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The Fetish Fashion of Peter Berlin
A Queer Arts Resource (QAR) exclusive by Photos by BIRON
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The Fetish Fashion of Peter Berlin
A Queer Arts Resource (QAR) exclusive by Photos by BIRON
Males in heat is what Peter Berlin's couture is all about. Crotch and ass defining garments are the mainstay of Berlin's designs -- fabrics that reveal more than hide and help prolong the male erection through elaborate foreplay. This is the real thing and not the usual titillation of mainstream male fashion designers who use fabrics to hide rather than accentuate the male essentials. Yet, it's more about a philosophy of life than about fabrics. It's the original unfettered vision of a single individual, Peter Berlin.
I could go on, but instead let me show you photographs I took, mainly in 1996-1997, of my models dressed and undressed in the clothes Peter Berlin designed, created and wore on camera and in the bars, back streets and parks he frequented in San Francisco and New York.
When I suggested this project to Peter, he immediately went to his closet and took out an assortment of items that included a black and red leather jacket, a wide leather belt with chains, various pants, tights, jock straps, mesh tops, military caps and jackets, and a pair of black leather short shorts. I walked out of his apartment that day with several shopping bags full.
In all cases, the models knew who Peter Berlin was and if they were uninformed, a look through the long out of print Janssen book, The Peter Berlin Collection, before the shoot brought them quickly up to date. They all rose to the occasion. I'm talking about fetishism -- the power of an object to transmit sexual energy through suggestion, but look at the photos and draw your own conclusion.-Lionel A. Biron, 2006005
I wish to thank Peter Berlin for lending me, for over two years, an important part of his costume collection and the following models for participating in this project: