Ma Ke's anti-fashion couture show

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2008

PARIS (AFP) — Ma Ke, the first Chinese designer to be invited to show in haute couture week, used the opportunity to make an anti-fashion statement and stage performance art on the last day of the collections here.

To present her collection which she called "Wuyong" (which means 'useless') in the gardens of the Palais Royal on Thursday she mobilised an army of models, men and women, from youth to grizzled middle age.

Wearing homespun loose fitting trousers, gathered skirts and big shirts, they moved slowly in unison to the soundtrack of a wailing voice for half an hour before departing in single file.

While Ma Ke's avowed aim to protect the environment and search for simplicity in clothes can only be applauded, she surely cannot have expected to find a...