Dick Cheney Inspires New Fashion Line

Apparently, there is no statute of limitations on Dick Cheney and hunting jokes. Although something like this should certainly prove useful.

It is Dick Cheney-inspired couture for anxious toffs: a range of stylish bullet-proof jackets for protection from trigger-happy hunting partners.

The jackets are the latest offering from Miguel Caballero, a Colombian tailor who has made a fortune from selling bullet-proof fashion to presidents, oligarchs, celebrities - and now hunters.

Buckingham Palace has expressed interest in purchasing 52 jackets from the "cazadora extrema" (extreme hunter) range, the company told the Guardian, and a camouflage version will soon go on sale in its branch in Harrods.

"This is a new market for us. Dick Cheney has helped raise awareness of accidents," said Carolina Fernandez, a marketing director.

The US vice president shot and injured a friend while quail hunting in Texas in February 2006. Harry Whittington received shotgun pellets to the face, neck and chest.

For Caballero's factory in Bogota, Colombia's capital, a new market was born. The company started 17 years ago making protective clothing for politicians and security forces caught up in Colombia's civil war, but now it exports four-fifths of its output.

It has opened a branch in Mexico, which is convulsed by drug-related violence, and will soon open another in Guatemala. High profile clients include Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, Spain's Prince Felipe and the Hollywood action star Steven Seagal, who requested a bullet-proof kimono.

In July Caballero opened a branch in Harrods, London's flagship store, to cater largely to security-conscious Russian and Arab plutocrats. "We're just starting there and it's going well," he said this week, just back from a visit to London.

The protective jackets, blazers and raincoats rely not on Kevlar but overlaps of special synthetic material. The "classic" model weighs 1.5kg and can stop a round from .38 revolver and 9mm pistol. The "platinum" model weighs 2kg and can stop a mini-Uzi and MP5 assault rifle.

Check out the video demo. Sure looks like it protects you at point-blank range.