Chevrolet Hostesses in Geneva Wear Winning Outfit of "Young? Creative? Chevrolet! 2008" Contest

GENEVA, Switzerland, 3 March, 2009 - In 2008, Chevrolet Europe conducted the second edition of "Young? Creative? Chevrolet!", a pan-European contest aimed at students of applied arts schools. The public and media visiting this year's Geneva Motor Show can see one of the fruits of this successful initiative: The hostesses on the Chevrolet stand are wearing the outfit that won first prize in Fashion, one of five disciplines covered in the contest.

In addition, Chevrolet’s photo models are sporting exciting outfits created by four fashion schools participating in the contest: Atelier Hermès of Switzerland, National Academy of Arts in Sofia of Bulgaria, IED Moda Lab Rome of Italy and the school CIVEC of Portugal.

The Chevrolet hostess wear is a group work of Alexandra Jeller (23), Katharina Perkhofer (20) and Melanie Winkler (21) of the Kunstuniversität Linz, Modeschule Hetzendorf based in Vienna, Austria.

Melanie Winkler one of the three winners said: "We wanted to create a clear and smooth line, but we also wanted to be extravagant, experimental and cheerful. Furthermore, we wanted to make sure that the design corresponded to the corporate identity of Chevrolet!"

The "Young? Creative? Chevrolet!" jury chose the dress as the winner because they found it modern, creative and eye-catching. They said the white flashy lines of the dress gave it an original touch, making it look both fresh and sporty and reflect the values of "Young? Creative? Chevrolet!" very well.

The three winners were involved in the production process of the hostess dresses from the beginning to the very end. Katharina Perkhofer says: "It was a great opportunity for us as we got to experience the whole creation process focusing on a specific brand – from the sketch to actually seeing the dress worn. Although we were under a lot of stress for a while, everybody remained friendly and worked as a team to do the best job we could!"

Melanie Winkler comments: "In the future, I would like to establish my own label. Therefore, winning 'Young? Creative? Chevrolet!' really encouraged me to continue my work and focus more on my goal. It also gave me confidence for the future and nourished my creative thinking."

As a prize, the three students won €1,000 and traveled to Paris in early September 2008 to meet with French stylist Virginie Lescure with whom they visited the renowned French "Prêt-à-porter" fashion week, the most important European fashion exhibition. "It was a great experience to see how a fashion fair is set up and organized. We gained practical experience and got to meet professionals in the field of fashion," says Alexandra Jeller.

"Having Alexandra's, Katharina's and Melanie's work displayed in a real-life situation on our stand is a great achievement. This proves how creative, talented and enthusiastic young people can be," says Wayne Brannon, GM Europe Vice President, Chevrolet. "The contest is a great success and I'm impressed with the quality of the winning projects in all the disciplines. 'Young? Creative? Chevrolet!' is an initiative that fits well with what Chevrolet is and we intend to make it grow and to find more opportunities of concrete applications for the very interesting ideas coming out of it."

The winners of the second edition of the "Young? Creative? Chevrolet!" competition, which also covered four other artistic fields (Photography, Video, Visual Arts, Interior Design) along with Fashion, were announced and awarded on September 12, 2008 in a lively and crowded prize ceremony National Museum of Cinema in the renowned dome of the Mole Antonelliana in Turin, Italy.

The third edition of the contest has already started and as many as 119 schools registered for the 2009 contest. For more information on the contest, please visit www.youngcreativechevrolet.com.