Save the Planet, Bring Your Checkbook

September 12th, 2007 3:54 PM

     Apparently global warming is upsetting the fashion industry, because women’s magazine Marie Claire gave it the cold shoulder in its October issue.

 

     “Here’s to some global cooling so we get a chance to wear winter’s hot new coats,” cried the subhead of the “Chill Seekers” photo spread.

 

     Marie Claire turned a 14-page segment on ‘hot’ winter coats from Prada, Dior, Valentino, Calvin Klein, Miu Miu and other top designers into activism against climate change – at least the warm kind. The total cost of the clothing featured in those pages topped $41,000 and one Dior coat that cost $17,990.

 

     In one picture the female model sits in a $7,595 Prada “feather-and mohair-trimmed coat.” She’s holding a “Preserve the world now” sign as an RV sits parked and power lines stretch out behind her. In another picture, the same model oversees seven men painting a banner that appears to read “Resistance” and “Rise Up.”

 

     Particularly dramatic was the protest photograph. A black-and-white image with the model holding a megaphone, “Stop Global Warming” painted on the street, fog meant to look like smoke or tear gas clouding the scene. The protesters held signs proclaiming: “Save Earth,” “[No] Plastic,” and “Be the Change” as the same menacing power lines stretch behind them.

 

     The spread concluded with a striking image of the model Doville, wearing a “bright statement coat” while standing calf-deep in water.

 

     But despite the alarmism embraced by the magazine, even at Marie Claire there is apparently support for the free market. The model’s bio included this question and answer: “In 10 years you want to be: Rich!”