It seems it isn’t just Rihanna now who seems to be singing praises about chains and whips. Following the 3.1 Phillip Lim show in New York, fashion writer Laird Borrelli-Persson was quick to announce the birth of ‘grundage’. Designers embraced looks of statement leather and oversized chokers teamed with harnesses and intricate lacing. It is the perfect merge of daywear and nightwear. Super sexy yet somewhat super chic.
To me, it reflects the modern woman. It brings together female empowerment and liberation alongside the celebration of sex itself. It connotes a huge sense of experimentation - delving into the new, breaking boundaries, wearing what we want. And to me, this is what fashion is legitimately about. It therefore came as no surprise as to see how designers had become inspired by this look as it appeared on a number of the catwalks of New York, London, Paris and Milan Fashion Week. Take us back five years ago or so, most of us wouldn’t have had a clue about BDSM (Bondage and Discipline, Dominance and Submission, Sadism and Masochism). Yet following the success of the ’50 Shades’ franchise, it is a lifestyle that has been glamorized. I was left mildly disappointed by the costume in the film. As an avid lingerie fan, what I expected to be somewhat of an Agent-P advert was more of an M&S ‘granny-pants’ display.
Big celebrity names from Beyonce to Miley Cyrus have jumped on the bondage bandwagon and have passed with flying colours. It’s ever so glamorous, but with a touch of sin. Tom Ford’s recent collection featured thigh-skimming frocks teamed with structured harness bras and bandeau tops. These looks were topped off with heavy-duty smokey eyes and disheveled hairstyles, oozing sex-appeal. Meanwhile on the walkways of London, Julien MacDonald’s AW15 collection seemed to turn in a new overtly-sexual direction. Dominatrix-style outfits were accessorized with thick chokers, long black gloves and dark red lipstick.One of my favourite collections of London Fashion Week came from the incredible London- based Serbian designer Marko Mitanovski. His monochrome collection featured models fully painted in black or white wearing barely-there full fishnet bodysuits, masks, heavy collars and corsets made in leather and crocodile.
Moving on to slightly further-ashore, there is one designer whom we cannot forget. Chromat has always been one of my favourite brands. With a background in architecture and urban design, designer Becca McCharen focuses on structural experiments for the human body. Pretty much anybody who is anybody has been seen in one of her signature pieces. We’re talking latex cage-bustiers, see-through parkas and mesh bodysuits. It’s as bondage as you get. However what I most respect this designer for doing, is for her focus on diversity. She stated “I’m so against all white, straight girl runways...That just doesn’t reflect my reality and who I am and who the Chromat woman is. And so far for every season, we’ve been all about strong, powerful women”. The woman in her shows could not look more incredible and I hope this inspires other designers to make a change.
(Pictures courtesy of style.com/REX)
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