The slime fetishists getting turned on by fashion’s obsession with goo

In June, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons showed their men's SS24 collection, which, in their words, “proposed an absolute freedom of the body.” This culminated in Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer” bellowing as the show closed and syrupy green slime streaming from the ceiling. 

For Jonathan*, a 33-year-old slime fetishist with a sartorial passion, a collection created as an “examination of fluid architecture around the human body” with a horny, unfettered soundtrack and unrelenting dripping goo couldn’t have been more literal. “Nine Inch Nails thumping over the speaker while slime drips from the ceiling by one of the most elite fashion houses? How can you not find that erotic?”

In mainstream culture, slime has occupied a childlike fascination, evident in its use across Nickelodeon and, more recently, the TikTok virality of it all, from ASMR videos to five-ingredient homemade recipes. There’s another side to this inconspicuous goop, though. In anime, girls literally made up of slime, affectionately called 'slime girls', combine the innocence of cartoon creatures with people's deviant desires. Swathes of people fawn and worship these women, especially on Reddit. While Hood by Air was more literal in its SS17 collection in partnership with PornHub, covering models in goop, lube, and everything else that gleaned and shined. 

More recently, Drake used Halle Berry’s image of her being slimed at the 2012 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards without permission for his most recent single, “Slime Me Out”, featuring SZA. Perhaps Berry was against the photo being used because while, at face value, slime may seem neutral, people are free to project anything onto it: good, bad, and sometimes, horny. 

As a liminal substance, its viscous and organic nature lends itself to eliciting feelings of disgust, repulsion, and curiosity in certain contexts, whether that’s horror films, aliens, snails, or nuclear waste. It can be nourishing and therapeutic, like when squeezing bottles of soap to lather your body or extracting the healing jelly from aloe vera. And sometimes, it evokes arousal and excitement thanks to its inherent carnal nature; lubricant, cum, spit, and blood are the most natural ways humans form their own slime. 

For Adam*, it’s always been an interesting combination of fear and lust. “I was born in the mid-80s, so there was a lot of slime on the TV I watched,” he explains. “I’d see it on shows like You Can't Do That On Television, Double Dare, and Fun House. I was absolutely terrified of it.” Despite his fears, it quickly became a fixation, especially as he continued to watch Nickelodeon in the hopes of seeing “a cute girl” get slimed. In the early 90s, Nickelodeon began its infamous tradition of sliming people. The trademark neon green goop flowed out from the ceilings and exploded onto people, drenching whoever the unlucky person was in thick lime goop. 

“When I had my first wet dream, it was about a girl I liked getting slimed,” he continues. “Then I woke up covered in cum, and for a minute, I thought the slime had manifested out of my dream.” 

Adam and Jonathan are part of an ever growing underground community of slime fetishists who have found solace in different corners of the internet, where they can openly explore their flirtations and full-blown obsessions with slime. “Even though it’s a very specific niche fetish, everyone has something specific they like,” explains performer Gia Gunge. “Some people really love chunky slime, like an oatmeal-type consistency; others love super thin water-like substance, and then there are people who love full coverage – hair and faces covered with slime. It's a very unique community.” 

“I feel like we’re getting closer and closer to slime fetishes becoming more mainstream. Seeing it on the runway is more confirmation that it’s piqued the interest of a way larger audience” – Gia Gunge

Then there are those who play with slimy food, which is called sploshing, a phrase used in WAM – wet and messy – communities. This refers to incorporating food items into sex, not necessarily to eat. “I know some people who want the slime to be as gross as humanly possible,” Adam tells me. “They will mix dog food and mayonnaise or stuff like that and cover people in it. I don't have the stomach for that.”

However, when it comes to the smooth, gel substance you’d typically think of when it comes to this fetish, variations on the types of slime exist, too. “For me, it's most effective if it's green,” online fetish performer Simon* explains. Simon shares videos of himself masturbating covered in neon green slime on Twitter regularly, commanding an engaged queer audience who fawn over him [It's a homage to Nickelodeon, naturally.] “My family don’t know I do this, so I’m just cautious of that,” he confesses. Even so, in the meantime, he’s begun designing slime-inspired fashion, something he hopes to share with the world one day. 

The only person whom I spoke with who was open to attaching her face to this fetish, was Gia. For her, slime is a daily ritual, something she hasn’t hidden in a long time. She regularly posts videos and photos of her covered in slime on Twitter, as well as across subscription websites like Only Fans, Fansly, and Loyal Fans.

“Sliming was a solo thing for me for a long time. It was more a self-pleasing act than performing back then.” A few years ago, she did the impossible and found a partner willing to indulge her fetish. “I was lucky to have a lovely girlfriend who supported this. We slimed each other, others, and crowds at fetish parties and raves. My slime fetish isn’t just work or a hobby; it’s a lifestyle at this point.”

A photographer who simply goes by Slimelord206 admits that his anonymity allows him the freedom to create in ways he otherwise wouldn’t. “I'm quite prominent in my other life, and I don't want these two mixing,” he explains over the phone. “Because of the prominence, I would have a built-in audience that actually doesn't care to plug into this other thing.”

This other thing is his Instagram, which depicts the deeply erotic and, at times, beautiful and editorial-like photographs of women engulfed in buckets full of shimmering, metallic goo. It’s a project he’s worked on since 2016, born out of a therapeutic need that’s become a place of solace for not just himself but many others

“These are very sexy images of humans and this substance. Some people have fantasised about it for decades. Nickelodeon is probably who I owe a lot of my business to. Some people do it for their partners, and they have private shoots. They don’t want to be exhibitionists on my page. And some people are like, yes, please put it out there. I want to be seen in this.”

“I think a lot of people who are into slime are also into clothing or shoes. People specifically like seeing clothes or shoes get slimed and usually have a specific preference, whether it's Louboutins or office wear” – Adam*

Following behind June’s men’s show, more slime – this time in a silvery pink hue –  streamed from the ceiling of Fondazione Prada at the SS24 women’s show, as part of a feminine sequel to the menswear show. Like some sort of fashionable wet dream brought to life, the slime settled in gelatinous pools on the corrugated floor as models swished down the runway in pearlescent organza dresses, fringed metal belts, and rigid, strong-shouldered jackets. 

For some people in the slime fetish community, it was the first time they felt seen. “I feel like we’re getting closer and closer to slime fetishes becoming more mainstream,” Gia tells me. “Seeing it on the runway is more confirmation that it’s piqued the interest of a way larger audience.”

Fashion has a history of borrowing from fetishes and internet culture, often illuminating what transpires in the dark. Whether it’s masks, latex, leather, harnesses, and dog collars from BDSM or fishnets, clear lucite heels from sex workers, or pixelated pieces, the underground and, subsequently, the internet informs the fashion we see. 

Remember the chokehold Jeffrey Campbell Litas had on everyone when Tumblr reigned supreme? Well, this advert for the gooey iteration of the brand’s cult heels is a memorable one for slime fetishist Adam. “I think a lot of people who are into slime are also into clothing or shoes,” he explains. “People specifically like seeing clothes or shoes get slimed and usually have a specific preference, whether it's Louboutins or office wear. I love seeing women wearing Gucci loafers, but ruining a pair would cause me physical pain.”

The barriers between fashion, sex, and slime virtually disappear in AVAVAV’s very slimy feet boots, Landlord’s slime-covered models, and Ottolinger's goopy sculptured bags. Claire Lyons, an independent designer who has been creating slime-inspired clothes since becoming enamoured with a duo-chrome fabric, tells me she didn’t even know slime fetishes existed. “However, I just started making micro mini slime outfits that are drippy and more revealing than my previous work." According to Lyons, it was innocent enough at first, "But then my friend was like, ‘Oh my god, this is kind of sexual… and I kind of like it.’ And I thought, ‘You know what? Me too.’ So I started selling them.”

For Jonathan, fashion’s foray into slime is particularly thrilling. When he watched the Prada show, it resurfaced a dormant yet enduring fantasy. “Hopefully, one day, I can have sex while slime pours out from a vent above. I don’t want to go through life without that experience.” For now, he enjoys small stolen moments of joy within fashion’s foray into slime. He references a pair of Helena Stölting slime heels and tells me, “I’d love to see these heels on someone.” So, it should come as no surprise that the Berlin-based designer’s offerings are created to evoke a multitude of very specific feelings.

“I think the slime fashion trend is just an amazing sign of more people playing with their bodies” – Helena Stölting

“I worked on the concept of disgust as a powerful emotion, where the spectator is emotionally stimulated to the point where disgust turns into fascination and desire,” Stölting told me of her first slime pieces: platform sandals and headpieces. “Today, the slime finish is a PU foam that I dye and sculpt onto the shoe while still liquid. The result is a squishy pair of shoes that’s very satisfying to touch and, of course, to wear.”

Stölting relishes the thin line between sensuality and repulsion. “I think the slime fashion trend is just an amazing sign of more people playing with their bodies.” However, she doesn’t see it becoming mainstream, nor does she think it needs to be. “I think it is all one, the same urge to be fascinated, excited, or transfixed and eventually satisfied by the object, the body which eludes comprehension, that does not conform to the norm. It’s a movement towards the acceptance of valuing a moment or a practice strongly and emotionally without having the necessity to be productive and have an outcome.” Some things are just more exciting when they remain in the dark.