The Sex Industry Portrayed in Fashion

Porn’s influence can be seen in a wide spectrum of the arts and the Conventionals gobble it up like a kid in a candy store. It’s in their music – everything from J.Geils Band’s “Centerfold” to Taylor Swift’s video “Delicate,” it’s in their film – who can forget Oscar darlings Hustle and Flow and Boogie Nights? – and it’s in their best-selling books like Jenna Jameson’s How to Make Love Like a Porn Star.

But what a lot of sex workers don’t think about is how big their influence is on the fashion industry. On the one hand, the Conventionals look down their nose at what we wear, then on the other hand they pony up their hard-earned cash to own a piece of clothing that is directly inspired by us.

In a fascinating article by i-D.vice.com, the author talked about what they called “the complicated relationship” the fashion industry has with sex workers. They made the point that though many designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier, Gianni Versace and Yves Saint Laurent hijack ideas directly stolen from porn (bondage, latex, knee-high boots etc.), they still shy away from having any contact with promoting the people and industry that actually inspired their creations.

Not all designers take this tactic, as mentioned in the article, Vivienne Westwood garnered a lot of fame for saying “sex sells” and sticking to it. In the 70s, she opened her boutique called Sex at 430 Kings Road in London that catered to punks and brought not only their wild looks but in your face marketing of sex to the Conventionals. Then there was Thierry Mugler who was way ahead of his time casting Jeff Stryker and Traci Lords on his runways way back in the ’90s. But overall, the fashion world has kept the sex worker at arm’s length. Willing to steal ideas, and sometimes give credit (what better way to create a stir than say a look has been influenced by porn) but still unwilling to support the industry.

Chloe Cherry, of course, the former porn actress turned mainstream actor in Euphoria, has been allowed to walk the runway for several designers and has even been called a “subversive fashion star.” But one wonders if they’re using her a bit. Her main selling point is she’s done porn before – if fashion were truly embracing the adult industry, they’d be giving more sex workers a chance at the runway not just a woman who had a small part on an Emmy award-winning show. This is no dis on Cherry, who I absolutely love and am happy for her success but to hold her up as an example of the fashion industry changing and allowing the adult industry to represent some of the very clothes that are inspired by them, it’s a far stretch.

What does all this mean? It means that the fashion industry just like every other artistic venture in the Conventionals’ world is still using the “glamor” and “taboo” of sex workers to sell while at the same time looking down their nose at it.

But all is not lost. The article did make a point that things ARE changing naming several designers that are breaking the mold such as Hood by Air which collaborated with Pornhub, Martine Rose and Jordanluca casting OnlyFans creators, and Ludovic de Saint Sernin who also worked with Pornhub and has opened his doors to sex workers in his shows.

Why is this important?

As reported on by i-D.vice.com, who interviewed sex worker, Elisabeth Rossi:

“Fashion is art and art can be used to push boundaries and cause people to question previously held beliefs,” stated Rossi. “Hire sex workers, pay them and treat them with the respect they deserve. Especially hire Black trans women sex workers — these are the women who are largely responsible for [much of] the amazing fashion everyone wants to copy. These are also the women who have been at the forefront of demanding to be treated as human, who are fighting for bodily autonomy. Everyone who values freedom and wants to be respected owes them.”

Main Photo credit: iStock.com/Slava_Vladzimirskaya
Second Photo credit: iStock.com/GeorgiyDatsenko
Third Photo credit: iStock.com/unomat