Invasion of the Pipe People: High Fashion Goes Tubular

"The pipes, the pipes are calling…"
Oddly Enough, Reuters Blog (November 3, 2009)

"Gather around, fashion show staff, I’ve found a new way to cut costs for the big show. It may be even better than our earlier measures, like using dead models, hiring dog groomers as stylists and raccoons to do makeup…..."


(Shamil Zhumatov, via Reuters, used w/o permission)

Those photos are from a fashion show in Kazakhstan. People in that part of the world have been under a lot of stress lately, so I think allowances could be made. On the other hand, it's impressive that someone would

• Deliberately design something like those things
• Let models wear them
• Allow photographs to be taken
• While cold sober
  • Presumably

I followed those links, and in my opinion dog groomers and raccoons would very likely do a better job. Dead models? I'm not sure quite what to make of that idea - although in quite a few cases, it looks like care was taken to select models who looked unwell to begin with, and push that appearance along with makeup and hideous outfits.

About that 'looked unwell' business: I'll admit to a bias. On strictly aesthetic grounds, I think women look better if they appear to have eaten in the last 40 days.