Terrible deformities. How to turn an event into a powerful promotional tool? Use the nature of human interests! The desire to become a "freak" is a perversion or self-expression

The most anticipated show at the last Paris Fashion Week, of course, was the Balenciaga show - in place of Alexander Wang, who left the brand last year, the odious and young Georgian designer Demna Gvasalia was called, and everyone was terribly interested in what this founder of the Vetements brand, which makes clothes in the spirit of the regional second-hand, he will take it and show it to everyone. And Gvasalia demonstrated not just a collection, but a whole trend - the shift of beauty in favor of ugliness, the ideal - in favor of unsightliness, chic - in favor of the everyday secondary - which is now unfolding in fashion.

Favored for his extraordinary approach to creating things during his debut at Vetements, Demna Gvasalia followed the path of his colleagues Hedi Slimane and Alessandro Michele, who came to famous fashion houses (Edi in Yves Saint Laurent, Michele in Gucci), “wiped legs" about the historical heritage, spit on all this nonsense about the "DNA of the brand" and began to create what they want, albeit on the basis of some already worked out styles-silhouettes, and everyone began to desperately praise them for this - they say, this is new, extraordinary and interesting. From a person whose main thing in his own collection is a top with the inscription You Fuck "n Asshole, somehow you don’t expect aesthetically beautiful things, but everything that happens on the Balenciaga catwalk from Gvasalia is not a Gucci big top or a Saint Laurent brothel, and a kind of gloomy commission store where a marginal-looking audience is merchandised. A series of costumes, in which, according to the idea, a futuristic silhouette should be read in a Balenciaga style, and ski jackets, which have that very favorite Cristobal neck in the shape of a bud, and the final a series of patchwork dresses, which at first were accompanied by colored tights, and then even shoes with an identical pattern.

As a stylist, Gvasalia could have a lot of orders in fashion magazines for those very wonderful photo shoots with semi-drug-looking girls in very strange outfits (if not “rags” - this is the word that asks for those same patchwork dresses of the updated Balenciaga), but is it worth it so stubbornly praise as a designer? Definitely, he turned out to be more far-sighted than many of his colleagues in guessing the very moment when ugliness fully enters into fashion. If earlier they were only "peripheral" designers of the industry with their crazy experiments like Vivienne Westwood or Rick Owens, now this very anti-beauty is everywhere - a plain baggy silhouette, incomprehensible shoes akin to market slippers, a frankly cheap-looking dress and styling in the spirit of "I'm just go take out the trash." You can no longer take hooligan designers, but look at those who are always brought to the front page of fashion magazines, and here it is - imperfection, reaching the ugly or simply banal human “no, guys, I will never wear this”, goes to surface.

Ugliness has become a part of fashion, its way to turn into a news occasion, into that very unpleasant “squeak” that everyone is sure to share on social networks. Disharmony and defectiveness have become bait in an era when wardrobes are full of clothes, and couture collections differ from each other year after year only in the number of supermodels who were invited to them. Designers are looking for a way to interest us in something new, but it turns out as if they diligently drank all the working time allocated to create a collection, and then woke up with a hangover and gave out what came to mind. From extraordinary fashion shoots in ruins in the dirt and atypical faces of models that seemed an informal minority in the 2000s, now through a colorful range of street-style looks in the spirit of “who will dress weirder”, we have come to the conclusion that designers no longer dictate fashion, they just create something as weird and unrealistic as possible in appearance, and then the PR people invite the Kardashian family to promote it all, and sales grow. Ugliness makes its way to the masses, and now, perhaps, in order to look fashionable, you don’t even have to try very hard - you can just find terrible leggings in the closet, tear an old sweater, forget to wear jeans under a sweatshirt, and that’s it - you are ready to hit into the lenses of photographers.

In the late 1880s, a new phenomenon emerged that aroused the admiration and sympathy of the Victorian society for people who had genetic anomalies. Photographer Charles Eisenmann saw a great opportunity in this craze and began taking pictures of Freak Show people dressed as if they were from Victorian society. Eisenmann continued to work on his archive throughout the 1870s and 80s.

"Gnome Fat" Sophia Schultz was a regular in the studio. During the 1880s, she began to grow her facial hair, which was made even thicker with retouching.

Born with a beautiful face and gigantic legs, Fanny Mills had a dowry of $5,000 in cash and a "prosperous farm" in Ohio from her father, but could not find a man willing to marry her.

Four-legged Myrtle Corbin gave birth to 2 and 3 children, respectively, with the help of two separate functional genitals.

In the 19th century, physical deformity was often not only a curse, but a way to become rich and famous. Many of the participants in the "Freak Show" received a good salary and lived a happy life with their families.

The "Russian Dog Boy", who appeared in numerous Beauty and the Beast productions, was one of the most successful and popular contestants in such shows, and his portraits sold like hot cakes.

Charles Eisenmann paid great attention to the background, lighting, props and costumes, creating memorable atmospheric portraits. Today, about seven hundred such works of the photographer have been preserved in private and museum collections. Among other works there is a portrait of the famous Barnum.

Event marketing involves a sensual impact on a person, appeals to the emotional sphere of a person.

For an event today to stand out from all others, it must surprise, infect and inspire its participants. But what are the internal mechanisms of such an event? What tools can be used to infect the audience.

Experts suggest using the very nature of human needs and their motivations for this. And they will explain it all by the principle of attraction.

We will give some of the popular attractions that marketers use when organizing events in Samara.

1. Attraction-surprise

The effect of surprise should be present in any event.

Surprise should be part of the program of the event, a skillful turn of the scenario dramaturgy. Surprise is designed to maintain the interest of the participants, make them stay in good shape throughout the event.

Surprise sets an element of unusualness and does not allow the event to slide into banal everyday life.

2. Attraction-record

Gained fame thanks to the appearance of the Russian Book of Records and the CIS Book of Records. These publications turned the record into a tool for non-standard brand promotion. Remember at least the number of washed dishes with one bottle of Fairy!

The record attracts the attention of target audiences. True, such a strategy is focused on promoting only mass brands, mainly consumer goods.

3. Attraction-beauty

Prevails in the fashion industry, promotes brands whose value category is dominated by beauty as visual appeal. An example would be a competition like "Miss ..." (ellipsis - place for your brand).

Brands that associate themselves with beauty exploit 2 human aspirations at once: to be recognized as the most attractive and to join the world of beautiful people, thereby increasing their individual identity.

4. Attraction-ugliness

It should not be used to promote the brand. It is well suited for any kind of promotions designed to make consumers disgusted with something (for example, alcohol, smoking or violence, killing animals). An example of such an event can be various performances, green campaigns, flash mobs, etc.

5. Curiosity attraction

Based on the demonstration of the unique consumer qualities of the brand. It is most often used in events that are educational in nature, during which the consumer can test the product. A characteristic feature of such an attraction is that at the moment of contact, the possession of the product does not yet become an urgent need for the consumer. In this case, the emotional value for him will be the result that the consumer will receive after contact. This is often used when demonstrating new types of gadgets, the same phones. The feature set is familiar, but some new unusual option that no one else has yet can make such a phone desirable.

6. Attraction-miracle

Rarely found in its pure form. This includes various kinds of performances by illusionists, shows of psychics and more. This, of course, is only about creating the illusion of miracles. However, the “Santa Claus system” will work here - the lack of faith in the reality of what is happening does not exclude the warm feelings of the participants in the event. Also here can be attributed all the events that use the attributes of something "wonderful".

7. Attraction incident

By this they mean a minor incident, a misunderstanding. This type is more of a micro-event and is more suitable for promoting a personal brand. A striking example is the case with the dress of Marilyn Monroe. Of course, this method will work only if the audience pays close attention to the person.

8. Attraction-mystery

This method is often used when introducing a new product to the market. The attention of consumers is attracted by an unusual brand name, without revealing its consumer essence. An example is the opening of a new restaurant.

9. Attraction-ban

Similar to the previous method. First, consumers are told for a long time about some rule, taboo. And during the event, they solemnly violate it, thereby causing the effect of "biting off the forbidden fruit." And what could be more pleasant?

Incredible Facts

This list will tell about ten unfortunate people suffering from severe deformities.

Some of them, with the help of modern medicine, have been able to live more or less normal lives.

Some of the stories are tragic, others are hopeful. Here are ten shocking stories:

Human deformation

10 Rudy Santos

Man is an octopus

Attached to Rudy's pelvis and abdomen another pair of arms and legs, belonging to his brother, whom Santos devoured while in the womb. Also on his body is an extra pair of nipples and an undeveloped head with an ear and hair.

Rudy became a national celebrity while traveling as part of a freak show in the 1970s and 1980s. Then he earned about 20,000 pesos per day, being the main "attraction" of the show.

It was then that he got his stage name - "octopus". Rudy was likened to God and women lined up just to stand next to him or take pictures with him.

Oddly enough, Rudy disappeared from the screen in the late 1980s and eventually has been living in poverty for more than ten years. In 2008, two doctors examined him to see if he could survive after surgery to remove unwanted body parts.

9. Manar Maged

two-headed girl

Less than a year later, Manar herself died due to a brain infection, the development of which was provoked as a result of complications that arose after the operation.

Unusual people of the world

8. Minh Anh

The boy is a fish

Ming Anh is a Vietnamese orphan who was born with an unknown skin condition that causes his skin to flake massively and form scales. His condition, as expected, was triggered by a special chemical (Agent Orange), used by the US military during the Vietnam War.

This condition is associated with constant overheating of the body, so it becomes extremely inconvenient for a person to “wear” the skin without regular showering. The same orphans from the orphanage called him "fish".

In the past, Ming was abused by the staff and other children who lived in the orphanage. They tied him to the bed and prevented the boy from taking a shower to "take off" the old skin.

When Min was just a child, he met Brenda, a 79-year-old resident of the UK. Now she travels to Vietnam every year to see him. Over the years, the woman came to the boy and became his good friend.

Brenda did a lot to improve the boy's life in the orphanage. She convinced the staff not to tie him up when the next attack started, she also found him a friend who goes swimming with the child every week, which is now Min's favorite pastime.

7. Joseph Merrick

Elephant Man

Probably the most famous person on this list is Joseph Merrick, the Elephant Man. Born in 1836, the Englishman became a London celebrity and later gained fame all over the world.

He was born with Proteus Syndrome, a condition that causes unusual growths of tissue on the skin that cause the bones to deform and thicken.

Joseph's mother died when the boy was 11 years old, and his father abandoned him. Thus, he left home as a teenager, then worked in Leicester, and later became a showman. He was extremely popular and at the peak of his popularity received his stage name: "elephant man".

Due to the size of his head, Joseph had to sleep sitting up. His head was so heavy that he could not sleep lying down. One night in 1890, he tried to escape into the realm of Morpheus "like all normal people", and sprained his neck in the process.

The next morning he was found dead.

The most unusual people

6. Didier Montalvo

Turtle boy

Didier was born in the Colombian countryside with a congenital melanocytic virus that causes the birthmark to grow at an incredibly fast pace throughout the body.

As a result of this disease, the birthmark became so large that covered Didier's entire back. Peers nicknamed Didier "turtle boy", because the incredible size of the "mole" was very similar to a turtle shell.

Apparently, Didier was conceived during an eclipse, because the locals considered him "the work of the devil." For this reason, he was prevented from interacting with other children and banned from attending the local school.

When British surgeon Neil Bulstrode learned of Didier's problem, he headed to Bogota, where operated on the child and completely removed the ill-fated "mole".

When the operation was performed, the boy was barely six years old. It was a real success, because the specialists were able to remove the entire birthmark. After the operation, Didier was admitted to school, he began to live a normal and happy life.

People with an unusual appearance

5. Mandy Sellars

Mandy Sellars from Lancashire, UK, was diagnosed with the same diagnosis as Joseph Merik - Proteus syndrome. This resulted in Mandy's legs becoming incredibly huge, with a total weight of 95 kg and a diameter of 1 meter.

Her legs are so big that she orders herself specially equipped shoes, which cost about $4,000. She also has a personalized car that she can drive without the help of her legs.

The tumor mass was completely removed after the first operation, the other three were sent for facial reconstruction. The operations were successful and a few weeks later José was on his way to Lisbon.

People with the most unusual abnormalities

2. Dede Koswara

Man is a tree

Dede Koswara is an Indonesian man who has been suffering from a fungal infection called epidermodysplasia verruciformis for most of his life. It causes the growth of large, tough fungal growths that look very similar to tree bark.

Over time, Dede became extremely uncomfortable using his limbs, they became so large and heavy. The fungus grows throughout the body, but manifests itself mainly on the arms and legs.

In 2008, Dede underwent a course of treatment in the United States, as a result of which 8 kg of warts were removed from his body. After that, a skin graft was made on the face and hands. Unfortunately, as a result of the operation, it was not possible to stop the growth of the fungus, so another surgical intervention was performed in 2011.

There is no cure for Dede disease.

1. Alamjan Nematilaev

A fetus in a fetus is an extremely rare developmental anomaly that occurs once in 500,000 newborns. The reasons for this anomaly are unknown, but many scientists believe that this occurs in the early stages of pregnancy, when one embryo is literally "enveloped" by another.

In 2003, the school doctor noticed that the child's stomach was very swollen and sent him to the hospital. Doctors examined him and concluded that the patient had a cyst. The following week, the boy was operated on, and, to everyone's surprise, a child weighing two kilograms and 20 centimeters long was found in Alamyan's stomach.

The doctor who performed the operation noted that the boy looked as if he was six months pregnant. The boy's parents believe that the development of such an anomaly was provoked as a result of radiation after the Chernobyl disaster, but experts rejected this idea.

Alamyan fully recovered from the operation, but to this day he does not know that his twin was growing inside him.