SAO PAULO–Envelope-pushing Brazilian designer Samuel Cirnansck closed the first day of Sao Paulo fashion week yesterday with a show to remember. He picked up where Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton left off (in a manner of speaking), incorporating bondage and fetish into his spring collection. Where Marc handcuffed his girls to Louis Vuitton bags, Cirnansck put horse bit gags in his models’ mouths (he handcuffed them and bound them with rope, too) and they looked more uncomfortable than models usually look (which is pretty uncomfortable).

A newbie to the world of Brazilian design, I learned this is apparently par for the course for Cirnansck. His line sheet informed me that “once again” the designer had “entered the world of fetish to make his collection.” The effect of his models walking in beautifully draped full-skirted Baroque wedding dresses done in ivory silk and lace and embroidery while bound and gagged was certainly impacting. His models turned in profile at the end of the runway, arching their backs to emphasize their bindings. A statement on the restricting effects of marriage on women? Maybe. A stunt for shock value? Absolutely. And it worked–I won’t soon forget his show.

Take a look at Samuel Cirnansck’s bound brides.

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