Yes, pull.
This is really... -Wait, wait.
Oh, my God.
Living with a fetish
Fetishes are often associated with sexual desires.
Someone who can only have an orgasm in women's stockings.
But to me, it's not like that at all. It's much broader than that.
Iris is a familiar face in the world of fetish.
She works in a fetish shop, she's a latex model and visits fetish parties.
To her a fetish isn't just exciting, but a way of breaking with the daily grind.
What are you getting ready for?
I'm being made up for a classic fetish shoot.
We have two beautiful corsets.
We're combining it with rubber. A rubber legging
combined with high heels, make-up.
Do you recall the first time you thought rubber was cool or nice to put on?
I remember ending up at a fetish after-party by coincidence.
I came in and thought: Wow, that's cool.
Everybody was 'minding his own business', you know?
Just the atmosphere and the way you can as a women...
also topless or without knickers, you could just do what you liked.
In our scene, men aren't necessarily macho. In our scene, women can be macho too.
So, yes...
How do you experience this? -Most men are submissive to me.
They don't have to be, it just happens. -Why is that do you think?
I think because you create a certain kind of charisma.
Do you think it's because people like to blend in with uniformity?
Oh, yes.
It's fear. People are afraid of all kinds of things.
You should look like the neighbor, drive the same car.
The same holidays, living room... -Opinion.
Opinion.
Just act normally, that's mad enough. That's what we're taught at school.
I know that in the world I reside in there is a lot of openness and freedom.
And that it's not freaky at all, like all those decent people
or vanilla people as we call them, often think.
Wow, what a space. -Cool, isn't it?
Yes, very cool.
This thing is really...
Nobody said fetish clothing was easy.
No, they don't see this whole process. -No, they don't see this.
And now? Your bottom... -The champion is going to freak out.
You put your chin in here, in this part.
You keep your chin there and you pull it over your face. Yes, pull.
Well, that's really... -Wait, wait.
Jesus.
Oh, my God. -How do you feel?
It's a double feeling.
It's very sticky and I can't laugh properly.
Yes, you can. You can laugh, you can do everything.
It reminds me of Spiderman. It has a super hero effect on me.
That's the most logical association. You want to associate it.
You can also try to stop making associations and just experience it.
To feel it. -It's not always...
It doesn't always...
need to feel familiar or safe to you.
On the one hand, it's a transformation. It's like getting into a second skin.
You lay down your normal identity, the person you normally are.
On the other hand, it's emphasizing or confirming who you are.
I think that by dressing a certain way as a woman...
you're really trying to emphasize your own femininity.
You can celebrate this in the fetish world.
And you can feel that this femininity is your strength.
And you have this feeling of: who can hurt me now?
There is a discussion about how you can liberate yourself
of the objectification by men or society if you dress in a sexy way?
Women always think about that.
Is this acceptable? Do I feel safe? How will men react to it?
In the fetish world it's the opposite: the more, the better.
Good afternoon.
Let me have a look. Bear with me for a second.
You have a really cozy shop here. -Yes.
Here we have catsuits. This is an example of a transvestite catsuit.
Let's see, the plug. -Oh, yes.
It has breasts. -Yes, a handful.
Hi, how are you? -Hello.
I'm here for an outfit. A catsuit would be awesome.
Do you want me to show you around or do you have an idea?
You mentioned a catsuit.
Surprise me. -The black one?
You can combine it with a corset on top of it.
It's going vacuum, if you like. -Vacuum?
I think it's a good fit. -Yes, beautiful.
I feel like pinching in it.
Do you remember the first time you bought a latex suit?
Yes, I do. At first, I thought it was cold.
What a weird stuff and then it became one with my body.
Just like it is now and it's getting warm. And then I think: oh, yes. Lovely.
A second skin? -A second skin, yes.
I notice with the corset, which is getting tighter and tighter...
that I really like it, it makes me feel very safe.
I trust her blindly so I know that I'm in the right hands.
So I can relax and let go of it all, if you like.
Okay, I can let you feel how it feels.
It's best if you cross your arms.
Is it okay like this?
Breathe gently.
Are you all right? It doesn't hurt your teeth?
If anything isn't okay, just nod your head.
Shall we agree that? -It's great that you can offer this care.
Yes, but that's also the chemistry you have together.
And she gives me energy, so it works both ways.
Okay, turn around.
Take a careful step. You can walk normally.
Normally speaking I have a highly responsible job.
I'm very busy and in these moments I can say: Not now.
I don't have to think now, someone else can think for me.
Is it all right? -Yes.
Just switch off for a while, if you like.
It goes quiet in my head and I can finally have this feeling of okay.
As if I'm in a forest and all I can hear is the wind.
Such feelings, when you're in such a suit
or if you're wearing a mask where you breathe through a straw
can be very scary.
But if someone says to you: breathe gently, listen to my voice.
And they guide you through it
it causes you to focus on that person alone.
And you can put the rest of your busy day out of your mind
that's a very nice feeling, at that moment.
Now it's beautiful.
Taking care of each other is what it's all about.
Even if you play differently, and there's pain or whips or rope
or things like that, it's still all about caring for someone.
Are you all right? Yes?
Fetish is very much about celebrating the individual.
Don't be so judgmental and don't cling on to set paradigms.
Just be yourself, celebrate it and enact it.
You stand to gain a lot from it.
At first, the fetish scene seems gruesome and inaccessible.
But in fact, it's a world built on mutual trust.
Although wearing tight latex suits and masks may seem claustrophobic...
for people in the fetish world it's a way of escaping the daily grind.