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PRONG JEWELLERY 25TH BIRTHDAY

All / Archived Covers / Cover Stories / Current Cover / Current Cover Stories / Interviews / November 2, 2026

BACKSTAGE ANTICS: Tauren practises his pick-up technique on Marnie Scarlet at Prong’s 25th Anniversary show (photo: Karolina Kai)

Claire: I think it was here that I found I loved manufacturing, the whole wholesale element of business. They had boxes and boxes of flowers and components, pearls, diamantes, lace… as well as making almost everything, I’d then prep kits for their freelance out-worker, then dispatch orders country-wide.

So this is where I learnt just how bloody marvellous a glue gun is, as well as working with flowers, jewels and wire.

So when I began Prong, it wasn’t me starting a company, it was me picking up some stuff that I had at home and idly playing, just seeing what could be done. Being in the fetish scene, and making some accessories, it was only natural that I would be making things to go with fabulous latex outfits.

I put some things together and brought them along to Harlot to show everyone. This was when we were on Holloway Road and had the shop, so Robin said: “Put them in.” I did! They sold! And the rest is history, lol…

Tony: Let’s talk about your inspirations as a designer. I’m going to suggest that Prong has been a fetish fixture for so long now that people probably don’t remember an earlier time when there was a lot less jewellery created for kinkster tastes than there is now.

Original Sin Necklace (Cynth photo: Karolina Kai)

‘I really liked the idea of using things that shouldn’t be made as jewellery – well fuck that, I’m gonna make it into jewellery!

C: Really, there wasn’t that much around. [The choices were] some bog-standard studded collar from Camden, or something really hardcore from Regulation, say, but nothing in-between.

I also really liked the idea of using things that shouldn’t be made as jewellery — well fuck that, I’m gonna make it into jewellery, haha! So using boning, bits of wire, the classic spikes and leather thonging, all manner of odd shapes started coming out! Working in the wedding dress factory, I knew where to get crystals and gems, and thought, that’s a great combination that shouldn’t work! Lets do it!

Now, there’s so much more. But there’s more in general, like latex labels. Back in the day there were a few that you knew, but not many, and it was all catalogues! Now online has opened up the field and made it possible to draw out creativity in lots of people.

T: I realise that some of the basic studded and spiked stuff has its origins in punk and earlier, even. But it feels to me like the much more colourful, ornamental (but still kink-adjacent) stuff that’s now around is a more recent development. You must feel you can take some credit for that?

C: I hadn’t really thought about it, but yeah, I guess it would make sense!

Claire complete: Armour Posture Collar w/Rivets

‘Putting on a latex outfit, it felt incomplete without a neck-piece or bracelets. But my own styles finished the outfit perfectly’

T: To what extent were you motivated by feeling that the fetish scene was distinctively lacking the kind of accessory adornments that would really complement fetish clothing, that this was a gap in the market that really needed filling… and that you were the woman to do it?

C: Whenever I was putting on a latex outfit, I personally felt it wasn’t complete without some kind of neck-piece or bracelets. And putting on some high street jewellery just felt so ‘meh’, it wasn’t worth bothering with.

But now my own styles finished the outfit perfectly and it felt complete! I think others felt the same, ’cos Prong was beginning to really come into its own. There was nothing more exciting than going out and seeing other people wearing some Prong pieces and looking amazing!

T: Your 25^th Anniversary show featured hats. I remember in earlier times that very few latex fashion designers offered any fashionable headgear to complement their gorgeous garments. Now, hats are much more a part of many fetish designers’ ranges. But it seems that headgear and jewellery were both ‘fetish blindspots’ for a long time.

Antique Aquarius, capped (photo: Karolina Kai)

‘This was my first time making any kind of headwear with the military Garrison Caps, and they looked so good on my guys!’

C: Hats are a natural progression from the jewels aren’t they? The show was my first time making any kind of headwear with the military Garrison caps, and they looked so good on my guys!

Masks are a fetish wardrobe staple, but of course, they’re not for everyone. I used to do eyemasks but they eventually fell out of favour. For the show though, I had the idea to do a new version and put it on Marnie Scarlet. It worked so well I can guarantee it will be copied, but remember! You saw it here first!

T: Are there any trends in fabrics or the way people are wearing them that have influenced your recent designs? In that earlier interview with Amaranth, you mentioned that your newest material was hi-shine PVC. Is that still your newest material or have there been further innovations by you since then?

C: Now that I am branching out with corsets and belts, different materials may begin emerging. Having worked with the industrial rubber, leather and the PVC for years now, I’m happy with these as my signature styles — but who knows what else may pop up? I do love a bit of faux fur too, you know!

T: Thinking now about the business side of being an accessory brand: I imagine The Sunday Slick’s focus on accessories might be partly informed by a view that in times of shrinking disposable incomes, smaller, lower-priced items like accessories make more attractive impulse purchases for a Sunday afternoon than, say, major latex pieces. Does that make sense to you?

Claire sports her new Cupid’s Temptation Choker

‘An afternoon/evening event where I can dress up, socialise and have a cocktail with friends has my name written all over it!’

C: I mean, accessories change an outfit right? And of course it’s much easier to change the belts, necklaces and collars than it is to change the catsuit, say…

T: So what do you think about The Sunday Slick concept of an afternoon/evening fetish social event with entertainment and shopping opportunities thrown in?

C: Sunday Slick is more like an afternoon club event that happens to have some shopping available too. I for one don’t have the energy these days to leave the house at 10pm to start my night! Eek! Now an afternoon-into-early-evening event where I can dress up, socialise and have a cocktail with friends has got my name written all over it!

T: In your earlier interview with Amaranth, you said then (2017) that running an alternative business in the current climate was “harder now than it has ever been” although things were “still going well” for you. I think your advice then to other small businesses not to dumb-down was sound, and I would guess that the people who do attend events like Sunday Slick do not expect to encounter cheaply-made tat from China.

The problem, I guess, is that the interweb is drowning in just such tat, and when people go online to see what’s available, that’s what they’ll see first.

Nemesis Necklace (Kataxenna pic: Frankinsella)

‘One thing that is currently emerging from the community is the beginning of a backlash against the fast fashion of China’

C: One thing that is currently emerging from the community is the beginning of a backlash against the fast fashion of China. With the cost of living, being more sustainable also gets more priority. Slick would never have anything that isn’t handmade and nor would anyone want to see it there! People visiting any of the markets love to meet the creators, the makers, and know they’re actually getting something of value.

I recently had a couple of stalls at the Whimsy Goth Market, and the visitors there were utterly opposed to the big brand fast fashion names. Although the crowd is different from the fetish scene, the ethics are shared and wanting something ‘real’ is definitely what people want these days.

T: In preparation for this interview, I gave myself a full tour of your various web presences, including of course the Prong website. I had not previously realised what a treasure trove it was, and just how many designs are to be found there, and all available to order. How, as a ‘small business’ do you manage such an extensive range? I know you make to order, so you don’t have to carry masses of stock, but even so…!

Claire in one-off 666 Necklace at Torture Garden

‘Social media is tricky to navigate; we designers have to use it, but we’re all fighting for exposure, and fear deletion!

C: Yes it’s all available! With everything handmade to order it’s easy to offer a large selection. Things do get retired though just as style changes in general. Things like the posture collars sell over and over again, the classic Prong ties are another example of constant best-sellers — these will always have a presence.

T: What do you think about the recent embrace by various high fashion brands of elements of kink style in their collections?

C: I am very pleased to see high profile designers such as McQueen and Gucci diving into the darker style of fashion — it’s been far too long without it! This makes me excited. High fashion is all too often inaccessible — but this is a vibe people can recreate themselves.

T: Do you feel that there is more of a mainstream market you could reach if you had the necessary marketing budget? It seems that even the biggest kink brands still need a big chunk of luck to get the kind of wider exposure that leads to being on Fashion Week catwalks and in the pages of Vogue & co. Any thoughts?

C: There is definitely luck involved in reaching that kind of high profile. I mean in years gone by, Prong has been featured in Italian Vogue, Japanese Vogue and Tatler (actually on Paris Hilton!) — but featuring in the glossies doesn’t really translate into business success.

Now we have the joys of social media and what should be a wonderful platform is reduced to an anonymous algorithm of clicks and likes. Not only that, but people consume imagery like never before. It’s tricky to navigate; as designers, we have to use it, but we’re all fighting for exposure and in fear of deletion!

One of the reasons that Prong has survived for so long is the community itself. Being a recognised brand is important, but also, the person who runs it being on hand to talk to customers gives a confidence and intimacy that no design house can ever create. ⬛

BELOW: Prong Jewellery 25th Anniversary: a selection of 18 classic pieces from the Prong range
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