Ricardo Oyarzun is a Chilean fashion designer who has caused a tremendous brouhaha in Chile because he plans to dress up his models as the Virgin Mary for a fashion show. In and of itself, using the venerated icon as a theme is bad enough for some people. What makes the controversy even worse is that Oyarzun’s models will drop a significant amount of very unholy cleavage at the event.
As expected, the usual suspect, the Catholic Church, has condemned the fashion event and has even tried to block it in a court of law.
Reuters notes that, “[Oyarzun] said his designs—which include halos, look as though they come from a nativity scene and include religious icons—were inspired by the Virgin Mary but not intended to represent her.”
May the Mother of God help us all.
Note: Images 3 to 5 come from Oyarzun’s previous shows.
What's Driving This Trend
- Religious-themed Fashion Shows
- Incorporating religious themes into fashion shows provides a disruptive innovation opportunity for designers to create unique and controversial collections.
- Controversial Runway Models
- Using unconventional models, such as religious icons, for runway shows offers a disruptive innovation opportunity for fashion brands to generate buzz and stand out in a crowded market.
- Intersection of Religion and Fashion
- The intersection of religion and fashion presents a disruptive innovation opportunity for designers to push boundaries and challenge societal norms with their collections.
Who This Affects Most
- Fashion Design
- Fashion designers can embrace controversial themes in their designs to create disruptive innovation opportunities and challenge societal norms.
- Event Planning
- Event planners can generate buzz and attention for fashion shows by staging them in unconventional venues that match the theme of the collection.
- Marketing and Public Relations
- Marketing and public relations professionals can leverage controversial themes to generate buzz for fashion shows and attract attention from the media and consumers alike.
