Image via news.com.au

London Fashion Week ended on a positive note, with strong from fresh designers their debut on the runway. But Charlie Le Mindu’s rat headdress might have caused a few audience members to forgo eating for the rest of the day. Made from a dozen rat carcasses, this headdress seemed to be more of an artistic than a fashion statement. It takes the already prevalent use of parts in fashion to a whole different level - a level I hope is NEVER revisited ever, ever again.

When asked about his garish creation (…you can still see the tails dangling…), Le Mindu responded, “I know not everybody likes mice and rats but they can be beautiful. I think the headdress is really cute…It is better to make rats and mice beautiful than give them to the snakes. I’m actually a vegetarian.”

That doesn’t even make sense to me. How does making dead rats into an elaborate ski mask automatically show the world that rats can be lovely? And how did he even go about acquiring a dozen rats, preparing them for his design? Did they die naturally? Did he actually skin and slice them himself? If anything, Le Mindu might have converted some omnivores into vegetarians with his creation.

I don’t need to see a headdress on the runway made of bleached rodent bodies to be convinced rats are creatures worthy of noticing. I’d rather watch “Ratatouille”.