It was foreseeable and it's sad. I opened Fantastic Rubber at the beginning of 2005, the reason was, like many others, that long-cherished wishes were not fulfilled or not fulfilled sufficiently. Other wishes were so expensive that I simply didn't have the necessary change or the risk of getting something that didn't meet my expectations was unacceptable in relation to the purchase price.
For me it was corsets. Latex corsets that you can lace up properly without the eyelets flying off or the stays coming out after a short time. And I have learned a lot from my many years of experience.
And my standards of quality and fit were quite high, I thought about what had prevented my happiness with latex clothing so far and tried to do things differently. And the successes proved me right.
But since Corona at the latest, there has been a lack of events, not only for the manufacturers, who had fewer opportunities to present themselves, but also for the customers, who often only bought new outfits to present them at parties. After Corona, there was also a lack of motivation for my employees to take part in trade fairs and events. But Fantastic Rubber survived this.
Now, however, I am at an age where this alone jeopardizes the safety of my employees' jobs and I can feel my strength dwindling.
There were many reasons for the decision to close Fantastic Rubber at the end of 2025, but now I have taken it. I already announced it 2 weeks ago, on July 2, 2025 on Facebook and X. I will try to process as many orders as possible with the remaining employees.
Please understand that we are mainly concentrating on the production of full suits, and preferably on orders for which the pattern is available. At the moment we will no longer be able to offer latex boots, corsets and some other products. We will also no longer be able to serve new customers who have only contacted us this month.
However, there is still a large stock of corsets available, and I am happy to look for a corset that suits the customer. There are also still some latex shoes available, as well as hot pants, miniskirts and jackets.
I have decided to offer my customers their patterns for sale. Many will perhaps try to make a catsuit themselves using these patterns, others will pass the pattern on to another manufacturer they trust in order to obtain a new catsuit with an identical fit. The aim for me is not to take my successes in the industry to the grave, not to have to reinvent the wheel.
I'm sure that other labels will be able to cope with the patterns. Time will tell whether durability, quality and workmanship will remain the same. Our claim has earned us a good reputation, but it has also cost us money and has severely limited the reward for our work.
I will not publish the prices for the patterns until later. However, you are welcome to express your interest now. I have saved all the emails and hope that I have not overlooked anything.
From now on the store will only be open Monday to Friday from 8.00 am to 4.30 pm.
I am often asked about a possible successor, the last mass has not yet been sung...
Peter