Steve Diet Goedde with the late Masuimi Max, one of his favourite models. They’re seen here during a chance meeting at Disneyland in 2016. See below for a classic Goedde B&W portrait of Masuimi, whose death last year sent shockwaves through the scene

STEVE DIET GOEDDE AT 60: 12 FAMOUS US FETISH MODEL PORTRAITS

Steve Diet Goedde, the veteran Los Angeles-based fetish photographer, began documenting the stylish aspects of kink culture — with a very substantial emphasis on latex clothing — in 1990.

Goedde (it’s pronounced ‘Geddy’ if you weren’t sure) just turned 60 in February, so we thought it would be nice to celebrate his big birthday here with a look at some of his best-loved portraits from his first 25 years, and a guide to where you can see his work online and in books etc.

While Steve’s thirst for doing new shoots has slowed somewhat, he nevertheless maintains a constant presence for his work in front of his existing fans — no doubt attracting many new fans too — by carefully revisiting and repurposing material from his extensive back catalogue.

Top image: Steve Diet Goedde with the late Masuimi Max, one of his favourite models. They’re seen here during a chance meeting at Disneyland in 2016. See below for a classic Goedde B&W portrait of Masuimi, whose death last year sent shockwaves through the scene

LATEX HANDS, left: the much-celebrated image that marked the start of Goedde’s fetish photography career in 1990. He shot this photo of then girlfriend Lisa wearing some new latex, using the freshly-acquired medium format Mamiya 645 camera he still uses today. </p><p>KUMI, right: Steve first shot Kumimonster in San Francisco’s Chinatown modelling latex for the So Hip It Hurts label in 1996, along with Midori (below left), whom he also first met at the same time. He says this Kumi image helped to establish his style in the mid-’90sLATEX HANDS, above left: the much-celebrated image that marked the start of Goedde’s fetish photography career in 1990. He shot this photo of then girlfriend Lisa wearing some new latex, using the freshly-acquired medium format Mamiya 645 camera he still uses today.
KUMI, above right: Steve first shot Kumimonster in San Francisco’s Chinatown modelling latex for the So Hip It Hurts label in 1996, along with Midori (below left), whom he also first met at the same time. He says this Kumi image helped to establish his style in the mid-’90s

Goedde maintains this presence via his social media, websites, books, individual large prints and, more recently, monthly subscription mini-prints. The latter was an idea he launched to replace lost income after being ‘let go’ in March 2020 from his day-job of 21 years at LA’s Stockroom fetish emporium. And those mini-print subscriptions have proved very popular.

His meticulous archiving has not only enabled Steve to introduce new generations of fetish photo fans to his greatest hits of yesteryear — mostly elegant monochrome portraits shot on medium format film, and thus endowed with a timeless appeal.

MIDORI, left: taken in her apartment bathroom, this 1996 shot of San Francisco’s legendary fetish and bondage maven (she started out modelling for body modification pioneer Fakir Musafar) is described by Steve as one of his ‘absolute favourite images’  of her. </p><p>MARNE LUCAS, right: one of two famous Goedde shots of Portland’s Marne Lucas flashing her stocking tops in downtown Chicago in 1997. After a planned shot in the middle of the street, this was taken when she stopped to check her reflection in a windowMIDORI, above left: taken in her apartment bathroom, this 1996 shot of San Francisco’s legendary fetish and bondage maven (she started out modelling for body modification pioneer Fakir Musafar) is described by Steve as one of his ‘absolute favourite images’  of her.
MARNE LUCAS, above right: one of two famous Goedde shots of Portland’s Marne Lucas flashing her stocking tops in downtown Chicago in 1997. After a planned shot in the middle of the street, this was taken when she stopped to check her reflection in a window

His archiving has also allowed him to review other frames from those shoots that he originally regarded as outtakes, and to realise that his archive actually contains many more images worthy of adding to his printed oeuvre now, even though they may have been shot 30 years ago. His work has often been compared to that of the late Bob Carlos Clarke, whom he quotes as an influence along with Richard Avedon, Lillian Bassman and Diane Arbus.

Born in St Louis, Missouri, Steve Diet Goedde learnt the basics of darkroom work and photography from his father, and had become an enthusiastic amateur photographer by age 13. He moved to Chicago in 1985 to study filmmaking and painting at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

ISABELLA SINCLAIRE, left: legendary dominatrix, fetish model and video star Isabella captured in 1998 outside her Ivy Manor studio in LA. Her Ivy Manor series co-created with John Fitzgerald helped launch the GwenMedia video brand she ended up owning. </p><p>PERSEPHONE, right: another of LA’s famed model/mistresses – shown here in So Hip It Hurts latex – she is said to have inspired Monica Bellucci’s Persephone character featured in two of The Matrix movies. Shot in 1998 on a Studio City balcony with a Canon A-1ISABELLA SINCLAIRE, above left: legendary dominatrix, fetish model and video star Isabella captured in 1998 outside her Ivy Manor studio in LA. Her Ivy Manor series co-created with John Fitzgerald helped launch the GwenMedia video brand she ended up owning.
PERSEPHONE, above right: another of LA’s famed model/mistresses – shown here in So Hip It Hurts latex – she is said to have inspired Monica Bellucci’s Persephone character featured in two of The Matrix movies. Shot in 1998 on a Studio City balcony with a Canon A-1

In 1990 Steve’s twin interests in photography and fetish fashion prompted him to use his newly acquired Mamiya 645 camera to photograph his then girlfriend Lisa in latex. He credits one of the resulting images, Latex Hands, as denoting “where it all started”.

Some of his early Chicago fetish photography was featured by Skin Two in what was his first magazine showcase. His fetish style continued to develop through the ’90s, notably around his 1996 visit to San Francisco for a So Hip It Hurts latex fashion shoot on which he met models Kumimonster and Midori for the first time.

EMILY MARILYN, left: Emily Marilyn was already destined for fetish supermodel status when Goedde shot this image in LA in 2001 for a series on new latex by So Hip It Hurts. For years Emily also maintained a separate BDSM persona, since merged into her main ‘brand’. </p><p>MASUIMI MAX, right: Here’s Masuimi in one of Steve’s earliest shoots with her in 2002, later used for the cover of his 2005 DVD. Masuimi was one of fetish’s most enduring ‘crossover’ performers and her death last year from an accidental overdose was a real tragedyEMILY MARILYN, above left: Emily Marilyn was already destined for fetish supermodel status when Goedde shot this image in LA in 2001 for a series on new latex by So Hip It Hurts. For years Emily also maintained a separate BDSM persona, since merged into her main ‘brand’.
MASUIMI MAX, above right: Here’s Masuimi in one of Steve’s earliest shoots with her in 2002, later used for the cover of his 2005 DVD. Masuimi was one of fetish’s most enduring ‘crossover’ performers and her death last year from an accidental overdose was a real tragedy

Steve’s first major artist monograph appeared n 1998, when Edition Stemmle published a collection of his Chicago work entitled The Beauty of Fetish. Moving later that same year to Los Angeles, he started a series of photographs that, in 2001, would become The Beauty of Fetish: Volume II, also from Edition Stemmle.

In 2005, Slish Pix released a career retrospective of his work on DVD. Entitled Living Through Steve Diet Goedde, it featured animated photo galleries, interviews, commentary and behind the scenes footage. Goedde contributed to many gallery shows in the States throughout the 2000s and 2010s, before embarking on a 25-year retrospective book trilogy project called Arrangements, whose first book, confusingly titled Arrangements Volume III, was published in 2015 by Century Guild.

DITA VON TEESE, left: no famous fetish model portrait collection could be considered complete without Dita Von Teese. Here, Dita is modelling vintage lingerie and her own brand of stockings for Steve in 2004 at the Malibu home of legendary Playboy artist Olivia. </p><p>JADE VIXEN, right: West Hollywood’s Sunset Marquis hotel was the setting for Goedde’s 2009 shoot with dominatrix Jade Vixen. Jade found fame modelling her extensive fetish wardrobe, but later, infamy found her, after two of her boyfriends met ‘unnatural’ endsDITA VON TEESE, above left: no famous fetish model portrait collection could be considered complete without Dita Von Teese. Here, Dita is modelling vintage lingerie and her own brand of stockings for Steve in 2004 at the Malibu home of legendary Playboy artist Olivia.
JADE VIXEN, above right: West Hollywood’s Sunset Marquis hotel was the setting for Goedde’s 2009 shoot with dominatrix Jade Vixen. Jade found fame modelling her extensive fetish wardrobe, but later, infamy found her, after two of her boyfriends met ‘unnatural’ ends

Steve’s next monograph, Extempore, was published by Circa Press in 2019, marking this London publisher’s broadening of its art and architecture list to embrace high end fetish photography too. In 2023 Circa worked with Goedde again, this time using a selection of his images to illustrate Tableaux: Scenes from the Decade of Excess, the debut novel of author Dominic Jay.

If you want to take a satisfying digital dip into more of the Steve Diet Goedde oeuvre, we highly recommend visiting his Instagram page (link below). Tableaux and Extempore are both currently listed by the books’ publisher Circa, and are available from Goedde’s Big Cartel site (below), where you can also find Arrangements Volume III, his DVD, high end Limited Edition prints and affordable B-Series prints.

SKIN DIAMOND, left, started out as a fetish fashion model before discovering an aptitude for more ‘demanding’ aspects of kink, and later branching into music as Raylin Joy. This atmospheric image came from a smoke break during Steve’s first shoot with her in 2012. </p><p>MOSH, right: magnificent Mosh looks taller than her actual 5ft 3in in this atypically bucolic setting, probably because she is sharing the limelight with a miniature friend she first encountered on Erica McLean’s California ranch in 2014. (All photos: Steve Diet Goedde)SKIN DIAMOND, above left, started out as a fetish fashion model before discovering an aptitude for more ‘demanding’ aspects of kink, and later branching into music as Raylin Joy. This atmospheric image came from a smoke break during Steve’s first shoot with her in 2012.
MOSH, above right: magnificent Mosh looks taller than her actual 5ft 3in in this atypically bucolic setting, probably because she is sharing the limelight with a miniature friend she first encountered on Erica McLean’s California ranch in 2014. (All photos: Steve Diet Goedde)

You can also see more of Steve Diet Goedde’s work and sign up for his SDG Monthly Print Subscription at his website (below). Last but not least, for his earlier, out-of-print books, check out sites such as Amazon and Abe Books where secondhand copies are often available.

LINKS FOR STEVE DIET GOEDDE:
Instagram
Circa Press
Big Cartel
SDG Website