In the post-Fifty Shades era, fetish isn’t hard to find. Traipse down to your local adult boutique or pop open a browser to any given sex toy purveyor, and if you’re not bombarded with kink after kink, you might want to double-check your vision. BDSM toys are a dime a dozen these days, but one U.K. manufacturer is determined to bring a personal touch back to consumer dungeons (or, well, bedrooms). Rouge Garments is a relatively new face to the pleasure industry, though you’d never know it by the looks of their genuine leather and stainless steel.
The kink clothing and sex accessory company cut their teeth in the old-school video business, and has since transitioned to become a quick fan favorite with fetish lifestylers and anyone who demands a touch of hand-made quality in their toy box.
I was told once by a lady that prior to using our products, especially our floggers, her relationship with her partner was on the verge of breaking down, and to save the relationship, they wanted to jazz up their sex lives by giving BDSM a try.
Rouge never planned on crossing from kink video printing into the hands-on industry of BDSM fashion design, but as such things happen in the pleasure industry, they’ve found a serendipitous niche that fits like a black leather glove.
Rouge Garment’s sales representative Kerry Hart describes the inspiration behind the company’s transition as unexpected but flawless.
“I wouldn’t say it was inspiration, more like it was an accident, but a happy accident,” says Hart.
“Rouge was founded by the owners of a very successful CD and DVD manufacturing business which has been running since 1997. They manufacture anything from mainstream TV programs to adult DVDs, and continue to run both businesses side by side, which was our link to the bondage industry,” says Hart. “We started off supplying some very well-known stores in London Soho with adult DVDs and were asked one day by a customer if it was possible for us to source a leather harness. It was, and we did, and that’s where our story begins.”
Rouge Garment’s beginnings were anything but humble. After fulfilling several more requests for fashionable fetish gear, the brand began to unfold with a line of men’s leather clothing — a category that’s often a hit or miss for other, less experienced companies.
“Rouge launched as soon as we made our very first product, which was a male harness, and then we started to offer different types of harnesses, and then onto male leather clothing such as trousers, shirts and shorts,” remarks Hart.
Rouge’s website now carries hundreds of SKUs that cater to all who come curious with a kinky mind. With the obvious exception of all those shiny anal play devices, everything in their inventory has been carefully designed by Rouge staff and sewn in-house under strict quality control standards.
“Rouge has changed a lot since our early days in terms of our catalog and customer base,” explains Hart. “We started with just a handful of leather items and one customer in the U.K., and we now have nearly 1,000 SKUs in our catalog ranging from leather, faux leather, suede, marble, rubber and stainless steel.”
Considering all that kinky goodness, Hart must ponder when asked about her favorite Rouge product, so she defaults to some of the company’s best sellers (and with all this gorgeous leather, how can we blame her?).
“It’s hard to choose just one, but our floggers are very popular,” says Hart. “These have been a strong seller from day one and continue to remain up there in our best sellers.”
One look at Rouge’s collection of expertly designed floggers — with their smooth wood or soft, leather-wrapped handles, richly-dyed strands, and rainbow of lush colors — and you’ll start crushing on these beautiful bruisers, even if you’re not into BDSM.
“We have several different types, from soft or hard leather to suede; with a leather, wood or marble handle, all of which are available in solid or mixed colors,” describes Hart. “Out of all our floggers, the best seller is the Long Leather Flogger. Not only does it look amazing, it has the perfect weight to it, as it was designed so that the handle will counteract the weight of the tails, putting less strain on the wrist, which will appeal to the more experienced people who are into impact play.”
With a collection this perfect, it’s no wonder Rouge has carved out a name for themselves, but as Hart recalls, creating brand recognition is no easy feat, even when your products are stellar.
“A lot of companies have been fully established for some time, giving them a decent amount of brand awareness, whereas we were still relatively new to the industry,” says Hart. “Our main hurdle was competing in an industry where no one knew who Rouge was, and with only a small catalog in the beginning. We now work closely with several distributors in the U.S. as well as the U.K. and Europe, and we continue to grow.”
In a nutshell, Hart describes Rouge as a “luxury brand at a competitive price point with quality products,” and this simple strategy keeps consumers coming back long after that brand-new-leather smell has faded.
“We serve all consumers from beginners to the more advanced,” says Hart. “That’s what’s great about our range. We design our products with everyone in mind: men, women, both experienced and curious couples, and once they’ve seen and felt the quality of the product, they come back for more.”
For some Rouge devotees, bondage and impact play were the keys to a long-lost connection that rekindled a fire they assumed was gone forever. Hart describes a career-affirming moment when a client revealed that Rouge was responsible for saving her marriage.
“I was told once by a lady that prior to using our products, especially our floggers, her relationship with her partner was on the verge of breaking down, and to save the relationship, they wanted to jazz up their sex lives by giving BDSM a try,” recalls Hart. “As trust and communication are key when practicing BDSM, it has opened up their relationship to levels of communication that they didn’t have before.”
Now that Rouge’s leather hoods, heart-shaped paddles, and studded G-strings hang on fetish slat walls across the world, the company has their sights set on international travel and, we hope, more life-changing experiences with consumers who’s love lives need a good flogging.
“We have lots of shows in the U.S. supporting our distributors across the pond that we travel to and from on a regular basis, and we attended XBIZ Berlin in September,” concludes Hart. “We will be introducing lots of new and exciting products into our range and will be experimenting with different materials and colors, so watch this space!”
