GM Rocks Hollywood Oscars Week with TEN Fashion Show

By Dan Prescott

The beautiful people were out in droves, surrounded by gorgeous automobiles at the sixth annual GM TEN fashion show. Each year, as Hollywood gears up for the Academy Awards, one of the most anticipated pre-Oscar galas is produced by General Motors in the form of a high-energy fashion show simply known as TEN. This exclusive event is a festive collision of the worlds of fashion, automotive design and entertainment, merging some of the hottest cars and trucks with the hippest stars and most coveted fashions, all in one evening.

The automobile is a fashion accessory that makes a strong statement about its owner, and the TEN event is a celebration of automotive fashion. This year’s sixth annual GM TEN event took place in a sound stage at the legendary Paramount Studios, with an outdoor lounge set amid false storefronts and brick-facade buildings that are part of an urban city set. GM’s “green machine” theme this year highlights some of the company’s more environmental friendly products.

“The TEN event is like none other,” explains Susan Docherty, general manager of GM’s Western Region. “This is our annual opportunity to raise money for charity by mixing GM’s hot products with top designer fashions and Hollywood’s coolest celebrities. Not to be eclipsed by the star power in the room, TEN’s pristine fleet of GM vehicles this year includes many of our advanced technologies including hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and hybrids.”

A long red carpet greeted the celebrity guests, along with hordes of camera-wielding media, of course. Also sharing the red carpet were a display of some of GM’s latest cars and trucks, including a Chevy Equinox with hydrogen fuel cell, Tahoe Hybrid, Corvette Z06 and concept Camaro. Jay Leno’s outrageous GM EcoJet also graced the red carpet, gathering almost as much attention from guests as the stars did from the paparazzi. The EcoJet is a 650-hp supercar that runs on bio-diesel, powered by a Honeywell LT-101 turbine jet engine. Build on a modified Corvette Z06 frame with a carbon fiber-over-Kevlar shell, the EcoJet is a collaboration between Leno and the GM Advanced Design Studio in North Hollywood.

The fashion show kicked off with an especially glamorous Mary J. Blige strolling down the runway in a shimmering strapless gown by Collette Dinnigan, followed by the stunning Camaro Convertible concept in Hugger Orange. The enthusiastic crowd loudly showed its appreciation for both of these megastars. Grey’s Anatomy’s gorgeous Katherine Heigl, wearing a cream-colored gown by Dolce & Gabbana, starred with the spectacular silver Chevrolet Volt plug-in electric vehicle. Oscar nominees Jennifer Hudson, Adriana Barraza and Jackie Earl Haley were accompanied by a Cadillac Escalade hybrid, Saturn Astra and classic ’67 Corvette Stingray Convertible, respectively. Other crowd favorites included comedian Chris Kattan camping it up with a 2008 Cadillac CTS, handsome Mario Lopez waltzing out with a DUB-customized Buick Lucerne, Denise Richards accompanied by a Saturn Sky Redline, and four cast members from the hit TV series, Heroes: Milo Ventimiglia, Hayden Panetierre, Masi Oka and Jack Coleman. “I watched Project Runway to get some tips,” claimed Masi Oka, prior to his fashion runway debut, shared with a Jay-Z customized GMC Denali.

Other notable cars included the soon-to-be-released Buick Enclave, a custom Pontiac Solstice, Saturn Aura GL Hybrid, and vintage ’54 Chevy Bel Air and custom ’52 Buick Convertible. Additional celebrity fashion models included Shane West, Christina Milian, Pete Wentz, Donald Faison, Mikhi Phifer, Roselyn Sanchez, Hayley Bennet, Sarah Wayne Callies, Emmy Rossum, Jeremy Sisto and Tyrese.

A lively Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore sat in the first row, along with their pal, Penelope Cruz. Bruce Willis had a seat across the stage, along with his and Demi’s daughter Rumer. Recently out-of-the-closet cutie T.R. Knight from Grey’s Anatomy was a few seats down from Brothers and Sister’s Dave Annable and Matthew Rhys, who plays the gay brother. The invitation-only audience was loaded with Hollywood’s elite, such as Orlando Bloom, Zach Braff, Cheryl Tiegs, Kirsten Dunst, Eric Dane, James Blunt, Anthony Kiedis, Russell Simmons, Jason Bateman, Adam Brody, Melissa Rivers, Danny Masterson, Jenna Elfman, Stacy Kiebler, Josh Henderson, Jason Lee and many more. After the fashion show, Grammy winner Beck performed for the crowd, and guests continued to mingle in the open-air lounge.

By producing events like TEN, sponsoring an internal gay and lesbian employee group called GM PLUS (People Like US) and actively maintaining a dialogue with gay media, such as Gaywheels.com, GM seems to be evolving into one of the more progressive, gay-friendly and inclusive automakers.