Directions A/W 07/08 - Fetish Fiend

Hooker heels, spray-on PVC legs, gimp masks, studs and chains; it seems designers have been frequenting the likes of Torture Garden and The Rubber Ball for fetish-esque styling tips. Check out the Autumn/Winter 07/08 collections and you’ll find a new mood of clean tailoring and mini-lengths toughened up with super shiny fetish gear.

 

Leading the way is Christopher Bailey at Burberry Prorsum. He toughened up those classic Burberry shapes with a liberal dose of hardware, think zips, studs and buckles teamed up with patent gauntlets and thigh-high boots. This hard-edged attitude was reflected on the catwalks elsewhere, note; Manish Arora, Alexander McQueen, Gareth Pugh and Dolce & Gabbana.

 

Top of the list was to team collections with 7-inch perspex heels, closely followed by spray-on black PVC stockings, and while it’s highly unlikely that that either will take off in a mainstream way you can bet your bottom dollar that they’ll appear in editorial spreads galore.

 

London designer Ziad Ghanem also got tough come autumn with his spiky ‘This Ain’t No Disco’ collection. The inspiration behind the collection he said “is the protection of oneself from others and the dangers of this world.”

 

By JoJo Iles