There’s this wicked scene in the TV show Mad Men, where beautiful housewife Betty Draper gets off on her top-loading washer. She’s fantasising about the air-conditioning salesman. A stay-at-home mum in the 1960’s, it doesn’t look like the sexual revolution will be rocking her world too soon. I think Betty would have loved 50 Shades of Grey.
“Mummy porn’ is where it’s at – this book has been inspiring the bored and horny since 2011 and sparked a sub-genre all of its own. Even the Daily Mail felt compelled to publish an article pro S&M and anything that gets people talking about handcuffs at the water cooler is pretty fine by us. This is one powerful piece of erotic fiction. The only problem is, 50 Shades of Grey isn’t very cool. It’s like a cross between soft-focus porn and a script from Dawson’s Creek: think a heroine that hollers ‘holy cow’ on orgasm, then explores consciousness through an ‘inner goddess’ figure throwing shapes in her mind.
At Koibito Love we’ve been chatting a lot about the book’s influence on the adult industry. From lingerie lines to sex toy collections, businesses are sacrificing brand style and kudos in favour of jumping on the bondage bandwagon. That’s right, we just said ‘bondage bandwagon’. Pop ‘50 Shades’ in there somewhere and you’re website is guaranteed some sexually frustrated traffic. Hell, 50 Shades Wine has figured that it works pretty well for the beverage world too.
It’s taken a lot of work to hone Koibito’s image though, we’re not prepared to sacrifice it. We like quirky design, we’re hung up on Japan and we love love LOVE hotels. You’re not gonna find products like the ’50 Shades of Grey Forbidden Pleasure Butt Plug’ here. But you will find beautiful, light bondage for those that want to play without scaring anybody, and handcrafted silk blindfolds to look pretty whilst you’re doing it.
We’re totally pro housewives/husbands using domestic appliances to get their rocks-off, especially if they’ve got a naughty novel tucked inside the Argos catalogue. We just think the ‘50 Shades’ thing is so two years ago. Koibito Love is about people feeling confident and sexy, not trying to recreate some cheesy erotic cliche. We’re reshaping the industry one knee-high-sock at a time and we’re coming in a bedroom near you.
