The Clothed Avatar: Virtual Bodies in Latex Catsuits
Estimated reading time: 1 minutes — With every iPhone & Google glass we are inexorably drawn into the fantasy, fetish world of cyborg technology. We lust for this technology. — But we are afraid of it. — As we go deeper into high tech our desire simultaneously drives us deeper into the high touch experiences […]
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes —
The Clothed Avatar: Virtual Bodies in Latex Catsuits.
Humans scanned and rasterized in the virtual world of Tron. Avatars longing to be made flesh. The virtual slams up against the corporeal.
Fetish
Latex.
Rubber.
The Catsuit.
When did fetish wear become mainstream clothing? Why do we see an endless stream of celebrities in skintight apparel once reserved for taboo fantasies? Is it a coincidence these erotic fashions are mainstream here in our 21st century moment? Or is it because of our 21st century moment?
Fantasy
With every iPhone. With every Google glass. Inexorably. We are drawn into a fantasy now world. It also is a fetishistic world. But a very different fetish. Cyborg fetish. Our technology seems to suggest that we are leaving the corporeal body behind. We obsess over this technology. We lust for it. We can’t get it fast enough.
But we are afraid of it.
In Tomb Raider the circle of fetish and fantasy is complete. Angelina Jolie, a physical person, a “fleshvatar” if you will, pretends to be Lara Croft, an avatar in a catsuit.
No wonder fetish wear is now day wear.
Plastic Reality
Where can the clothed body be experienced at its most dramatic? In the clothed avatar. In more virtual worlds than can ever be counted we upload ourselves, like Flynn in Tron, into worlds of pixels and polygons and avatar bodies. At the nexus of high tech and high touch is the clothed avatar body. As in RL, the VR avatar longs for the sensuality of shiny, instantiated, corporeal clothing. Clothing that makes the paradoxical “physical” presence of a “virtual” body tactile and real.
Is an avatar in a catsuit any more of a fantasy than a fleshvatar in a catsuit?
For The Clothed Avatar I am transitioning my cheerleader avatar to a latex-clad, goth-complected, denizen of an opium den in virtual Amsterdam. Progression: Dye hair black. Apply very pale foundation. Extreme blush. Extreme eyeliner. The longest possible lashes. The reddest possible lips.
Before,
After.
The Clothed Avatar
Today RL and VR are both filled with fetish fashion. With shiny plastic clothing. With latex catsuits. IRL we find designers like Syren, Ectomorph, Bondinage, Catfish Clothing, Tatjana Warnecke, Mother of London and others. In VR the names are different but the aesthetics map back and forth. In VR we experience designers like Madame Couturier, Elixir, Jackie Graves, Eclectic Randomness, Powers of Creation and others.
Here then is my latex catsuit fashion show on the catwalk of a virtual opium dream. Join me…
My transformation to pale white skin under shiny black rubber complete, I head down to Trilby Minotaur’s opium den in virtual Amsterdam only to discover just how low my tolerance for opium is. I’m an avatar down a rabbit hole. A traveler in a dream. An adventurer on an unknown journey.
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Humane Fetish
• No fur.
• Cruelty free.
Stocking Info
The roles of Syren, Ectomorph & Naucler were played by Powers of Creation
• Syren
• Ectomorph
• Naucler
• Allsorts
• Powers of Creation
The role of Bondinage was played by Hugo’s Design
• Bondinage
• Hugo’s Design
The role of Catfish Clothing was played by Eclectic Randomness
• Catfish Clothing
• Eclectic Randomness
The role of Rebel NYC was played by Dance Island; the role of Lust Designs was played by Kayliwulf Kingdom
• Rebel NYC
•
• Lust Designs
• Kayliwulf Kingdom
The role of Tatjana Warnecke was played by Jackie Graves
• Tatjana Warnecke
•
The role of Mother of London was played by Elixir
• Mother of London
• Elixir
The role of Kaori’s Latex Dreams was played by Madame Couturier
• Kaori’s Latex Dreams
• Madame Couturier
HAIR, MAKEUP & SKIN CARE:
I try to use as many Ben Nye products as possible when I have these occasional makeup orgies. The guy invented pretty much everything. I try to honor that. And not to be bratty, but hair this long and full can be a lot of work. Embracing volume without turning into a rat’s nest is a project! Of course I only let José Eber touch my hair.
The role of Ben Nye was played by Eloh Eliot; the role of José Eber was played by Carina Larsen.
• Ben Nye
•
• José Eber
• Carina Larsen
Dreaming.
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