Free clothes... so long as you aren't already wearing any: Shoppers strip down to their underwear for Italian store's promotion

Dozens of bargain hunters strip down for sales in Rome and Turin



The Seminaked Party is organised by Spanish-based brand Desigual

Party previously held in cities such as London, New York, Paris and Tokyo

It may have been a little warmer in Italy than much of the United Kingdom at eight o’clock this morning.



But that should take nothing away from the brave efforts of those who stripped down to their underwear for the beginning of the January sales in the cities of Rome and Turin.

These photographs show the bargain hunters queuing up outside designer shops promising free clothes and discounts.

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Shoppers queued up in their underwear before racing into this store in Rome to claim free clothing Shoppers were promised free clothes in the capital if they could be among the first 100 outside the store And further north, it was a similar story in Turin, where another 100 shoppers were promised free clothing Bargain hunters stampede into the Turin store this morning after queuing up for the first day of the sales

The Seminaked Party was organised by Desigual, which promised the first 100 that they would be dressed for free.

Participants began queuing in Turin late last night for the 8am opening, according to local reports.



And those who arrived as late as 3am missed out on the free clothing.



To soften the blow, the store was selling a number of items at half price this morning.



The Seminaked Party was organised by Desigual, a Spanish designer brand, for 8am in Rome city centre Scramble: Bargain hunters seek out the best clothes they can find in order to cover up This photograph shows women waiting outside in front of the Desigual store in Turin this morning Satisfied customer: Woman enjoys looking through the sale items in the Turin store to find her freebies The Spanish brand has previously held the parties in Madrid, Barcelona and other Spanish cities as well as London. It has also been held in European capitals including Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam and Lisbon. And the party has travelled across continents to Tokyo, in Japan, and New York in the United States.

The Seminaked Party was launched in 2005 by Desigual. Filling their bags: As well as claiming free clothes, shoppers also made the most of the 50 per cent sale in Turin A friend helps her friend into a dress as they pick out what they are going to take from the Turin Desigual Shoppers pick out their items from Desigual before heading to the rest of the shops for the January sales Italians in the Turin store try to get the best items of clothing they can to make the most of the promotion

The company claims that more than 10,000 people have participated in the parties.

The Desigal Seminaked Party will return next week to the streets of Paris.



In addition to dressing in just their underwear again, participants will also be required to take part in a 100-metre race.