Dayne Henderson: the man behind the masks, revealed.
Shows by young Geordie designer Dayne Henderson have made a big impression at recent Torture Garden and Rubber Cult parties. With their echoes of Leigh Bowery, his masked creations push at the very boundaries of latex fashion. Interview: Tony Mitchell
If you’ve noticed an increase in the presence at recent UK fetish nights of outfits that invoke the spirit of the great Leigh Bowery, chances are you’ve caught an appearance by Dayne Henderson Designs.
Newcastle born and bred, “proud Geordie boy” Dayne has been turning heads with his striking, imaginatively-hooded latex creations at Torture Garden and Rubber Cult. And it’s now rumoured he’s soon to make his European catwalk debut at one of Amsterdam’s Dominatrix parties.
Suddenly it’s all happening rather quickly for the 25-year-old from Newcastle, who after an initial college course in Fashion and Clothing followed by a year on Northumbria Uni’s Fashion Design course, switched in 2010 to the University of Sunderland’s Fashion Product and Promotion course, from which he graduated in 2012.
But the route to his First Class BA Honours degree wasn’t all plain sailing. “I struggled at Northumbria,” he recalls. “The classes were huge and I seemed to get lost in the background — I was never the most stylish or ‘typical’ fashion student.
“I have a great appreciation for the body and form so creating fashion that was also a ‘second skin’ I found really interesting,” he says.
“After failing the year, I was told by one of the tutors about the course at Sunderland. The classes were a lot smaller, the tutorial team were great and the course really let me discover my design aesthetic and explore what I was all about.
“It was the best move I could have made, and I graduated in 2012 with a First Class degree and a love of latex,” he says. However, his tastes for extreme style were formed somewhat earlier.
“I was always quite a weird kid in my teens, and went through every ‘phase’ imaginable,” he confesses. “I loved to dress to shock and provoke a reaction. But the turning point in terms of career ambitions came at age 14 or 15 when I went to see Boy George’s musical Taboo.
“This was when I was first introduced to the legend that is [extreme performance artist] Leigh Bowery, played by Julian Clarey at that time. I was completely awestruck, and the rest, as they say, is history. I knew then that fashion — extreme/provocative fashion — was my thing.”
These proclivities ensured that his college collection — “albeit very amateur,” the designer thinks — featured a lot of PVC and a “very sexualised/futuristic look”. This led to a desire to explore latex as a medium, and it “ticked all the boxes” for him.
“I have a great appreciation for the body and form so creating fashion that was also a ‘second skin’ I found really interesting,” he says.
Happily, the new fascination Dayne Henderson had developed for latex didn’t raise too many eyebrows among his fellow students or tutors at university.
“Some of my peers thought I was perhaps a bit odd, but I always created very thorough and conceptual work. So although to some it may have looked like I was some sort of fetishist sex maniac, my reasons for using latex and doing what I did were justified and understood.
“The university was very supportive and even features my graduate collection in the brochure for the course I studied.”
For Dayne Henderson, latex was a natural progression. “I knew I was always going to be a designer but the chance to explore latex solidified that it was, without any shadow of a doubt, my medium.”
People looking at his hooded designs might naturally assume he was heavily influenced by superheroes and/or cosplay. But that is not the case, he insists.
“This is a funny one! People often assume I am heavily into sci-fi or superheroes and things like that but to be honest I have no particular interest, other than an appreciation if they look cool.
‘People assume I am heavily into sci-fi or superheroes, but I have no particular interest, other than an appreciation if they look cool’ – Dayne
“For me it’s probably a bit deeper: we live in a society where everyone wears a mask to some degree, and I’m just more blatant.
“Having said that, I remember my first crush being on a Power Ranger, so maybe there is something in that. I do find masks very sexy!
“But the idea of recreating existing garments or costumes really bores me,” he adds. “I also really hate it when people use the word ‘costume’ for my work. I consider what I do to be fetish.
After graduating, Dayne Henderson got in touch with a lot of established latex brands about work opportunities and “bagged a job” at Rubber55. What did he learn during his time at this highly regarded label?
“I learnt a lot about the construction of latex, and producing en masse really helped me perfect my skills.
It really gave me an insight into the world of latex from more of a fetishist’s viewpoint, as opposed to just having an appreciation for the look.
“Andy and Karen [Rubber55’s owners] are very knowledgeable and I have always been a bit sponge-like in my need to understand and learn every aspect of what I was getting into.”
Before starting at Rubber55, Dayne had already begun the process of establishing his own brand, winning second place when he put his graduate collection into London Fetish Weekend 2012’s New Designer of the Year contest.
Joining Rubber55, he was initially “very happy to be part of the team in such a successful brand”.
So for a while his own work went onto the back burner, although he did have the opportunity to “design a few garments under the Rubber55 name”.
READ MORETags: Clothing, Latex