April 23, 2001

10:02 AM

Have a lookat what Miss Israel will be wearing to this year's Miss Universe pageant: "The top of the silk dress, embroidered with diamonds and pearls, is covered by an army-issue flak jacket (emphasis mine) adorned with diamonds for a so-called softer look."

Bulletproof fashion as political statement?
posted by lia (30 comments total)

I'm glad they included "so-called" before "softer look," given how hard diamonds are.
posted by kindall at 10:23 AM on April 23, 2001

There goes the cleavage! Ah, why can't people just learn to love each other so we can enjoy , well, beauty
posted by Postroad at 10:30 AM on April 23, 2001

While the Palestinian entrant will be arriving in a coffin...
posted by andrew cooke at 10:44 AM on April 23, 2001

Exactly what is her political statement? "We're all killing each other over here"? It's, like, no duh!
posted by jpoulos at 11:10 AM on April 23, 2001

Ms. Potatohead OK. Ms. Terminator? I dunno...
posted by jfuller at 11:19 AM on April 23, 2001

Maybe she's just wearing it to obscure certain shortcomings? What's she doing in the swimsuit competition?
posted by anapestic at 11:22 AM on April 23, 2001

Please tell me this is a joke. A prank. An Onion article gone terribly awry.

Please?
posted by fraying at 11:49 AM on April 23, 2001

i think its a statement really, about whats going on in the world and specifically in her home country.
posted by a11an at 11:50 AM on April 23, 2001

nOT A JOKE. rEAD ABOUT IT IN MIDDLE EAST SITE. lAST YEAR, MISS iSRAEL WAS ARAB iSRAELI.

As for a dead Palestinianb entry, I seem to recall an Olympics some years back .....
posted by Postroad at 11:51 AM on April 23, 2001

Oh, that girl could even make a bulletproof vest look good. No, wait...
posted by fusinski at 12:01 PM on April 23, 2001

Postroad: Did you forget your meds this morning? :-)
posted by jpoulos at 12:34 PM on April 23, 2001

jpoulos--no. worse. my friggin family went to Key West and left me here to feed the two cats. But heck, furry but firm.
posted by Postroad at 12:50 PM on April 23, 2001

I particularly like the way that the vest causes her to not be able to keep her arms straight down... and the cute little design on the thing makes it look so much better...
posted by GirlFriday at 1:01 PM on April 23, 2001

Krav Maga fashion...looks that can kill.
posted by dkhong at 1:11 PM on April 23, 2001

If only Mossad offered Commando Hats at her local Versace, she'd be ready to go...

Peace,
Kevs
posted by Kevs at 2:07 PM on April 23, 2001

Perhaps it's an attempt to be the hottest of the hot or not . .
posted by feelinglistless at 2:36 PM on April 23, 2001

For what (little) it's worth, army surplus has apparently been anointed this 15 minutes' Hot New Thing in the fashion world. New Yorker had a very funny article about it, which if I had it in front of me, I'd plagiarize a bit of. But I haven't. So I won't. "'Camouflage' is the new 'leopard'," they quoted some designer as saying.

Which doesn't make it any less obnoxious, of course.
posted by ook at 7:52 PM on April 23, 2001

On a more serious note, I think she is wearing it because of a fear of terrorism.
posted by ParisParamus at 8:19 PM on April 23, 2001

Or maybe fear of rubber bullets.
posted by tamim at 10:39 PM on April 23, 2001

Tamim: nice troll.
posted by ParisParamus at 10:44 PM on April 23, 2001

ParisParamus: Your record speaks for itself. Please don't accuse me of things that I am not. I refuse to get into your mud slinging. (THIS IS MY LAST POST IN THIS THREAD.)
posted by tamim at 11:04 PM on April 23, 2001

I like it.
posted by holloway at 11:15 PM on April 23, 2001

I read a few days ago that this is mostly a statement by the Israeli fashion designer. The dress sends a message that everyday life should go on despite renewed violence, its designer said.

"I want people in Israel to continue to go out," said Galit Levi, a Tel Aviv fashion designer. "But be careful."

Levi also designed two prior Miss Universe dresses. In 1998, her design featured the faces of Yitzhak Rabin, Yasser Arafat and Bill Clinton, leaders known for Middle East peace efforts. In 1999, the first Arab Miss Israel, Rana Raslan, wore a dress with a large red Star of David, an Israeli symbol.

I read somewhere else that he designed a gown with a pattern the size and shape of the yellow stars worn by prisoners at concentration camps - but it was decided that was a bit too much. I think the idea of political fashion is kind of cool.
posted by sixdifferentways at 11:17 PM on April 23, 2001

ParisParamus to Designer: moronic beauty contests, be they owned by Donald Trump or not, are not the place to make serious political statements....
posted by ParisParamus at 8:13 AM on April 24, 2001

Why not? What better place, in fact?
posted by rodii at 9:08 AM on April 24, 2001

Why not? I think it trivializes any potential message. It also ruins the fun. So everyone loses.
posted by ParisParamus at 9:40 AM on April 24, 2001

I don't know about ruining the fun, ParisParamus; Miss Israel looked very pleased with herself in that photo. Would you prefer she just ignored the entire political situation in her homeland and carried on as if nothing was happening? Wouldn't that be trivializing, then?
posted by lia at 10:22 AM on April 24, 2001

Um, Lia. If she is concerned with her safety, the vest goes under the clothing (would be happy to show her...). Beyond that, it's just PR she's doing; and PR which doesn't seem right for this type of event. Hey, look. I would be delighted to see those inane contests just go away, or be ruined by reality (like the Homecoming Parade being ruined in Animal House). Whatever...
posted by ParisParamus at 10:31 AM on April 24, 2001

You might think beauty pageants are inane (hmm, didn't watch Miss Congeniality, didja?), but the fact is that millions of people watch them and take them seriously. So since they're not going to be going away anytime soon, why not take advantage of the situation? Like Derek, who posted somewhere near the top of the thread, I initially thought it was painful in an Onion kind of way -- I still do, but if the point was to make a point, it worked, because it provoked a discussion.

By the way, just in case you didn't bother to read through the thread, Miss Israel isn't wearing the vest out of safety concerns -- you might want to read what sixdifferentways had to say about it above.
posted by lia at 11:36 AM on April 24, 2001

Beauty contests already send messages, mostly dumb ones. Why limit the messages that can be sent? I don't see how it "trivializes" anything--it's better than no discussion at all. And whose fun is ruined (well, except for Postroad's)? A little detournement is always good fun for me.
posted by rodii at 6:28 AM on April 26, 2001