Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – As Rio de Janeiro’s biannual fashion show moved into high gear on Friday, a group of sex workers strutted bright garments they designed, stealing some limelight from top models like Gisele Bundchen.
In an open-air show in the centre of the city famous for Carnival jamborees, sex workers from Davida – a non-governmental organisation that defends the rights of sex service workers – presented their brand of clothing to cheers from hundreds of onlookers and camera flashes.
“We managed to get recognised. Our working clothes exploit sensuality and fetish,” said Doroth de Castro, a self-described veteran prostitute and co-founder of Davida.
The line’s brand name, Daspu, is a play on Daslu, the name of Brazil’s most expensive boutique.
Even spectators from the upscale Fashion Rio events cut away to catch the Davida show on a a purple-carpeted, narrow street in central Rio, off a square where sex workers typically solicit customers.
“We’re thin, fat, old and young. Not like those models that are all thin,” de Castro said. “We have flesh that men like.”
Gallery Carre
