METAMORPHOSIS performers: @arnovond3tus (left) and @hardlyxhuman (photo: Tony Mitchell)
“And I thought — I’m not going to say the word, but it’s the Samuel Jackson word*! [*motherfucker — ed].
“This person… first of all — how dare he? Second, the disrespect from this person who thinks he’s some sort of mini-god because he’s got some fashion background and history!
“He thinks that, because I’m not part of the ‘fashion industry’ for the ‘fashion’ he thinks he represents, I’m not as worthy because I do production.
“But he was privileged to be having production done by me, but he couldn’t see it, and I dropped him after this.”
Unsurprisingly, Iris does have some observations on how latex designers approached today by brands might evaluate a potential collaboration.
Latex designers should know their value
“I know that sometimes latex designers feel seen only when the world out there notices them. And I see how hyped the newer brands get when someone borrows a garment — when they make a basic pair of shorts for some big name and its ‘OMG this person is wearing my shorts’.
“But actually, from my experience, it’s not as valuable as they think. At the end of the day, our craft is so complicated and so hard to achieve that actually these people are privileged to know us.
“Because there are not that many of us. If we start dying now for whatever reason — if, say, a second wave of covid madness comes through and half of us die — there won’t be that many of us left in the world.
“If you go out, you can find people to do corsetry, you can find people to do stitching and you can find pattern-cutters, because these skills are taught in universities. But latex-makers you will not find.
“So for any latex workers reading this: you’re definitely way more valuable than you think you are!
“And whoever comes to you and tries to use you as a factory, or at some lower level, like panty-maker, you don’t need them. You just need confidence and to believe in yourself!
“We have the power and we’re pulling off such great shows and we’re pulling off so much hard work and custom stuff for all our clients, that these big brands need 10-to-20-person teams to do them.
“And we’re here hitting three overnights in a row and making a big, big-ass garment. And I don’t think people realise how valuable that is until you go out there and work with them.”
METAMORPHOSIS performer @slenderlorris
Without denigrating anyone else’s work, adds Iris, she is very confident of her skills and her quality. “So yeah, this is what I’ve got from working with brands and fashion people, stylists, celebrities and all that.
Stylists who want everything for nothing
“Honestly, until celebrities come to me and say ‘Hey Iris, I want you to make a beautiful dress for me’, I don’t really care. Because stylists always come with their idea and it’s not really your design. And then they don’t pay.
“We received a request recently, for someone who wanted clothes for a video that would play behind them while they sang, on the big screen.
“They had ‘no budget’ to borrow the garments, let alone buy them, and the singer wouldn’t even credit.
“So I’m sorry, but you’re making millions, you’re one of the richest and biggest pop singers in the world and you can’t even afford to give me a small loan fee?”
I tell Iris the owner of another UK latex label I was chatting with recently told me they’d become so fed up with the sense of entitlement they encounter from stylists that they now refuse to deal with such people at all.
And this reminds me that, in an interview intended as a full update on Ms Trika’s recent activities, I haven’t yet asked her what’s going on with the House of Harlot brand itself. So I put that enquiry to Iris, and her response surprises me.
“I have actually abandoned Harlot for a couple of years now, because I have not been inspired for a while,” she says.
“I find the environment really non-stimulating, and also considering how much is going on politically, I’ve found it really hard to focus on a direction it should go in the future.”
“Like, who will afford my garments five years from now? What is the point of my doing
something that is not going to correspond to a buyer in five years? Where are we going?” she wonders.
“Because I’m a person who is really politically involved, and I think it’s really important for my work to have an impact in this world.
Hard to focus on commercial garments
“And having seen how much damage is being done on the earth to actual human lives, it’s really hard for me to focus on just making something commercial for people to wear and just go out and have fun.
“Unless,” she adds quickly, “someone actually comes and says ‘Hey Iris, make this for me, make something pretty’. Then I will do it.
“But I feel it’s a little bit pretentious from my side — with my perception of the world right now and the state of things — to just show up and be like, ‘Hello everyone, I made this pretty thing, please buy it and have fun like nothing’s happening’. This is really difficult for me.
“So I guess what I’m trying to say for myself now is: with this project of Fade in Decay, I understand more my creative side and my creative direction of things.
“And I can work in parallel with House of Harlot on future projects because I can slowly find my own meaning in things — determine where I want to go in the future and what impact I want my work to have on people.”
The huge offensive against DEI (diversity, equality and inclusion) currently happening in America but also resonating more widely is something she finds deeply concerning.
“I guess it’s really important for me to be able to support those affected by the whole nonsense happening right now with gender, the whole reversal of diversity and inclusivity, women being taken off research into those topics and so on.
“It’s really scary, not just that governments are changing their minds about things but that they’re actually erasing legal papers, like research done, work done, deleting files, removing names and pronouns and words from actual real things that give information for people.
“It’s really scary because I feel it is our responsibility [to act] — us, the outcasts, the people in the alternative scene and the fetish scene. They’re kicking us out; we’re not included, we’re not considered to matter, and we’re being demonised for being free to do our thing.
“I feel it’s our time and place to do something about it. This is in my head quite a bit right now, how I’m going to proceed with everything I do.
How best to support those with difficulties
“It’s about realising how difficult it is for certain people right now, and trying to understand what is the best I can do without marginalising myself, and keeping my power where it is while at the same time being able to help and support.
“It’s a really thin line to fall behind when things are getting dangerous. It’s really easy to fall behind but I mustn’t, because I feel I can help people, but I should also make sure that I’m in a good place to do that. So that’s what has been in my head about Harlot, to be honest!
“Everything about what is going on out there right now is quite worrying. But as long as we follow some art, things will keep rolling.
“They will keep trying to take us apart, to break us down with AI or whatever else. But at the end of the day they cannot do what we do.
“They cannot stop us dressing the way we want to dress; they cannot stop us fixing our own outfits when we have no money; they cannot stop us buying from charity shops if that’s the cheapest option for us.
“They’re pushing harder and harder towards the edge, but actually the option we have on the edge is to detach from them. So I feel there’s a big gap where they can’t really touch us — they can physically touch us but they can’t really touch us.
“You cannot imprison the mind, you cannot imprison authenticity. You can scare people but if people are themselves, you cannot imprison them because they will still be themselves and they will still influence others.
“And that is the true face of change and resistance to anything that is happening out there. That’s the best way to say it.”
‘WEB’ DESIGN: The rail of Iris Thespider custom creations displayed at Trika’s Kings Road studio
Iris adds that her concerns about the future direction of House of Harlot also apply to her Iris Thespider work — which, incidentally, is represented at her Kings Road premises by a rail of elaborate one-off latex creations (see above) on one wall of the studio.
“I’m trying to figure it out myself and I feel in the next six months we’re going to have answers,” she predicts.
I respond that we should probably be prepared, then, for things to go in any direction.
“Yeah,” she agrees. “I think if you suppress things and only give them a few options, they will either go this or the other way.
“But if you let them explode like a firework, they will go everywhere. And I tend to follow the firework option and let them go everywhere!”
FADE IN DECAY: METAMORPHOSIS – CREDITS + LINKS
DESIGNERS | @iristhespiderofficial – @tootommo – @pr0ject.108
GARMENT PRODUCTION | @dana_omari – @iristhespiderofficial – @tootommo – @pr0ject.108 – @oddsally.p – @trikasmanolis – @maisoglouanna
JEWELLERY | @elodiebosk
GRILLS | @melancholygrillzldn
HAIR | @johanjohn_
HAIR ASSIST | @stellatsiledaki
MUA | @astermunro – @hannamua96
MOVEMENT DIRECTION | @slotherthansloth
SHOW PRODUCTION | @iristhespiderofficial – @domjoshuamurray
SET DESIGN | @maisoglouanna
POEM | @babydov.e
TALENT | @miss.terriboxx – @m_our_y – @arnovond3tus – @hardlyxhuman – @domjoshuamurray – @isi_or_izzntshe – @slenderlorris – @sununu_hernandez
PHOTOGRAPHY | @ibzyflix._
VIDEOGRAPHY | @er_moonlight
MUSIC | @zedohseakay
COMING SOON! fadeindecay.com website
BELOW: Iris (second left) and production team members enjoy after-show hugs (photo: Tony Mitchell)
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