KRYSTINA initially resisted having catsuits in her EctoMorph range, but later relented. Images like the above of her first catsuit helped change her mind (photo: Wilfrid Moulin; model: Nouka)
Clubs, catalogues, photographers & fashion influences
Few people attended our Soundshaft nights, apparently put off by the hardcore decor. It was too early for such an explicit vibe. It also sometimes attracted the wrong kind of personality.
Tim Woodward frequently tells people that I saved him from one of our clubbers who was later exposed as a serial killer! Michael Lupo (Michele del Marco Lupo) was a regular visitor to these events and had taken a liking to Tim.
I had to pretend to be Tim’s girlfriend to fend Lupo off, thereby possibly saving his life. (Incidentally, Grace Lau, Tim’s photographer partner on Skin Two magazine, took many naked photos of Lupo while alone with him in her Archway Studio at the time.)
Skin Two Club v2 settles in at Zeetas
Mark Fuller, who’d owned the Embassy Club, had opened a new club, Zeetas, in Putney. When Skin Two looked like it wasn’t working at Soundshaft, Mark offered Tim and me Zeetas as an alternative venue to operate from — and Skin Two never looked back.
Ironically the decor in Zeetas was chintzy sofas, and the space was tiny in comparison with Heaven, but it struck a chord with the clientèle.
Skin Two at Zeetas gave me an audience and a location where I could promote my EctoMorph range. These were pre-internet, pre-social media days. Publicity for clothing brands at that time was obtained by producing catalogues and by direct contact with the buying public.
Leaflets would be handed out to potential customers — an activity that was later (in 2006) turned into a business by Handjobs Media.
Handjobs’ Michaela van Es and her gang could be seen at the end of fetish club nights handing out goody bags containing company flyers to exiting clubbers.
EctoMorph catalogues & Skin Two Germany
IMAGE from first EctoMorph catalogue (photo: Trevor Watson; model: Tracy Clarke), later used as centre section of Skin Two Germany No1
EctoMorph produced five catalogues, the first three of which were in black and white, and these functioned as mail order catalogues. Not long after producing my first catalogue, I met a German fan of Skin Two magazine who expressed an interest in starting a fetish magazine of his own.
This man was called Peter Czernich, and he did a deal with Tim Woodward to license the Skin Two name in order to launch Skin Two Germany.
Its first edition in 1987 consisted of a few original German-language editorial pages wrapped around the whole of my first EctoMorph catalogue!
Apart from this being hugely flattering, it brought me to the awareness of a new German audience. Plus it gave Peter an inroad into magazines and latex clothing.
SKIN TWO GERMANY (1987-89) was Peter W Czernich’s debut as a fetish mag publisher. He went on to publish <<O>>, Marquis and more
He was an excellent photographer — something that became evident when he published his own images in Skin Two Germany and later <<O>> and Marquis.
Czernich was also my German agent, and as such placed EctoMorph in many of the sex shops that proliferated there. Germany was already a huge market for ‘traditional’ fetish clothing and publications.
Visiting German locations with Peter, I could see the influence we Brits were having there through the new wave of London clubs, magazines like Skin Two and designers like myself who were altering the landscape of fetish.
The German scene underwent a similar evolution to that which took place in the UK.
Today Germany hosts what is widely regarded as the world’s most prestigious multi-day fetish gathering — the German Fetish Ball Weekend in Berlin — as well as many other fetish events large and small.
Collaborations with many photographers
PUBLICITY image for EctoMorph’s second catalogue, featuring the studded latex detailing Kitsis became famed for (photo: Alastair Thain)
The production of EctoMorph catalogues led me to collaborations with many photographers, who all brought different perspectives to the sessions.
Among them were Trevor Watson, Alastair Thain, Derek Ridgers, Wilfrid Moulin, Aidan McCarthy, Keith Barker (Keital), Grant Davis, Ki Price and Darren Birkin, to name but a few.
From my early days I had been influenced by photographers such as Helmut Newton and David Bailey. I loved their slick fashion images that incorporated fetish themes.
I wanted to do something similar but make it available to people like myself and add my
own perspective, along with that of the photographers who also brought their own vision to the portrayal of the collections. It was always a collaborative experience.
Mapplethorpe, Lyon, Lau & Azzedine Alaïa
LISA LYON cover pose for Robert Mapplethorpe’s book Lady: Lisa Lyon, which inspired a ZG article by Krystina and Grace Lau about body awareness
At this time there was an evolving interest in health and body consciousness that had been popularised by Lady: Lisa Lyon, a 1983 book collaboration between Robert Mapplethorpe and female body-builder Lisa Lyon.
I had seen the exhibition of this work at the ICA gallery, and had collaborated with Grace Lau on an article about the emerging fetish scene and the changing body awareness for a 1983 edition of ZG magazine.
Latex fitted perfectly into the new direction fashion was taking. To reflect this zeitgeist, I chose the name EctoMorph, taking it from the term for a tall, thin, lean body type coined by American psychologist William Sheldon, who had developed a system of categorising human body types.
New technology involving weaving elastane (aka spandex or Lycra) into cloth allowed production of new stretch fabrics for tight clothing, which were seized upon by designers who had aims other than creating gym wear.
The most notable advocate of this new trend was Azzedine Alaïa, who created structured but tight clothing that clearly referenced fetish. I was a huge fan of his clothes, owning several treasured pieces which I wore until they fell apart.
AZZEDINE ALAÏA’s structured, tight Lycra-based styles like this gold dress were a major influence on Krystina’s own work (photo: Krystina Kitsis)
As with latex and its limited life span, Alaïa’s beautiful stretchy garments eventually — instead of supporting the body — lost their elasticity and sagged.
I incorporated Alaïa’s influences into my collections by producing leggings, shorts, swimsuits/bodies, tight-fitting dresses and skirts… and of course catsuits. But I have to admit to being a rather late convert in creating my first catsuit.
From durable catsuits to vacuum suits
I regarded catsuits as a stereotypical look embraced by traditional latex companies like Sealwear, and as my interest was in fashion, I didn’t see the point of perpetuating this look.
But Thomas Schneider, owner of Highlights, one of Germany’s first new wave fetish shops, persisted in badgering me to make both male and female catsuits. He knew he could sell them to his clients, especially pro dommes who wanted them for their studios.
I eventually acquiesced, catsuits went on to become one of my bestselling products, and I got to really like them once I saw them beautifully photographed by Wilfrid Moulin in Paris. The fact that I stitched them made them durable and popular, and I still make them today with very little change in design.
My reputation for durability of construction later led to collaborating with British brand Serious Kit: I make the latex structures for their high-end vacuum suits. This has been an interesting collaboration as it took me into unfamiliar territory and away from fashion.
40 years of latex has had its challenges
KRYSTINA had toyed in 1983 with becoming an academic, and had written frequently for ZG (above). But the urge to make clothes triumphed
Working with latex for 40 years has not been without its challenges — a perennial one of which (as for any designer) is the need to constantly come up with new ideas.
Working with the same fabric is a constant creative challenge. By stitching latex I have tried to give EctoMorph a unique look to distinguish it from other companies.
I had originally toyed with becoming an academic; I wrote frequently for ZG magazine and The Fashion Yearbook, and did some research for films.
But it was very difficult in 1983 to make an income from writing, and by then I had got the urge to design and make clothes again.
When, in 1985, Tim and I decided to revive Skin Two as a clubbing brand, we set out to offer a more contemporary approach for a new audience.
We played contemporary music, providing more of a nightclub environment. Fetishistas publisher Tony Mitchell (whom I’d met while he was still working on Sounds, and who’d become a personal friend) was asked to provide us with up-and-coming bands who would perform a short set for us.
People either loved or hated this slot but it made those nights unique. (Continues p3)
PHOTO collabs, below l-r: Derek Ridgers (model: Jose Konyh); Grant Davis (model: Sammm Agnew). Bottom l-r: Aidan McCarthy (model: Celine); Keith Barker (model: Lucy); Ki Price (model: Léa Mortelle)
Page 2 Galleries: Larger Versions and Bonus Images
CLICK/TAP either preview below to open gallery then click/tap any thumbnail to start slideshow
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