In the Closet

By Marquis

Like most of you, my kinky fantasies began earlier than I can remember. They stayed fantasies, for the most part, until I acquired my first steady girlfriend at 17. Puppy love is not known for its slow progression and we were no exception. That is to say, fairly early on in our relationship we were doing a lot of fucking. Soon after we met I also began living alone, which added the factor of greater privacy to experiment and enjoy each other than most high school kids have access to. It wasn’t long before the conversation started on how to take our experiences to the next level, and the slow barter of our darkest secrets began.

My girlfriend shared with me a fascination for erotic literature, specifically in the form of short stories that she would read online. The library of online stories contained every possible sexual angle imaginable, but upon reading some of her favorites I quickly saw a pattern forming. To my surprise and great interest, my soft spoken and terribly shy young lover had a strong predilection towards submissive and masochistic sexuality. She craved to be hurt, dominated and humiliated. I was more than happy to oblige.

So began my humble entry into the world of BDSM. For the next four years, she and I shared our desires and explored perversions uncharacteristically mature for our age. By the time I graduated college my first love was now officially unrequited, but I would forever be a die-hard deviant. Even during my relationship with a kindred spirit, it was hard not to feel alone. Conversations with my peers showed that their sexual activities were far milder in comparison. This created an element of secrecy between my partner and I that was both exciting and isolating. The only people I found to discuss my desires with were online, on Internet messageboards filled with people who were mostly much older than myself.

When I moved to South Florida upon graduation, I quickly took it upon myself to find like-minded peers. Preferably those with… umm… qualities suitable to my arousal. But beyond just finding kinky sex partners, I wanted to be able to offer something to people like myself. A way to express our unique identity that would be both true to the culture but also young and hip. With just the slightest bit of modeling experience under my belt, I decided that I wanted to start an apparel company that was tailored toward the kinky youth. Like many young designers trying to find a following, I started with T-shirts and Marquis DeSigns was born.

Although the market for chic casual wear targeted specifically at kinky people is still either untapped or unprofitable, fetish inspired designs had crept into the lines of haute couture long before I had ever thought of it.

Well to do soccer moms wear padlocked chain link chokers by Versace and still budding females attend their high school homecoming dances in leash necklaces by Chanel. The work of designer John Galliano in particular tend towards the very dark, harsh and dramatic. But even these are seen as late entries when we look at the bondage inspired additions to the wardrobe of anyone in the punk subculture dating back to the 1970’s, made most famous by the studs, straps and chokers often donned by the Sex Pistols.

In fact, almost as long as there has been clothing with a flagrantly sexual directive, there has been more mainstream clothing designed after it. The fashion worlds of the edgy public and the daring private have thus grown independently and cooperatively. One need look no further than the incredible latex designs of South Florida’s own Maggie Delena to see this interaction taken to new levels.

Where it will go from here is anyone’s guess. I will admit that Marquis DeSigns has not seen the success I have hoped for it, and will likely be shutting the site down in the near future, hopefully with the intention of reopening it when the time is right. As subcultures go, we are a very diverse group and our fashion needs reflect that. How to create a design guaranteed to be popular amongst a group with such varying opinions is no simple task, but one that I hope will be undertaken in time.

Personally, I reserve the leather and latex for the appropriate venues, fetish parties and the like. Lacking more directed quality options, I wear a lot of black and chrome accents, wondering if others recognize the origin of my tastes and the desires they intend to broadcast. More likely than not, I am more often thought of, as my more fashion free-spirited submissive describes, as “suffering from a tragic fear of color.”

-Marquis