Harnesses: More than just a Trend
Harnesses are making a statement in today’s fashion, a trend perhaps unexpected and challenging convention. These belt-like structures, created to contour and emphasize the body, have infiltrated runways, music festivals, and celebrity wardrobes. Once associated with taboo subcultures, they have now metamorphosed into a chic trend. Here’s an exploration of this fascinating journey, weaving in its connections with the BDSM subculture.
The Versatility and Origins of Harnesses
“Fundamentally, a harness converges various belt-like figures, devised to contour and emphasize the body.”
“Leather harness” might conjure images ranging from a risqué club to a canine accessory. However, harnesses, like lingerie-as-fashion and the recent enthusiasm for slip dresses, have morphed from a forbidden concept into a trend-setting addition. This past season, leather harnesses appeared in department stores, boutiques, music festivals, fashion runways, and even adorned pop icon Taylor Swift. Vogue featured an article providing tips on rocking a harness without falling prey to a fashion faux pas. Despite its current runway fame, the roots of the saddle lie deep within the decades-old BDSM subculture.
Harnesses: A Fusion of Fashion and Function
Harnesses, a fusion of belt-like structures, are crafted to flatter and emphasize the body, typically focusing on the shoulders or chest. These accessories can range from complex and fetish-inspired, as evident in the designs of Zana Bayne and Yeha Leung, to minimalist and understated, like BCBG’s simplistic body-framing lines. Not confined to leather, the Swedish indie designer Pink Milk Sweden primarily uses vegan leather, while Australian model-designer Teale Coco crafts intricate waterproof items in stretch satin, leading to vibrant bathtub photoshoots featured on her website.
Harnesses: The Ultimate Style Statement
Harnesses as versatile as your preferred handbag can be donned over a form-fitting top, layered over an elegant dress for a gothic twist, or paired with your winter sweater to create stunning silhouettes. They can breathe new life into loose outfits that might otherwise hide your figure. A harness to a simple t-shirt dress instantly transforms it into a trendy, figure-enhancing piece. These daring fashion statements might seem novel, but according to an interview with Zana Bayne, a renowned designer whose clients range from Debbie Harry to Beyoncé, fashion harnesses have been strutting down runways since the 1980s.
The Resurgence of Harnesses in Fashion
The resurgence of harnesses begs the question: why now? Aesthetically, harnesses blend seamlessly with recent minimalist trends, providing geometric structure without overwhelming an ensemble. They cater to fashion as a platform for visual avant-garde, but this time, they’ve emerged in mainstream fashion alongside an expanding discourse around sexuality and unconventional relationship structures.
Harnesses: The Intersection of Fashion and Cultural Change
Before making a splash on Louis Vuitton runways, leather harnesses were sported by men in the 1970s gay leather scene in cosmopolitan cities like Berlin and San Francisco. Leather resurfaced in E.L. James’ erotic novel Fifty Shades of Gray, which, despite criticisms around healthy consent practices, encouraged individuals to probe and discuss their identities without fear of public scrutiny. This summer, as college attendees sported harnesses over crop tops at music festivals, the Huffington Post published an article titled “Trying To Understand Consent? Ask The LGBTQ and Kink Communities.” Considering that interest in BDSM was a diagnosable pathology in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) until 2013, such an article in a popular publication signifies a broadening of the mainstream understanding of sexuality.
The Evolving Structure of Relationships
Beyond that, the traditional structure of monogamous relationships itself is no longer an expectation. In various social circles at Stanford and beyond, individuals identifying as polyamorous, i.e., having multiple committed romantic relationships, have surfaced. Polyamory has also made its presence known online and in fashion publications.
Harnesses: A Silent Shout-out to Identity
To some, donning a harness is deeply ingrained in identity, a subtle nod to a kinky or queer identity akin to the hanky code. A once-underground accessory now finds its place in daily life, quietly implying that personal sexual exploration might be acceptable in the public eye.
Harnesses: A Personal Statement
However, for many trendsetters, harnesses bear no association with kink. These accessories are adaptable and suitable for personal expression. As Teale Coco rightly puts it, her harnesses are “genderless.” Saddles can be seen as morally powerful, a symbol of fantasy royalty, an expression of identity politics, or a mere aesthetic choice. They can vary in style from grungy, romantic, heavy, or delicate while remaining impractical. The harness is timeless and bold, stating its history and shrouded in implication.