Fetish Fashion Party 2018: dress-up fun on Copenhagen lakeside
Copenhagen’s Fetish Fashion Party 2018 was hosted by ManiFest at an ornate lakeside venue near the city centre. US expat and Copenhagen resident Anna MacMurdo was there to report on the event for this companion piece to our preview article on FFP 2019 here. She photographed last year’s Bondinage and House of Harlot fashion shows, its other performances and some party people too. Read on for her thoughts on that event and on ManiFest parties in general, plus her tips on visiting Copenhagen. Banner image: Baby Joy in the Bondinage show
My experience of parties organised by ManiFest is that, whether they’re ‘regular’ events or have the ‘standalone’ status of the annual Fetish Fashion Party, there will always be new and interesting stage shows — things I’ve never really seen or thought of before.
At the Fetish Fashion Parties, the shows attract huge crowds. There’s always something beautiful to see on stage, and sometimes also things I didn’t know could be done with latex (though I’m hardly an expert).
In 2017, for example, there was the revelation of Pandora Deluxe’s laser-cut latex. And in 2018, the layering of latex hoods was a new concept for me.
September’s FFP is the biggest party ManiFest hosts each year, followed in size by the Masked Ball in January, and then a number of smaller parties spread through the year.
I know the Fetish Fashion Party is regarded by its hosts as special and separate from all the other ManiFest parties. However, from my experience, it doesn’t come across that way — but I’m not sure how much that really matters.
Everyone I know who attends ManiFest parties regularly just refers to FFP as a “ManiFest party” or “the ManiFest fashion party”. And if you buy a ManiFest VIP membership, it includes entry to all the parties, including the Fetish Fashion Party.
People do understand that they don’t actually need a membership to attend this one party, though I suspect most don’t really understand why! But on to the 2018 event itself…
Lakeside venue Søpavillonen was a good central location for FFP in 2018. Downstairs was primarily bar, stage and dancefloor, with some couch/ lounge spots. The large upstairs space accommodated a playroom with various items of furniture for people to play on.
There was a small ‘red room’ for couples, another lounge/couch area, and a smaller play room.
A VERY POPULAR PATIO
The venue also boasts a large fenced-in patio. Covered for privacy during the party, it tended to be a popular space throughout the night, whether for smoking or just getting some air when it got too warm inside.
As with all parties hosted by ManiFest, many of 2018’s FFP attendees put a lot of effort into amazing and beautiful outfits. Well-chosen DJ sets ensured that there was plenty of dancing, especially later, after the stage shows.
Opening DJ Suck My Rabbit, from Belgium, even had a stage act. It involved coming onto the stage several times during the set and dancing around in a costume consisting of a two-faced rabbit head atop a black Spandex catsuit.
Another unusual stage appearance followed in the form of the Rubber Doll Invasion. Organised by my friend Moerket, this group of women in latex catsuits and gasmasks might not have been the kind of rubber doll event some were expecting.
But it was definitely drool-inducing for rubber-lovers, and was also distinguished by its performers being ‘normal women’ rather than models, making the whole thing feel a bit more… real.
Vienna-based burlesque artiste Kalinka Kalaschnikow performed twice, exhibiting a strong stage presence with a wild and animalistic side. Her first turn was a fairly traditional cabaret act with some old Hollywood glam, while her second show (see below) was much more fetish-focused.
THE SHOW MUST GO ON
Amarantha LaBlanche is a seasoned performer from the Netherlands who has entertained audiences at many international fetish events. Sadly this evening’s show appeared to suffer from a prop malfunction when the table she was lying on began to collapse.
After that happened, it was difficult to be sure of the extent to which she was having to improvise to get things back on course. I think anyone who performs on stage is way braver than me, so all credit to her for carrying on with the show if, as it seemed, everything was not going quite to plan.
House of Harlot followed as the first of the two London latex labels presenting fashion shows (Bondinage being the other).
For her Copenhagen debut, HoH designer Iris Trika created a show that was very edgy and intense, with a badass, rock ’n’ roll feel and a big emphasis on strong, empowered women.
To me it conveyed a very clear message that House of Harlot clothing was about women choosing to be sexual, rather than being sexualised — if you know what I mean.
Amarantha’s sometime performance partner, heavy rubber queen Anna Rose, was next on for her solo spot — a really cool act, different from anything I’d ever seen before.
Picture a latex-hooded woman sitting in a chair that she has been guided to because she obviously can’t see. She moves around a bit, and then goes to remove the hood, revealing another hood underneath! Then another hood beneath, and another one beneath that.
One hood had a clear breather-bag attached, making her look like a bullfrog. Another (the white one in my picture) had a tube and pump attached. When she eventually got to the last (open-mouth) hood, she pulled out a hospital-style oxygen mask and played with that.
The overall effect was like those Russian babushka dolls, but in latex hoods. Crazy!
RIDING MISTRESS TRANSFORMS
After Anna, Kalinka’s more fetishistic second show started with her in elegant leathery-looking riding habit, complete with top hat and whip. This upper layer was duly removed until she was left just in a leather harness, fishnets and boots.
For the coup de theatre, she strapped on a metal pony bit and attached a tail — thus starting as the rider, but now transformed into the horse.
Bondinage, presenting the evening’s headlining fashion performance, featured some really beautiful latex dresses, intermixed with ‘animal’ women in catsuits, corsets and those insane inflatable boobs.
It started as a regular catwalk show, but with a mid-section that was more a ‘play show’, with one of the girls whipping and controlling the ‘cat woman’, putting a leash on her and walking her down the catwalk. Definitely more interesting than just a normal fashion show.
Sadly I missed the evening’s closing performance by Anna and Amarantha because I went backstage to photograph Stephen Fuller and his model, Psylocke, who had come out of ‘modelling retirement’ to walk for him this evening.
But if the Anna & Amarantha show at an earlier German Fetish Ball is anything to go by, their closing spot tonight will have been quite the crowd-pleaser!
COPENHAGEN VISITOR TIPS
Finally, as an American resident in Copenhagen, let me close with a note for potential visitors about the difference foreigners can experience between interacting with Danes in general, and with Danes on the kink scene.
The great thing about Denmark, if you’ve never visited, is that everyone from teens to elderly is basically fluent in English. So, Copenhagen is an incredibly easy city to get around.
However, Danes are generally found by resident foreigners to be a bit cold and distant. Many of my fellow expats living here would agree that it’s actually very difficult to socialise and befriend them.
It often feels like Danes put out “don’t talk to me, I don’t know you” vibes. But in the kink scene in Denmark this is not the case.
I don’t know if it’s because putting on fetish clothing encourages Danes to feel comradely with like-minded kinksters, or if it’s just the magic in the atmosphere.
But Danes at kink parties like ManiFest are outgoing, friendly, and very excited to meet new people. It definitely feels like everyone at a ManiFest party is just a friend you haven’t met yet!
To find out all about this year’s Fetish Fashion Party (on September 21) click the link below to our Fetish Fashion Party 2019 preview.
fetishistas/Fetish Fashion Party 2019 preview
fetishistas/Manifest cover story 2018
manifest.eu
Published September 4, 2019
Tags: Designers, Fashion Shows, Parties, Performers