Mercedes-Benz Announces Paco Rabanne and Veronika Jeanvie as 'Mercedes-Benz Presents' Designers for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios

Mercedes-Benz Newsgroup Web Site Features Latest News, Front Row and Backstage Images

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 29 -- World-renowned master couturier, Paco Rabanne and emerging Ukrainian designer, Veronika Jeanvie, have been chosen as the "Mercedes-Benz Presents" Designers for the Fall/Winter 2008 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios from March 9-13. The acclaimed Rabanne came out of retirement to mentor 28-year old Veronika Jeanvie, who has fused Rabanne's revolutionary techniques with her own silhouettes and shapes to create edgy feminine designs. Their couture collection will be presented on Monday, March 10 at 8:00PM on the Main Tent. Additionally, the Mercedes-Benz Newsgroup Web site will once again offer convenient information regarding all of the designers' collections, including Paco Rabanne and Veronika Jeanvie, as well as complimentary runway photographs following each show.

The collaboration between Rabanne and Jeanvie began in Kiev, Ukraine in 2006, when Rabanne was struck by Jeanvie's fresh sense of fashion. An experienced fashion atelier in the Ukraine, Jeanvie was anxious to gain international acclaim, and when Rabanne offered to mentor her, Jeanvie gladly accepted. Although Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios marks the debut of the designers' collections in the United States, they have shown in Moscow, Kiev and in July 2007, Jeanvie became the first Ukrainian designer to showcase a Paris Couture collection at Paris Fashion Week.

"Mercedes-Benz is committed to innovative design in a range of disciplines, so we are pleased to have Paco Rabanne and Veronika Jeanvie as the 'Mercedes-Benz Presents' Designers this season at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios," says Lisa Holladay, National Events Manager, Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. "The design duo's collaborative works compliment our car design philosophies through their creative metal workings, use of fine fabrics, and the seamless synthesis of their visions."

Rabanne began his fashion career manufacturing and designing handbags for famous designers, including Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent and Hubert de Givenchy. A defining moment in Rabanne's career occurred in 1966 when he presented a show involving twelve models that danced down the runway in experimental dresses made of plastic and metal. This show was controversial, and resulted in his immediate recognition as an innovative new designer in Paris. Referred to by Coco Chanel as a "mechanic," Rabanne has continually revolutionized fashion industry standards by defying convention and developing radical approaches to his work.

"Mr. Rabanne is truly a visionary. His collaboration with Veronika Jeanvie is historical," says Davis Factor, Co-Founder of Smashbox Studios. "Ms. Jeanvie is the first Ukrainian designer to show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios."

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios will be held in Culver City, California, at Smashbox Studios, from March 9-13. Renowned designers will be presenting throughout the week, including Kevan Hall, Whitley Kros, and the Monarchy Collection. Mercedes-Benz has been the title sponsor of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios since its inception in Los Angeles in 2003.

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Newsgroup Signs Lecca as Photographer

The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Newsgroup ( www.newsgroup.mbusa.com ) will continue this season after its debut at the Spring 2008 New York Collections. Since the Newsgroup launched with the Spring 2008 Collections in New York, it has provided press information -- including schedules for all shows, 14 releases and over 16,500 complimentary high-resolution runway photography -- to hundreds of accredited journalists for their coverage of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York, Los Angeles and Miami.

In keeping with the high caliber of service provided by Mercedes-Benz, the Newsgroup offers the media complimentary images by noted fashion photographers Dan and Corina Lecca, who have once again signed on as the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Newsgroup's exclusive photography partners for New York, Los Angeles, and Miami. The Leccas will provide runway photography as well as front row and backstage images of the newsmakers and celebrities attending shows at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios. Photography and press releases from previous seasons will also be archived for reference.

For more information about Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios Fall 2008 Collections and for show schedules, press releases, and complimentary photography, accredited journalists may visit and register at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Newsgroup at www.newsgroup.mbusa.com. Consumers are invited to visit www.mbusa.com/runway.

About Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz USA, headquartered in Montvale, New Jersey, is responsible for the sales, marketing and service of all Mercedes-Benz and Maybach products in the United States. Beginning in 2007, Mercedes-Benz USA became the title sponsor of IMG's New York, Los Angeles and Miami Fashion Weeks, signifying the first time all three properties have been united under a single sponsor. In 2007, MBUSA achieved an all-time sales record of 253,433 new vehicles, setting the highest sales volume ever in its history and achieving 14 consecutive years of sales growth. More information on MBUSA and its products can be found on the Internet at www.mbusa.com and www.maybachusa.com.

NOTE TO EDITORS: For press information including complimentary high-resolution runway, front row and backstage photography, please register and visit the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Newsgroup at www.newsgroup.mbusa.com.