
WINNERS: Yummy Gummy (top banner); Inner Sanctum (above left); Sinteque (above right). Photography: Tony Mitchell
European Fetish Awards won by six at German Fetish Ball.
The European Fetish Awards, announced annually at the German Fetish Ball, produced a deserving clutch of winners for 2015 in Berlin last weekend — writes Tony Mitchell.
Germany took two of the six prizes, with the other four going to the UK, Belgium, the USA and Japan.
Best Fetish Fashion Design prize went to Tokyo’s amazing latex-art/clothing label Kurage, which admirers will want to know is pronounced koo-ra-gay, rather than like the French word for courage.
Yummy Gummy, the genuinely innovative British sheet latex and clothing label debuted by Rebecca Allsop at last year’s German Fetish Fair, won the award for Best New Idea/Start-Up.
Newly-dreadlocked Rebecca is shown second from right in our main banner picture (top), moments after receiving her trophy. Next to her is boyfriend Sam Wright, and the couple are flanked by awards host Kari Berg (left) and GFB MC Rachael Vee.
The award for Best German Brand went to Inner Sanctum, whose owner Max Kuhl is seen in our smaller picture, above left, with Kari Berg and GFB promoter René of Xklusiv.
Max joked that he was disappointed to have to go a whole year without an award after previously winning the same prize in 2013.
But joking aside, the jury’s decision to honour Inner Sanctum again in 2015 rightfully reconfirms the impressive international profile this label has achieved under Kuhl’s direction.
Fourth of the traditional categories, the Special Award, was won this year by Jürgen Boedt, publisher of Belgium’s long running fetish magazine Secret.
The two new categories added for the first time this year give the public a chance to vote for their favourite fetish model and dominatrix.
Fetish Model of the Year was won by popular Berlin figure Sinteque, who as well as being closely associated with latex labels such as Savage-Wear, also runs her own label Feisty Cat, specialising in burlesque accessories and other delights.
Sinteque is shown on the right in the smaller image above, after receiving her trophy from Kari.
Final award of 2015 went to January Seraph, for Dominatrix of the Year. It was a well-deserved public honour for this world-famous mistress from California. And I’m not just saying that because she bought me a curry in Brick Lane a couple of years ago.
Look out for lots more reportage from this year’s German Fetish Ball Weekend in the coming weeks, as well as a major interview by Heidi Patterson with award-winning Yummy Gummy designer and model Rebecca Allsop in June!
May 22, 2015
European Fetish Awards
German Fetish Ball
Inner Sanctum
January Seraph
Jürgen Boedt
Kurage
Sinteque
Yummy Gummy
Tags: Awards, Competitions, Parties