In the 1980s, Vivienne Westwood, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Madonna were some of the people who finally established fetishism on the mainstream fashion scene. When Gianni Versace presented his Bondage collection in 1992, fetishists all over the world complained that the collection had pushed fetishism into mainstream fashion – a trend that Sara Linke is promoting with her master’s collection called Obsessive Latex.

A young graduate of the fashion design course in the Fakultät Angewandte Kunst Schneeberg of the Westsächsischen Hochschule Zwickau (Faculty of Applied Arts, Schneeburg, at the West Saxony University of Applied Sciences, Zwickau), has combined latex with lace to produce extravagant, special-occasion wear.

Gabriela Schellner, the Head of Textile Development at Karl Mayer Textilmaschinenfabrik, and her team supplied the student with the lace fabrics, and were on hand to provide her the necessary support. The latex was sponsored by the company Latexmanufactur.de.

Making latex acceptable

The Obsessive Latex collection is a homage to the female form and plays with luxurious materials – woollen fabrics, silk and latex are incorporated into seven outfits to create exciting combinations.

A new, vibrant design concept has also emerged by combining open, warp-knitted fabrics and lace with natural rubber, which is nurturing the “fetish fashion” trend.

The result is eveningwear, whose aesthetics and elegance are showing real commitment to pleasure, fashion and femininity, according to the designer. The elegant apparel shows that eroticism can be combined with conventional garments. Lingerie and latex have been a hot topic for some time, and are now becoming a new form of acceptable “dress code”.

Inspirations

Sara Linke combined classic garment pieces with high-end lingerie and brightened up the look with bold style elements borrowed from the twenties and the fetish scene. The collection emphasises all those feminine charms, plays subtly with the material aesthetics, and has an impressive, luxurious feel to it – the result of combining a touch of Art Déco with 1920s’ glamour.

The luxury of the materials typical of the twenties, which include varnish, leather, chrome, and gold, is now reflected in shimmering latex. Chokers and laces as fetish elements in the collection are placed stylishly on the garments using rings, stand-up collars, and tie-belts, for example.

The design of the dresses, tops and a skirt, which are made from extravagant materials, makes them both wearable and striking. The contrasting widths in the silhouettes create a vibrant, overall look. Refinements like laser cuts and latex net constructions produced by hand round off the design features.

www.karlmayer.com

www.saralinke.com