MadRubb bounces back with Delirium & Uber collections.
MadRubb, the Spanish latex label, is back in the limelight with two more collections that promote the potential of latex as everyday fashion. Delirium, featuring tartan and lace prints, is on sale now, while the military-influenced Uber collection will be available soon. Tony Mitchell takes a close look at both. Our cover/banner image of Psylocke and Lara Aimée in Delirium is by Afioco, and there are four galleries plus two great videos to watch too!
In late 2015, partners Vanessa and Jose launched their Delirium Collection, using printed latex — notably tartan prints — as a new way to express their stated objective of blending latex with day-to-day fashion.
They quickly followed this up at the start of 2016 with the Uber Collection, a range of streetwise and highly wearable looks premiered in February on the catwalk of Madrid’s MFShow Women, a precursor to the events of Madrid Fashion Week.
These two collections will undoubtedly help to make up for promotional appearances planned for 2015 in the wake of 2014’s Dominatrix and German Fetish Ball shows, but cancelled for reasons beyond the couple’s control.
The new styles should regain the label much of the international momentum it began to build from June 2013 when its earlier Lxve To Lxve Collection, subject of a cover story on the original Fetishistas site, introduced MadRubb to the English-speaking fetish scene.
The Delirium Collection is a range of cute separates and accessories that makes strong use of monochrome and duo-tone tartan prints
The Delirium Collection is a range of cute separates and accessories that makes strong use of monochrome and duo-tone tartan prints either for the entire piece, as in the Ava cap and Claudia shorts, or for contrast panels, as in the Grace bra and culotte (briefs).
Followers of high fashion will no doubt be reminded of the use of tartan by two great British designers: Vivenne Westwood and Alexander McQueen.
MadRubb’s work with such prints shows just how effectively something previously associated primarily with fashions in woven fabrics can be translated to latex style.
Other separates in the Delirium range include the cheeky Angelina skirt, close-fitting Rita jacket, front-seamed Lauren trousers and Romy shorts, and halter-style Megan top.
Accessories in the same style include Audrey fingerless gloves plus Ava braces, collar and visor. Lace-printed latex, meanwhile, is used for pieces including the Marilyn bra and g-string, and Marilyn hood with bolero.
In most cases several colour/pattern combinations are available at the standard price of the piece, while more are possible at an additional cost specified on the label’s website.
The Delirium Collection’s pièce de resistance is the Audrey top, which features Jose’s unique, trademark latex embroidery — sequins and crystal beads embroidered onto transparent rubber.
This top is an exclusive ‘couture’ piece with a ‘couture’ price of €1,260. But don’t worry — prices for other Delirium pieces start at a much more affordable €75.
To accompany the release of Delirium, MadRubb organised a video and photo shoot featuring three very popular models from the international fetish scene: Psylocke, Nina de Lianin and Lara Aimée.
Our two Delirium galleries in this article feature not only a selection of fashion stills, but also a set of candid shots showing the models in hair and make-up and some of the garments in production.
And as you’ll see, we have the Delirium video too. Still or moving, all the Delirium imagery is very stylish and is further of evidence of just how painstakingly the MadRubb team follow their latex-as-daytime-fashion vision.
“I tend to think it is all about our style,” he says. “We’re seen as not much into fetish but into fashion, full of trend but with that fetish attitude, nothing so explicit but the material gives the extra…
“So stylists can get our stuff for one thing or another. Vogue Spain, L’officiel, Smoda, recently Schön magazine or Spanish TELVA and many others have featured our work.
“It is not too complicated to get some of our pieces into an editorial. Our embroidered items make a big difference too.”
The positive image MadRubb enjoys with Madrid’s fashionistas undoubtedly played a part in the label being invited to show at this year’s MFShow Women, held on February 9.
The Uber Collection of 22 complete outfits shown there is the label’s Fall/Winter 2016/2017 offering. It’s an indication that MadRubb is adopting the lead-times that are standard in mainstream fashion, but not so much embraced in the fetish world.
The catwalk show also demonstrated how effortlessly this label’s latex clothes fit into a mainstream fashion vision if shown on mainstream fashion models.
This is not the norm with fetish fashion, but it does demonstrate how easily latex can becomes a mainstream look if you adopt the presentational style of the mainstream. As for the designs themselves:
“Martial shades for a woman on the rise,” says the MadRubb mission statement for Uber. “Military influences are present in the cuts of the raincoats, in the forms of the pants and jackets with volume, and in details like epaulettes on shoulders and sleeves.“
The wide range of colours used in the Uber pieces is perhaps unusual to find in a single latex collection, where economics often dictate that just a few key hues are combined in different ways.
To basic black, red and white is added royal blue is, the delicate tones of natural transparent and pink, and powerful fluorescent green, pink and yellow.
‘Military influences are present in the cuts of Uber’s raincoats, the forms of the pants and jackets, and details like epaulettes and sleeves’
Continuing with the theme adopted for Delirium, the high point of the Uber collection is found in impressive transparent dresses embroidered with crystal beads and sequins, an exclusive option from MadRubb.
A novel aspect of the label’s MFShow appearance was the accessorising of the models with transparent handbags each containing a different example from the colourful upmarket sex toy range of luxury brand Lelo.
MadRubb’s models strode the catwalk with a selection of the most iconic Lelo toys such as the INA Wave, Soraya and ORA 2 — the latter being the first and only sex toy to win an award at the Cannes Lions international advertising festival.
In their display-case-like bags, these softly-sculptured Lelo products looked almost like pieces in a museum exhibition — albeit a mobile one.
In other hands, this idea could easily have seemed over-the-top. But again, with MadRubb in charge, it stayed on the right side of tasteful with just enough of a suggestion of naughtiness to pique viewers’ interest.
As with the Delirium Collection, we have two galleries of Uber images for you to view — in this case consisting entirely of stills from the MFShow catwalk.
And below, we have also embedded the full length video of the show so you can see all these great latex styles ‘on the move’. Enjoy!
Click on the gallery previews below for Delirium (first row) and Uber (second row) collections
Watch MadRubb’s Delirium video (below) featuring Psylocke, Nina de Lianin and Lara Aimée
Watch MadRubb’s Uber video (below) to see the launch of the new collection at Madrid’s MFShow
MadRubb.com
MadRubb/facebook
DELIRIUM PHOTOGRAPHY
Models:
Lara Aimée
Nina de Lianin
Psylocke
Photography and editing: Afioco
Photo assistant: Itziar Jimenez
Hair: Enrique Serrano, Paula Center Estilistas
MUA: Lucía Camarena
Styling Assistant: Paula Delgado
Video and editing by the &Tonic team:
Alvaro Rey
Marcos Watt
Juanjo Ortiz
Art direction and production: MadRubb
Hair: Enrique Serrano, Paula Center Estilistas
MUA: Lucía Camarena
Styling Assistant: Paula Delgado
Music: Marcos in Dub
UBER VIDEO
Videography: MFShow/Fazeta
Music: Marcos in Dub
Latex: MadRubb
Accessories: Lelo
Tags: Clothing, Designers, Fashion Shows, Fetish Video, Latex