SAY WORD! NEW BULLETPROOF CLOTHING LINE!

A fashion designer may have found the answer to gun violence - stylish clothing for men and women that is completely bulletproof.

God help us.

Designer Miguel Caballero first developed his line in his native Colombia, where wealthy clients needed protection from Medellin drug cartel hit men, but didn't like the bulky look of bulletproof vests.

After all, if you must run away from a shooter, why not do it in couture?

Two years ago, Caballero saw the sky-high level of gun violence in the U.S. and thought, "Market!"

He opened up in Miami, and it's been a thriving business ever since.

Celebrities were the first to wear his impermeable apparel. Caballero made Sean (Diddy) Combs a bulletproof white dinner jacket, tunics for the Wu Tang Clan and a kimono for Steven Seagal, New Yorker writer David Owen reports.

The journalist even allowed the designer to shoot him while he was wearing one of his sporty black suede jackets. The bullet, Owen writes, "was flattened and rounded like a mushroom cap."

Why should celebrities get all the protection?

One glance at his website shows there's something for every New Yorker living in a dangerous neighborhood.

There's the classic Firenze Coat for women, a figure-hugging trench. For fall, there's the Giorgo, in plaid.

Men, who seem to be in more gun battles in the city, have more choices in Caballero's online catalogue. There's the Bold, an Italian-leather motorcycle jacket; and the outdoorsy Extrema jacket, which comes in Mars Red, Turkish Sea or Apricot Orange.

There are also dress and polo shirts and, of course, bulletproof hoodies.

Caballero, who developed his idea in the late 1990s, has thoughtfully created his fashion, which he lines with Kevlar-like material, with three levels of toughness.

You can order your chic shields "mild" - they'll stop a bullet going at 1,120 feet per second, like a 9-mm.; a "medium," which they say will stop a .357 magnum bullet; and a "high," which Caballero claims will stop the fusillade from an Uzi.

Best of all, if you get shot in the first six months, which is becoming increasingly likely these days, Caballero will let you trade your purchase in for a new one!

Only problem: Caballero hasn't developed a kids' line yet. With even 2-year-olds getting shot in New York City, we need bulletproof kiddie clothes.

Don't try to buy a Caballero if you have a criminal record. Ben Greer of Caballero's U.S. distributor, eagleproware.com, told the Daily News, "We don't want to sell to the wrong type of individual."

That's comforting, I guess.

Unlike Southern states that let anybody buy firearms at gun shows - thousands of which end up in New York City - "We do background checks," Greer said.



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