From Gucci and Givenchy, to Christopher Kane and Y/Project, the runways feel kinkier than ever

Text Jake Hall

Photography Christina Fragkou

It wasn’t just fashion critics that took notice, though. Just weeks later Rachel Weisz – now a bona fide queer icon following scene-stealing turns in Disobedience and The Favourite – wore a red latex gown from the same Givenchy collection to the Oscars. Twitter was immediately flooded with short, filthy declarations of lust from women worldwide, some of whom begged Weisz to spit in their mouth. ‘Everyone Wants Rachel Weiz To Dominate Them’ proclaimed The Cut, collating tweets from fans asking her to “step on them, and top them, and run them over, and rail them, and just generally sexually subject them.” The combination of Weisz’s pure sex appeal and the connotations of the latex made people genuinely horny for Couture – not exactly the norm in fashion. The headlines were less risqué when Christopher Kane, a designer known for consistent references to sex and sexuality, turned to object fetishists for his AW19 inspiration, but his embrace of ‘looners’ and ‘rubberists’ still set him apart on the London schedule. “Some people don’t think human beings are sexy,” he explained backstage after the show. “They find other objects sexual.” This research spawned a collection filled with latex gloves, deflated balloons, and clear, colourful bags filled with undisclosed liquids. It was almost a continuation of his Joys Of Sex collection, but more specific; more kinky: crystal chains and shiny rubber were used throughout, alluding to the textural qualities of fetish gear. “AW19’s runway kink feels appropriate for a time in which we’re having deeper conversations about sex, power, and consent” Kane is one of a select few London designers known for subversion, but runways across all four fashion capitals were littered with BDSM codes this season. In Paris, McQueen showed a darker graduation of its leather SS19 looks, teaming laser-cut leather bustiers with chokers and slicked-back hair; Rei Kawakubo’s all-black collection featured architectural, almost armour-like rubber looks with buckles and straps; Y/Project went a step further with necklaces depicting lesbian couples scissoring; while at Marine Serre, models wore full-body gimpsuits. Gucci became the talk of Milan thanks to its leather twinsets and super-sharp spiked dog collars and masks – which looked so lethal designer Alessandro Michele doubted they could actually be sold. Their looks were deceiving though, as the designer spoke of protection as opposed to subversion and sexuality. “They seem aggressive but they are gentle,” he told journalists post-show. “They are warning masks: ‘Be careful because I’m here and I wanted to defend myself.’ As a young boy I had to defend myself. I had to use some spikes.” AW19 also heralded a more considered, nuanced, and sensitively handled exploration of signifiers commonly associated with S&M. Just last season, Thom Browne sent women bound and gagged down the runway in the midst of the #MeToo scandal, and was immediately scorned for his misstep. His study of control, submission, and restraint felt at best clumsy and at worst disrespectful at a time when women were fighting so hard for autonomy, not just over their bodies and their lives, but over their stories and their right to tell them without being disbelieved or diminished. If we’re to believe Hollywood we’ve moved past #MeToo and into #TimesUp – and fashion, as cultural commentary needs to reflect that.

Photography Giacomo Cabrini