Latex: In Fashion, Yes, But Can A Normal Girl Wear It?

Latex, what condoms are made from, yes, but also the biggest social climber in fashion thanks to Burberry and Felder Felder's new fondness of the saucy textile. But can normal girls wear it? A talc-ed up Alexandra Jones reports

Last week I found myself in a land beyond leather, where all the clothes were wipe-clean and cat-women and dominatrixes (dominatrices?) roamed free and un-gawped at. In a quest to broaden my fashion horizons (I wear dungarees most of the time) I had gone in search of a slinky pencil skirt…and ended up in a latex shop, which is not as random as it first sounds, honestly.

$burberry latex$

Once the preserve of gimps and people who like to spank them, latex has been sort of sartorially social climbing, if you will, for a few years now. And as a fabric, you know you’ve made it when Christopher Bailey (i.e. the Grand High Emperor of all things fashion) turns you into a Burberry trench coat.

Latex also appeared on the catwalk at Felder Felder A/W 13 and J W Anderson A/W 13, and couture latex designer Atsuko Kudo’s ‘Lady P’ pencil skirts - top sellers in her pop-up concession in Selfridges - have been worn by everyone from Daisy Lowe to Lady Gaga. "So what's the big deal with latex?" I hear you cry, confused and disorientated. Well, it’s a completely natural material, derived from rubber trees and as such is both sustainable and animal friendly. See? Not so random.

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Burberry Prorsum - Runway - LFW F/W 2013
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 18: Models walk the runway during the Burberry Prorsum show during London Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2013/14 at Kensington Gardens on February 18, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)
Burberry Prorsum - Runway - LFW F/W 2013
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 18: A model walks the runway during the Burberry Prorsum show during London Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2013/14 at Kensington Gardens on February 18, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)
Burberry Prorsum - Runway - LFW F/W 2013
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 18: A model walks the runway during the Burberry Prorsum show during London Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2013/14 at Kensington Gardens on February 18, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)
Burberry Prorsum - Runway - LFW F/W 2013
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 18: A model walks the runway during the Burberry Prorsum show during London Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2013/14 at Kensington Gardens on February 18, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)
Burberry Prorsum - Runway - LFW F/W 2013
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 18: A model walks the runway during the Burberry Prorsum show during London Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2013/14 at Kensington Gardens on February 18, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)
Burberry Prorsum - Runway - LFW F/W 2013
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 18: Models walk the runway during the Burberry Prorsum show during London Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2013/14 at Kensington Gardens on February 18, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)
Burberry Prorsum - Runway - LFW F/W 2013
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 18: Models walk the runway during the Burberry Prorsum show during London Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2013/14 at Kensington Gardens on February 18, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)
Burberry Prorsum - Runway - LFW F/W 2013
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 18: Models walk the runway during the Burberry Prorsum show during London Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2013/14 at Kensington Gardens on February 18, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)
Burberry Prorsum Autumn Winter 2013 Womenswear Show - Front Row
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 18: (L-R) Tinie Tempah, Melanie Laurent, Kim Hee-sun, Vicki Zhao, Michelle Dockery, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Freida Pinto, Rita Ora, Kate Beckinsale and Lily Mo Sheen sit in the front row for the Burberry Prorsum Autumn Winter 2013 Womenswear show on February 18, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Burberry)
Burberry Prorsum Autumn Winter 2013 Womenswear Show - Front Row
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 18: (L-R) Tom Hooper, Douglas Booth, Gabriella Wilde, Dan Gillespie Sells, Olivia Palermo, Jake Bugg, Tinie Tempah, Melanie Laurent, Kim Hee-sun, Vicki Zhao, Michelle Dockery, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Freida Pinto, Rita Ora, Kate Beckinsale and Lily Mo Sheen sit in the front row for the Burberry Prorsum Autumn Winter 2013 Womenswear show on February 18, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Burberry)
Burberry Prorsum - Runway - LFW F/W 2013
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 18: A model walks the runway during the Burberry Prorsum show during London Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2013/14 at Kensington Gardens on February 18, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)
Burberry Prorsum - Runway - LFW F/W 2013
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 18: Models walk the runway during the Burberry Prorsum show during London Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2013/14 at Kensington Gardens on February 18, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)
Burberry Prorsum Autumn Winter 2013 Womenswear Show - Front Row
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 18: (L-R) Melanie Laurent, Kim Hee-sun, Vicki Zhao, Michelle Dockery, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Freida Pinto, Rita Ora, Kate Beckinsale and Lily Mo Sheen sit in the front row for the Burberry Prorsum Autumn Winter 2013 Womenswear show on February 18, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Burberry)
Burberry Prorsum Autumn Winter 2013 Womenswear Show - Front Row
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 18: (L-R) Melanie Laurent, Kim Hee-sun, Vicki Zhao, Michelle Dockery, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Freida Pinto, Rita Ora, Kate Beckinsale and Lily Mo Sheen sit in the front row for the Burberry Prorsum Autumn Winter 2013 Womenswear show on February 18, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Burberry)
Burberry Prorsum - Runway - LFW F/W 2013
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 18: Models walk the runway during the Burberry Prorsum show during London Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2013/14 at Kensington Gardens on February 18, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)
Burberry Prorsum - Runway - LFW F/W 2013
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 18: Models walk the runway during the Burberry Prorsum show during London Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2013/14 at Kensington Gardens on February 18, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)
Burberry Prorsum - Runway - LFW F/W 2013
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 18: A model walks the runway during the Burberry Prorsum show during London Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2013/14 at Kensington Gardens on February 18, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)
Burberry Prorsum - Runway - LFW F/W 2013
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 18: A model walks the runway during the Burberry Prorsum show during London Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2013/14 at Kensington Gardens on February 18, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)
Burberry Prorsum - Runway - LFW F/W 2013
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 18: Models walk the runway during the Burberry Prorsum show during London Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2013/14 at Kensington Gardens on February 18, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)
Burberry Prorsum - Runway - LFW F/W 2013
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 18: A model walks the runway during the Burberry Prorsum show during London Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2013/14 at Kensington Gardens on February 18, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)
Burberry Prorsum - Runway - LFW F/W 2013
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 18: A model walks the runway during the Burberry Prorsum show during London Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2013/14 at Kensington Gardens on February 18, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)
Burberry Prorsum Catwalk - London Fashion Week 2013
Vouge Editor Anna Wintour speaks to Director Tom Hooper in the front row at the Burberry Prorsum catwalk show on day four of London Fashion Week, at Kensington Gardens, Kensington Gore, London.
Burberry Prorsum Catwalk - London Fashion Week 2013
Vouge Editor Anna Wintour speaks to Director Tom Hooper in the front row at the Burberry Prorsum catwalk show on day four of London Fashion Week, at Kensington Gardens, Kensington Gore, London.
Burberry Prorsum Catwalk - London Fashion Week 2013
Models on the catwalk during the Burberry Prorsum catwalk show on day four of London Fashion Week, at Kensington Gardens, Kensington Gore, London.
Cara Delevingne
British model Cara Delevingne, left, Model Of The Year at the 2012 British Fashion Awards, wears a design created by Burberry Prorsum, during London Fashion Week, at Kensington Gardens in west London, Monday, Feb. 18, 2013. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)
Burberry Prorsum Catwalk - London Fashion Week 2013
Models on the catwalk during the Burberry Prorsum catwalk show on day four of London Fashion Week, at Kensington Gardens, Kensington Gore, London.
Burberry Prorsum Catwalk - London Fashion Week 2013
A model on the catwalk during the Burberry Prorsum catwalk show on day four of London Fashion Week, at Kensington Gardens, Kensington Gore, London.
Burberry Prorsum Catwalk - London Fashion Week 2013
A model on the catwalk during the Burberry Prorsum catwalk show on day four of London Fashion Week, at Kensington Gardens, Kensington Gore, London.
Burberry Prorsum Catwalk - London Fashion Week 2013
Models on the catwalk during the Burberry Prorsum catwalk show on day four of London Fashion Week, at Kensington Gardens, Kensington Gore, London.
Burberry Prorsum Catwalk - London Fashion Week 2013
A model on the catwalk during the Burberry Prorsum catwalk show on day four of London Fashion Week, at Kensington Gardens, Kensington Gore, London.
Burberry Prorsum Catwalk - London Fashion Week 2013
Singer Tom Odell performs at the Burberry Prorsum catwalk show on day four of London Fashion Week, at Kensington Gardens, Kensington Gore, London.
Burberry Prorsum Catwalk - London Fashion Week 2013
Models on the catwalk during the Burberry Prorsum catwalk show on day four of London Fashion Week, at Kensington Gardens, Kensington Gore, London.

But anyway, back to me. In the shop, the sales assistants were very helpful in talc-ing me up - a necessary evil to make sure skirts go on smoothly. I don’t believe in the Gok Wan guide to lady shapes (a pear is a fruit, thank you very much) but it’s safe to say that baby - er, me - got back, so some hoisting (and pulling and wriggling) was necessary but once on, it felt quite lovely. Somewhere between sexy Spanx and a second skin and before I knew it I was finger-over-the-pin-pad ready to buy.

But then I lost my nerve. Despite the intoxicating smell of rubber, I couldn’t get over a few basic latex facts: 1) condoms are made from latex. Was I, therefore, buying a giant condom? 2) So are shower curtains. 3) Even in a demure cut (a la Burberry & Atsuko Kudo) latex was still a bit, well, porn-y. “Latex, particularly black, will always have sexual connotations because of its popularity with fetishists” says super cool stylist Amy Bannerman, who has worked with the likes of Carey Mulligan.

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Designers Annette (left) and Daniela Felder after the Felder Felder Autumn/Winter 2013 catwalk show

Given my general lack of fashion chops was treading a tightrope between style and sex (porn-y sex, no less) a good idea? I hiked up my dungaree strap, whipped my card from the machine and dusted out of there. But the thought of the skirt, with its heavenly pearlescent shine and, yes, even its hyper sexy sexiness has stayed with me. Amy explains, “This is what makes it appealing – paired with, say, a grey cashmere M&S man’s sweater – it suddenly makes everything else look a bit naughty, and a lot sexier."

Atsuko Kudo advises, “If you want to start modest, leggings are a good investment, you can wear them with almost anything, or try accessories like gloves."

Maybe I was just trying too much too soon? Maybe I needed to begin by dipping a toe in…anyway, off to track down some latex dungarees…

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