Latex beyond fetish wear

Latex is normally associated with good ol' fashioned fetish wear but with the help of latex experts Atsuko Kudo, Tim Soar, refined it into something that was actually wearable outside of a darkened room for his A/W 09 collection. This was certainly a talking point during the show and it has played on my mind ever since because the show demonstrated latex in a completely new light to me and I wanted to answer my what, who and why questions...thankfully Dazed have done this for me with an interview with Soar which is well worth a read.

We wanted a slightly dark/fetish feel for AW 09. And latex seemed the obvious choice.
Jodie (my stylist) had worked with Atsuko before, so she was top of the list. If you want top quality latex garments you go to Atsuko, it is as simple as that. Tim Soar

For me Soar's clothing is all about the detailing and at times these intricate and clever additions can often be overlooked on the runway but my keen eye spotted the buckles and zips added to the back of suit jackets and the elasticated belts used throughout the show...that said, I just cannot wait to get my paws on the collection to inspect the pieces up close. The collaborative pieces in this collection included some of my favourites, the parachute/quilted garments which were with Chris Raeburn and Atsuko Kudo's latex tailoring which provided the final few looks were real highlights for me. Atsuko is the leading designer and maker of high fashion latex clothing and she has made some beautiful latex tailoring for this collection. I love it when designers create something which creates an element of head scratching and interest whilst still creating something quite wearable and Tim Soar certainly demonstrated this. The Dazed interview hints that we might just see more of the latex creations as George from These New Puritans was enquiring as to whether Tim could work on some stage wear for the band. Of course latex will always be niche but it is nice to see it used, approached and worked with in a different light.