The invitation cards for the “Dem hoi chan dai 7” (The long-legged bash 7), which features 19 semi-nude male and female models, has caused a huge stir within just 24 hours of its release.

The fashion fest, set to take place at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center in District 7 on May 20, requires that all participants be formally dressed.

Meanwhile, the models in the photo attached to the invite aren’t dressed at all.

The invite is shaped like an envelope and held in a special box, and its author and organizer, Vu Khac Tiep, said he will also include US$2 notes in each invite.

However, what is causing such a stir and mixed opinions among local netizens is the photo featuring 19 semi-nude foreign and local models, most of whom work for Tiep’s Venus fashion company.

Though the models, 15 females and four males, have their intimate parts covered and are posed so that they don’t show too much flesh, more than a few people have found the photo quite shocking and erotically obscene.

Both Tiep, the organizer, and Pham Hoang Nam, the show’s director, weren’t available for comment.

According to Vo Trong Nam, deputy head of Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, the department has received the show organizers’ application for a performance permit.

“I myself find the photo on the invite culturally inappropriate. Though permits aren’t issued for invites, it’s part of the show anyway, so we’ll warn the organizer against using such a titillating, inappropriate photo,” Nam added.

Though a number of youths don’t feel that there is anything wrong with the photo, others consider it inappropriate.

Some say that the organizers copied the idea of posing nude from western showbiz, but as the models were shot separately, the photo is just a cheap imitation and clumsy photoshop work.

Some also criticize the invite for misrepresenting the show and showing disrespect towards the audiences, as such nudity can’t exist in the actual show.

Many also think the photo is nothing more than a cheap, yet effective PR ploy.

Two days before the official show on May 20, a VIP, private, formal fest will be held to express the organizers’ thanks to the guests and participating models.

Themed “Gotham Dream top secret”, this year’s bash is inspired by the luxury and opulence of Gotham, a nickname for New York City, one of the world’s four fashion hubs.