text: Callele Lyvance Fétiche 
   
   
     
   
   
   
   
   
   
   "Fashion is all about  
  eventually becoming naked."  
   
     
   
   
   
   
   Annonymous 
     
   
   
   
   Couture Extraordinaire: Alayna Clou  
   
   
   
   
   
   
         "It all started with a dream - a dare to create the most beautiful clothes ever known to man," Alayna Clou, famous for the Deuxième Peau Collection that debuted last autumn, said in the same elegant manner that she was also known for, in response to the question on how her life in the fashion industry began. 
        Clad in one of her famous Fétiche uniform-button overcoat and brown Fétiche Skin tights, she graced me this once in a lifetime exclusive interview in the comforts of her multi-million dollar chateau. This was after her visit to the Caring Shelter, one of the many homes around the world that Clou's charity foundation called Un Fétiche à Aider put up to help the homeless drifters roaming in the streets. 
        This is the first time that Clou herself spoke up about the beginnings of her Fétiche line and the first time that she let anyone outside her company see her in person. 
        "You have a very beautiful skin," she says, eyeing me cheerfully. Despite being born and raised in France, her English was flawless. "Do you put anything on it? I love skin you see." 
        "Oh nothing but moisturizer," I replied. She wasn't as intimidating as she seemed in the magazines. "And I take a bath regularly." 
        "…Very good..! Very good," she said. "And eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, yes?" 
        "Indeed I do," and she chuckled, somehow still maintaining her magnificent poise. "If you don't mind me asking, Miss Clou…" 
        "Alayna is good," she said smiling at me. "Very beautiful skin you have," she whispered. 
        "Alayna..?" 
        She nodded ecstatically. 
        "Alayna, why 'Fétiche..?' Why use the French word for 'fetish' as the name of your clothing line?" 
        Alayna smiled. "Oh I have a confession to make! I have a huge 'fétiche' for clothes. No, not that I get sexually aroused at wearing them I just… love 
    clothes – looking at them, touching them, feeling them…Don't you think it’s wonderful? Such things turn into such lovely material that warms you and makes you look more beautiful than you are? I see it as a miracle – clothing. And I've been so captivated by clothes ever since I was young. That was why I studied fashion in the university." 
        "One of the reasons why people are so into your Deuxième Peau collection is the fabric that you make them with. We've heard animal rights groups rallying in the streets accusing you of using Sphynx cat skins in your collection. For the record, Alayna, what makes Fétiche clothes this beautiful?" 
        "Well you are right about the fabric," Alayna said still with that cheery smile on her face. "For me, you see, clothes are second skin. And clothes must be made of the perfect material to be fit for the title of Deuxième Peau. Clothes from my collection, such as these I am wearing now, are made from what we in Fétiche call, 'skin.'" 
        She leans closer to me and offers the end of her overcoat to my reach. "Feel this fabric." 
        I held it in my fingers and noticed how different it felt from usual clothing line fabrics. Despite it looking like an average overcoat, only absolutely more fascinatingly stylish, it felt different. 
        "This one is smooth, but not too smooth," Alayna said. "Pull it." 
        I did. 
        "You see how it stretches? It's not like the usual stretchable fabric or spandex. The colour changes with the stretch you see? That is one of the things competitors cannot copy. When it stretches, it accents the contour of the body, enhancing what must be enhanced. It boosts confidence in anyone who wears it." 
        Alayna then took the glass of water on the center table and spilled it on her coat and tights. 
        She smiled at me. "Notice how wet I am?" 
        In fact, she wasn't wet at all. Just as it had been advertised on television, the clothes did not get wet when it was spilled with water. 
        "And it happens with any drink," she said chuckling. "My fabric unlike the usual ones, do not absorb liquid. It is not permeable and is very easy to clean. But it does not feel bad also if you wear it. As you can see, it looks like any normal fabric from afar. But unlike the usual cotton or linen, it takes your shape. It molds into you like your own skin." 
        "And is it made from Sphynx cats?" I jested. 
        "Absolutely not," she replied, laughing at the thought. "I am proud to say that no animal was ever harmed in creating this fabric." 
        "Why create such a special fabric, Alayna?" 
        "Well, my love for clothes," Alayna began. "…As I said I've loved them even in my youth. And in my love for them I saved money to buy the clothes I wanted. That was hard for me in my childhood because we weren't rich. I practically went to school wearing modified rags. And I love my mother for it. But I wanted…no…needed to have more. I had to have lots of clothes! And since I couldn't buy it, I asked my mother to teach me how to make one. And I did." 
        "The first one I made was a dress with pop sleeves!" she said, eyes lighting up like a child's in Christmas morn. "Ever since that day, I've been sewing my own clothes. I got a scholarship for fashion in the university and I continued to design and make my own school wear. Later I realized that the fabrics we know are not enough for the designs I make." 
        "Fur for me was too…hairy and hot sometimes. It makes me sneeze. Cotton was too plain for me. Leather was flashy but it restricted my imagination. Silk was too smooth and vibrant. Wool was too thick…I end up frustrated when my clothes don't look as good and comfortable as I sketched them. And that was the only time that I really had a dream for my future. And that dream was to as I said earlier create the most beautiful clothes ever known to man." 
        "And that was the start of your search for this mysterious fabric," I asked. 
        Alayna laughed. "I have to be honest with you. I didn't exactly have any idea on how to look for it. However I did try mixing various threads to make different fabrics but it didn't work. My…discovery of this fabric was brought by my ex-boyfriend a very long time ago." 
        "Oh, he inspired you?" 
        "Oh no…well at least not in a positive way I think," she said smiling at me – clearly looking at the memory as a part of the past. "He broke up with me that night because he wanted to bang some model. You know how men are," she said chuckling. "Come to think of it, I think you have the same soft skin and complexion! Very beautiful…Anyway, of course I loved him and I didn't want him to leave me. So I got so frustrated that I wanted to do something that would make him stay and hold me forever. And that thought just got over me and I discovered what people now call the 'Fétiche Skin.'" 
        "Wow! When one door closes, a window opens. That's a real proof that we ought to never lose hope in these heartbreaks, right Alayna?" 
        "…Oh absolutely..!" 
        "And are you in good relations with that 'ex' of yours? Of course, only if you don't mind me asking." 
        "Very good terms I might say," Alayna said leaning back gracefully with a charming smile on her face. "After all, he left me a souvenir - this overcoat, actually. And he hasn't bothered me ever since. Come to think of it, I haven't exactly heard anything from him for quite a while." 
  We laughed at the thought. Alayna, like any woman, had her fair share of normal human life after all. 
        "So this 'Fétiche skin,'" I began. "We've discussed its difference with other fabrics but what causes these differences? Does it have something to do with where you get it or how you actually process it to be a fabric?" 
        Alayna smiled. "I would have to say both," she said. "Well I think the reason why these animal rights advocates think that my fabric is made from Sphynx cat skin is because it looks like skin. In truth it is skin, but not from cats or any animal, dear no!" she said laughing. 
  "We process the skin the way we normally process leather in general, but I added more steps to it. We trim the skin – make sure nothing but the skin is processed of course. You wouldn't want any fat on your tights, would you?" she said cheerily. "Before I let my people cut them into shape, I scrape the fats, muscles and hair off the skin and wash it in a special solution I made to be cleaned." 
        "You do it yourself?" 
        "Yes! Those are my favorite parts," she said enthusiastically. "I after all developed the right methods of processing the skin! Then it is soaked in special acid solution I made to make sure that it's all pure skin. After that, it goes through the usual tanning process to add color to it." 
        "After the tanning process," she continued, leaning closer in excitement. "I slice the skin into very thin long pieces and wind it as thread. Then my people weave it to make the fabric. That way its natural properties are kept intact and even enhanced when sewed into various clothing pieces." 
        "So it's a very long process then." 
        "Yes, and we use different chemicals to treat it because it's not your average animal leather. The whole process of making a Fétiche skin is painstaking. But I must say that the most difficult part of producing it is getting the skin itself." 
        "Oh…Is it taken in a very meticulous manner? Is it harvested somewhere across the globe?" 
        "No," Alayna replied chuckling. "It's practically taken the way you skin any animal, I guess. Only, you don't do it on an animal. There's only one thing that makes getting the skin difficult."It's that you must be sure that the 'someone' you get it from, will not be missed or looked for by anyone," she said with a wide and proud smile on her face. 
        "…Someone..?" 
        "Yes! So tell me. Do you have any living relatives?" 
   
   
   
   
   
   
     
   
   
   
   
   
   More on Fétiche 
   
   
   
   
   Shards 
   
    by  Callele Lyvance 
   
  Deuxième Peau  A prelude to Fétiche  
   
  Taken from the life of designer Alayna Clou,  
  before she made the hit clothing line Fétiche. 
   
   
   
     
   
   
   
   
   Also found in Fictionpress.com 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Text: Callele Lyvance All rights reserved. Publication Date: July 30th 2012 https://www.bookrix.com/-callele