plastic-surgery of lingerie on reality TV

A LEADING American doctor, whose plastic-surgery reality TV show is watched by 44 million people in the US, has joined with an Australian designer to create underwear that can be a cheaper alternative to cosmetic procedures.

Los Angeles medico Robert Rey has teamed up with Australian lingerie manufacturer Bruno Sciavi, of Jupi Corporation, to create a new range of body shapewear.

The pieces are designed to give wearers a new body look - without any downtime or possible side-effects.

"It was a very easy association, as there are so many women who just can't afford, and never will be able to afford, plastic surgery,'' Dr Rey said from his Beverley Hills surgery.

"To be totally blunt, one of the risks that can happen with some types of plastic surgery is that you can die.''

Dr Rey says death can be a reality of cosmetic surgery, with four per cent of tummy tucks going wrong. Body-enhancing clothing like the range he has created with Schiavi is a practical - and obviously much cheaper - alternative.

"We have designed Dr Rey's collection using his plastic surgery reconstructive secrets,'' says Schiavi, who is the name behind Delta Goodrem's underwear collection, Priscilla Presley's bedwear and a recent collection of celebrity-designed Schiavi shoes.

"Whether a woman has lost a breast to cancer, wants a butt lift, a tummy shaper (with 24 intricate lines of fabric), wants to look great for a school formal or wants her thighs to look more sculptured, we've designed appropriate shapewear.''

Dr Rey and Schiavi decided to work together on a shapewear collection called Dr Rey's Instant Shaper to show women that surgery should be the last resort and that all women can look, and feel, beautiful.

Dr Rey's reality TV show Dr 90210 (the area code of the American city renowned for its glamour and plastic-surgery fetish) screens in 173 countries, but the series gets the most reaction in Australia.

"We're on the E! Channel, and of the 50,000 letters and online clicks we get a month, many are from Australia,'' he says.

"We even have viewers like soldiers in Iraq who get in contact with us.''

Shapewear has become oneof the most desirable additions to many women's wardrobes, whether it be Madonna, Catherine Zeta-Jones or Katie Holmes walking down a red carpet or ordinary women who simply want to look good at a wedding.

Many underwear manufacturers in Australia and internationally are jumping aboard the body-shaper bandwagon, but Schiavi and Dr Rey say their move is different because the fabrics are "breathable'' and the bras "surgically'' designed.

"We've designed this collection out of need, not greed or vanity,'' Dr Rey said.

Australians can expect to see the shapewear collection in one of the big department stores late this year. It will be available in the US in September.

source:www.news.com.au