As Michel Foucault famously attested, we often presume that contemporary society is singularly sexually liberated, that those who came before us were far more conservative, even their innermost fantasies more bourgeois than ours. That is, of course, completely untrue – a fact proven by the prevalence of fetishwear lingerie in the 1920s and 30s, an arena that was dominated by two rival companies: Yva Richard and Diana Slip.

Founded by a husband and wife duo who documented their ball gags and leather corsetry in a style later employed by the likes of 80s magazines like AtomAge (and now, the fashion industry at large), Diana Slip was created by Léon Vidal and commissioned renowned photographers Roger Schall and Brassaï to communicate their seductive vision.

Offering chiffon ouverts, thigh-high boots and plenty of whips, theirs was a brand that celebrated S&M subversion in its most elegantly refined form.

• Text by Olivia Singer

Source: Vintage Bondage and Fetish Gear By Yva Richard and Diana Slip (NSFW) |