Condom couture: Latex dresses hit the catwalk to raise awareness for HIV and Aids

Colourful dresses and accessories made entirely of condoms are made to promote safe sex

Dress made of dyed condoms (Facebook/CondomCouture)

A Brazilian artist made a collection of colourful and quirky latex dresses made from condoms to promote safe sex.

Adriana Bertini, 43, runs a social awareness project called Condom Couture, which features a range of dresses and accessories entirely made from expired or defective condoms to help prevent Aids and HIV .

The designs have been showcased on fashion runways across the world in cities like New York, San Francisco, Shanghai and Portugal, and they are currently exhibited at the International Aids conference in Melbourne, Australia.

“I want my art to be everywhere reminding people of the necessity of prevention when you have sex,” Bertini told Daily Mail Australia.

Her pieces include short dresses, gowns, necklaces, ties, bikinis, carnival costumes and even a pair of bright orange boots. She’s also made around 200 sculptures, 80 tapestries and 160 figurines from the latex product.

The Sao Paolo-based artist, who has worked as a fashion designer in the Latin American country, uses thousands of condoms on each piece. She dyes and transforms the condoms into what she refers to as “functional art”.

“The maximum number of condoms I've used on a gown was a wedding dress, which used about 80,000 condoms,” she said.

But fear not, the bright designs are only part of her social initiative that’s been spreading around the globe, meaning they are not for sale, nor will be seen on the streets.

Artist Adriana Bertini with one of her designs (Facebook/CondomCouture)

“I don't make gowns to be worn. I use their shape to translate what I feel.”

The project also runs workshops for students in Brazil to show them how to cut, dye and assemble condoms into dresses in a bid to inspire reflection, foster discussion and challenge taboos.