 Derek Zoolander, a dimwitted male model, feels threatened by the new and popular Hansel; after his friends and fellow models are killed in a freak gasoline fight, he announces his retirement from modeling. However, he is persuaded by Mugatu and his lackey, Katinka Inga Shanana, to lead their Derelicte fashion show. Unbeknownst to Derek, he had been brainwashed into killing the Prime Minister of Malaysia. Along the way, he befriends his former rival, Hansel, and Matilda, a reporter who defamed him; they eventually save him from Mugatu.