Behind bars

KTZ SS16
By Lewis Firth | 15 June 2015
Photography Gui Passos

Sex, sex, sex. Something is in the air at LC:M this season as the theme of fetishisation continues: first at Sibling, now at KTZ.

So the stage had already been set in XXL, the gay club in Southwark where bondage-bears cruise. But no leather straps (just gloves), whips or chains at KTZ. The catwalk was caged-up, however, with metal barriers sitting between those viewing and those walking, tantalising for viewers: look, but don’t touch.

What was tame, were the geometric shapes and primary colours that were employed controllably onto shorts, jackets and tops. Think of Bauhaus, whose strict, streamlined creativity was glorified through its innovative reconceptualisation of simple design. Notions of bondage and Bauhaus-strictness worked symbiotically here. Whether that was a conscious act from Marjan Pejoski who knows – but it worked. Shorts were high; thighs on show; blocked colours looked like straps; translucent plastics used on raincoat silhouettes made the body visible, but not fully – continuously teasing.

Towards the end outfits became a little more apt for XXL: the biker leathers were out. KTZ’s typical urbanites turned into sexed-up warriors as garments became tighter and shorter. And the phrase ‘high voltage’ was printed like a sponsor across tops and trousers, which sums up KTZ’s bondage-bonanza pretty well.

GALLERYBackstage images from KTZ SS16

GALLERYCatwalk images from KTZ SS16





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