It certainly is exciting and rather bittersweet. Moving to France has been a lifelong dream that just kept being put off. During the forced closure of the pandemic, I worked to review, catalog, and preserve the history of The Domain of The Baroness and the fetish world that I have been such a large part of.
When I began my business almost 30 years ago, I was one of only three latex designers in North America. Now, as latex has become more popular, there’s been a minor explosion of young designers with Etsy shops, advances in technology, including laser cutting and latex printing, and, more important, there’s been a shift in the perception of latex — going from fetish and fantasy into fashion, often used as an accessory to make an outfit “edgy.”
Whilst I have certainly sold to customers and fashionistas with that mindset, my latex interests are more…complex.
You mentioned that this decision to close the store wasn’t COVID-related, at least not directly. How long have you been planning the move and what are your plans in your new home?
The boutique closes its doors on Aug. 26, with my bon voyage and final lubricated shopping cocktail party. That leaves a month to organize and pack the balance of my New York life.
I’ve rented a temporary house in southern Beaujolais while I look for my next dream house and studio. I imagine that it could take up to two years to get settled, establish my new studio, and start working. During that period, I plan to finish writing my book on clothing and power.
Can you walk us through the timeline for shuttering the shop? Are you still accepting custom orders?
At this point, we are no longer accepting custom orders. We will fulfill all stock orders — in store and online — until the end of July. We will be closed on Saturday, July 31 to take inventory so that our website will properly reflect all available stock.
Then the month of August will be one big sale as everything must go, including jewelry, feathers, and other costume pieces used as accessories for fashion shows, along with racks, and other fixtures.
What’s to become of your shop and will you be opening a new shop abroad?
Many people have asked if I would pass along my business to another and I will not. The Baroness domain was built as a reflection of myself, and while others could produce the basic garments, no one can faithfully reproduce my vision.
Although The Baroness NY boutique will be gone, my chief executioner, Persephone, will be available to fulfill my lifetime guarantee of our work. And once my French atelier is established, I will return to designing, creating, and realizing the vision of my more interesting and creative clients, both in the US and Europe.
You’ve spoken about some ideas regarding large-scale art installations, will you be creating latex-based artwork? What's next for The Baroness?
The art of latex! I am really looking forward to having the time to create bizarre, rubber wearable art, such as
The Maw, where imagination is the only limit with the goal of exhibiting them at museums and galleries worldwide.
I’ll continue to document the fetish world through a series of podcasts, host intimate fetish gatherings, and plan to attend the major European events. I don’t think I’ll run out of projects to keep me entertained!
You can find Stacie's photos from the 2020 reunion here ... and 2019 here. 
