A bunch of dads modeled in the Fat Jew's runway show at fashion week

Fat Jew Josh Ostrovsky
Mireya Acierto/Getty

Josh Ostrovsky — known as "The Fat Jew" — is having one heck of a summer.

Advertisement

The notoriously controversial Instagrammer launched a wine brand called "White Girl Rosé" and later endured a ton of backlash for getting famous from stealing jokes from other comedians without sourcing them on his massively popular Instagram account.

Now, Ostrovsky has his eyes set on the runway.

On Wednesday afternoon — the middle of fashion week — people gathered at the trendy Standard Hotel in Manhattan's meatpacking district to see Ostrovsky's contribution to Fashion Week.

His show was called "Dad Fashion."

Advertisement

We had a front row seat to the "dad-bod" filled event. Scroll down to see what it was like. 

Advertisement

The event tickets were actually coasters. Dads love coasters! Dads can put their beer on coasters.

Fat Jew Fashion show #1 Dad coaster
Kim Renfro/Tech Insider

PBR was served in blue koozies that read "#1 Dad."

Fat Jew Fashion Show PBR
Kim Renfro/Tech Insider
Advertisement

The show took place in a small room. A man across from me was wearing socks with sandals, a trend the Wall Street Journal just called "fashionable."

Fat Jew Dad Fashion
Kim Renfro/Tech Insider

Source

As "Hotel California" by The Eagles played, footage of dads barbecuing and fishing was projected onto a big screen.

Fat Jew Dad Fashion Show
kaywaal for SUPERETTE
Advertisement

The audience laughed and cheered. "Living on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi was the second song.

Fat Jew Dad Fashion Show
kaywaal for SUPERETTE

At a typical fashion show, a list of "looks" for the models can be found backstage.

NYFW fashion show backstage
Monica Schipper/Getty
Advertisement

Here's the Dad Fashion version.

Fat Jew Dad Fashion Show
Mireya Acierto/Getty

In a press statement for the show, Dad Fashion was described as "an eclectic collection of apparel that celebrated the many moods and personalities of dads at all ages."

This dad model was a crowd favorite. He grinned as he walked down the runway.

Fat Jew DAD FASHION Show
kaywaal for SUPERETTE
Advertisement

Everyone had phones and cameras pulled out to capture the show.

Fat Jew Dad Fashion 1
Kim Renfro/Tech Insider

Tech Insider spoke with Elie Mystal after the show — he's the man wearing a Mets cap and baby carrier in the above photo. Mystal, a father of two, was disappointed none of the looks "had anything to do with actually taking care of the children." But he still thought the show was "hilarious" and though Ostrovsky proved "he is quite funny on his own when he has to be." You can read Mystal's full review for Fashionista here.

Rod Stewart, Van Morrison, and other classic "dad tunes" continued to play.

Fat Jew DAD FASHION Show
kaywaal for SUPERETTE
Advertisement

Alyssa Klein, a senior editor at Fashionista, told us she "hasn't laughed this much at a fashion show ever." (She declined to comment on allegations that Ostrovsky steals his material.)

Fat Jew Dad Fashion Show
Mireya Acierto/Getty
Advertisement

But other audience members we spoke to were openly forgiving of Ostrovsky's plagiarism.

Fat Jew Fashion Show
kaywaal for SUPERETTE

EJ Wright and Dasha Battelle were both understanding of Ostrovsky's explanation that "sometimes it's hard to find the original source of something."

"It’s very hard to find the source of memes," Battelle added. "The internet is a complex place in the sense that a lot of stuff gets repurposed."

Advertisement

"Hippie Dad" garnered lots of chuckles. He was barefoot.

Fat Jew DAD FASHION Show
kaywaal for SUPERETTE

Some of the models were younger than expected. This was "Streetwear Dad."

Fat Jew DAD FASHION Show
kaywaal for SUPERETTE
Advertisement

We caught up with "White Collar Dad" after the show. He was still wearing his suit.

Fat Jew DAD FASHION Josh Ostrovsky
kaywaal for SUPERETTE

"White Collar Dad" is really an actual dad named Robert with no prior modeling experience. Robert told Tech Insider, "Someone from the production company contacted me. It was very exciting. Terrifying, though. It’s similar to going into bar not drunk."

Robert was unfamiliar with the term "dad-bod." He also had no idea that Ostrovsky was involved until the day of the show. When asked what he thought of Ostrovsky, Robert enthusiastically replied "I love that guy. I didn’t even know it was his project. I just found out today. Excellent guy, I love that guy."

The press release said "each look was put together using existing brands."

Fat Jew Dad Fashion Dadbod
Mireya Acierto/Getty

Ostrovsky told Yahoo! Style about casting for the show: "All unknown models. A lot of Craigslist. And some real dads that I know."

Advertisement

The Guardian compared Ostrsovsky's show to "a joke that fell flat" and called the show a "mission mediocrely accomplished." To us, it appears Ostrovsky's mediocrity is putting him right where he wants to be: in the spotlight.

Fat Jew Fashion Show Josh Ostrovsky
kaywaal for SUPERETTE

The full Guardian write up

Fashion Instagram
Advertisement
Close icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.