WILLFUL BLINDNESS Runway Concept for *Hayeli*
The mirror shows what we refuse to see.
Models walk the runway with EYES CLOSED, hands covering their faces, representing society's willful blindness to global crises: war, authoritarianism, AI ethics and climate collapse.
THE TWIST
On their hands, BOLD BLACK MARKER-DRAWN EYES stare directly at the audience.
THE CONTRADICTION
Real eyes: CLOSED → Refusing to witness, choosing ignorance
Drawn eyes on hands: OPEN → The mirror forces us to see → You cannot hide from your own reflection
ATMOSPHERE
Dim industrial space, intimate seating • Electronic music layered with fragments of world leaders' speeches • Tension between fashion's beauty and global brutality
THE WALK • 25 looks • All models' eyes CLOSED throughout • All hands remain over closed eyes—palms out • Slow, deliberate choreography (blind walking) • Creates unified statement: collective denial
THE CLIMAX • Final model stops center stage • Removes hands from face • Opens real eyes for the
FIRST TIME • Stares directly at audience • Ten seconds of silence •
THE RUNWAY EXPERIENCE
RUNWAY SHOW OPENING SEQUENCE "WILLFUL BLINDNESS"
SCREEN CONTENT: The grid of B&W paintings breaks apart, each square becomes its own flickering screen. The taxi, the bridge, the kissing couple, the child, the swimming figure, the jeans, the rain, all separate and float across the screen independently. They glitch, duplicate, overlap, scramble positions randomly. Life fragments flickering apart.
SOUND: Electronic music layered with fragments of world leaders' speeches
LIGHTING: Dark. Screen is the only light source. Cold harsh flicker. Random strobe.