Project L: Part 76 - Late summer evening in Helsinki

The Finnish summer is short, but almost snowless. To acknowledge that it’s almost over makes one feel wistful; soon the days will be filled with rainfall and cold winds, combined with short, darkening days and rising heating expenses. Perhaps we’ll get snow as early as December this year instead of the moist and dark autumn.

For now, though, there are still few weeks of summer left – so what would be better than to cherish those moments by dressing appropriately and heading out to Central Helsinki for a few drinks?

Jonja is already a familiar face from the 71st Project L and the 72nd part, Winter Stream Night, and she was happy to introduce our newest model, Jenni, to the project!

“I’m always surprised of how thin the latex is. And how shiny!” Jonja describes the feeling. “You feel like you’ve got a skin on top of another skin. At the same time, you’re hot and cold – except when you’re just plain hot or cold.”

“It looks supercool. Especially black latex is the best. Of course, because black is always the best choice of clothing.”

This was Jenni’s first contact to wearable latex fashion, so everything was new and exciting. But how was the initial impression?

“Slimy,” Jenni explains. “At the very beginning it was damn sweaty, but that passed quickly. When we got outside, it got cold.”

Jenni described the look of the latex as a superhero costume. “All it was missing was a cape,” she adds.

What’s different about latex, again?

Latex is not a usual fabric, even though this project hopes that it would be. If you’re not well-versed into the world of latex, there are few things to remember; besides how it looks, latex requires you to apply some kind of lubrication on your body; be that talcum powder or liquid latex dressing aid, so it’s not a particularly clean fabric. It will probably make a mess. Besides that, it takes a considerable amount of time to squeeze yourself into an outfit such as a catsuit, whereas dresses can be much easier to get on.

Latex is very thin, too, as these suits have been made from a 0.4-millimetre-thick latex sheet – thus it’s prone to tear very easily. Got long nails? Better be extra careful when dressing the suit. Simultaneously some metals, like copper and nickel, can stain latex badly.

Then there’s the fact that latex absolutely does not breathe; it will be either too cold or too warm, and very rarely it’s the perfect temperature. Oh, and did you know that being too much in the sun will leave marks in the latex, staining it permanently? But after all, latex does look good, and it’s a wonderful experience to wear once you’ve got it on.

But it is a lot of work.

Latex outdoors and how the photoshoot went by

Not caring about the looks of the passers-by, the girls decided to start by not wearing anything over the fabric. A bold and a rather unusual choice, I added, as we were in the very centre of Helsinki. The girls did get some ogling and even a one, very quiet and – truthfully – a pretty pathetic attempt at a wolf whistle, but way less than expected. Not minding that, we headed off for some refreshing cocktails.

Other people turning their heads wasn’t really something that bothered the models. “I don’t really mind it in a situation like this,” Jonja describes the photoshoot. “If I was walking alone in such garments, it might be slightly distressing.”

“I didn’t even notice the heads turning,” Jenni, who wore nothing but a catsuit at the beginning of the shoot, adds.

After the drinks were consumed, the weather got a hint of coldness in its breath. We headed off to pick up some extra layers of clothing and some food to warm us up. With full bellies, it was time to get some well-deserved ice cream and, naturally, beer. In Finnish, this is what we call “pussikaljoittelu”, badly translated to “bag beering” – basically meaning that we buy our beers from a grocery store, carry the beers in a plastic bag gotten from the grocer and drink the beers at a park or a similar public area. These treats were to be ingested in Tervasaari, a small park-like thing of and island.

“I wasn’t anyhow latex-oriented nor did I feel at ease in front of the camera, but something about this is just fun,” Jonja says. “Both the fabric and the photoshoot.”

Would you wear latex outside of a photoshoot?

“The material has potential, and in principle I could wear latex anyways. Perhaps something like cleaning would be less tedious if I wore this,” Jonja answers.

“I’d be happy to wear this at a party or at a festival,” Jenni adds.

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Latex used in the project:
Black Matrix Catsuit by Libidex
Black Princess Corset Dress by Libidex
Metallic Purple Princess Catsuit by by Libidex

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