A fashion show in Mexico City. Not only are these models fashionably elegant, but they are also bullet proof. Haute couture for these violent times.

00:19

The days of heavy unsightly bulky flak jackets are over. Elegance is fighting back against force.

00:32

This specialist boutique is situated in Polanco, one of the classier sectors of Mexico City.

00:40

The customer list is made up of major international figures. The heir to the Spanish royal family have had bullet proof hunting jackets made to order. The king of Jordan shops here, as do several other potentates from the dangerous Middle East.

This fashion label is especially popular in Latin America. The left-wing President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, has kitted himself out in one of these outfits, as has his arch enemy, the right wing President of Columbia, Alvaro Uribe. Uribe ordered a white tropical shirt, while Chavez went for one in brilliant red.

01:08

Commercial

01:13

The weapons industry is booming. Running parallel to this is the need for effective protection from shooters or snipers. The increase in market demand has been exploited by Miguel Caballero the son of a clothes entrepreneur from Columbia, where violence forms part of everyday life.

01:30

A live demonstration in front of a filming camera will show quite how effective this fashionable protection is.

01:40

The marksman is the couturier himself - wielding a 38 calibre pistol. His target is an employee in the boutique.

02:15

The demonstration is successful. The bullet dangles from a strand in the bullet proof padding.

02:26

No pain, not even a bruise. The fabric is manufactured in Columbia. Its actual composition is kept a secret. Mexico is a huge business outlet for the market.

02:45

Miguel Caballero, couturier

"Mexico has one hundred million inhabitants one quarter of whom earn a good wage. Half of the affluent population lives here in the capital, and exist with a constant fear of kidnap. My business relies on this, on the number of people who feel threatened, and on the high rate of criminality. In my homeland Columbia there is much violence. There there are only around 120,000 rich people, and their lifestyle is rather discreet - while here in Mexico the rich want to put their wealth on show."

03:35

Some of the most prosperous people in the world live in Mexico City, surrounded by some of the poorest in the inner city areas. People in the moneyed areas of the city live in a state of siege. Even the traffic police wear bullet proof vests. Sentries and bodyguards are everyday occurrences in the city.

03:39

Along with air pollution and traffic chaos, criminality is one of the biggest problems to be tackled by local government.  In this town of 20m inhabitants you rarely feel safe.

04:08

Each year there are more than 1500 murders, and up to 2000 people are kidnapped. Proximity to the USA, and its large drugs market, has made Mexico a focal point for organised criminality. All types of weapons are easily available here.

04.30

Miguel Caballero

Couturier

"Our items of clothing carry a five year guarantee. The fabric actually lasts longer, but projectiles are constantly developing and we have to keep up with them."

04:44

The material can withstand the impact of a 12 millimetre calibre. It is pliable and is only half as heavy as traditional bullet proof jackets.

The models can be adapted to the lifestyles of wealthy customers. Most of them do not wish their identity to be known, that is the extent to which they fear for their lives.

They have even received a request from a celebrity high profile rap artiste who wants protection from his own fans.

05:09

Most gun crime takes place in the peripheral sections of society, where youths have little expectation of society and drift into crime.  The state offers them no security.

05:21

Arnulfo Alonso Aranda

Taxi driver

"I have had a tough time. I was mugged, my taxi was stolen. A couple of hours later the police telephoned me. They had captured the felon and I was to report to the Police Station. I identified the delinquents at once.

06:02

But the police forced me to deny that these men were the criminals. Otherwise they would not have returned my car to me."

06:14

Mexicans have no faith in law and order. Only a quarter of the crimes are actually reported, and barely 5% of these are solved. Corruption is widespread.  The police force is a closed institution within itself, with its own rules. Even senior civil servants acknowledge that.

06:19 - OT

Israel Alvaro Martinez

Parliamentary security advisor

"Our system coerces individual police officers into corruption. A policeman earns so little. He has no financial security, no life insurance. If a criminal threatens him: "you either collaborate with us or you're dead." the choice is clear. He prefers to become an accomplice rather than put his life at risk."

06:57

Angered at the lack of action from the government, a protest march was arranged. One hundred thousand people attended, to ask the state to take action. That was four years ago. Since then there have been ever more protests .

07:17

OT

Former kidnap hostage

"When my abductor chopped off the first finger I felt pain; on the second finger to go, I felt fear; the third, anger; and with the fourth I found the courage to prompt the people in power to respond at last, to bring an end to this situation. They have to do something so that the city will no longer live in fear. If their hands are trembling, I will lend them mine."

07:45

If the state cannot protect its citizens, these same citizens will approach the private security industry. An industry which is experiencing a golden age. In Mexico City alone there are more than ninety companies that sell armoured vehicles. And in keeping with the situation, the bullet proof outfits of Caballero come ever more into fashion.

08:05

OT

Miguel Caballero

Couturier

Our concept is revolutionary - comparable to the invention of colour television. In time our creations will no longer be the sole domain of celebrities and leading people. Everyone will need their own personal protection.

08:22

Do you not find this prospect a frightening scenario?

08:24

No comment. Just a smile. For businessmen, if the state does not guarantee personal security, it makes good commercial sense to provide the commodity themselves.

CREDITS:
Reporter, Camera: Julieta Rudich
Editor: Ursula Metzger