The Artist Behind the New Stars & Steel Collection

By now you may have seen the bold flag-inspired graphics and blacked-out details of Chevrolet’s Stars and Steel Collection turning heads on the road. But behind every great design is a great designer, and the story of how this collection came to life is one worth telling.

Adam Barry, Senior Creative Exterior Designer for the GM Performance Studio, is the man behind the Stars and Steel Collection. Tasked with creating a design theme that celebrated American craftsmanship and the nation’s 250th anniversary across five very different vehicles, Barry faced a challenge that was as much about restraint as it was about creativity.

“To visually communicate American technology, horsepower, and restraint, while not slathering on too much red, white, and blue,” is how Barry described his goal. The result is a collection that feels bold and patriotic without ever crossing into the obvious.

It turns out Barry may have been the perfect designer for the job. Born in Cherry Hill and raised in Marlton, New Jersey, both suburbs within 13 miles of Philadelphia where the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4th, 1776, Barry grew up taking school field trips to see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. Just outside Independence Hall stands a statue of Commodore Barry, a Revolutionary War naval officer widely considered the father of the American Navy. His classmates never let him forget the connection.

Making a single design theme work cohesively across the Corvette, Colorado, Silverado 1500, Silverado HD, and Silverado EV was no small feat. Each vehicle has a completely different body structure, hood shape, and proportions. “This motif had to work on so many vehicles and so many different body panels,” Barry said. “It took a lot of time to find the balance, to figure out how to make them all fit together, and it took a design that was very bold and very simple to carry through all that.”

The solution was the flag-inspired stripe package that runs the length of each vehicle, rendered in a tone-on-tone finish. On black vehicles the stripes appear in dark gray, and on white vehicles in a slightly deeper hue, keeping the look sophisticated and purposeful rather than loud.

Barry’s favorite detail in the entire collection is hidden on the Corvette. A stylized American flag incorporates the phrase “1776 to 2026” woven into the design’s bottom line, an element Barry described as “complicated to execute, but something that I knew was possible.” It is subtle enough that many owners may not discover it until they are up close washing the car. Keep your eyes open.

Beyond the stunning design and impressive specs, every Stars and Steel vehicle sold results in a $250 donation to nonprofits supporting America’s veterans. The collection launched in January 2026 at the Barrett-Jackson Auction in Scottsdale, Arizona, where a one-of-one Stars and Steel inspired Corvette ZR1X sold for $2.6 million, with every dollar going to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which provides mortgage-free homes to families of fallen first responders and builds smart homes for injured veterans.

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