Silicon Valley Fashion Week's big misstep: Sexual objectification on the runway

SAN FRANCISCO — For all its innovation, Silicon Valley remains a male-dominated industry that can't quite shake its boys' club attitude.

Nowhere was that more evident than Tuesday evening at "Silicon Valley Fashion Week?" — yes, the question mark is on purpose — when a group of scantily clad women took the stage to perform following an hour-long runway show in San Francisco. The performance was staged by the Treat Social Club, an experimental art venue in the city, hired for the evening's final number.

Silicon Valley Fashion Week, a three-night event that kicked off Tuesday, is sponsored by Betabrand, a San Francisco clothing startup. Betabrand Founder Chris Lindland had previously teased the event as part-fashion show, part-TED talk and part-variety act. And while much of the show proved entertaining, if haphazard, the closing act struck a tone-deaf note. Read more...