NYLON NIRVANA: An Interview With a Pantyhose Encasement Fetishist
by Ryan Akler-Bishop
from Issue 3
The history of nylon is a cemetery.
Its tortured inventor, polymer chemist Wallace Carothers, kept a poison vial in his watchchain, sometimes flashing it for colleagues. One night in a Philadelphia hotel room circa 1937, he drank it. Despite his well-documented alcoholism and multiple institutionalizations for depression, Carothers’ mourners were perplexed. He died freshly anointed into the National Academy of Sciences, with a two-month pregnant wife and an enviable nylon patent newly submitted: hardly the expected string of events to precipitate suicide.
Carothers didn’t live to see nylon embraced as a quotidian plastic nor the profitable pandemonium of the 1946 Nylon Riots. Following his death, nylon became a prized new commodity for the multinational chemical conglomerate DuPont. After years of munitions and explosives manufacturing (guncotton, dynamite, etc.), Dupont wanted a makeover from harbinger of grave-parades to benign plastic merchandiser. And so, nylon’s spectre of death was reimagined as a staple of everyday fashion.
For PHSlaveMTL (Panty Hose Slave Montreal, it/its), nylon is not the embodiment of death; it’s the affirmation of life. PHSlave belongs to an elusive community of nylon encasement fetishists, a group who live every possible second coated in nylon. An unrivalled pantyhose aficionado, PHSlave spends its private life head-to-toe in layers of nylon, concealing deniers beneath clothing for public-facing life. It’s a self-described “Pantyhose Drone / Gimp / Pup / Slave / Cuck” and a four-year celibate.
PHSlave describes a spiritual renewal from being trapped in nylon. Nylon embodies the shapeshifting potential of plastic: what Roland Barthes dubbed “the stuff of alchemy [...] the transmutation of matter.” The encased body becomes anonymous yet malleable. For PHSlave, encasement is a liberating act of self-objectification. It’s the chance to reimagine skin as something homogenized and mannequined: a respite from subjecthood. Yet in the world of textile kinks, nylon is overshadowed by latex and rubber. Nylon fetishism hides in isolation or obscure corners of the internet. Pantyhose encasement is a life lived in honest pursuit of desire, yet it’s also a life condemned to alienation.
I spoke with PHSlave about the origins of its fetish, the history of its community, the erotics of nylon, pantyhose mummification, public encasement, and the challenges of living its life in secret.
RAB: When was your first encounter with nylon?
PHSMTL: Like any fetish, it starts young. I was eight or nine. I saw nylons on somebody’s legs and was struck by how flawless and smooth they were. From there, I snuck into my mom’s drawer, discovered she had some too and tried them on. I’m sad to say this, but I was caught a few times by her. When she asked what I was doing, I tried to play it off casually; “I don’t know, I just found them.” I acted coy, and over time my attachment developed.
RAB: When you first touched nylon, was the connection immediate? Or did it take time to percolate?
PHSMTL: It was immediate. But when you get older and come into money, you realize you can just start buying nylons. When I was in high school, I started wearing them way more. I was sneaky about it, hiding them under my clothes at school. Once, someone noticed the waistband. Obviously, I denied it. Then, over time, I’d go on websites. Traditional vanilla content didn’t excite me enough, so I’d look for something that intrigued me. I’d type in “pantyhose” or whatever and see amazing stuff. During that high school period, I saw a content creator doing full encasement with pantyhose. That was NylonMichelle. She was the first encasement person I ever saw. She was also the first person I saw doing really shiny nylons. That’s when my interest for really shiny, beautiful pantyhose developed.
Then I’d start hearing about the brands. A lot of these creators post what brands they’re wearing. It develops from there; you start low-end, then realize higher-end brands are better. You buy those and keep looking for the best. It becomes a lifelong interest. I only wear high quality stuff now. Only. It just feels better, fits better, looks better.
RAB: High school is such a lonely time for a lot of people. How was it keeping this a secret from others and having no outlet to share it?
PHSMTL: High school was funny. Like you said, it was a very lonely time for many, but I had a pretty decent high school experience. Obviously, I kept nylon a secret by wearing regular clothes and socks to hide it. I remember one time a cheerleader in my class wore nylons and, for some reason, kept rubbing her legs the entire class. I thought, “This is really hot.” I wasn’t going to be obvious with my emotions, though it was an epiphany, realizing, “Yah, I love this stuff.”
RAB: How about now? What does your day-to-day relationship with nylon look like now that you live alone and aren’t under the surveillance of parents and teachers?
PHSMTL: I wear it every day. Every day. It’s always under my clothes. Underwear has become irrelevant, socks aren’t really relevant either. When it gets colder, I just wear thicker deniers. My collection is ridiculous. [Gestures towards a massive row of shelves, full of hundreds and hundreds of pantyhose packages.] It’s similar to those who collect lunchboxes or comic books. You just want the best. I have some of the rarest stuff.
RAB: What’s the rarest one you have?
PHSMTL: Victoria’s Secret Glossy Smooths. They don’t make them anymore. It’s a brand you see in the older pantyhose content I’d find back in the day. They’ll go for up to $700 a pair. It’s ridiculous, but there’s a fine line between whether I should keep them or sell them. If I sold them, I’d make a killing, but… they’re one of the best ever. [Laughs.]
RAB: What’s it feel like when you don’t have any pantyhose on?
PHSMTL: Oh, it feels kinda weird, like there’s no happiness or something. Life feels so… whatever. It’s like missing something within you. It’s akin to breathing; you just need to do it. I need to wear nylons. It brings a spark of joy into everyday life.
RAB: Then, at this point, does encasement feel like a natural state?
PHSMTL: Oh yes, it feels natural. It’s like the biggest hug in the world. Everywhere becomes smooth. The best part is when you sleep and forget you’ve encased. The material takes over. It’s similar for those who do latex encasement; it’s a second skin that becomes part of them, part of their identity. It becomes ambiguous. In encasement, I feel very anonymous, but I also feel me. It’s hard to identify who it is with all the layers distorting you.
RAB: Does that anonymity feel like freedom?
PHSMTL: Yes, it feels nice to be blended in amongst everything. At the same time, you stand out because you’re encased. You become more of an object. Like with latex people, they become who they want to be without being known.
RAB: I’m curious about the sensation of it. Does encasement feel like a form of sensory deprivation?
PHSMTL: My vision is obscured a bit. But I can still see. It’s depriving yourself of the normal things you’d feel, yet you still feel everything. Right now, all I feel is nylon.
RAB: So you’re deprived of the external world, but fully encompassed by nylon.
PHSMTL: Exactly. All I feel is nylon. All I feel is happiness.
RAB: Could you clarify the difference between encasement and mummification?
PHSMTL: Encasement is full coverage of every inch of every body part. It’s form-fitting, but you’re able to move. In mummification, you cannot move. It can be done without encasement; the material just goes over you and traps you. It doesn’t even need to cover your skin. It just keeps you in an enclosed space. It’s more bondage-related. Encasement is more apparel.
RAB: You talked about how encasement feels like a big hug. What does mummification feel like?
PHSMTL: With encasement, there’s a balance between you and the material. You become one, but in a more even sense. With mummification, the material takes over. The nylons are in charge. You can’t move, you can’t escape. You’re victimized by the material. You give into it. I like both, but encasement can be done much more long-term. With mummification, you eventually have to go to the bathroom.
RAB: What’s the longest you’ve been mummified for?
PHSMTL: That’s a tough one. I’ve done twelve hours before. I was collared up and leashed to the bed. It was more like BDSM play. I’d do it again, obviously. The more I think about it, the more fun it was.
RAB: When you’re fully mummified, how does the passage of time feel?
PHSMTL: I don’t really feel it. You get a high, a euphoria, that blurs everything. An hour will go by, and I won’t really know. Time goes by quickly because of the heightened sense of arousal.
RAB: Do you have one person in your life who mummifies you? Or are there multiple people? I’m curious about those relationships.
PHSMTL: Like most people doing fetish play, I used to have multiple partners. Obviously, finding someone with a fetish like this is rare. Before, I tried to find as many people as I could to fulfill any fantasy. But now, I’m isolated to just one partner: I have a mistress, a dominatrix. She’s in charge of everything. She’s amazing. For my birthday, we did encasement together. It was really fun seeing her all glossed-up, but the best part was hearing her experience. She said, “It feels like a hug!” I’d been telling her forever to try it because she loves nylons. That was the best birthday gift I’ve ever received. But every day, I still go online and try to find people who want to talk about nylon. I’d welcome the opportunity of playing with someone who has as much interest (or more) as me.
RAB: Have you ever met someone who equalled or exceeded your interest?
PHSMTL: Online, yes. I talk to Jenny Sanders daily. She’s one of the best spokespeople for our fetish and posts lots of explicit nylon content. I think of her as a gateway for encasement. She has multiple play partners, a husband, and she lives in her pantyhose freely. We share pictures of what we wear every day. It’s really fun.
RAB: I also know you’ve done public encasements. Can you talk to me about those experiences?
PHSMTL: I’ve done it multiple times, yah. But when doing it publicly, I try to be more sly. Previously, I’d done it on Halloween where you can dress weird and people don’t judge you. Doing it the first time, I was all in black. That way if I was spotted, it wouldn’t register that I was wearing pantyhose. But over time, I started doing colours I like, colours that shine. What I didn’t realize was: when it’s shiny and light hits you from a lamppost, you can’t see.
Recently, in the summertime, I wore a thin shiny layer. That’s the most exposed I’ve been while encased. I had on a tanktop, running shoes, a pair of shorts, and headphones. If you looked at me from afar, you’d see me as a guy in summerwear. But if you saw me super close, you’d see I was completely covered in nylons. I do get spotted, but I’ve done it enough times that I don’t care now. It makes me happy. The freedom and carelessness is really nice. You see that with a lot of latex models who get all dolled-up, go in public, and don’t care.
RAB: Have you thought about just doing public encasements all the time, like when you need to go to the supermarket or the pharmacy?
PHSMTL: Oh, that is a thin line we rarely cross. I’ve seen people online who do extreme public encasements like this one guy from Singapore. But it’s more a feminization thing for him. Since he’s skinnier, the encasement looks more feminine. He also hides himself with heels, dress, and a wig (when you’re encased, there’s no hair). That guy’s probably the only person who’s done encasement in a truly public sense where you’re happy to be seen. He does subway rides. People look. It’s cool and hot, but also gutsy—I’d never do that!
The encasement community is generally very private. We don’t like being known outside our layers. For example, Nylon Chérie had to stop doing encasement because someone found out her identity and she stopped posting content for safety reasons. I know Jenny Sanders outside her encasement and she's seen me outside my layers, but we’ve had to develop that respect and trust.
RAB: Do you aspire to one day go out and not worry about what people are thinking?
PHSMTL: I do, but there’s not much of a community who understands. The closest to crossing that line for me is Montreal Fetish Weekend. I’d love to find more people who enjoy nylon encasement. If it’s just me alone, I stand out. I need to find a more vigorous circle of welcoming fetishists. Every Fetish Weekend, I try to find them, but it’s always latex this or rubber that.
I do have some people who follow me and are aware of what I do. But we haven’t really met each other. One of my friends knows what I do, and she sees all my content. Another one puts on a lot of events, but they’re very latex-y. I’d love to go to one and be the outlier and introduce people [to nylon]. If I could get more people to try this out, I’d be so happy. It’s really fun and also relatively inexpensive compared to other fetishes. Latex is crazy expensive. And because of how I’m built, I’d destroy it. But nylons stretch and conform to your body as it grows or shrinks.
RAB: We talked about your mother earlier. Does any of your family know about your relationship to nylon?
PHSMTL: Family-wise, no one really knows. I try to keep it private. My family’s a bit more conservative. Once, when I was fourteen or fifteen, my mother caught me doing mummification. She said, “What are you doing?” I said, “Nothing! I’m just trying something!” That was somewhat embarrassing to be honest.
RAB: Do you find it difficult not being able to share such a big part of your life?
PHSMTL: With family, not really. I live on my own now. I enjoy just doing it by myself and being an adult. I can do whatever makes me happy. Especially as I’m getting older.
RAB: You’ve mentioned on Instagram how you’ve remained chaste since December 21st of 2021. What compelled you towards chastity?
PHSMTL: I had a really good libido; I was playing with myself too often. It demoralized the sensations and became remedial. I saw a post about chastity and how it enhanced pleasure through denial. So, I tried it during the Pandemic. There was nothing to do at home, so I got a cage. It didn’t fit well the first time. That’s the thing about chastity; your first cage never fits ideally. Finding one that fits and doesn’t pinch takes time and money. The first time I really took it seriously was for fourteen days of staying caged. After fourteen days, I was cleaning the cage and, because I hadn’t played with myself in so long, the sensation overtook me and I accidentally let loose a bit. It was the best sensation ever. From there, I realized that holding out longer would make it feel better. That’s when I found my first keyholder—someone in charge to tell me when I can and cannot play. She outlined it. I moved between mistresses for a while, but the one I have now has been pretty cruel with [my cage]. In the entire three years I’ve been with her, she’s never let me open it once. It’s always a mental play with her, but it keeps me hungry and riled up. That feeling, on top of the nylons I wear every day, has me fully sensationalized. But there’s no release. I’m always horny!
RAB: Do you think your mistress will ever uncage you?
PHSMTL: Oh, she’s said she will. She just loves that she doesn’t know when. She’s really cruel, but that’s why I love her.
RAB: What’s your nylon budget these days?
PHSMTL: Oh, it’s ridiculous, ridiculous, ridiculous. There’s an Asian brand called Limerence M. They make really shiny seamless nylons which feel really good, especially for a chastity cage. With conventional nylons, it pushes the cage in too hard. I just bought some from Limerence M on a Black Friday sale. They’re like a Neon 40 Wolford, which is the most popular (and best) shiny nylon in the world. I think I spent $300 bucks on sixteen pairs. I got five pairs of the neons and some others to replenish. I go through pairs relatively quickly. I have no idea how many I have.
[This interview has been edited for concision and clarity. All images are credited to PHSlaveMTL.]