Ashley Dupré Walks Bahar Shahpar Fashion Show at New York Fashion Week

Say the words “eco fashion” and most people think of hugging trees in tame, soft-hued, hippyish garb. We don’t buy into this stereotype, of course, but here’s something we definitely did NOT see coming while checking out the GreenShows shows during New York Fashion Week: Ashley Dupré, best-known as the call girl who brought down Eliot Spitzer’s governorship, walked the runway at Bahar Shahpar’s fashion show on Tuesday afternoon. It’s a rare rare thing when the tabloid world crosses into the world of eco-fashion, and one that might bring a little more attention to Bahar’s already-provocative line than would normally have been the case.

We probably wouldn’t have even noticed this ourselves had Bahar not pointed it out to us. Granted, Dupré definitely stood out from the rest of the waifish 16-year-old models—it was nice to see a model with a slightly more normal, a.k.a. curvy, body type. I almost didn’t believe the rumors at first, but once I checked out pics of Dupré’s forearm tattoos (see image below), it’s pretty clear that this is her…

We’re not going to deny that it is an odd choice of model for a green fashion show, but one that I hope helps to bring attention (even if tabloidy attention) to the cause of eco fashion.

+ Bahar Shahpar

+ Ashley Dupré