I don’t know if you happened to catch the article on GQ.com on Buzz Bissinger’s high-end leather habit. He’s the author of “Friday Night Lights” and a self-described Gucci shopping addict. He wrote a stunningly honest and revealing story a few weeks ago about his out-of-control spending on sensual leather clothing shoes, boots and gloves - mostly from Gucci, but he namedrops Mr. S leather, Ines gloves, and a few other favorites that most internet-roaming pervy shoppers would recognize.
If you’ve ever given thought to the kind of hedonistic lifestyle you might be able to live with nearly unlimited funds and an ego untethered to conventional reality or social mores, his story serves as a kind of fantasy (or is it a nightmare?) come-true. I think it's meant mostly as a cautionary tale, although some of it seems kind of liberating. It may be a case of “Be careful what you wish for!” Unlimited funds to pursue your perversion? Seemed like a good idea at the time!
I’ve long felt that high-fashion has traded in clothing that could only be rivaled by dedicated fetish manufacturers. Fetish is the life blood of high fashion, and they borrow (or maybe steal?) from the world of fetish on a regular basis. If you want to find the highest possible heels, the slickest leathers, and the tightest body-conscious fits, high-fashion is the way to go. For years Prada, Gucci and Versace have turned out boots and shoes straight from a dominatrix’s (or cross-dresser’s) fantasy closet. Gucci's designer Frida Giannini even called out fetish pop artist Allen Jones as an influence on her Fall 2013 collection. You just won’t see these (often impractical, sometimes almost unwearable) styles at mainstream retailers.
These are the ethereal products of unlimited budgets, finest materials and craftsmanship, and sexual imagination. They are taking inspiration from a common source, something deeply attractive and seductive to the human animal. It's just most of us don't have the half-million dollars to spend to pursue our own predilections.
A link to Gucci's Fall 2013 catwalk show for reference http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hnmFQHwKMA
ReplyDeletePlenty of drool-worthy leathery tops, dresses, skirts and of course boots and gloves!
Thanks for the link! I ended up embedding the video, hopefully that works... Drool worthy is right. I'd like one of everything, please.
DeleteFetish in high fashion is getting at the real purpose of fashion - to stylistically eroticize the female. Fetish, makes no bones about this as it's precisely what fetish is. Fashion usually dances around it and tries to be subtle. But less so these days and so the fetish look is being shown on fashion runways.
ReplyDeleteHowever it is not being worn on the street... more likely at very upscale private events.
It's fetish with a super high price and a fashion label. Fetish is expensive enough without the label multiplying the price. No?
I completely agree with the first part of your comment... I often wonder where the more extreme versions of some outfits and shoes are being worn. Parties I'm not invited to, (but wish I was) I'm afraid. But then again, it's geared towards those who can spend 10K or more on a handbag, or drop a thousand on a pair of shoes without a second thought. For almost any category (pens, shoes, cars) there is something at every price point, and this is no exception. For some consumers, the high price IS the point (keeps out the "plebians")?
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