I briefly meet Atsuko Kudo, alongside her husband and business partner Simon Hoare, when visiting their shop on Holloway Road, London. She is Japanese, petite, with long black hair and bangs. Somehow, I’m surprised to see her in an all-black outfit that reminds me more of ’90s Yohji Yamamoto RTW than the colorful latex couture she designs.
Initially, I had only intended to take a look at the place where all those beautiful latex pieces on the red carpet originate, not expecting the people at the label’s helm to actually be in the store—the same way you wouldn’t expect to meet Donatella Versace when walking into a Versace boutique. The thing I forgot to account for, though, is that Atsuko Kudo comes from the fetish scene, where things are done differently. Despite the immense scale her operation has grown to over the past 20 years, Kudo has always managed to walk the fine line between authenticity and commercial success.
I ask them for an interview, and Simon Hoare tells me to send an email — they’ll try to fit me into their busy schedule.
Beginnings
Atsuko Kudo began her fashion design journey at the Vantan Design Institute, a fashion school in Tokyo, Japan. Through a university project, she started researching the clothing at a fetish shop, which sparked her fascination with latex. To her, though, the material wasn’t just sexual—it was something that could make women feel powerful and confident, and still does to this day.
“I strive to take a medium often viewed as harsh and redefine it into something beautiful, feminine, and strong,” Atsuko Kudo
After finishing her course in Tokyo, Kudo moved to London in the early ’90s, at a time when the fetish scene was thriving. Clubs and events like Torture Garden, Club Rub, and the Skin Two Rubber Ball attracted fetishists and the curious alike from all over the world. Fetish publications like Zeitgeist and Skin Two featured internationally renowned photographers, and fetish photography itself was becoming an artistic genre.
Immersed in this scene, Kudo would wear her own latex designs while clubbing, eventually leading to a chance meeting with a friend of Dave Notaro, the owner of Zeitgeist, which also had a fetish apparel line.
“She’d make the gimp masks because she had really tiny fingers, which made her really good at it,” Notaro tells me, recalling her early work at the shop.
In Partnership: Building the Brand
It was also through this work that she met Simon Hoare, who was making music at the time and working as Notaro’s manager. Together, they built Atsuko Kudo into the success it is today.
“We are quite yin and yang,” they tell me about their business and romantic relationship, each bringing different strengths to the table — Hoare handling the business side while Kudo designs.
The shop on Holloway Road fits seamlessly into the trajectory of their brand. “She’s been working hard for a long time,” Notaro recalls, explaining how she first conquered the fetish scene before making her way into the mainstream when Lady Gaga wore a design of hers to meet the Queen in 2013.
“From then on, other celebrities and wealthy people started coming to Ako because they wanted something different.” But long before that, she had already become the designer within the fetish scene.
The Fetish Scene and Latex Couture
Atsuko Kudo’s work cannot be separated from the fetish scene. She has continually drawn inspiration from it and has always remained a part of it, with multiple features in Skin Two magazine.
“I found the world of BDSM very intriguing,” she recalls. “Although I have explored the world of latex beyond BDSM and continue to push the medium outside of that box, I still respect and draw from old-school BDSM ideologies, imagery, and shapes today.”
Her perspective on latex has played a significant role in shifting attitudes toward the material in couture.
Fetish has long since entered the mainstream—whether through Madonna’s SEX book or, for Gen Z, Fifty Shades of Grey. Kudo and Hoare tell me they are pleased with the acceptance and innovation this has brought. However, “it has also sparked debates about authenticity and the preservation of subcultural values.”
Before fetish was mainstream, it was considered a mental illness—a notion promoted by Freud, von Krafft-Ebing, and Binet. Raegan Rubin, producer of the fetish documentary Saturnalia, explains:
“It really bred this idea that there was something wrong with it. It bred oppression.”
More and more, big fashion houses have adopted fetish aesthetics as a gimmick—using it in collections and campaigns for shock value, often without considering the ethical implications. BDSM-inspired campaigns featuring children feel especially tasteless, considering that fetishists have historically had their children taken away simply for the sexual preferences they practiced in private.
At other times, brands incorporate latex into their collections without properly educating themselves on how to handle the material. Rubin tells me of high-fashion runways featuring unpolished latex and models struggling with improperly applied garments—pieces that hadn’t been lubricated beforehand, making it difficult for models to remove them.
“It’s a shame, and it just isn’t authentic,” she says, particularly when so many creatives within the fetish scene go unpaid despite their expertise. These individuals are often far better suited for these jobs than those hired by luxury brands.
Best of the Best
Rubin describes craftsmanship and knowledge of material as two of the most crucial aspects of a latex brand. In my research, multiple sources repeatedly name Atsuko Kudo as the best.
Dave Notaro tells me about her unmatched ability to work with thinner latex than anyone else—between 0.7mm and 1.4mm—while others struggled to go below 1.7mm without the material breaking.
Her designs are also distinct in their elegance, standing apart from traditional fetishwear. “Her designs are fetish because of the rubber. In any other material, they’d just be very classic pieces. So it’s an interesting mix,” says her former boss.
Kudo has pioneered new techniques, including creating latex lace. Dominatrix and longtime friend Miss Kim Rub recalls the time she was producing the yellow hat for Lady Gaga and Beyoncé’s Telephone music video.
“She was up all night making one, then another, and then another…”
Her skill has earned acclaim not only in mainstream media but also among fetish photographers and models. Steve Diet Goedde, author and photographer behind The Beauty of Fetish, remembers:
“All the models I shot were great models, so they had the best clothes. And everybody had to have something from Atsuko Kudo. Her clothes were always aesthetically beautiful and exquisite. I wanted my work to look like fashion photography—just in a tight, shiny fabric. I never wanted it to be overtly sexual, just beautiful.”
Atsuko Kudo walks the line between authenticity and commercial success perfectly. Despite being one of the most successful latex fashion brands in the world, she and Hoare have remained humble and down-to-earth.
Model and customer Grace Jaques tells me about her most recent purchase — how, within an hour, they made multiple alterations to a dress in their in-house workshop so it would fit her perfectly.
“It’s a very personal experience. It’s very special.”
This approach ensures that they can cater to all body types—anyone can come to them for a piece.
Rubin reflects:
“When it comes to fetish, what’s really important to remember is that fetish has always existed… but at its heart, it’s about acceptance, reawakening desires, and feeling the freedom to do so. That’s what the fashion does.”
