NEW YORK—Manhattan boutique The Baroness, which touts itself as the "only one woman-owned business in America that’s exclusively dedicated to latex fashions," will close its doors at the end of August.
Store founder The Baroness (her actual legal name) has decided that now is the perfect time to fulfill a life dream to move to France, citing COVID-19 as the cause of the closure (despite support from loyal customers and an accommodating landlady).
Established in 1993, The Baroness was one of only three latex designers in North America. Working from home, she taught herself to work with this unique material through trial-and-error. She first sold her latex garments at events, to private clients, and through a wholesale rep.
In 1995 The Baroness launched Baroness.com, her award-winning website. After a decade of steady growth in both sales and word of mouth, The Baroness moved into a combination boutique and atelier on East 13th street in New York City’s East Village in 2004.
The Baroness’ clientele included Lady Gaga for the Grammys, Victoria’s Secret for its fashion show, and Beyonce for the Met Gala. Her creations were worn on stage by Madonna, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry and many others.
Determined to bring latex out of the closet and into the mainstream, The Baroness spread her gospel of latex and the power of clothing through her writings, lectures, interviews and television appearances on ABC America, E! News and Real Sex, among others. She also wrote and/or was interviewed for The New York Times, Vogue, Interview, Visionaire and countless other publications.
For 15 years, The Baroness’ monthly fetish party, The Fetish Retinue (“a Safe Place to do Dangerous Things”) provided a play/performance/social space where she held court and encouraged many curious newcomers to explore their desires. For those seeking something more exclusive, she hosted eight annual Royal Amusements (an exclusive and very formal dinner and play party). She was also a popular performer, speaker and MC at many other fetish events such as Smack!, The Black and Blue Ball, Click’n’Drag, Diabolique, Erotic New York, Miss Rubber World, The Montreal Fetish Weekend and The Texas Latex Party.
The Baroness has archived her fetish collection—garments, magazine articles, video, notes and more—and this compendium of New York's fetish scene history can be explored at The Leather Archives in Chicago, The Fetish Archives in the U.K., The Texas Fashion Collection, and soon at The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York.
Once she's realized her lifetime dream of moving to France, The Baroness will continue to document and archive her years in the fetish scene through writings, short video histories of fetish luminaries, and possibly podcasts. She will return to designing latex clothes and making clothing as art once a new workshop is established at her new home in France.
Throughout August, The Baroness will be offering a storewide sale including jewelry, feathers, fashion show accessories and everything else right down to the fixtures.
Supplies are limited and will be more so as time passes, so shop early and take advantage of drastic reductions, including gift with purchase, buy one get one free of lesser value, and discounts from 25-75 percent off.
For more information, visit www.baroness.com.
Image taken from The Baroness' Facebook page
