This post offers something a little special and different. As readers will be aware, I love it when local manufacturers create sustainable intimate products. Recently, a new leather-worker has emerged in Cape Town creating well-made and utterly beautiful BDSM accessories. Taro is a distinctive brand that specialises in custom-fit bondage gear in a variety of different colours and styles, as well as some sensual accessories like scented candles and hemp rope.
Taro creations stand out to me due to their minimalist and striking style. Everything is stripped down to pure essentials without looking bare. It's clear that the pieces were made to lovingly accent the body and make it shine. Each piece is unique not only because they are made to measure, but because Taro only uses reclaimed and upcycled leather that create tiny cosmetic differences from product to product. This means that every piece is completely unique.
I got in touch with the founder Cath to get to know the intention behind the brand. I loved her responses to these questions! She also gave us a lovely little discount code which will give readers of the blog 10% off their purchases. The code is at the bottom of this post, so enjoy the interview! I certainly did.
Firstly, I'd love to hear more about how you got into making sensual accessories and
BDSM gear. What was your Taro backstory?
Bondage and kink have been a glorious space of intimacy and expression for me for some time. I have
always tried to speak openly and honestly about my kinks and preferences as a way of normalizing the
conversation, as well as paving space for others who have no one to ask these questions to.
My discussions have often been met with a sort of “Oh, but you don’t look like you’re into bondage”
kind of reaction. The implication of this was that sexual preferences – bondage in this case – has some
kind of overriding visual stereotype.
Taro was born of a need to open the conversation – that expressing your sexuality and kinks doesn’t and shouldn't need to look any kind of way to be valid to you. Perhaps you’re a weathered kinkster with a dedicated leather room? Perhaps you just dabble every now and then? Or perhaps you have no interest
whatsoever. All of these experiences of sex and pleasure are valid and worthy of exultation.
Your products are incredibly elegant and have so many rich colour options. I'm a fan of
classic black myself, but the oil slick variant is to die for. Tell me about the design choices
that led to the Taro "look."
What has been super important for me from the beginning is challenging the icky language surrounding
fetish-wear by changing the quality and product available here in SA. I wanted to create a product that
appealed to an individual wanting to make their Saturday brunch dress a little edgier, as well as being a
sturdy accessory in the most juicy of bondage scenes.
My designs use absolute minimal hardware. For me this was important – a conscious step away from the overriding archetype of the fetishwear visual.
More than anything though, was that I wanted the wearer to feel glorious – glorious in their submission.
Glorious in their dominance. Glorious in their brunch look. For me that is linked to aspects such as
quality of materials and manufacturing, as well as the visual aspect. I wanted to share with wearers the
feeling that I get from wearing and using quality products – a sense of empowerment and ownership in
your skin that extends far after the scene is finished or you've taken your gear off. It's the ethos of
respect, consent and honesty. A thread that has woven from the bedroom into so many arenas of my
life as my journey with my sexuality has matured.
Your website emphasises your waste-free approach, which I love! Please tell me more
about Taro's ethics.
When I started Taro, I was caught up in all sorts of environmental and ethical debates that got
me quite emotional – things like PU leather vs reclaimed animal leather vs imported plant-based
leather. Even packaging -- as glorious as it is to receive an opulent package, delivered ceremoniously in the post with all sorts of visually-appealing extras, every aspect of this has an environmental cost that will far outlast the momentary joy of sparkly packaging. When I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by all these choices, I try return to a personal ethos of absolute materiality – in the truest sense of the word. Material items need to be respected and considered and celebrated for the space they inhabit in your world. And if it's just going to land up in the bin, and there's no respect for the material existence of that object, I exclude it.
Your brand's social media and website showcase many different body sizes, and each piece is tailor-made to the buyer's measurements. I'd love to know more about this and your thoughts about accessibly-sized fetish wear.
I really wasn’t interested in creating “for him” and “for her” or “plus size” designs. I wanted to be able to celebrate bodies of all types; not limited to their size, or presumptions on gender and
preferences. Custom orders allow the customer complete agency over how they want their body
represented. How they want to feel in their own skin. I just provide the products that help them
celebrate themselves in whichever direction and shape they choose.
My hope is that everyone be able to celebrate their skin exactly as their heart and soul calls for. It seems a bit daft that this celebration of self is limited by something as mundane as a lack of access to well-
fitting, quality products.
Sexuality can be a very polarised and emotional topic, and BDSM is an oft-misunderstood aspect of intimacy. How have you navigated this in the South African context, which is often stereotyped as conservative?
South Africa is certainly conservative when it comes to understanding BDSM and the reality of what this celebration involves, as opposed to the expectation onlookers hold in their mind. This is partly due to the truth that, we don’t have the ease of access to products which express the diverse spectrum of sexuality as other countries may have had for decades already. The idea of what Bondage looks like is held so solid in people’s mind: that BDSM is about the oppression of women, unhinged male rage, garish ill-fitting latex and harsh, cold lighting. My hope, through Taro, is to take a step in changing this narrative in people’s minds and normalize the conversation surrounding it. Also, so that people who are new in their exploration feel comfortable asking questions and celebrating their interest with safe and shame-free techniques and products from the get-go.
In reality, I’ve only ever encountered a handful of people who have immediately shut down the idea of
bondage when the conversation comes up. What this curiosity speaks to is that everyone is at least a
little bit interested in exploring this physical manifestation of vulnerability and intimacy in some way or
another. Sometimes all they need is a platform and space in which they feel comfortable to take a step toward this expression.
Your website launched with handmade scented candles and hemp rope, then began adding leather harnesses; with new designs in the works. I know you've just started out, but I'd love to know what's next for Taro. Do you have any fun ideas?
In the coming months there will definitely be a few intricate, special-edition leather designs. Also, I’m a BEEEEG fan of lube. Additionally, I’m passionate about sexuality education and re-education. Not only in schools, but also for adults. I’d love to provide a platform for safe self-celebration and exploration of bodies. As it stands, the discourse that has begun on my Instagram is so rewarding. I certainly want to continue to grow and collaborate with sex-positive, local brands and people on this platform to celebrate and navigate the unique sex-culture that we dance in here in SA.
But if 2020 has taught us anything, its that everything can change in a matter of moments. So day by day I'm just seeing where this journey leads.
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