Auto makers are turning to the fashion world to inject some hipness into their brands and distinguish themselves as features and reliability become more standardized.

According to Wes Brown, partner at consumer research and trend consulting firm Iceology, luxury consumers view vehicles as fashion statements that convey who they are or whom they want people to think they are. "We've done research and literally, we've had people in the room say, 'My BMW or my Jeep is the last thing I put on before I go out,'" Mr. Brown said.

Two of the highest-profile auto and fashion collaborations take place this week. New York fashion week returned on Feb. 1; for its third consecutive season, Mercedes-Benz holds the title sponsorships for the events at Bryant Park. On Feb. 8, three contestants from Bravo TV's fashion-design reality show "Project Runway" will stage their final collections; General Motors Corp.'s Saturn brand sponsors the show.

Mercedes-Benz, which has held the title sponsorship for a total of seven years, is also backing runway events in Miami, Los Angeles and Berlin. Rather than partnering with just one specific designer, the car maker is associating with the entire fashion industry, and in particular, its most influential tier.

"From a brand standpoint, it's a space that forms a terrific association for us," said Stephen Cannon, vice president of marketing for Mercedes-Benz USA. In New York, cars will be parked inside the event tents and Mercedes-Benz will have a VIP-lounge where dealers can entertain their best customers and sales prospects.

Last year, the car maker sent a direct mailing to Saks Fifth Avenue and Barneys New York customers with advertising playing up its fashion week alliance. Mr. Cannon said 4,600 cars were sold through that single mailing. Based on customer feedback, the buyers were largely female, and 60% were new to the brand.

"At the end of the day for us, it helps to sell cars," Mr. Cannon said. It's no coincidence that Mercedes-Benz continues to sponsor high-profile fashion events. According to executives, Mercedes-Benz customers list fashion as one of their top five lifestyle interests.

Early ad for Lincoln's Designer series

While Mercedes-Benz is courting the design-savvy luxury consumer, Saturn is wooing younger, "progressive" women through Project Runway. For the past two seasons, Saturn has played short spots during Project Runway featuring past contestants discussing their inspirations while driving a new Saturn, such as the new 2008 Astra or the 2007 Sky.

During season three (the last season for which they have metrics), Saturn executives found that these designer vignettes increased brand recall by five times and brand likeability by four times as compared to normal commercials.

For the latest season, Saturn's advertising manager, Lisa Gilpin, wrote a blog on Project Runway's Web site in which she discussed automotive design and gave her take on that week's episode. "We assume that at some level [viewers] are interested in fashion and design," Ms. Gilpin said. "It really was a perfect opportunity to share the cool things that Saturn and GM are doing."

Moreover, Saturn executives found that Project Runway's theme of young, individualistic designers working towards success while accruing name-recognition mirrored their attempts to sell a youth-targeted car. As Saturn grows in popularity, "it comes back to the synergy of the show and how these designers themselves develop and grow," said Bryan Nesbitt, General Motors's vice president of North American design.

Collaborations between the two industries date back to the 1920s when General Motors hired colorists to help them cater to female consumers, who early market research had determined were making purchasing decisions for products ranging from cars to Victrola record players, according to historian Regina Blaszcyk.

Between 1976 and 1985, fashion designers Emilio Pucci, Bill Blass, Hubert de Givenchy and Ralph Destino for Cartier put their personal imprint on Lincoln's Mark series sedans and coupes. The Mark Designer-series featured hand-picked colors, the designer's signature on the opera window and a 22-carat gold-finish instrument panel individually engraved with the owner's name. Between 1983 and 1998, Town Car also had a partnership with Cartier.

Even mainstream fashion brands like Levi's entered the fray, creating a custom denim-look nylon interior (with burnished copper rivets and the red logo tabs) for the 1973 AMC Gremlin.

However, when so clearly identifying with one designer, auto makers risk losing cachet as styles move from hot to outdated. Special-editions risk dropping in residual values as taste moves on, according to industry experts. "It might not be the collector car that you expected it to be," said Stephanie Brinley, senior manager of product analysis at AutoPacific, an automotive consulting firm.

But recent collaborations are straying further outside the practice of merely tapping a designer to suggest color combinations and fabrics. Identifying with the fashion world at large distills some of the risks of looking dated at the end of a trend cycle.

Automotive designers with fashion training are a rare but growing phenomena, according to industry sources. Ford Motor Co. poached designer Anthony Prozzi, who once designed menswear for the Donna Karan label; according Ford representative Marisa Bradley, Mr. Prozzi "brought a unique perspective to the form, shape and especially the way we handle color and materials in automotive design."

When Mr. Prozzi created the interior for 2005 Mercury Meta One concept car, his sculpted seat design baffled engineers. "So I had to talk to them in terms of how a tailor would construct a suit," he said. "I needed to cut patterns and show them, 'This is how to construct it. This is where you put the seam.' "

For the new 2009 Ford Flex crossover SUV, Mr. Prozzi used Harris tweed on the panels and seating fabric for the base model, while the luxury version features black leather quilted seats that suggest high-end handbags. "When you look at the interior, it directly reflects how we dress today," he said.

For the launch of Volkswagen AG's 2007 Audi R8, the car maker contracted fashion designer and photographer Karl Lagerfeld to shoot a customer-exclusive R8 calendar. The car was shot in black and white and used mirrors; according to Audi representatives, the designer was inspired to photograph the car as if it were a fashion model on location.

For the launch of the 2008 Mini Cooper Clubman, Mini teamed up with Japanese sneaker firm Onitsuka Tiger. The limited-edition $120 running shoes incorporate six design features from the car itself, including a dual-tone color scheme and circular designs on the sole. The Mini brand has a following among hipsters, or as product strategy manager Richard Steinberg describes them: "artistic expressive individuals." The collaboration "modernizes us and associates us with a brand that has a great customer perception," Mr. Steinberg said.

Perhaps the best example of the convergence of fashion and cars is Intersection, a monthly automotive and design magazine. Launched in London seven years ago, the glossy magazine dresses models in Costume National and Chloé for car photo spreads, and published illustrations of fashion designer Thierry Mugler's concept car as well as Karl Lagerfeld's self-portrait in his personalized minivan.

Recently, Intersection invited six designers, including Maison Martin Margiela and Adam Kimmel, to rethink the car cover as an exercise in making evocative car clothing.

The project aims to "look at how fashion designers can reshape the way we look at cars and create a proper dialogue between the two industries," Intersection editor Dan Ross said. "It's got to be taken out of the marketing department. It's got to be about creating something that resonates with what's going on and what people are interested in."