The trouble with being sexy
In a scene no doubt played out in habitats across the world, sometimes we get so ill at the sight of one another we literally pull all our own hair follicles out before limping away to our separate corners for some serious time out.
It's during these testy times where husband-to-be can be seen grabbing the paper and retreating to the toilet, Dog can be spotted grabbing his bone and heading for the vegie garden and I can be found grabbing the TV remote and scurrying for the couch.
It was on one such occasion when I stumbled upon the much-hyped US-based TV show Project Runway. Hosted by former supermodel Heidi Klum - more widely recognised these days for being the 'missus' of singer Seal - the reality program follows the lives of a group of would-be fashion designers as they compete for a career-breaking prize pool that includes the chance to show at New York Fashion Week, $US100,000 to start their own label and a double page spread in a high profile fashion title.
By chance the episode I caught recently happened to be the final where the competition had been narrowed to a field of four. Having identified the eventual winner early in the piece, I was flabbergasted when he was booted off the show for showing a womenswear collection deemed "too sexy". The judging panel - which included prominent designer Michael Kors - condemned the poor wannabe for taking a chance and daring to design what I considered a tasteful and well tailored womenswear collection.
It seems that by daring to try something different and profile too much of the best bits of the female form, said designer was targetting too small a niche. Thus, the judges argued, the range was unappealing to the very audience for which it was supposedly created.
Far be it from me to have an opinion on . . . well . . .anything, really. But I'm buggared if I can work this one out. I realise that as a mere laywoman I am hardly qualified to question such authority. But calling a collection "too sexy"? Since when has designing a well fitting collection contoured to a woman's shape been a bad thing? I guess what I'm saying is that the opinion of four people is not a big enough sample to make such broad, sweeping statements and stop a beautiful dream in its wake.
Where would the Australian industry be if some panel of "experts" in all their wisdom had sounded the death knoll for Alex Perry's eveningwear designs, Rebecca Davies' lingerie designs or Cheetah's swimwear designs - merely by labelling them "too sexy"?
And since we're on the subject - or not as the case may be - the same could also be said for skinny models. While personally I'm not a tremendous fan of cellulite-challenged women - not being a card-carrying member of their organisation myself - some people like them. In fact put it to the buying public vote and you may find some people consider them sexy. Some may even be persuaded to buy an outfit judged on the way said clothes look on the model's body.
Sadly, while I am neither a wannabe designer nor a high fashion model, looking like a female goddess in my chosen wardrobe has yet to do my career too many favours. However the part of me that strives to be both sexy and skinny continues, as always, to live in hope.