BARGAINS! Get your skates on to grab British latex while the pound’s low due to the Brexit effect (Photo: Moritz Maibaum; Model: Ophelia Overdose; Britannia latex lingerie: Westward Bound)
What the Brexit effect means for UK latex brands and customers.
The Brexit effect has already been felt in the fetish scene, with many British latex labels reporting increased orders from overseas customers keen to exploit the weaker pound. But what about the longer term? We discover how a cross-section of British firms – including some of the world’s biggest and most prestigious latex brands – feel Brexit will affect their businesses and the wider scene. Banner image of Ophelia Overdose in Westward Bound’s Britannia dress by Erik von Gutenberg
The Brexit effect — the likely impact of Britain’s departure from the European Union — is, understandably, the subject of much speculation at the moment both in the UK and abroad.
It is likely to touch all aspects of life — fetish life being no exception. And while the full consequences will only become apparent in years to come, the first effects were felt by the British fetish scene as soon as the referendum result was confirmed on June 24.
We all know how much fetish folk love a bargain. So with British latex clothing being an acknowledged world leader, it’s not too surprising that UK latex labels began to report surges in overseas orders as their prices suddenly became around 15 percent cheaper for customers in the EU, the USA and elsewhere.
But did that necessarily mean the UK latex clothing industry supported Brexit? And if not, what were the main concerns about its consequences? We decided to find out by asking a cross-section of UK businesses three questions. We enquired:
1. How they thought Brexit would affect their own business.
2. How they thought it would affect the wider fetish world.
3. What their personal views on Brexit were.
Among those who’ve responded are such world-leading brands as Atsuko Kudo, Libidex and Westward Bound. Our respondents range from sole-trader designer labels to some of the latex scene’s biggest employers, and are spread across the UK from the south-west of England to West Lothian in Scotland. Also included were the world’s two largest suppliers of sheet latex for clothing manufacture.
The resulting article is, admittedly, a big read. But because we’ve arranged the respondents in alphabetical order, it’s possible, if your time is limited, to focus just on those whose responses you’re most interested in. Either way, we hope you find the answers illuminating!
ATSUKO KUDO, London
Simon Hoare, co-owner
ATSUKO KUDO (right) and partner Simon (pic: TM)
The Brexit effect on our business? To answer this question on a purely business level would involve much speculation and ultimately guesswork. We don’t know whether currency fluctuations worldwide over the coming months and years will always be favourable for our exports (as they have been briefly since the vote). These things come and go and adjustments are made. We do know that more limited access (or no free access) to the single market would be a minus.
But much more important than this is the message that this vote has sent out to the world. It has sent a very negative message that the UK is less open-minded than maybe everyone imagined. For us as a London based latex business, that is the opposite of what we believe. Like most of London we did not vote for Brexit.
Atsuko Kudo as a company campaigned very strongly to remain in the EU — not so much for how it may help the ‘numbers’ in our business but mainly for the way that being part of an open, welcoming Europe is very much the way we see the values of our brand. We believe in being welcoming, free and inclusive. That is far more important than any short-term gains of a few percentage points on our balance sheet.
The growth of the latex and fetish scene in the UK and Europe over the past few decades has coincided almost exactly with the continent coming together as a more unified entity in the EU. Maybe that is pure coincidence but it seems very possible it has been part of an overall movement of people generally joining together in enterprise, business, socially and culturally.
Certainly, the feelings of no borders, experimentation and openness have been central to the growth of the fetish scene. That scene has then grown outwards beyond Europe and joined with others in North America, Asia, Australasia and further. The fetish scene is on the whole very much a force for good because of these free, positive, open and welcoming aspects.
So for Atsuko Kudo the vote to leave the EU was an entirely regressive step. A step backwards and one which may have negative and disheartening consequences and which may ultimately be more significant than we can see right now. We know that the EU is far from perfect but this reverse step is exactly that — a step back towards less liberated, more conservative times. And a step we did not want to take.
Businesses are built around people and how those people feel — the feelings experienced by the customers, the employees and the business owners. Latex clothing is very specific and personal so this feeling of connection between people is magnified in our business.
Our feeling is that we would like everyone all over the world to know that we are even more determined to remain open-minded, progressive, welcoming and excited to provide latex designs as we always have.
Brexit will not change that in any way.
How will it affect the wider fetish world? The only thing we can say is that we hope other progressive fetish businesses and communities can continue to flourish and keep our scene healthy and vibrant. Despite everything we remain positive and very much hope that others can feel that way too.
Our personal views on Brexit? Both Atsuko and I are saddened and frustrated that what we thought was a (comparatively) cool, open, fair and beautiful society has shown much more of its very ugly side — including racism, violence and hate crime. Almost exclusively these aspects have been associated with the leave side of the debate. We feel the UK is being dragged back to a time when most things were very much worse. It’s especially depressing that the process has featured outright lies, deceit and personal career moves which have left democracy and politics in a very questionable state.
We are now living in a clearly un-united Kingdom so it’s even more important than ever to be inclusive, expressive, tolerant and open minded.
AM STATIK, London
Amy Statik, owner
AM STATIK owner Amy Statik (pic: TM)
The Brexit effect on my business? It could appear to overseas customers that their custom isn’t wanted due to some of the population voting out and the way the newspapers and media are spinning angles on immigration etc. This obviously is not the case. It may affect how European customers buy from the UK and whether ‘Made in the UK’ continues to have the impact it had before.
The cost of latex goes up every year due to inflation so general increases in pricing may not be noticed by customers. Am Statik tends to keep the price of existing products at a similar value, but if drastic changes in the raw rubber market were to occur, prices would rise in all areas.
Another concern is UK based customers deciding not to buy items due to financial uncertainty. Brexit has shaken up a lot of UK citizens, as what will happen is so unknown. This is causing people to be more cautious about what they are buying.
How will it affect the wider fetish world? I think parties and events will be affected too and perhaps people won’t be wanting to travel as much for a while. This could affect events with fairs and stalls, which could in turn affect latex business as the market is smaller.
My personal views on Brexit? For me the main worry is the uncertainty. With the confusion of information from the media, we don’t really know what is fact and what is fabricated. Waiting to see what happens is all that can be done. As Am Statik is only one of my jobs, I also wonder how it will affect my other activities such as my performance work, and travelling for work in general.
BONDINAGE, London
Stephen Fuller, owner
BONDINAGE owner Stephen Fuller (pic: TM)
The Brexit effect on my business? If it is implemented, it is going to be a real game changer. But I have read and heard so many conflicting views in recent days. It’s obviously very difficult to tell exactly how it will affect Bondinage as there are no government strategies and no government dictats about what future guidelines will be, so anything could happen. There has been a lot of scaremongering on both sides but no concrete facts, with both major political parties in meltdown.
Bondinage has been fairly busy this year and there has been a marked increase in sales since the referendum, which has left us swamped with work. If the raw materials increase in cost, this will be reflected in our retail prices, but since they’re basically sourced from Malaysia I’m not sure how Brexit will impact that.
We are an active exporter to the EU and have been a keen participant at Fetish Evolution expos and the German Fetish Fair (probably one of just two or three UK companies to do so since the latter’s inception). Here, the future looks grey. At present, one can fill a van of goodies and drive over and back without much hindrance barring a few security checks. In the future, it may be different. But again, who knows?
Long-term, I think the companies that survive will be stronger as you have to consolidate what you have and carry on. Our customers always want fetish clothes and the more suppressed, the greater the need.
‘Brexit has sent a very negative message to the rest of the world that the UK is less open-minded than everyone imagined’ – Simon Hoare, Atsuko Kudo
How will it affect the wider fetish world? Fetish is a kind of sub cult and not big business except for maybe a handful of companies. I don’t see any negative impact apart from travel to the EU probably being more expensive and time-consuming, but it depends on what trade deals are brokered.
My personal views on Brexit? It looks like it will force the UK to go into recession. But I feel that fetish thrives in recession: the more suppressed, the greater the need.
I grew up in London and now am in the ‘bubble’ which is London. People from outside the ‘bubble’ feel disaffected and through this referendum have voiced the view that politicians have failed to address. It is the politicians who have failed the country and have not listened to years and years of discontent expressed by the neglected electorate outside the ‘bubble’.
The feeling for me is very 1976 punk, but this time the Government is actually toppling and it’s now our chance to seize the moment. It’s like somebody has pressed a ‘refresh’ button. The spotlight is on us.
CATALYST, Coventry
Gord Catalyst, owner
CATALYST LATEX owner Gord Catalyst
The Brexit effect on my business? The overnight tombstoning of sterling led to an unprecedented level of enquiries, orders and unanswerable questions regarding exchange rates, particularly from the USA. Our European market, however, has not been particularly excited either way, perhaps waiting to see the longer-term effects and implications.
This normally quieter time of year has seen us unable to let up, in order to keep pace with current demand which is surely attributable to the Brexit fiasco.
We might enjoy a brief upturn in orders through exchange rate benefit, but just one week after the bombshell, Sterling is already rallying to recovery. As a hedge, we have almost doubled our monthly order of latex sheeting, to secure it at current prices in the event of our supplier using Brexit as an excuse or reason to increase its prices.
Three months from now, exchange rates will have stabilised to the point where what we sell and what we buy will be on a similar differential to where they are today. A storm in a tea cup perhaps?
After someone in the UK Government has the balls to invoke Article 50, the instrument that actually turns a referendum result into a piece of divorce legislation, that’s when the fun and games will really begin. What effect it may have on exchange rates remains to be seen, but the present VAT regulations within the EC will no longer apply.
This will have an effect on perceived pricing levels to other EC countries who previously paid VAT on all EC purchases. But now there will be no VAT on eligible purchases — meaning a new saving for UK vendors’ European customers.
READ MORE – GO TO PAGE 2 OF 3Tags: Business Matters, Community, Designers, Discounts and Sales, Latex, Legal issues, Retail
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