Corbett explores the relationship between "macho and camp" in his exhibition. Pic © Colin Corbett
Exhibition preview: Strapped - The Art Of The Decorated Jockstrap, Eckersley Gallery, London College of Communications, London, January 21-29 2009
“I bought my first jockstrap in Carlisle, in a sports shop – they were only sold in sports shops then,” recalls Scottish designer Colin Corbett. “But I didn’t wear it. I just owned it. I wanted it, I suppose, as a fetish garment.”
There is an inevitable theme of fetishism to Corbett’s jockstrap exhibition, Strapped, which opens at the London College of Communications later this month (January 2009).
Some adorn male waists with birds and flies, others offer glowing velvet and dozens of marble eyes peeking upwards, outshining the questionable attractiveness of their wearers with designs ranging from daring to downright outlandish.
Fly Front Day. Pic © Colin Corbett
“What I find interesting about the jockstrap is the correlation between macho and camp,” explains Corbett, who namechecks leather bikers and the rise of the gay liberation movement in the 1960s to draw heretofore improbable parallels between social change and the rise of the male thong.
Pic © Colin Corbett
“Growing up in the strong sporty rugby town of Hawick, jockstraps were typical athletic wear,” he reminisces, alluding to a sartorially repressed youth which ended with Corbett creating diamante jockstraps in his Soho flat after a move to London in the 1980s.
He reckons it is “a natural progression to fetishize the jockstrap,” which he believes emanates from the “testosterone-fuelled world of the athlete.”
Pic © Colin Corbett
“Men’s underwear has generally been neglected, but with a growing metrosexual male awareness guys are prepared to spend money on what is worn under their designer outfits,” he asserts, revealing an apparent ambition to craft a new market for men.
Corbett cites the evolution of underwear design by top fashion labels as a sign of his favoured garment’s importance. “Most included some form of jockstrap in their ranges,” he optimistically offers. “Hom, a French company, produces a ‘lingerie pour homme’ line featuring lacy, sheer, silky pants for straight men.”
Pic © Colin Corbett
Corbett decided to expand his own endeavours after the mirth his diamante effort created. “I hand-stitched a leather one which was not a great success, but lead me to craft a soft leather, studded jockstrap with chains,” he says. “After adorning early versions with diamante and crystals, I then started covering them with found objects from my travels.”
His latest models include medallions of saints acquired from Christian religious sites, Hindu Gods and gun-wielding soldiers among patriotic themes.
“The whole concept of the stereotypical national costume can so easily be applied to jockstraps – Dutch clogs, English pinstripe suiting and Indian turbans,” he says. “Then I ventured into rhinestones, Venetian masks and silk flowers. They are all very pretty, even if they don’t say a lot.”
Email artstrapped@googlemail.com for details.
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