In the post-war haze of Germany, where the scars of conflict still lingered in the streets of Berlin and Hamburg, Franz Rehfeld turned his lens to the whispers of desire. Active in the 1950s and 1960s, he began as a fashion photographer, capturing the sleek lines of couture in an era of reconstruction and repressed passions. But Rehfeld’s work soon transcended the runway; he plunged into the underground world of fetish and BDSM, where leather and latex were not mere materials but emblems of submission and dominance. His images, steeped in dramatic light and shadow, unveiled the vulnerable beauty of power dynamics—a quiet rebellion against the prudishness of post-war West German life.
The lens reveals what society conceals.
Franz Rehfeld
Dynamics in Black-and-White: The Aesthetic of Submission
From his studio in the heart of Europe’s emerging fetish scene, Rehfeld crafted compositions that made the texture of leather sing under the flash. Models, often clad in thigh-high boots, tight corsets, and glossy rubber dresses, posed in stances that balanced on the edge of elegance and provocation: a female figure towering like a goddess, her silhouette cutting through a minimalist backdrop of industrial starkness.
His photography, published in niche magazines and covertly circulated among enthusiasts, explored the subtleties of BDSM: the sheen of a strap suggesting restraint, the shadow implying a whip, the gaze pleading for surrender. “The lens reveals what society conceals,” Rehfeld once remarked, a testament to his ability to transform taboo into art.
His work, though often confined to private collections, laid a foundation for later fetish photographers, echoing in the bold compositions of Helmut Newton and the cinematic provocations of Ellen von Unwerth. Rehfeld’s career, shrouded in mystery due to the clandestine nature of his subject matter, faded from public view by the late 1960s.
His archive, a trove of meticulously staged negatives, remains a rare gem for collectors, surfacing occasionally in underground galleries or private auctions. Each frame is a testament to a time when desire was a dangerous muse, and every click of the shutter a defiant act. Be sure to check out the collection at Sander Siegfried.
