The 2013 Paper Fashion Show

It was obvious that the show revolved around him and his rule breaking outfit.That’s why they held it to the very last and had the model take the extra time to parade around.It’s a miracle that she was even able to do so after she passed out back stage shortly before she took the stage.She succumb to the weight of the metal framed backpack structure and hit the floor hard.Fortunately she had a young man remove the frame before she toppled over.She was able to sit there on the floor and recover comfortably in her cloth dress which didn’t crumble or tear as any other paper outfit would have.

The rules clearly state that you can use wire only as a fastener, not to make the entire structure.This was like a Thanksgiving Day float.As for the cloth dress, this is a paper fashion show.The goal is to put the designers to the test and see what they can make using nothing but paper.Anyone can take a cloth outfit and cover it with paper dots, or strips, or patches, etc.The rules clearly state that you can only use 10% of another paper product.It doesn’t even address the fact that you can’t use a cloth outfit and cover it with paper, that’s a given unless you’re a moron.Even with the 10% rule, the entire dress was cloth, way more than 10%, actually 50% of the lower half.What’s even worse is that the technical judges knew this.We were standing right there when they judged the outfit.They felt the dress, asked if it was cloth, and the model admitted that it was.I guess the rules don’t apply to Barry Brown.

It’s sad that the winning design by Barry Brown had nothing to do with the paper.His design violated nearly every rule.The entire dress, except for the small top portion, was made from fabric and then covered with small paper discs or sequins.The star and fan structure was made from heavy gauge wire and simply wrapped with small strips of paper and adorned with paper stars.  It’s a shame that the cheaters always win.This certainly doesn’t say much for the people who organize and put on this event.If you’re going to set rules then you should make people follow them.Your complacency ruins such events for everyone who really tries and follows the rules…