Von Dutch at Rain

September 4, 2004 - LAS VEGAS - Anyone who goes to the Palms Hotel on any given night will notice one thing: a surplus of beautiful women wearing very little clothing. This was the certainly the case on Wednesday night at the Skin Pool Lounge, where the beautiful women (and a few buff men) were wearing the Spring 2005 collection from Von Dutch.

Backstage before the show, pinstriping artist Tony Perez took a break from working on cars and motorcycles to cars to airbrush Von Dutch’s signature designs on the limbs of the models. The task is not without its hazards: “On a car you have a smooth surface, but on people it can be bumpy and hairy.”

Before the show started, some of the models got in trouble for guzzling booze from an unattended bar backstage, but since the traditional straws and champagne were not provided, the girls were forced to improvise (can you blame them?).

The pre-show partying did not visibly affect anyone’s catwalk, but MC/Playmate of the Year Carmella DeCesare had to read from notes at the beginning of the show. Magician David Copperfield along with reality stars Alex Bell from “Survivor” and Wally Steffen and Marc Marcuse from “Average Joe” didn’t seem to mind. Obviously, MC skills are not a top priority when you’re a Von Dutch-clad Playmate!