Chinese roll up for condom fashion show

Condoms of all shapes and sizes were on display at a Beijing fashion show on Wednesday featuring dresses, hats and even lollipops made of the said item.

Models fought through extravagant soap bubble special effects to show off tight-fitting wedding gowns, scaly-looking evening dresses, outrageous bikinis and other garments made entirely of condoms, inflated or otherwise.

The show was held at the Fourth China Reproductive Health New Technologies and Products Expo and organized by China's largest condom manufacturer, Guilin Latex Factory, to promote the use of condoms in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

It also marked World Population Day, organized annually by the U.N. Population Fund.

China, with a population now of 1.3 billion, introduced a strict one-child policy in the late 1970s under which many residents are restricted to one child.

"One (child) is not enough -- two are better," said visitor Song Weiliang.

But the main aim of the condom show was to promote AIDS awareness.

China originally stigmatized AIDS as a disease of the decadent, capitalist West -- a problem of gays, sex workers and drug users. Traditionally, none of these officially existed in communist China.

It has belatedly woken up to the problem, and health experts have warned the virus is now moving into the general population. But a lack of sex education and unwillingness to talk about sex still hampers the fight, health experts say.

© Reuters 2007

Armani plays safe as DG opt for rock chic at Milan show

Hot shades evoking the sunny south and rock/leather chic dominated Milan's fashion ramps Tuesday as Giorgio Armani and Dolce and Gabbana unveiled their men's lines for next summer.

Armani's silhouettes were sleek and classic: clothes gently draping the body and bottomed off by elegant mocassins or slip-ons styled like Turkish slippers.

Coats fell impeccably over retro-style shirts with deep necklines. And the humble T-shirt was a study in sophistication and crafted in the purest silk.

The colors of the collection Armani christened the "South" line were dominated by blues, off-whites and "greige," a color the Italian fashion designer claimed to have invented combining beige and grey.

A straw boater topping a Bermuda suit was as tongue in cheek as Armani would go, but not so Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana who opted for shock value with trash, rock and leather chic on the penultimate day of the five-day run.

Black leather pants and Bermudas festooned with zips, peekaboo jeans torn fashionably just under the buttocks and strewn with nails for a suitable grunge effect, micro-mini swimming trunks in black and white and a Union Jack bandanna were some of the offerings.

Nicola Trussardi's collection was more neutral with pale pink shirts and neckties and a classic black pullover.

Marni on the other hand opted for the simplicity of form with conventional black suits accessorised by exquisite neckties and shirts in royal blue and other time-tested shades.

Five designers including French duo Marithe and Francois Girbaud will showcase their collections on Wednesday, the last day of the show in Italy's fashion capital.

Before the fashion world turned its attention this year to Milan, it was rocked by the sudden death of leading Italian designer Gianfranco Ferre.

Ferre, known as the architect of fashion, died on July 17 aged 62 after a brain hemorrhage and was buried in his birthplace of Legnano near Milan.

A week after his death, the fashion house that bears his name on Sunday presented its summer show for men to a tearful audience that gave him a posthumous ovation.

©AFP