How Not to Be Seen, Tokyo Style - Vending Machine Disguise

I must give designer Aya Tsukioka credit for attempting to “demonstrate the value of not being seen”. Working with her environment, Tsukioka has created a skirt that changes into a vending machine.

Monty Python would be proud... How Not to Be Seen

No its not a working vending machine, but one that she hopes will give the wearer significant camouflage if they are being pursued.  You then have to ask yourself, why not mace, why not a taser, why not a gun.  Because this is Japan, home of Hello Kitty, the Transformers, and marital aids with bunnies on them.

Watching the video, the silly thing seems to work; I think it works best in Tokyo where there are a lot of vending machines to blend in with.  I don’t think if would fool a determined attacker, but it should help shake a stumbling drunk or an old school zombie. Maybe Tsukioka will expand into an entire line of urban themed camouflage clothing perhaps a mailbox, FedEx drop off, potted plant, bus stop, park bench, etc.

Ms. Tsukioka told the New York Times back in 2007 that her disguises could be a bit impractical, “especially when your hands are shaking.” Still, she said she hoped the designs or some variation of them could be marketed widely. So far, she said, she has sold about 20 vending-machine skirts for about $800 each, printing and sewing each by hand.