As long as it’s consensual and doesn’t violate any laws otherwise, what people get up to in the comfort of their own homes is, of course, entirely their own business. Admit it though — we all want to know. We’re all nosey parkers with our minds in the gutter, and when it comes to finding out what gets other people going, that curiosity is an itch that’s hard not to scratch.
Martine Rose is no exception to this cardinal rule of life. Season on season, she’s painstakingly crafted a language that dissects and reframes what makes a man hot (and in recent seasons, women, too), creating clothes that merge the uncanny and the sexy to irresistible effect. SS21 is no different, riffing on uniforms of hypermasculine status and power — bankers tailoring and sports kits. Their sturdy butch energy is playfully undermined: football socks are made from delicate stretch nylon, with the lingerie theme carrying over into the lace-trimmed camisoles and frilly garters peeking out from beneath jumpers or over skin-tight lycra leggings and cycling shorts. Shrinking things down was also on the agenda, with micro shorts and shirting so tight that their wearers, whether boys or girls, seem to be all but bursting out of them.
As the range of leather pieces — black mock-crock suits and a slinky acid yellow button-down column dress — suggested, Martine was also looking to more heavy-handed kink references, with photographs of San Francisco’s gay underground in the 70s, sourced in collaboration with rave historian Steve Terry, featuring on this season’s moodboard. But she was also just as drawn to what’s going on in the sex culture of our times, too. Shift your focus to the background of the lookbook imagery and you’ll notice a cast of boys, lying about lounge and bathroom sets, trousers round their ankles in boxers and open shirts.
As the laptops they’re all on imply, they’re real-life camboys, cast by Martine in a nod of recognition for the newfound significance that virtual platform like OnlyFans have come to play in our sex lives, with their popularity peaking during recent months where you couldn’t head to your typical pick-up venue of choice to get some. It also dispels the notion that our kinks and bedroom habits are anything to hide or be ashamed of — whatever’s going on behind closed doors or being viewed on shielded screens will always be worth celebrating for Martine Rose.
