FORMAL WEAR: Missy Macabre wears white Madame blouse and black corset from London-based rubber fashion label Lacing Lilith’s 2014 Collection
Lacing Lilith: cool brand with a heavy rubber fashion heart.
Endorsed by London’s most stylish fetish clubbers, Lacing Lilith aims to be much more than just a fashionable latex label. As designer Paul Miller tells Tony Mitchell, his real purpose is to bridge the gap between rubber fashion and his passion for the pure fetish power of latex
He did say “hello” though.
This was 2007, the market was LAM (London Alternative Market) in the Clapham Grand at Clapham Junction, and Lacing Lilith’s space there offered a modest display of traditional fabric corsetry.
That might come as a surprise to those who think of Lilith only as a purveyor of beautifully made and distinctive latex clothing, coveted today by discriminating rubber fashion lovers everywhere.
Unfortunately, not much evidence of the designer’s ‘pre-latex’ days has been preserved online (though if you’re interested, some can be found safely hidden on the MySpace page Paul still maintains).
But yes, he confirms when I put my early recollection to him, it did indeed all begin with “a passion for corsetry, obsessively devising and constructing patterns to create these wonderful structures that performed physically, aesthetically and sexually”.
“Working in rubber was always the aim for me with Lacing Lilith. It just took a little while for my confidence and skills to catch up with my fetishes!”
“Initially I worked in fabric and leather — I loved the weight of these materials, especially leather with its tactile feel and smell,” he confesses. Later he progressed to working with latex as he became more confident and knowledgeable in its use.
“Latex as a material lends itself so well to the realisation of my designs and ideas. The fit, the encapsulation, the shine and the smell… they all combine to create these wonderfully stylised and otherworldly visions.
He goes on to explain that his personal interest in rubber fashion and fetish wear began early, with Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman, Skin Two magazine and German model Natalia (famous muse of photographer Jo Hammar) all blowing his young mind.
He bought his first pair of latex gloves aged 17 (not Marigolds, I’m guessing) and went to his first fetish club when he was about 22. But how did he get into actual garment-making?
“I’d started making costumes myself and learnt how to sew despite being trained in illustration. I’d grown increasingly frustrated creating designs and illustrations in 2D when I realised I wanted them to exist in reality.
“I went to study performance costume in Edinburgh and then moved to London to start Lacing Lilith.
“I began teaching myself how to make latex; it took a while to gain the confidence and realise there was room in the market to do what I wanted.
“I learned the ropes and some advanced techniques under Robin Archer, working for House of Harlot. Robin is a great mentor, and House of Harlot was hugely influential in my formative latex years, so it was quite an honour to find myself working there as part of the team.”
‘Working in rubber was always the aim with Lacing Lilith. It just took a little while for my confidence and skills to catch up with my fetishes!’
But what about the Victorian influence that can be seen in Paul’s work, stretching from the early corsetry right through to current rubber fashion designs? What is its special appeal to this designer?
“For me, Victoriana is the birth of modern fetish in terms of style, silhouettes, corsetry and archetypes; it’s all there really.
“The buttoned-down, strapped-in, restrictive elegance, almost unisex in its appeal; dandies and upper class gents in corsets, stiff collars and spats. It’s all reminiscent of the current scene to my mind!
“And,” he adds, “from the waist up, the same concept across the genders — a sense of androgyny in its conception. I love how the masculine and feminine aspects of the clothing can easily be transposed.”
However, despite the Victorian influences, Miller seems to avoid any references to the term ‘steampunk’, which others might naturally alight upon to describe his work. Is this a conscious attempt to avoid being pigeonholed?
Our September 2014 cover: SadEast – photo by Julien Silences
“I wasn’t aware of steampunk as a term or movement until a few years after starting LL and it was becoming quite mainstream,” he explains.
“For me the stylistic elements of LL are derived from Victoriana, sci-fi and more dystopian, alternative futures like Blade Runner and Mad Max rather than the somewhat idealised worlds and concepts of steampunk.
“I avoid associations with specific genres because it can become limiting. I prefer to draw on inspirations from a wide range of sources and to appeal to a broader aesthetic.”
Even when Paul’s designs are not directly referencing Victorian elements, there are nods to other vintage times for fetishism, notably the era of cartoonists John Willie and Eric Stanton.
How important then are these artists — and the 1950s fetish culture they were a part of — to his personal vision of fetish style?
“I think that’s where the soul of it comes from — the ‘personality’ of the clothing,” is his answer. “When I design something, I’ll sketch it as being worn by a character; it’ll have an attitude or a sexuality of its own.
“Willie and Stanton explored many of these archetypes and fantasies in a visually strong and playful way, encapsulating the essence of ‘classic’ fetish ideas and design which are hugely influential for me.”
Lacing Lilith’s many admirers are not just impressed by the imagination evident in Paul’s rubber fashion creations — they also praise the fantastic fit of the clothes he makes.
So, I ask, just how important is perfect fit to him, and how much trouble does he take to achieve it for individual customers?
“I think fit is hugely important — the nature of the material demands it! As a designer I’m much more interested in the cut, fit and construction of a garment than its surface decoration, so I go to great lengths to do the best job I can and to also understand why something works.
“You just can’t have someone spend £250 on a latex dress and it not fit properly — it just hurts the eyes!”
In one of his online mission statements, Paul refers to his work having a punk-rock sensibility. What are the elements that, for him, give it that sensibility?
“It’s an appropriation and recycling of past styles into something new and away from the mainstream,” he replies. “I think it also represents the do-it-yourself and do-what-you-want-with-it attitude that for me is the legacy of punk.
“I’d like to turn the constructed artifice of decadence and refinement so prevalent in fetish imagery on its head! Latex inherently has an attitude to it — it’s still not that acceptable to wear it, so either you do it behind closed doors or in a club full of like-minded souls. I think it takes guts and self confidence.”
‘Latex has an attitude to it – it’s still not that acceptable to wear it, so either you do it behind closed doors or in a club full of like-minded souls’
Club culture — and one club in particular — has played a significant part in the success of the Lacing Lilith brand. Torture Garden in London has given the label several fashion show spots, and Paul is often to be seen in the crowd at TG nights.
How, I wonder, does he see TG’s role in the general development of rubber fashion in the last decade, and what does it mean to him to be a part of the club’s circle of ‘nurtured designers’?
READ MOREABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER: JULIEN SILENCES
‘Julien Palmilha’s pictorial universe screams for itself, so violently that the tinnitus is aiming at your cornea!’ So writes friend and admirer Frankfrancois on the Lausanne-based photographer’s website.
‘Cold and carnivorous,’ Frank continues, ‘his imagination grips your throat then reveals all the intensity of its pure and sophisticated lines. Real visual origami, the exploration of the various layers and depths pour out their imagery; they are catalysts responsible for the strongest of emotions.
‘Having started his career in graphic design and advertising, Julien then decided to develop his creativity by working to express himself fully, using the medium of photography.
‘His poetic and dreamlike images caress with cutting lenses multiple atmospheres which have been published by Sang Bleu, Kinki, Elegy, Marquis and Torture Garden among others.
‘In his world, we find light in darkness and shadows in light, nothing and no one seems to be safe. As if beauty was always a bit twisted.
‘This uncertainty questions and moves your own soul. His aestheticism aims to put the viewer in a dangerous and uncomfortable position. We contemplate his work by looking deep into ourselves and we know that these Silences are made to be shouted out…’
Julien has been having exhibitions, mainly in Switzerland, since 2007. His home city of Lausanne has hosted his work in 2007, 2010 (twice), 2012 and this year, for his latest show ‘Medusa’ Nuit des images at the Elysée.
Other Silences shows have been held in Paris (2009) and Zurich (2014).
Julien’s list of publications and clients stretches across Switzerland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, UK and USA, and includes Akyado, Compendium, Elegy, Edelweiss Men, Femina, ID Pure, Juxtapoz, Kinki, Lab mag, Le Dévaloir, Luka Maurer, Marquis, SangBleu IV, Torture Garden, Umbigo, W25, Ynox and Zero Shop.
ABOUT THE MODEL: SADEAST
I first met SadEast with her partner Frankfrancois (see above) at some international event or other in 2006 — writes Tony Mitchell.
At this point The Fetishistas was not yet online and SadEast, aka Sophie Tralala, was just beginning to explore the possibility of doing some fetish modelling.
Though a statuesque beauty who looked amazing in latex, she was not especially confident about embarking on this new activity. But with the encouragement of various people (myself included), she eventually dipped a toe in the water. And the rest, as they say, is a cliché.
Today, she is one of the most in- demand models among latex designers at Europe’s international shows. In the UK, she is a regular member of the catwalk crew informally known as the TG Tall Girls — to the point that it is nigh on impossible for this party-loving couple to come to London for a Torture Garden event without SadEast being asked to strut her stuff for the fashion show.
Needless to say, in parallel with the catwalk career, she was soon being pursued by talented photographers wanting to do studio and location shoots with her. Our September 2014 cover image of her in Lacing Lilith’s Victorian Minidress by Julien Silences surely confirms they were not wrong to have her in their sights.
Asked to say something about herself, she writes a short word-portrait inspired by some thoughts that first appeared on her Model Mayhem page. This is how it goes:
‘When I was seven, I wanted to be a boy. I forced my mum to call me with a boy name for a year.
‘Fast forward in time and my playground became the fetish world. My toys are still in rubber but now my clothes are as well!
‘I’m still playing with family but a slightly more pervy one though. And I can still disguise myself to the extent of the seriousness of my fun. From SadEast to Sophie Tralala: I am who I want to be, when I want to be.
‘And by the way my strap-on is way bigger than your dick! Damn… I’m starting again…’
Nice to see shyness overcome, I always think.
www.silences.ch
www.facebook.com/Silences
www.modelmayhem.com/SadEast
www.facebook.com/sophie.tralala
Tags: Clothing, Latex, Models
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