AMENTIUM: OCTOBER COVER STORY

“Not only that but to do events is very time consuming and expensive, so I had a lot to plan before jumping in the deep end with established brands who know what they’re doing.

“Le Boutique Bazaar really gave me the confidence and feeling of ‘I’m actually doing it, I’m a designer and this is my brand, I actually have a business!’.

“So when I went to Fetish Evolution two weeks later I was ready. Well, as ready as I could be. I’m always learning — every event brings its own challenges.”

Torture Garden, she says, was “like a reunion gathering” with model friends she’d worked with before, where everyone was making new connections and having fun.

“Catwalks in the UK are no problem,” she reckons. “But catwalks abroad when you don’t speak the native language, now that’s something else!”

More recently, Amentium has appeared at a derelict church in Liverpool. Helen says: “The Bombed Out Church is such a great venue and for years I’ve wanted to go there, but it’s always locked up.”

So when the opportunity came to exhibit there at an Independent Creatives Fair, she couldn’t turn it down.

During this month’s London Fetish Weekend (October 5-8), Amentium will return to Le Boutique Bazaar (on Sunday 8) after Helen has hopefully taken in Saturday’s Rubber Cult party.

At the end of October there’ll be an Amentium appearance at Halloween Hangover in Manchester, then she’ll be returning to Germany for Hamburg’s new Passion fetish and BDSM retail fair on the third weekend of November.

“Five events before Christmas — no sleep here I come!” she declares.

‘At every event I aim to make a profit, and going overseas is no different. Yes it’s pricey, but the market is so much broader in Germany, which gives a larger opportunity for sales’

At the time of writing, the Passion fair boasts 93 exhibitors, of which only one — Amentium — is British. Given that it is primarily a BDSM product-orientated event with only about a dozen latex exhibitors, what are Helen’s expectations of it?

“At every event I aim to make profit,” she says, “and going overseas is no different. Yes it’s pricey, but the market is so much broader in Germany, which gives a larger opportunity for sales.

“Worst-case scenario: I don’t make a profit but I’ve learnt how to improve for the next event. I will have networked and used it as marketing. Everyone who comes to the stand will leave with a flyer so they may not purchase now but they will have a memory-jogger.

“I think my brand is pretty distinctive and very much to be worn by those who want to make a statement. Despite Passion being heavily marketed for BDSM and fetish over fashion, my interpretation of combining the two worlds has been well received so far by the fetish scene.”

Did she consider participating in Avantgardista, the new Munich event (on the weekend before Passion) which is more specifically orientated towards showcasing new, young latex designers?

“I was approached during Fetish Evolution to do Avantgardista but the costs were far too steep for a new brand. I may go as a guest to see what it’s all about, dependent on how on-schedule I am for Passion.”

Another form of promotion Helen has tried is the studio day in which models, latex outfits and a hair/make-up team are assembled at a studio booked by the label, and photographers pay a nominal fee to attend and shoot. The resultant images are then shared by everyone involved.

It’s an idea I first saw put into action by Catriona Stewart, and it is still relatively unusual in the latex fashion world, though it might catch on if more small brands only realised its potential.

“I tried studio days in an attempt to cut down on hires, and get models and photographers all in one place to network together and have a solid team to create solid images,” says Helen.

Organising shoots around a single day and venue can, she argues, make a lot more sense than “20-plus outfits split across the country on multiple hires by multiple individuals and teams”.

“I much prefer to do hiring now,” she adds. “Hiring came about purely because I didn’t have the money to make an outfit in multiple sizes, as it’s so expensive just to make one outfit.

“I was a bit precious about my first latex outfit The Launch Bustle Body. I didn’t want to sell it, so instead, I would hire it out for photoshoots. That way it would always be returned and I’d gain exposure.”

The Amentium Launch collection was followed fairly swiftly, in December 2015, by Helen’s second collection, Pretty in Pink. Six months later, in June 2016, she produced Hidden Escape. The current Illusion collection was unveiled in stages throughout the second half of 2016.

Pretty In Pink, with its contrasting panels of electric pink and black, comes across to me as a bold and striking capsule collection. Says Helen:

“The intention was to introduce non-latex wearers to wearing latex, but still with an edge and nod to the latex scene.”

It was also an attempt to avoid the costs of laser cutting and try a new style — although she says she will always return to laser cutting and her print background.

“I made the Pretty in Pink Body for a magazine cover, and it gained so much interest for hire that I decided to expand and make a collection.”

But now, she admits, it’s one of her least favourite collections and one she’s “80 percent sure” she’ll remove once all current stock has sold.

Mid-2016’s Hidden Escape collection was a diversion into much softer feminine territory.

Inspired by “Venice and its grand architecture and in particular the metalwork in the rustic streets”, it boasts laser-cut patterns laminated this time onto marbled latex sourced from Yummy Gummy.

“I had every intension to create my own marble sheeting so that Amentium would be completely handcrafted in-house,” Helen reveals.

“I actually had a two day ‘play date’ with Catriona where we tried to make our own marble sheeting. But it is excruciatingly time-consuming and a skill in itself to get right.