New York Fashion Week has just wrapped up, and alongside collections from Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, and the final NYFW offering from Alexander Wang, was relative newcomer Kaimin: a cyber-punk parade of iridescent leather, vinyl, and, uh… merkins.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfOh2T_gUKE/?hl=en&taken-by=kaiminofficial
The South Korean-born, New York-based designer sent a number of models down the runway sporting punk-inspired pussy-wigs, known in the biz as merkins.
The merkin has a long, proud history dating all the way back to at least 1450. They’ve been used by sex workers as protection from sexually transmitted parasites like crabs and lice, and to disguise symptoms of other STDs like syphilis – but the faux fanny fluff is most commonly used these days in TV and cinema.
However, Kaimin’s merkins were, as the designer put it in a press release, designed to “assist irregular silhouettes and to bridge the gap of hard versus soft“.
Clothes looking too hardcore? Take your pants off and whack on a thatch of fake pubes. It’s a time-honoured fashion tip. You’ve probably read it in Vogue.
Dale Delaporte, the creative director of the hair company responsible for the mohawk merkins, said:
We really wanted to push the futuristic punk aesthetic of this seasons’ collection and having matching hair and merkins was perfect. We worked hard on figuring out the best way to get them made and to have them looking as natural as possible and the results speak for themselves!
Calling it now: the merkin will be THE must-have accessory of 2018. Start plundering the plughole, my DIY mates.
