What I discovered, is that there is a big difference in how long they We all want those that float, but also last for dayĪt least. We were trying to shock the general public and challenge their perceptions”, she says.When planning an event, it’s best to do some quick researchīefore buying the balloons. But this was post punk and we were challenging things. “The idea of trying to get it out of clubs and on to the streets did feel quite radical at the time. She recounts only being able to find poorly designed garments in dingy sex shops, and her desire to bring the material further above ground. I wanted to make it daywear,” Coburn explains. I wanted to use rubber in a way that was subversive as a material, but not in a fetish way. “I was fascinated by John Sutcliffe and AtomAge, but I didn’t want to go down the gas mask road. At this time, Theresa Coburn began designing latex garments for the Kings Road store BOY, and bespoke pieces for the goth artist Johnny Slut (of the band Specimen). Its shock factor made it ideal stagewear for the era’s icons like Siouxsie Sioux, and was later featured in the music videos for hit songs, like Billy Idol’s White Wedding and Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s Relax. “It’s the most sensual fabric there is”, says The Baroness, “because it has a unique look, smell, taste, sound and feel.”Īfter being popularised by punks, rubberwear found its new home in 1980s nightlife, with club kids and performers. As rubber clothing increased in popularity, some wearers came to discover it was both pragmatic and sexually pleasurable. Dress historian Fiona Jardine, from the Glasgow School of Art, explains its 19th-Century uses: “When it was bonded to pre-existent fabrics, rubber improved the functionality of overcoats, caps, gaiters and dress protectors, when travel, public congregation and urban life became more prevalent in the west”. Rubber’s unique qualities made it ideal for use as protective clothing, particularly in medicine and warfare. To tap these vast reserves, horrifically violent techniques were imposed on forced labourers in the Brazilian Amazon and King Leopold’s Congo, where failure to meet impossible quotas was punished with mutilation and sometimes death. During the industrial revolution, latex became a hugely valuable colonial resource. These seedlings eventually made their way to more compatible climates in India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Malaysia, countries that today rank among the largest producers of natural rubber. South America remained the main source of latex until 1876, when Henry Wickham, in an act of botanical piracy, smuggled 70,000 Amazonian rubber tree seeds out of Brazil and into England. Use of natural rubber dates back to Mesoamerica in 1600 BC, in the Maya, Aztec and Olmec cultures (Olmec is an Aztec word, meaning “rubber people”). Countless headlines prove that the combination of latex and celebrity is still deemed newsworthy. Latex fashion has played a starring role in some of the most pivotal pop-culture moments of the decade, sported by Rihanna in her notorious S&M music video, by Miley Cyrus at her controversial 2013 VMA performance, and Lady Gaga, when she met the Queen. The Hadid and Jenner wardrobe staple is also beloved by musicians like Cardi B, Katy Perry, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj. Seven ways fashion has changed in the 2010sĮarlier this year, models in rubberwear squeaked down the autumn/winter catwalks of Gucci, Vivienne Westwood, Balmain, Thierry Mugler and Raf Simons, and the latex looks donned by Kim Kardashian at the Met Gala and Rachel Weisz at the Oscars remain some of the most talked-about ensembles of 2019. After migrating from battle trenches to fetish clubs, latex clothing now makes the most impact on catwalks and red carpets. But while high heels, corsets and leather have become par for the course, rubberwear retains its ability to turn heads and raise eyebrows. For more than 50 years, fetishistic themes and iconography have been increasingly integrated into the changing face of fashion.
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