Fetish had become a movement of new sexuality that made people think of sex in a different way.
It was enthusiastically embraced by the gay community, which soon began organising its own, independent fetish nights.

Bondage cloths were sold through magazines such as the Gay Times. In the early 1980s, the shop Clone Zone became the first openly gay company to sell fetish clothing. Among its range included skirts made from rubber and leather. By the 1990s skirts had entered mainstream gay fashion.

They began to be worn by gay men as symbol of their alternative lifestyle. In 1993, kilts were adopted by large numbers of men who took part in the New York "Pride" march. Today, the kilt has become a staple item in many gay men's wardrobes. It is often paired with a leather jacket, white vest, thick socks and heavy boots.

 

 

 

Gladiator Ensemble
Rubber skirt, leather thong with metal studs, leather harness with leather studs
British, Clone Zone
2002

"Our skirts hijack the standard stereotypes - big, hairy, caber-tossing Scots. They are given a macho makeover, either in leather, rubber or comouflage, which has overtures of military discipline and gladiatorial conquests - a fantasy and fetish merger. Even with tongue-in-cheek side-glances at what is masculine, we want men to feel erotic and liberated".
Andrew Bates, Creative Director, 2002

The origins of the word "fetish" come from "feitico" (a charm or sorcery) and once referred to objects that possessed mysterious powers. In the 19th century, it referred particularly to sexual powers. It has now come to mean an S&M style, based on the bondage style of the 1960s.

Fetish clothing was openly sold at Vivienne Westwood's shop "SEX" as core elements of punk, and its popularity spread through the New Romantics and Goths. By 1982, fetish clothing had become so popular that the first one-nighter fetish club, "Skin Two", opened in Soho.