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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2009
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3

No One Really Wears This Stuff

Except Madonna, and even she looks 'ridiculous' in runway fashions

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(Newser) – For everyone who’s ever looked at runway fashions and wondered, “Would anybody really wear that?” Claire Suddath has the answer: No. New York Fashion Week's over-the-top designs, from clothes befitting a 19th-century French prostitute to “outfits that literally have no armholes” are “a form of wearable artwork,” she writes in Time, and they’re more about making a statement—and generating buzz—than anything else.

Basically, fashion designers shell out upwards of $40,000 “to show off clothing they don't expect anyone to buy,” she continues, noting that the themes behind the wacky designs are “later translated into more wearable items.” Which isn’t to say no one wears the more bizarre versions: Madonna showed up at the Met costume gala wearing a pair of Louis Vuitton bunny ears, and she “looked like a rabbit with sculpted biceps.”

Madonna arrives at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Gala in New York on Monday May 4, 2009.
Madonna arrives at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Gala in New York on Monday May 4, 2009.   (AP Photo/Evan Agostini)
This Sept. 10, 2009 file photo shows a model wearing spring 2010 fashion by Duckie Brown during Fashion Week in New York.
This Sept. 10, 2009 file photo shows a model wearing spring 2010 fashion by Duckie Brown during Fashion Week in New York.   (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Spring 2010 fashion collection from Marc by Marc Jacobs is modeled during fashion week in New York, Tuesday Sept. 15, 2009.
Spring 2010 fashion collection from Marc by Marc Jacobs is modeled during fashion week in New York, Tuesday Sept. 15, 2009.   (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
Models wear spring 2010 fashion by Betsey Johnson during Fashion Week in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2009.
Models wear spring 2010 fashion by Betsey Johnson during Fashion Week in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2009.   (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Spring 2010 fashion collection from Rodarte is modeled during fashion week in New York, Tuesday Sept. 15, 2009.
Spring 2010 fashion collection from Rodarte is modeled during fashion week in New York, Tuesday Sept. 15, 2009.   (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
This Sept. 13, 2009 file photo shows the spring 2010 collection of Thom Browne is modeled during Fashion Week in New York.
This Sept. 13, 2009 file photo shows the spring 2010 collection of Thom Browne is modeled during Fashion Week in New York.   (AP Photo/ Louis Lanzano)
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3 comments
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opheliaglass
Sep 16, 09 3:35 PM CDT
I'm glad that this was finally summed up for the masses. These outfits are conceptual art meant to express, explore, and inspire. Of COURSE the designers don't expect people to wear these, lol. Reply
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dontlikenobody
Sep 16, 09 5:16 PM CDT
"No One Really Wears This Stuff" - thank God. Reply
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pjizz
Sep 16, 09 7:59 PM CDT
man i've always thought this...thank you!!! Reply
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