Moisture is the essence of wetness, and wetness is the essence of beauty.   ---Derek Zoolander

I don't know which is funnier; a global warming themed fashion show or the fact that the Associated Press reports on it with a completely straight face. They assume the polar ice caps are melting so what to do? Waste carbon shipping giant icebergs from Sweden just to adorn a Paris fashion show runway. Jenny Barchfield delivers the report on "Chanel does climate change, with real icebergs" which sounds like a story pitch for a Zoolander sequel:

PARIS — Models in head-to-toe yeti suits picked their way around towering but quickly melting icebergs, sloshing through a deep puddle of Arctic melt in their shaggy fake fur.

Call it climate change chic, Chanel style.

Designer Karl Lagerfeld looked Tuesday to global warming, turning the melting of the polar ice caps into fodder for Chanel's fall-winter 2010-11 ready-to-wear look. Because, after all, what use is the threat of a catastrophe of global proportions if not to fuel fashion trends and inspire clever variations on Chanel's iconic styles?

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Models in classic Chanel suits with fur trim or tweed jackets paired with pants that looked like they were made out of Chewbacca, the "Star Wars" Wookiee, struck poses in front of the giant icebergs, which had apparently been special-delivered from Sweden.

Could Al Gore do an audit on how much carbon was wasted putting on this Global Warming fashion show complete with special delivery icebergs? Oh, there was also a sort of serious note in the report:

Fur panels dressed up the hemlines of the classic Chanel skirtsuits and the label's blockbuster chain-strapped handbags, and the Chewbacca trousers were paired with little tweed jackets.

Animal lovers can breathe easy. Lagerfeld assured journalists that the fur was fake.

"One of the most beautiful furs in the world is Chanel's fake fur," he told The Associated Press Television News in a post-show interview. "This fake fur gives a very beautiful new volume. It's a pleasure to touch and to wear it. It's light and warm."

Still, Lagerfeld, a born provocateur, couldn't resist taking just one little jab at anti-fur activists.

"It is easy to be against fur, but people in the North have to make their living, they are living with nothing else ... (and) have no other jobs," he said in his rat-a-tat diction.

 Fake fur. About as real as the Global Warming threat...and both used as fashion show props. There has to be real justice in that.

—P.J. Gladnick is a freelance writer and creator of the DUmmie FUnnies blog.

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