Cars + Couture at the Petersen Auto Museum

The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles has set the scene for so many fashion shows including Eduardo Lucero, Gen Art and the short-lived Rock Fashion Week. I recently dropped by the museum to check out a recent exhibition that pairs classic cars with the fashions of the times.

“Automotivated: Streamlined Fashion and Automobiles” is a joint effort between Petersen Museum Curator Leslie Kendall and Phoenix Art Museum Curator of Fashion Design Dennita Sewell and features designs by Chanel, Hattie Carnegie, Nina Ricci, the House of Paquin and Lanvin.

Displayed alongside some of the Petersen’s collection of cars, the exhibition spans the early decades of the 20th century. Kendall and Sewell will discuss the exhibition and the “intersection of fashion and the automobile” at a curators talk on Oct. 9 at the museum.

The “Automotivated” exhibition runs through Jan. 23, 2011. For those who want more, I recommend the museum’s permanent collection of priceless autos–and its concurrent showcase of fiberglas cars.

Here are a few highlights: