Last week we talked to Kim West about her new line of latex fashions. Kim’s line departs from anything we’ve seen in the marketplace in that she is emphasizing the matte look of latex. Part of her inspiration originated from her boredom with the traditional shiny / wet look that latex fashions typically sport.

Her latest line targets the mainstream fashion market by chlorinating the latex, defining her treatment as “Glyde-tex”, a process which results in latex that is easy to slip on and off. Although chlorinating latex can remove the need for talc or lube in putting on tight fitting garments, we asked Kim if mainstream users would mind the sweat that tends to build while wearing latex:

My target market is 18 to early thirties women. It’s no secret that women have suffered for fashion throughout the ages. If it makes you look good, your willing to accept some minor discomfort. Look at the heels that are popular today.

Another innovation of her current line is mixing latex with non-latex fabrics. In addition to the dresses and skirts available on her site currently, she plans to offer outerwear with latex components this Fall.

For latex enthusiasts who have owned garments for an extended time and worn them out in the midday sun, you know that fading and staining can happen. Instead of fighting the natural aging of latex, Kim decided to embrace it and has added ‘distressed’ latex to her line of cutting edge fashions.

At the moment Kim’s fashions are available only over the web. In the past she had focused primarily on owning a storefront. When asked about the transition from brick and mortar to the web, Kim stated:

I initially thought the web would be much easier than a brick and mortar store. However, I have found that is not the case. There is a lot of behind the scenes work that is constantly taking place. You can’t just slap up a site and forget about it. There are pictures, the photographers, models, blog, something always needs work and updating.

While Kim plans to maintain her site, she has recently focused on working out distribution deals to get her line into select high fashion stores in London, Paris, NY, LA, and other major cities.

Whew – talk about an update! Kim is quite the innovator extraordinaire, and we invite you to check out her site: http://www.kimwest.co.uk/

Pictures courtesy of:
Nils Bratby
Immortaleye Photography
www.immortaleye.co.uk

There are some great fashion sites and blogs out there that any fashionista should checkout.  They are a great place to share within a community of like minded people and it’s also perfect for finding new ideas of things you want or want to create.  Here are 7 excellent sites that we recommend:

1. http://streetpeeper.com: A look at street fashions from around the world.  Also has a search function where you can seek out an particular style or keyword.
2. http://www.polyvore.com/: An interactive site where you can create image collages from different products to put together a stylish look that is all you.  Or, peruse the site for products or other peoples sets that they have created.  Click the link to view sets that have patent vinyl: http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/search.sets?query=patent+vinyl
3. http://www.burdastyle.com/: Burda is a well known pattern company and they have done an excellent job creating a site where you can checkout their latest offerings, upload pictures of your latest creations, share with other Burda users, and read articles on sewing and garment construction.
4. http://www.stylefeeder.com: It’s a personal shopping engine that tries to learn your preferences and style so that it makes recommendations on clothes, accessories, and home decor inline with your preferences.  Sort of like having a personal stylist who shops the web on your behalf.  They have a slick interface and it can work if you typically shop by brand, however, it wasn’t that easy to shop by specific search terms.
5. http://www.stylemob.com/: Post a photo and let users around the world rate your style.  Kind of like ‘hotornot’ but for fashion.
6. http://aerynnisabelle.blogspot.com/: Aerynn Isabelle has a blog focused on makeup, culture, art, and latex fashions.  She’s a model, photographer, and artist from the U.K. and her posts are insightful and edgy.
7. http://streetsiknow.blogspot.com: Melanie Pyves blogs about vegan friendly fashions.  Her posts are a mix of eclectic, mod, and current trends that are always animal and environmentally friendly.

As always we would love to hear from you.  Drop us a comment and let us know your favorites blogs and sites.