Somebody may love a latex dress, enjoy photographing an outfit or want to wear a piece to dinner without finding the material sexually meaningful. That difference is not confusion to be corrected. It is information about what each person wants.
Separate the possible meanings
Ask whether the interest is visual, tactile, expressive, social or erotic. A person can enjoy one dimension and decline the rest. Avoid treating fashion curiosity as a hidden yes waiting to be revealed.
Explain your own experience without declaring it universal. “For me, latex is connected with intimacy” is clearer and kinder than “latex is inherently sexual.”
Make invitations specific
Browsing clothing, trying on gloves, attending a runway event, going to a club and including latex in sex are distinct requests. Ask one at a time and make refusal easy.
Do not use a fashion purchase to slide into an erotic scenario that was never discussed. Context can change the meaning of an activity and deserves fresh consent.
Enjoy genuine overlap
You might share styling, photography, shopping or public dressing while keeping sexual expression separate. That overlap can be satisfying when it is valued for what it is rather than treated as the first rung of a ladder.
The partner with an erotic interest may maintain private fantasy or consensual independent community involvement if that fits the relationship agreement.
Decide whether the difference matters
If shared erotic participation is essential, fashion-only enthusiasm may not meet the need. If respect and occasional styling feel sufficient, the difference may be easy to hold.
Neither person should remain in the relationship on the assumption that the other will eventually adopt the preferred meaning. Compatibility begins with the answers that exist now.