Vinyl and latex: Fetish for every day
We talk about trends from the podium, which can be adapted for your wardrobe for the next six months. In this issue we understand why vinyl and latex items have appeared in the collections of Christopher Kane, Giles, Thomas Tait, Christian Dior, and also figure out how to adapt them to life.
How it all began
The invention of plastic vinyl for practical purposes in 1926 is associated with the name of the American scientist Waldo Semon. He took German PVC as a basis and created the material from which at first heels, golf balls and shower curtains were made. In the fashion industry, vinyl was used only in the mid-60s. Designers-futurists sewed clothes, shoes and accessories from him: Andre Kurezh, Paco Rabanne and Rudi Heinrich, led by Pierre Cardin, as well as Mary Quant. Vinyl allowed them to achieve a clear architectural form of things. That's how they saw vinyl miniskirts, trapezoid dresses, raincoats, go-go boots and high gloves.
The fetishisation of latex, leather, and vinyl occurred at that time. British designer John Sutcliffe, nicknamed King of Kinky, created the AtomAge fetish brand, whose first catalog was published in 1965. Throughout the 70s, John released the eponymous magazine. It published the shooting with leather and latex overalls or masks with slits for eyes and mouth, in which the fans posed for the brand. Sutcliffe made several costumes for Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange", however, they were never used in the film. In addition, as it became known later, his obsession with rubber and skin was not entirely healthy. But his stuff inspired Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren to open the SEX punk boutique, and also influenced the formation of the style of regulars in London fetish and queer clubs in the late 70s. Since then, latex and vinyl have always been associated with the dominantrix wardrobe and role-playing sex games, and in the 90s colored vinyl was actively mastered ravers. However, later these ideas will be borrowed from high fashion and we will see a fetish in the collections of Thierry Mugler and Alexander McQueen.
How to wear latex and vinyl items now
Latex and vinyl can hardly be called everyday materials, but this does not stop many brands. We can recall both avant-garde designers and successful newbies Meat and Atsuko Kudo, showing tight dresses made of fetish materials. Moreover, the use of latex and vinyl helps designers to reveal several relevant topics: on the one hand, fetishism and gothic, on the other - aesthetics of the 60s with its interest in futuristic materials. British designer Christopher Kane loves to use unusual materials for a long time - you can recall his collection in 2011, where things were decorated with plastic filled with colored gel.
Kane shows vinyl (and nylon) skirts and jackets, and also decorates vinyl items from everyday materials for the first season. Raf Simons, taking on the work with the new sexuality, in the last three collections in a row uses vinyl and latex, showing provocative raincoats, ankle boots and boots. Thomas Tate creates latex long gloves (referring to the collection of Pierre Cardin of the mid-60s), vinyl outlets with a throat in combination with a coat. In Miu Miu, you can find coats and miniskirts made of color vinyl in a retro style, while Loewe works with color vinyl in the spirit of the 80s. Ashley Williams combines vinyl with pink fur, and Rodarte combines not only fur but also leather. Giles prefer to treat vinyl as a material with distinct gothic overtones, combining vinyl black things with Victorian collars.
Beware
The main disadvantage of vinyl and latex is that they do not allow air to pass through: it’s hot in things made from them. However, this does not prevent the stars from appearing in latex dresses - one can even compare this tendency with the recent rethinking of the linen style: in both cases, intimate clothing becomes everyday and secret - explicit. Atsuko Kudo London-made latex dresses are worn by Kim Kardashian, Rita Ora and Kate Moss, on the other hand, they can afford it. Those who live life "simpler" (that is, all of us) can still find everyday use for latex and vinyl: both materials also do not let in moisture, which means they can protect from rain. So the vinyl cape is a very practical thing.
It is necessary to understand that things from latex like gloves or stockings do not possess such universality and are good after all within the bedroom. Therefore, leave them to stylists for fashion shoots, where they can mix things charged with sex with something strict, such as a classic tweed suit in the wake of the last Prada show. In life, it is better to restrict one thing to vinyl - a skirt, raincoat or jacket. The main principle, as with all characteristic things, is to wear them with something simple like a sweater or a white T-shirt.
By the way, despite the return of Gothic in the fall, the greatest potential of things is not from black, but from colored vinyl: yellow, pink, red, blue. They are most interesting to combine with things in retro style or something strict like a man’s shirt.
