“They say that behind very great man is a great woman. In my world there was always a great photographer with whom I collaborated to produce innovative images.

“I started with two great talents: Trevor Watson and Alistair Thain. Trevor captured exactly the look I was after: semi-Helmut Newton-like but using younger, more voluptuous models in slightly seedy locations.”

At the same time, at an art show private view, she met someone who would become another influential figure in her life.

Iain Henderson owned a boutique called Quasimodo on the Kings Road, and he offered Krystina display space there if she would put into production the latex collection she had launched at the Embassy night.

Thus EctoMorph began as a proper business — born, as Krystina puts it, out of a desire to take latex out of the closet and into the realms of fashion.

“Quasimodo was a haven for quirky and sexy clothing, and its clientèle was a combination of the famous and young street kids who just wanted to be different.”

Iain employed Page Three girls (newspaper pin-up models) to run the shop, which resulted in a lot of coverage in the red-top dailies. Editorial spreads featuring such models and soap stars not only helped sales but also made fetish more familiar and acceptable to the general public.

“This series of serendipitous events spiralled my ascent into fetish,” Krystina says. “What started as a naïve experimental idea became a lifestyle from which I have never looked back.”

Her starting point in 1985 was propelled by the desire to overturn a scene governed by tradition and characterised by “staid catsuits made in the main by Sealwear”. It was a scene as yet untouched by fashion concepts.

‘My first collection was in white latex, which I thought would be less threatening. Ironically, Vogue and Elle mags chose simple black dresses to feature’

“I knew the industry was ripe for an overhaul. My first collection was in white latex. I introduced the peplum-shaped jacket, then an unknown concept in latex design. I chose white because I thought it would be received better and be less threatening.

“Ironically when I was approached by Vogue and Elle magazines they chose simple black dresses to feature. But the gateway was open and fetish was never viewed in the same way again.”

EctoMorph was a concept coined from the designer’s fascination with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and the 1980s’ obsession with the body.

“I also loved the body-hugging clothes of Azzedine Alaïa and I wanted to replicate that aura in latex. Ectomorph is one of three biological body types — the ideal: a slim, tall body type.

“At the same time I wanted my clothes to merge in with daily reality and seem ‘normal’ so I stitched my latex, using it as one would ‘normal’ clothing fabrics.”

She recalls that some people assumed it was leather because it resembled leather from a distance, and that was most people’s only kinky reference point.

When she exhibited at Fashion Week, she recalls buyers feeling the latex then sniggering “Who on earth wears that?” at the clothes.

But her stitching of rubber became her trademark, along with the stud detailing with which she peppered many of her garments.

“I was determined to incorporate and change the image of fetish menswear, and designed a fashionable biker’s jacket and Levi’s-inspired jeans that got included in the Street Style exhibition in 1989 at the V&A.

“They, along with my men’s shirts, became best-selling items for men. However, most men that I design for now are crossdressers or incorporate an element of femininity into their fetish wardrobe. Things have certainly changed for men,” she observes.