Knight as part of a visual campaign for the upcoming Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Berlin.

The SLS AMG was also joined by supermodel Julia Stegner, who posed in front of the car wearing a Pugh-designed outfit that looks a lot like a ‘Megatron’ costume. The whole set-up, which Mercedes describes as “fashion as performance”, is a little bizarre for our own taste. For starters, while Stegner’s outfit may fly with some folks in the fashion industry, we don’t think anybody in their right state of mind would be caught wearing something like it in public.

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Then again, we just might be nitpicking on something that we’re not exactly opinion leaders on. Besides, the resulting photo shoot seems to have done a good job in capturing the whole essence of what Mercedes is trying to convey, which, according to Anders Sundt Jensen, Mercedes-Benz’s Vice President for Brand Communications, is centered on creating a “vision and breathing life into it, which is an essential part of the Mercedes-Benz success story.”

He continues: “Driven by a passion for design, technology and materials and an instinct for style and the spirit of the times, innovative designers develop their creations. And innovation is just as vital in fashion as it is in car design. Forward-looking design is always a combination of exceptional ideas, a personal signature and an unmistakable style - the key characteristics of Mercedes-Benz."

PRESS RELEASE

Previewing: Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin in January 2010

Nick Knight, one of the 21st Century's most influential and innovative fashion photographers, provides a spectacular example of Mercedes-Benz's commitment to fashion in his presentation of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. With a completely open brief, Knight has collaborated with British fashion designer Gareth Pugh and German model Julia Stegner to combine design, fashion and technology in a uniquely powerful visual campaign.

Few vehicles can claim to represent the same level of innovative, visionary technology as the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. And few contemporary photographers embody the fascinating interplay between fashion and technology better than Nick Knight - a pioneer in state-of-the-art image creation. Working together with Gareth Pugh, the futuristic designer celebrated throughout the fashion world, the design and look is in keeping with his motto, "Fashion as Performance".

The end result is a symbiosis between two cutting edge artists - Knight and Pugh - and the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG - all with a spectacular aesthetic. The images propose a highly-modern visual language. One that is always at the outer limits of possibilities and ahead of its time - the very attributes of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. Head of Design, Gorden Wagener and his team have referenced the original Mercedes-Benz sports car models with a strikingly new design vocabulary. In doing so, they have reinterpreted the car as a design classic for this new decade.

Anders Sundt Jensen, Vice President Brand Communications Mercedes-Benz Cars, underscores the significance of this symbiosis of design and style: "Having a vision and breathing life into it is an essential part of the Mercedes-Benz success story. Driven by a passion for design, technology and materials and an instinct for style and the spirit of the times, innovative designers develop their creations. And innovation is just as vital in fashion as it is in car design. Forward-looking design is always a combination of exceptional ideas, a personal signature and an unmistakable style - the key characteristics of Mercedes-Benz."

The motif as creative dialogue.

In developing their visual motif, Mercedes-Benz presents an exciting new direction for its international commitment to fashion. The content remains relevant to the brand and matches the theme at the highest creative level. From this dialogue, a fresh message emerges with each campaign. And the Mercedes-Benz commitment to fashion becomes a long-term framework involving artists, designers, photographers and new media into a contemporary international platform for creativity and innovation.