Fashion Week Kicks Off With 'Fashion in Focus' A Fashion Show Featuring Clothing Designs Inspired by the Ford Focus

             Ten Designers Including Tracy Feith, Alexandra Lind
                    And Pixie Yates Reveal Unique Designs

    NEW YORK, Feb. 11 The Ford Focus is the centerpiece of the
"Fashion in Focus" show that debuts during Fashion Week at New York's
Cipriani.  Ten rising fashion designers including Tracy Feith, Alexandra Lind
and Pixie Yates reveal more than 40 clothing and accessory creations inspired
by Ford's fashionable small car.  A Lucite runway showcasing six Focus cars
serves as the platform for models wearing products as diverse as a wedding
dress made from airbags to a basket-woven leather skirt made from seatbelts.
    The show's creators are Ford Division, J. Walter Thompson, Detroit,
advertising and the Integrated Marketing Group of Hachette Filipacchi
Magazines (HFM).
    Fashion is one of the passions of young consumers who are in the small car
market.  The Focus marketing team combined advertorials in HFM publications
Elle and Premiere with the fashion show to create passion and excitement for
Focus.
    "The fashion show allows people to be involved in the essence of Focus,"
said Focus Brand Manager Bob Fesmire.  "The Focus design has been hailed as a
breakthrough in the automotive world.  We wanted to see what bounce fashion
designers would take from Focus and its materials.  In combination, the
fashion show and our advertorials in HFM publications Elle and Premiere allow
us to reach consumers in a way that will be talked and written about for
months."
    "Ford challenged HFM's Integrated Marketing Group to literally create a
multi-level marketing campaign that was live, unexpected and experiential.
The approach we brought to them not only accomplished their objectives, it
also allowed us to merge the fashion and automotive industries in a way that
has never been done before," said Al Silvestri, creative director, HFM's
Integrated Marketing Group.  "Working closely with Ford and our talented team
of designers throughout this entire process afforded us an opportunity to
implement some of our most creative ideas and thinking."
    The fashion show is the culmination of many months of hard work for the
designers.  This unusual endeavor first began at Ford's Wayne Assembly Plant
in Michigan last year, where the designers selected a wide variety of Focus
parts including gear shift knobs, ignition wires, air bags, seat fabric and
headlights to be incorporated into high-end fashions and accessories,
including handbags and jewelry.
    The creation of the "Fashion in Focus" event was a learning experience for
the Ford team and the designers.  The Ford team was inspired by the designers'
creativity and gained a tremendous amount of knowledge about the fashion
world.  The designers were able to reinvent the lines and shape of the Focus
into wearable fashions inspired by the Focus design.  Considering the interior
and exterior of the car, one designer created the same feeling with his design
by utilizing the leather headrest for pants and finishing the piece with
metallic paint found on a Focus.  In a bold move, one designer attached the
car's rear view mirrors and reflectors to heeled shoes to provide a unique
rear view.
    "When we brought the designers to the Focus assembly plant they were
impressed by the precision involved in auto design and assembly," said
Fesmire.  "It has been an exciting process to see this design relationship
grow and come to full life."

    FASHION IN FOCUS DESIGNERS CREATE ONE-OF-A-KIND FASHIONS:

    *Leonello Borghi:  This Italian-born menswear designer transforms the
leather upholstery, airbags and the rough materials of the Focus into modern,
urban pieces that include a form-fitting motorcycle jacket and a geometric
gasoline suit of white, grey and black.  Floor mats and interior carpeting are
now a high-tech functional backpack.
    *Charles Chang-Lima:  Chang-Lima's sexy top and airbag pants show off the
Focus' red speedometer needles with the car's fabrics, now frayed, layered,
and shredded into organic appliques that display a modern deconstructionist
style.  He also creates a neck pillow and elbow brace for the ensemble.
Touted by the fashion industry as "the next big thing," Chang-Lima's inventive
designs are worn by celebrities Liv Tyler, Meg Ryan among others.
    *Roberto Crivello/Savania Davies-Keiller of DDC Lab:  DDC Lab has long
pioneered fashion on the hip Lower East Side of New York City.  Thus,
incorporating technology into fabrics and highly advanced garments with a
purpose is nothing new for this duo.  Their designs exude a feeling of raw,
metallic, energy; for instance, the use of wire circuits to encase the inside
of a jacket.  Just one of the unexpected surprises you will experience from
DDC Lab.
    *Tracy Feith:  Feith's ultra-feminine and flirty style is the focus of his
lotus silhouette dresses, made of leather upholstery and seatbelts.  Hand
painted leather with studded Ford decals add a sexy touch to these already
body-conscious creations.  Feith, a Texas native, creates feminine, ethnic-
inspired clothing that is worn by celebrities, including Gwyneth Paltrow,
Julia Roberts and Sandra Bullock.
    *Geova:  Geova, a native Brazilian, cuts and re-sews the carpet stuffing
and frayed seatbelts of the Focus into patchwork and applique to create avant-
garde men and women's apparel using these textures and fabrics.  In a bold
move, he has attached the car's rear view mirrors and reflectors to sexy,
heeled shoes.
    *Alexandra Lind:  Lind designs a ten pound upholstery Juliet gown with a
bustle, supported by spaghetti straps wrapped in colored wire.  She transforms
the automobile's tubing into straps of a tank made from upholstery with a
matching upholstery skirt that is soft and feminine.  The recipient of the
2000 Moet & Chandon Designer Debut Award, Lind loves beautiful and luxurious
fabrics, transforming them into evening gowns, cocktail suits and party
dresses.
    *Debra McGuire:  McGuire creates a mandarin collared jacket with a
printed, contrasting colored lining and a sexy laced, seatbelt bustier with
seatbelt fringe.  She transforms air bag materials into a free flowing wedding
dress.  McGuire, who debuted her first ready-to-wear line in 1999, is a
costume designer for popular television shows, such as Friends and Judging
Amy.
    *David Rodriguez:  Rodriguez's Latin-inspired, sleeveless cape is
decorated with cascading, flamenco ruffles to celebrate the female body.  An
ominous, "Darth Vader" look, the dress consists of a sexy bodysuit and bustier
accented with seatbelt closures and red reflectors.  As Fashion Group
International's "Rising Star Award" nominee, Rodriguez uses his Mexican
culture and heritage to influence his creative fashions for today's modern
women.
    *Keni Valenti:  Known as the "King of Vintage," Valenti looks to Old
Hollywood, creating an Audrey Hepburn dress and Ingrid Bergman trenchcoat from
the Focus.  He also uses retro accessories from his archives adding the
finishing touches to his designs.  Valenti is known to create the look of his
"retro-couture" style and has a large following from the West Coast to the
Far East.
    *Pixie Yates:  Yates uses the ends of circuit wires to reinvent beading
and transforms airbag materials into a full length, puffy coat.  Her creations
reflect a youthful and contemporary feeling.  A basket-woven seatbelt and
leather skirt illustrates her sense of color and fabrication.  Yates is
inspired by mid-20th century Parisian fashion.  Her timeless and charming
designs are worn by Courtney Cox-Arquette, Drew Barrymore and Jennifer
Aniston.
    All of the original "Fashion in Focus" designs will be showcased in a
12-page spread in the March issues of Elle and Premiere magazines.  Both
issues will be available nationwide on newsstands on February 20.  Advertising
agency J. Walter Thompson oversaw this campaign on behalf of Ford.
    A silent auction on http://www.focus247.com will make available the sketches of
the "Fashion in Focus" designs through February 28.  Proceeds of this auction
will go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, which benefits breast cancer
research.

    FORD FOCUS

    The first car ever to be named both North American Car of the Year and
European Car of the Year, Ford Focus appeals to a tremendously diverse group
of buyers.  Setting new standards for small car roominess, comfort, driving
dynamics and stylish appearance, the Focus is available as a 3-door, sedan and
station wagon.

    HACHETTE FILIPACCHI MAGAZINES

    Hachette Filipacchi Magazines (HFM), a subsidiary of Hachette Filipacchi
Medias, reaches more than 50 million readers in the United States with more
than 19 consumer titles including Elle and Premiere.  The HFM Integrated
Marketing Group creates multimedia marketing programs for the magazine's
largest advertisers.  Other HFM titles include Elle Decor, Metropolitan Home,
Home, Travel Holiday, American Photo, Car and Driver, Car Stereo Review's
Mobile Entertainment, Boating, Flying, Showboats International, Cycle World,
Sound & Vision, Popular Photography, Road & Track, Woman's Day and Woman's Day
Special Interest Publications, as well as custom publications, online sites,
database resources and consumer research programs.