Fiat is no stranger to the world of fashion, and the Italian car company recently endorsed designer Allegra Hicks’ Catwalk Show, which took place on Tuesday during London Fashion Week (19 September).

Allegra, who was born in Fiat’s ‘home town’ of Turin, studied Design in Milan and Fine Art in Brussels before moving to New York, where she worked for a contemporary art gallery. She moved to London in 1987, becoming an established name in the world of interiors before moving into fashion.

Allegra is pictured relaxing with her own specially liveried Fiat Grande Punto, immediately after her sell-out catwalk show earlier this week.

As befitting a company whose development has coincided with that of Italy itself, Fiat has a major presence at London’s Viva Italia Show, a celebration of all things Italian, which opens on Friday 22 September at the National Hall, Olympia.

Exhibits on the Fiat stand include the company’s highly successful new Grande Punto supermini (pictured), which became Europe’s best selling car soon after its international launch last autumn, and which has also proved very popular with UK customers since its introduction here at the beginning of the year. To date, almost 20,000 have been sold in the UK. The exciting new Grande Punto is represented at Viva Italia by a top-of-the-range 1.9 MultiJet 130 Sporting, resplendent in metallic black.

Fiat’s commitment to environmentally friendly 4x4s is exemplified by the presence at Viva Italia of its new Sedici. Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, this striking, compact and comfortable SUV is perfectly at home in the city, at the shops, or when acting as an all-terrain specialist. Its easy-to-use switchable 4WD system provides this remarkable family hatchback with extraordinary hidden powers. Both petrol and diesel engines are available, and an example of the former, finished in metallic Glam Sand, will be on the Fiat stand.