For centuries, the fashion industry has used the term catwalk for no apparent reason. Literally thousands of etymologists have never worked out the origin of the word. Not even Susie Dent could figure it out.
Thankfully, we now have an answer to the age-old conundrum.
Doing what cats do best, one little guy in Turkey crashed a fashion show, got on the catwalk (or, as he/she would call it, the walk), and proceeded to do thir own thing with absolutely no consideration to what was going on. And why would they care anyway?
Video from the event shows the cat looking totally at ease in front of the crowd as it goes on to groom itself, take a few swipes at the models as they walk up and down the runway, and then have a go at doing a pretty decent model walk themselves.
Check it out:
The incident occurred at the Esmad International Fashion Show, in Istanbul, Turkey, which was held this week. Capturing everyone’s attention, the cat seemed to steal the limelight more so than the clothes on display.
Fashion designer, Göksen Hakkı Ali told The Dodo, ‘everyone was in shock’ as the cat strutted its stuff. The designer also didn’t rule out the cat making another appearance in the near future.
I mean, we’ve heard the fashion industry is a catty place to work in, but this takes things to the next level, right?
Sorry about that. Back to the cat, who, though it seems kind of aggressive towards the models, also seems pretty endearing to me. Just something about the effortlessly cool way it walks the runway, and the nonchalantly way it licks themself in front of everyone.
Of course, cats aren’t for everyone. As the models found out, the little creatures can take swipes at you no real reason.
One person who wants to go as far as to ban cats in the UK appeared on This Morning recently, to try and convince viewers it’s a good idea for cats to stay indoors, permanently.
Sally Jones appeared on the show as she wanted to stop cats killing other animals, such as small birds and mammals, by suggesting cats should be kept inside at all times.
The guest described cats as ‘natural born killers’, and went on to give statistics on how other animals are affected by the felines.
She said:
They are absolutely beautiful but they’re also natural born killers; 55 million birds, something like 275 million small mammals [are killed by cats].
Holly was quick to jump to the defence of cats while stroking one of the tiny grey kittens which had been brought on to the sofa.
She argued:
But we do have a relationship with these animals. They are our pets, they come into our homes.
A lot of people will say that their pets keep them calm, they help them deal with anxiety, they help the family understand what it’s like with the first thing of bereavement, with a pet that dies.
It’s brilliant for so many other things.
Rather than just keeping them indoors all the time, perhaps a job in the fashion industry is a better solution?
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.