Pop star Lady Gaga wore a "meat dress" to the MTV Music Video Awards earlier this month. The dress was fashioned entirely from an unusual Argentinian cut of steak.
The designer, Franc Fernandez revealed last week that he is turning the dress into beef jerky (biltong), in an attempt to preserve it.
Fernandez told the entertainment website E! Online: “The dress will go through a process where it becomes a sort of ‘jerky’ and will be archived. The meat dries out, rather than rotting. It becomes jerky. But it shouldn't be worn again.”
The designer spent a week in his Los Angeles studio stitching together the pieces of steak on a mannequin, returning his carnivorous couture to the fridge every night until it was complete.
Lady Gaga, whose previous showstopping outfits have included dresses adorned with pictures of Kermit the Frog and another fashioned entirely from plastic bubbles, drew criticism from animal welfare campaigners for her choice of attire at the awards ceremony.
Wearing a garment made from the best sirloin cut with the promise that it doesn't have a strong meaty smell may still not be enough to convince people to go down this fashion route. But, perhaps, snacking on strips of beef biltong from a renowned supplier, holds far greater appeal. Would you wear a 'meaty dress' and then turned it into biltong to archive it?