Vice Fashion - Showing Off

PHOTOS: Louise Enhörning/B. Martin STYLING: Lisa Sundström/LinkDetails
HAIR & MAKE-UP: Sophia Eriksen/Agent Bauer STYLIST'S ASSISTANT: Pierre Camilo
INTERVIEWS: Erika Karlestedt

Rabbit exhibitions are deadly serious events. There are classes for jumpers and sprinters, and the perfect exhibition score is 100. The highest score given to a rabbit in Scandinavia so far is 96. The high jump world record is 99.5cm, and 3m for the long jump. Here are a couple of champions from various fields, some of whom came close to those numbers.
In rabbit exhibitions, owners aren’t allowed to show off their own bunnies—instead unbiased bunny carriers present the animals in a neutral way. For this shoot, we asked Linn and Daniel to be our own unbiased bunny carriers, and they replied, “Ooooh, bunnies!”—which is not very neutral but whatever.

Bunny: JOCKE, female, age 4

Owner: LYDIA, experienced rabbit trainer, age 17

Vice: You have two bunnies, but out of the two Jocke is the real champion, right?

Lydia:

Yes, she has been crowned High Jump Champion several times with a personal best of 85 cm. And she’s much cuddlier than my other bunny, and more shy.

What does it feel like when she loses?

I’m a really competitive person so I get grumpy, even though I know there will be more events for her to compete in. You can’t win all the time.

What is your future plan for the bunnies?

I haven’t competed with them in a while and they’re getting quite old so I guess I’ll just spoil them from now on.

Beyond Retro Tie-dye T-shirt, Tiger Jeans shorts

Bunny: NINA, female, age 6

Owner: LYDIA, experienced rabbit trainer, age 17

Vice: What’s Nina like?

Lydia:

She’s big, and more like a dog. She will follow me around and beg for food. She eats everything and will race through the rooms if you open the door to the fridge.

You work with a modelling agency too, right? Who’s cuter, you or the bunnies?

Both. And we look great together! I think Nina would be best suited to be a model because she is so charming. When you hold her like that she stays absolutely still.

Is she relaxed or paralyzed?

A little bit of both I think.

How would you react if one of your bunnies died?

I’ve had two bunnies before that died. It made me very sad and I cried, but I was so little back then. I would have some kind of funeral out in the country, with a nice stone and some flowers.

Superfine T-shirt, Hope short, Converse sneakers

Bunny: RUTEN, male, age 10 months

Owner: LINNÉA, rabbit breeder, age 13

Vice: Is there anything that makes Ruten a loser?

Linnéa:

Sometimes he pees on people.

Why?

I think it’s a territorial thing that’s gotten out of hand. He starts marking his territory a little, and then he just can’t control himself.

You got Ruten in order to do obstacle course training, do you think he’ll be winning big?

Yeah, I’ve bought a rulebook to read up on it. I’m going to take courses about it, and we have barriers to practice with at home.

Replay tank top, Acne jeans

Bunny: KANINEN [THE BUNNY], female, age unknown

Owner: RICHARD, first-time bunny owner, age 31

Vice: How did you end up with The Bunny?

Richard:

My mum saw her several nights in a row, sitting alone in a parking lot. Some people from a nearby church managed to catch her by using food to lure her in, and we offered to take care of her.

Is she traumatised by her time on the street?

She does have one quirk. She only walks on carpets. It’s kind of practical really. If we put her down on the floor her legs just spread in four directions, we have to put her next to a wall or on a carpet in order for her to stand up and walk. We don’t have to use a cage in the apartment, we just put her on a smaller piece of rug.

What makes The Bunny a winner?

She’s tough. She growls and stomps her back legs and she’ll make fake attacks. The cat’s scared of her too. In a fight between the cat and The Bunny, The Bunny would win.

Zadig & Voltaire hoodie and long-sleeve T-shirt

Bunny: ÖRJE, male, age 11 months

Owner: INGRID, bunny breeder, age 44

Vice: Why did you get Örje?

Ingrid:

We breed bunnies, and he was the offspring of one of our champions. We tried to sell him when he was an infant, but he was a really ugly bunny, no one bought him, so we were stuck with him. But he got prettier with time, he fattened up and grew into his ears, and eventually we decided to enter him into a rabbit show. Of course he won and became a Champion right away.

Is there anything that makes Örje a loser?

He’s got one bad habit. He really likes candy. He expects you to give him a treat. He stops at nothing to get them and he will dig up his entire food bowl if you put one at the bottom of it.

Shock leather jacket, CC California long-sleeve T-shirt, H&M jeans, Havaianas flip-flops

Bunny: NUTTE, male, age 10 months

Owner: ISABELLA, first-time bunny owner, age 8

Vice: Why did you decide to get a bunny?

Isabella:

Argh, I can’t take all these questions, I’m going to my room! Is that OK?

Sure, is your mum there?

Ingrid, Isabella’s mum: We only breed and exhibit ermine rabbits, and Isabella used to go around the exhibitions telling everyone that “Mum doesn’t like bunnies with droopy ears.” Finally we got her Nutte just to keep her quiet.

Why did she pick Nutte?

The colour of his fur is called Isabella. She thought it was very exciting.

What’s been Nutte’s biggest victory so far?

At his first competition he won Best in Show. It was a junior class so Isabella showed him off herself. She couldn’t answer all the questions, but Nutte still got 95 points out of 100. Isabella was very proud and she got a €20 prize which drove her siblings crazy with envy.