The Unnaturally Natural World of Apparel Catalog Models

I know it's catalog season. Everyone in the industry is crazed, working their millionth hour getting their 2010 catalog out the door. To all of you out there I have one burning question: In both retail markets and promotional markets why do catalog models stare into space at nothing, frozen in peculiar poses, stopped in time like mannequins from the 80's, donning with awkward pride a vast array of polos, oxfords or tees.