Los Angeles perverati turned out in force on Friday February 16 for Slave2Fashion, the opening night of the first LA Kink Ball Weekend, which was also the launch party for The Fetishistas.

Held at The Knitting Factory on Hollywood Boulevard, the event was a fashion-conscious ‘meet, greet and beat’ designed to set the style for the whole weekend. The event featured strict dresscode enforcement of a kind that LA promoters traditionally avoid in order not to exclude certain sectors of the alternative crowd that boost the numbers at their parties.

The gamble undoubtedly paid off if you measure success by the number of exquisitely dressed people who turned out to support the aim of providing a proper fetish ambience along the lines of European fetish parties. It really did feel as if Los Angeles was at last embracing latex fashion as the de rigeur uniform of pervery — it was as if local enthusiasm for it had finally reached critical mass.

Needless to say, the emphasis on style was reflected in the evening’s main onstage entertainment. Fashion shows were provided by four European labels who were getting their first exposure before an LA crowd — despite the four including two of the biggest international fetish brands. It just shows how starved LA has been of proper fetish events until now.

Tatjana Warnecke’s opening show did not, as many people thought, feature latex. This German-based designer actually specialises in high-quality plastic-coated fabrics that have the look of either matt or shiny rubber, and she uses them to put together unusual but beautifully finished garments that certainly don’t look out of place at a latex-dominated event.

Warnecke’s show was followed by the first of the two big international brands, London’s legendary House of Harlot. Harlot was there with its new partner Torture Garden, the evening’s other major fetish brand, with whom it has now joined manufacturing forces in London. But as their respective shows tonight demonstrated, they have no problem maintaining their own distinctive styles.

‘Pretty Pervy took latex into areas that many of tonight’s crowd never dreamed they would see, with a cast of bizarre “bugs” showing in the USA for the first time’

If TG Clothing’s multi-model finale won the audience over with the sheer variety of its outfits, another British participant, Pretty Pervy, took latex into areas that many of tonight’s crowd never dreamed they would see, with its cast of bizarre ‘bugs’ played by performers in wild inflatable suits being shown in the USA for the first time.

Among the audience were many outfits every bit as impressive as those onstage — a good number of them sported by out-of-towners who’d come from all over California, not to mention out-of-state pervy enclaves such as Portland and Seattle, and a contingent from the UK and elsewhere in Europe.

Hosted by RubberDoll, the fashion shows were co-ordinated by Marina St Mark and featured appearances by Amara, Anastasia Pierce, Anyssa, Athena Fatale, Cher Grepo, Courtney Cruz, Dante Posh, Darling Diana Knight, Frank, Hazmat, Industrial Girl, Jasmine Worth, Jewell Marceau, Joelle, Jolie Vaughn, Krissy, KT Keyhole, Lyndsay Brill, Maxine, Mya, Miss Pixie, Natalie Minx, Noel, Perish, Platinum Kitten, Rubberella, Sadeast, Scar, Shelby Jones, Trishy Trashy, Vena, Viktoria and VonLivid.

Among the perverati in the audience were Arcane, Betka Schpitz, Christine Kessler, Gemini, Mildred (Yungfuktoi), Nadya Lev, Puimond, Rose Algren (Imp of Satan), Sarah Lee Sinful, Sativa, Steve Diet Goedde, Talia Monet and Veronica, while photographers working the event included Gerry Koehler, Jody Cortes, Michael Diamond (ErosArts), Michael Helms and Perry Gallagher. For those with the stamina, there was also an After Party hosted at Area 101 by the genial Federico.

‘The Masque dinner-cabaret on Saturday drew a capacity crowd who all observed the fetish dresscode. Some latecomers even paid just to stand at the back’

Slave2Fashion, like the weekend’s final event, Sunday’s Kink Ball, was a co-promotion by Robert Fluty and James J. Saturday’s event, on the other hand, was a Fluty solo project — the second of his Masque dinner-cabarets at a warehouse-studio and sometime swingers’ club venue called Entertainium in downtown LA.

The discovery just before doors-open that the guest MC, porn actress Brittany Andrews, had gone down with a cold and would not be turning up, was not the best start to the evening, but the legendary Uncle Freddy stepped manfully into the role of announcer and Brittany’s absence was barely noticed. The event drew a capacity crowd who all observed the fetish dresscode and mostly came masked, with some latecomers even paying just to stand at the back and not have the benefit of seated dining.

Performances by Athena Fatale, Natalie Minx and Maxine gave three of the weekend’s big fetish model contingent the chance to shine in individual spots, and there was an impressive (and completely impromptu) display of elegant fire-play by Arcane and his masked accomplice. Mr Uncertain, featured between shows at Slave2Fashion, provided live musical interludes for the second night running.

But in terms of entertainment, the night really belonged to RubberDoll, whose visually stunning oriental show (with Maxine and Anastasia Pierce) was topped only by her second much naughtier performance with Anastasia and the now legendary dildo gasmask. A seasoned performer on video but new to live performance, Anastasia proved to be just as much of a natural onstage as she is in the studio, and should be encouraged to exploit this newly outed talent further!

Ironically, this second show was hit by a stage lighting blackout so for much of it, the onstage rudery was illuminated only when we photographers fired our flashes. Which, being public spirited types, we endeavoured to do as frequently as our charging circuits would allow! Photography was not permitted at the Eyes Wide Shut After Party staged elsewhere in the same venue, but the venue’s jittery new management was a far more effective passion-killer in that department anyway.

‘Sunday daytime offered an added attraction before the evening’s main event — a Bondage Brunch for a small couples-only audience at a downtown studio venue’

For a few of the faithful, Sunday daytime offered an added attraction before the evening’s main event. Bondage bottom Maria Shadoes, booked for a rope performance at the Kink Ball, had offered to host a Bondage Brunch for a small couples-only audience at a downtown studio venue. Unfortunately, Ms Shadoes went AWOL in the run-up to the weekend, and in the absence of any contact from her whatsoever, promoter Robert Fluty managed to organise at pretty much the last minute for her place to be filled by veteran rope expert Charly B and bondage model/BDSM lifestyler Arachnia Webb.

And so the brunch took place not exactly as scheduled. But those guests who decided to take a chance and stick with the new arrangements were treated to some impressive pieces of ‘bondage burlesque’ from Charly’s repertoire — including a suspension where he hooked his feet into the spinning ropes supporting his captive and rode the rig like a fairground money-collector on the dodgems.

After the performances and demos, Charly hooked up with each couple individually to run through, at a more leisurely pace, some of the fancy ties — like ‘the holster’ — that he’d demonstrated at full tilt earlier.

‘I was happy to discover I could take the chill off with a cocktail at the bar The Ivar thoughtfully provides before you even get into the building proper’

Venue for the headlining event of the weekend, the Los Angeles Kink Ball itself, was the 14,000 sq ft Ivar, a smartly appointed, ultra-modern club with four bars, two dance floors, a mezzanine floor and a clutch of steel and glass ‘VIP pods’ which tonight had all been reserved by groups — including the girls of legendary LA domination house The Dominion — wanting to enjoy the advantages of their own semi-private booth.

Arriving at the venue at around 11pm, I was shocked to discover that the London weather I had been so keen to leave behind had evidently caught up with me. My rubber got a good dowsing of cold drizzle before I made it into the relatively dry but still chilly canopied entrance area. I’m a great believer in the ‘when in Rome’ principle, and since in LA this means ‘drink cocktails at every opportunity’, I was happy to discover I could quickly take the chill off with a cocktail from the bar the Ivar thoughtfully provides before you even get into the building proper. Now that’s what I call customer service!

By this time, the inside was already starting to look comfortably full, and from the number of familiar faces I clocked as a I wondered around the ground floor area, it soon began to feel like every perv I’d ever met in LA was there. My Initial impression, confirmed as the night wore on, was that this was an even more enthusiastically supported dresscode occasion than Friday night — which of course, being held in a much bigger venue, was what the promoters had been hoping for.

‘Gen had promised to debut her new Gen-XX show, and being aware of the negotiations for a suitable victim for her St Andrew’s cross, I had a good idea what to expect. Or so I thought’

It seemed like I hadn’t been inside for very long before the music lowered and everyone’s attention was drawn to the small stage area where the night’s headlining act Society of Genitorture were about to make their appearance. Gen had promised to debut her new Gen-XX show, and being aware of the negotiations for the supply of a suitable ‘victim’ for the St Andrew’s cross in the form of Robert Fluty’s assistant David (aka Dave the Slave), I had a good idea what to expect. Or so I thought.

By the end of the show, which featured Gen’s partner, a trio of female performers who could best be described as ‘vicious but unfair’ and another memorably horny vignette by Anastasia Pierce, I was left wondering what else was left to witness in a live stage show. OK, Gen didn’t actually sew David’s lips up as she had apparently threatened in their pre-show talk, but that was pretty much the only thing that didn’t happen to him. But then, you can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs. And if that has to be in someone’s pants, well so be it.

It was the kind of performance that gives venue managements apoplexy, and by all accounts The Ivar’s staff didn’t disappoint. But they only have themselves to blame if they didn’t like what ultimately happened with the stage-prop bottle of champagne they’d tried to confiscate from Gen earlier.

After a show as wild and hardcore as this, it was difficult to imagine how any of the evening’s other entertainments could compete. Nevertheless, Torture Garden’s mastery of fetish club audio-visuals proved a winner with this crowd, as did the various sideshows and installations which include rope bondage demos, one of Allen Falkner’s classic two-man suspension performances, and a saline injection ritual performed by Sativa in the Syren pod, which left Arachnia Webb with breasts three cup sizes larger than they’d started. But only temporarily, as she jokingly complained later.

‘It’s a long time since I’ve seen so many fetish models so off their tits and so all over (or under) each other. But do you hear me complaining?’

There was much fun and a fair amount of out-and-out debauchery in and around the VIP pods. It’s a long time since I’ve seen so many fetish models so off their tits and so all over (or under) each other. But do you hear me complaining? No, I left that to the poor boyfriend who had to ask several photographers not to publish their pictures of his girlie’s carefree crotch-flashing on the grounds that she always regretted these commando tactics later, when sober. Oh well, it’s easier than having to airbrush some pants on her — again.

Annoyingly, I was just about to make my way to the Latex Lounge heavy rubber play area hosted by Rubber Dynasty, RubberDoll and RubberGal and featuring a variety of Vacbed products including the fascinating new Vacbed Cube, when the music stopped and the lights went up. It was just 1.45am, which didn’t seem to square that well with the advertised closing time of 3am.

The party really seemed to just be reaching its peak at this point, and there were many expressions of disapproval at the early finish — not least (so I’m told) from the woman who was cheated of the specific finish she’d been anticipating during her Vacbed session. It certainly wasn’t the promoters’ idea to stop at this point, rumour having it that it was the venue’s response to Gen’s earlier OTT onstage behaviour (though this was not confirmed).

Nobody really wanted to stop so early, and as a consequence, a variety of after-party options were quickly considered. The proposal that finally got mass approval found us heading over to Sativa’s Hollywood dungeon, and it would have been great, had not 30 or more pairs of boots made such a clatter going up the stairs to the dungeon entrance. This is not something that’s calculated to please the neighbours at three in the morning — hence our communal second wind was rather shortlived.

But at least it left people in LA gagging for more — specifically, more of the kind of fetish events that you don’t get into without making the effort to dress up. There’s no doubt that Los Angeles has now proved itself a viable location for proper pervy partying, and I think a lot of people there will be rooting for this weekend to become a regular fixture.

For any first-time venture of the LA Kink Ball’s magnitude there is a lot of potential for things to go wrong, and inevitably a few things did. But enough things went right that the right thing for the promoters to do now would surely be to start pencilling in plans for next year’s follow-up.

‘Enough things went right that the right thing for the promoters to do now would surely be to start pencilling in plans for next year’s follow-up’