Is it just me, or is fashion kinkier than ever? Whether it’s gimp masks at Mowalola, Balenciaga, and Richard Quinn, or Martine Rose’s “Sex”-emblazoned belts, it’s as if designers are freshly signed up to Fetlife and Feeld and want us all to know about it. Of course, this in itself isn’t exactly something new: we surely all remember the Kardashians poured into skintight Balmain latex at Paris Fashion Week, or hold fond memories of Christopher Kane’s tongue-in-cheek  “Rubberist” slogan t-shirts and dresses (if you find one on Depop, LMK).

But after years of runway looks referencing BDSM subcultures through latex and leather, the shock factor is gone and the fervor for kink-inspired clothing has now reached fever pitch. Case-in-point, even ASOS and H&M sell (faux) leather harnesses, items which were once sought out from specialist stores and rarely seen outside of a BDSM context. How does the mainstreaming of these looks, once intricately tied to a subculture and now fodder for fast-fashion trends, impact the real people for whom collars, harnesses and kinkwear are expressions of identity and community rather than mere aesthetic choices? And how do we square the hyper-visibility of BDSM in fashion with the reality that kink clubs in a major city like London are under threat? 

To find out, we reached out to IRL kinksters to hear their thoughts – and their opinions are just as varied as the community itself.

ANASTASIIA FEDEROVA 

“The commodification of the BDSM aesthetic by the mainstream is not new by any means. Tom of Finland has become a gay icon across the board, there’s Madonna’s book SEX from the early 1990s and Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood’s SEX boutique sold rubber clothes. The most recent example I’ve seen of the fashion and beauty worlds taking inspiration from BDSM is Issamaya Ffrench’s new beauty campaign and concept store. The shoot itself is incredibly visually interesting but there’s the fact that, at the same time Ffrench’s store (which is full of latex and allusions to fetish) is launching in London, in the same city Tower Hamlets council is being incredibly hostile to Klub Verboten and other leather and  kink events and venues. Basically, there is the kink aesthetic, there are the politics and there is the lived experience of the community – and these will always be different.”

“I think fashion’s interest in latex does go some way to ‘normalise’ kink and BDSM, but it’s also a form of appropriation. The fashion world doesn’t give the community proper recognition and designers and celebrities don’t have to suffer the backlash, censorship, and disapproving looks on the train that real members of the community do” – Samuel Joshua

SAMUEL JOSHUA (AKA WOLF)

“I think fashion’s interest in latex does go some way to ‘normalise’ kink and BDSM, but it’s also a form of appropriation. The fashion world doesn’t give the community proper recognition and designers and celebrities don’t have to suffer the backlash, censorship, and disapproving looks on the train that real members of the community do. It feels disingenuous. There is also a great potential for misunderstanding in the way kink is glamourised in mainstream media. For example, a deep understanding of consent is something that grounds the kink community; it isn’t just all chains, floggers, sex, and domination. There are relationships, communication, trust and friendships that have been built and grown over time, there are hardships we face in our daily lives and as a community that will never be understood by the fashion elite. We have to fight for our spaces, our existence and our way of life. If this struggle isn’t felt, the true freeing feeling of being embodied in skin-tight latex cannot be fully appreciated or understood.”

HELENA WHITTINGHAM  

“BDSM’s visibility in fashion doesn’t do much to destigmatise people who’re actually into kink: there are still debates about kinkwear being allowed at Pride and Tower Hamlets Council is shutting down kink parties and spaces. Fashion isn’t talking about these things, it’s just using fetish materials. I also think the focus on the aesthetics of BDSM we’re currently seeing in mainstream culture can almost flatten the kink experience: it’s also about touch, smells and sensations, not just the look. Personally, I wear fetishwear to be allowed into spaces where I can explore my sexual interests, and sometimes it makes me feel sexy, but my kinks don’t revolve around rubber or leather. Just because you wear latex doesn’t make you kinky, sorry!”

“Genuinely, I think that seeing BDSM-inspired looks in fashion is going to help more people to start conversations around sex, consent and kink. We already see forms of hardcore sex popularised in porn, but BDSM gives us a different framework. So if people are interested in the kink aesthetic, they could start to open those doors, research and think a bit more about how they practise sex, safer sex, and consent” – Alex Warren

ALEX WARREN, CROSSBREED FOUNDER

“Genuinely, I think that seeing BDSM-inspired looks in fashion is going to help more people to start conversations around sex, consent and kink. We already see forms of hardcore sex popularised in porn, but BDSM gives us a different framework. So if people are interested in the kink aesthetic, they could start to open those doors, research and think a bit more about how they practise sex, safer sex, and consent. The rise of kinkwear in fashion also demonstrates a more open-minded approach and a willingness to learn and have conversations that may have been more taboo traditionally. In the BDSM scene itself, I’ve also seen a real growth in the different styles and looks that people are wearing in recent years. Fetishwear has traditionally been quite rigid and set in simple leather, latex, and black. At Crossbreed we’re now seeing a lot more expression, a lot more colour and a lot more creativity. There are some really incredible, avant-garde looks – and that really excites me.”

KARL VERBOTEN, KLUB VERBOTEN CREATOR

“If you’re not a fetishist, you can wear harnesses and latex all day long. But if the smell and feel of the garment does not truly empower you or make you feel hot or comfortable in your own skin, what’s the point of forcing yourself into hours of sweating and being restrained? I love to see a designer giving a material a bold new look, but ultimately it’s all down to the wearer of the item.”

“If you’re not a fetishist, you can wear harnesses and latex all day long. But if the smell and feel of the garment does not truly empower you or make you feel hot or comfortable in your own skin, what’s the point of forcing yourself into hours of sweating and being restrained? I love to see a designer giving a material a bold new look, but ultimately it’s all down to the wearer of the item” – Karl Verboten