The London Leatherman
The London Leatherman and punk rock. One of the less talked about fashion elements/contributions of early punk circa 1976 is the studded wristband and belt. It’s so commonplace now that they are sold everywhere and by 1978 no punk would be without a belt or wristband of some sort.
Studded belts had originated in the fifties as rockers realising their leather belts made handy weapons studded them up. Fast forward to the late sixties/ seventies and a hardcore gay festish leather scene and the concept of the S&M ‘Leatherman’ had evolved.
The scene had the same origin as biker gangs and the later rockers. These gangs offered men coming back from the Second World War to be in like-minded company and it evolved from there into deviant heavy sex, danger and taboo all driven by its fetish clothing of immaculately made, fitting and smelling leather jeans, jackets and hoods along with harnesses, collars, masks and jockstraps, hats, belts, wristbands and gloves.
What McLaren & Westwood did, was soak up these influences from their visit to New York in 1973 as they developed their ideas for their change of shop style and name to SEX and sold hoods and wristbands etc. These were sourced from a shop owned by Ken Magson (who was the London Leatherman) in Battersea London which had been founded in 1972. The items were superbly made and not cheap.
Emerging out of the subcultures of the 1970s and 80s, Ken pioneered the use of leather in modern subcultural apparel: first among the leather scene, then the punk scene. Self-taught but highly specialised, Ken fashioned extraordinary, era-defining pieces out of the material, outfitting the likes of The Sex Pistols, Debbie Harry, Viv Albertine, and pretty much every other punk icon you can think of. He created jackets and waistcoats, T-shirts and tank-top vests, trousers, chaps and belts.
As the Sex Pistols music and McLaren & Westwood’s designs started to grow and merge thematically into what was punk they came into contact with other people on the edge of society like dominatrix Linda Ashby. Linda specialised in punishing often senior in her flat she also wore London Leatherman items and she needed specialist clothing to be the part. What McLaren and Westwood did was incorporate these sexual totems of S&M into punk.
In the summer of 1976 I was sitting in the work room at the rear of the shop, when the Sex Pistols came into the shop with Malcolm McLaren. Of course I was excited to see them, but I took a back seat and let Ken M deal with them. They all acted and behaved very well. They bought a few things, studded belts and wristbands and got measured for pairs of leather jeans. Ken Jordan
Just about every picture of the Sex Pistols has them in at least one item from London Leatherman whether it’s a belt, leather jeans or wristband.
Once the Sex Pistols had it as part of their look then others followed suit and in particular The Clash and Generation X. Adam Ant liked the leather hood and wore the leather t shirt and Jordan the shop assistant at SEX/ Seditionaries (who herself liked a nice bit of fetish clothing or two) also wore their clothing.
Jordan I first heard of The London Leatherman while I was working for Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood at their shop SEX at 430 Kings Road between 1975 and 1976. I would go to the shop in Battersea to collect and place orders with the then-owner Ken. By the way, the shop was as classy as the garments themselves. A very dark and mysterious interior with a big illuminated fish tank in the middle of it. I really admired the workmanship, high quality and simplicity of the pieces. There was a sexual undertone about them mixed with the idea of bringing fetish wear to everyday life. I wore a leather pencil skirt and cape combo as day wear and felt empowered by it. Another Man Mag
Viv Albertine picture right – Ray Stevenson
The London Leatherman supplied their lather studded accessories and cire t-shirts to other punk clothing stores like KITSCH-22 and Smutz.
As Punk went overground and the commercial market opened up, more mass-produced items appeared and became commonplace in shops, market stalls, and mail order. In the early days of Punks, the fans ever resourceful, requisitioned dog collars and made their own wristbands and collars.
While Punk has ebbed and flowed over the years, the London Leatherman and its range of immaculately made items is still going with a fantastic classy website like its products that acknowledges its role in punk. Ironically while the clothes McLaren & Westwood made back then are now fragile and often falling to pieces, the London Leatherman items made are still fully wearable.
London Leatherman website – Archive pages of Punks etc wearing the kit
TalkPunk
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