FASHIONING THE EROS

AFTER A LONGSTANDING CAREER IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY, FILIP ARICKX SHOCKED HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS WITH HIS NEW ENDEAVOUR: SEX TOYS. BUT FOR THE SEASONED DESIGNER, THE MOVE WAS NATURAL. AFTER ALL, FOR 23 YEARS, ARICKX AND HIS WIFE, AN VANDEVORST, MADE SEX WEARABLE. THROUGH HIS NEW BRAND, THE BELGIAN DESIGNER EXPLORES UNCHARTED TERRITORIES. IF IN A.F. VANDEVORST ARICKX SUBVERTED THE EROTIC, IN NIGHTFALL, HE EXPLORES SEXUALITY BALLS TO THE WALL - THE BRAND IS A SOPHISTICATED CELEBRATION OF SENSUALITY. ORCHIDS TRAPPED IN CLEAR TOYS, PLUGS MADE OF CRYSTAL: NIGHTFALL FASHIONS BEAUTY AS A SYNONYM FOR THE EROTIC. SEX IS ELEVATED AS A LUXURIOUS ART FORM. AFTER ALL, AS ARICKX POINTS OUT, WHY SHOULDN’T YOU BE ABLE TO PURCHASE A SEX TOY ON THE CHAMPS-ÉLYSÉES AS YOU DO ANY OTHER LUXURY ITEM? WE CAUGHT UP WITH THE DESIGNER TO DELVE DEEP INTO HIS NEW PROJECT, THE EXCITEMENT OF STARTING OVER AND OVERCOMING SEX TOY SHAME.

Image by Ferry van der Nat

 You have had such a long and fruitful career in fashion, what made you pivot into the erotic market?

For 23 years, my wife and I were involved in the fashion industry. We started around 1997, in an era where fashion had the power to tell stories, create, and invite people into its atmosphere. That was what we most loved about the industry. Every time we would stage a show, it was more than just a straight-up runway up and down, we were creating performances. At one point, people lost interest in storytelling, especially from independent fashion houses. And so, because we were smaller, everything was starting to be product-oriented, and to be honest, that’s never what we wanted to do. At one point, we realized that if we can’t change the industry then let us exit gracefully. So, in 2019, we started to inform our staff, our manufacturers, and, eventually, in February 2020, the press. We opened our archives to museums all over the world to purchase the most important runway looks. To end it all, we threw an amazing party on the 28th of February in Paris. One week later, Covid hit, and everything shut down. 

How do you think erotic toys can be used as a vehicle for storytelling?

Well, I think their position on the margins is always interesting, you can usually only find them in seedy places, like sex shops. I thought, well, why not bring them into the luxury market? By making them beautiful we can discuss them in entirely different contexts. Why couldn’t you buy a sex toy in a designer store? We want to start collaborating with different brands to allow them to infuse their DNA. Imagine how thrilling it would be to buy a vibrator in a luxurious flagship store. If it’s beautiful and high quality, why should that be wrong? Sex toys are given an unfair connotation. Has a war ever started over a sex toy? To answer your question, can you tell a story through sex toys? I can make up a thousand. 

Do you think the lack of beauty in sex toys is representative of the shame people feel over them?

That’s what I mean when I say beauty connects. If something is beautiful, people feel almost obligated to talk about it, something is compelling about it. Instead of having something that looks like a penis, which leaves no room for fantasy, why not offer something immersive? Why should the experience start when using it? Why would the act of opening beautiful packaging and looking at an elegant design not be part of the erotic experience? 

Do you think there’s a through line between the way you approach fashion and erotic toys?

When I announced to friends of mine that I had been working on developing sex toys, they were confused at first. But what I explained to them is that it was quite natural, A.F. [Vandevorst] was always inspired by eroticism, fetishism, and sometimes even Shibari. It’s something that can be so beautiful without being marginal, that notion inspired our work. To me, it didn’t feel like a huge leap, from fashion to eroticism. With 23 years of fashion behind me, I am qualified to connect eros and fashion. Even if other sex toy brands try to do something fashionable, they don’t come from the same background. 

When did you have the realization that you were the ideal person to bridge the gap between eroticism and luxury?

Before the lockdown, we had a series of offers on the table that, because of the pandemic, all fell through. My wife and I started thinking about second choices. An always wanted to do something with music and video, so she’s DJing right now, while also being in Florence because she’s the Head of Design at Polimoda. She kept asking me what I wanted to do, and when I said that I wanted to do something in eroticism she said, “Oh, you’re crazy.” I just replied, “No, no, just watch me, I will explain later.” After three months, she asked me to join the project, but I felt like I wanted to do something on my own after 23 years. So, together with a business partner, I slowly started to find investors and built it from the ground up. 

Nightfall’s designs are so unlike anything I've ever seen when it comes to sex toys, what was your biggest inspiration? 

When I started to design, I just thought, “What’s important in a sex toy for me?” When I first showed them to An, she liked them immediately but remarked that she still doesn’t want them to be touched by other people. That’s when I started thinking about how the toy’s packaging could be part of its aesthetic. I thought back to when I was young, we had smuggler books, hollow books so you could put cigarettes without your parents knowing - I just transported that idea over. 

It’s not just the box - besides the sex toy inside, there’s an interesting erotic zine. Why did you decide to include this publication?

I want Nightfall to be a sort of platform that connects pleasure with other disciplines. A sort of book would be ideal for that because people enjoy imagery to evoke imagination. I contacted some photographers and gave them all vague directions, I wanted to see where they would take it. 

It’s a great idea to make it a collaborative effort, to make sure the brand is always being pushed out of its limits. Why do you think it took so long for someone to think of something like Nightfall?

I don’t know, it seems very logical to me. I think maybe some are scared to go in that direction. There have been designers who made toys before, like Sonia Rykiel or Walter Van Beirendonck but I wanted to create a whole story. Something that could be a part of my legacy.

You’ve mentioned that you believe Nightfall can rewrite the narrative around sex toys, how do you think you’re achieving this goal?

There’s this illusion that it’s a last resort for lonely people but I think sex toys can be your best friend even if you have a partner, it can be perfect to enhance your pleasure as a couple and to give another dimension to your intimate life. By refusing to look at eroticism as something shameful, we open discussions on how to enjoy sex. It adds depth and value to conversations we should be having with our sexual partners. 

You referenced your desire to have designer collaborations, with what kind of people or brands would you like to work with?

I hesitate to give names; I don’t want to jinx anything. [Laughs] But I think of people like Martin Margiela or Helmut Lang. Designers that make sexiness into something complex. When Margiela had his first show, I was a student still and I was dressing models backstage. At that moment, I recognized that sexuality had a concept to it. He introduced to me a kind of sexy woman or man that I had never seen. 

How do you think Nightfall will evolve?

I envision Nightfall as a universe, a platform where photography, movies, magazines, and all other disciplines come together and create a world built on love, respect and joy.

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Interview by Pedro Vasconcelos