CREATING A BUZZ: Blow-up signage for Flowers and Bees debut at Delta, Essen (photo: HellFox)
Flowers and Bees: fetish dance party style arrives in Essen .
Flowers and Bees is a ‘new but danceable’ German fetish party hosted by photographer Michael Kuettner and his wife Svenja at Delta, Essen – venue of Fetish Evolution Balls. Dutch photographer Michiel Kivits, aka Me-Chiel, ditched his camera for January’s opener to focus on hitting the dancefloor and writing this report. Banner by Shitake shows Fux- teufelswild, Symphony, Celine Nox and Marigo Son in the mirror room
I was introduced to Mulheim-based erotic and fashion photographer Michael Kuettner when I attended one of his Küttis photographer/model gatherings.
These are photography workshops and networking weekends which end with a typical Küttis Foto Party ‘Stammtisch’. (‘Stammtisch’ means a favourite table where you hang out in bar — a reference to these parties starting out in a small bar and now taking place in a three-storey party villa.)
Küttis parties have all the right ingredients for me: pretty girls, guys with cameras, a cool DJ and a fun venue to run around in and party like animals.
Such has been the success of these parties that Michael thought, why not try to host a cool fetish party? So that’s what he is now doing with Flowers and Bees, which he’s organising with his lovely wife Svenja, who is featured on the insane, sexy flyer of the first party (see below).
However, the concept for Flowers and Bees seems quite distinct from that of Kuettner’s photography parties, not least in that photography is quite restricted, presumably in order to protect the privacy of the guests.
Flowers and Bees made its debut on January 12 in the coolest venue of Germany: Delta Music Park. You might recognise that name: it’s the venue used every Easter for the Fetish Evolution Ball.
With Flowers and Bees, you get to explore some fun areas in this venue that are not publicly accessible during the FE event.
Included among these are some playrooms, albeit hidden; that’s not my cup of tea so I didn’t visit them. But it seems they were equipped with some cool contraptions — something the engineer in me appreciates!
Industrial meets disco! Only the Germans would think of something like this!
The event’s ’70s disco fluffy psychedelic dancefloor area was filled with latex-clad people dancing to local DJs
For the techno lovers this wasn’t a problem since next door there was a great techno/house/electro space, also with some pretty good DJs. I have to admit I wasn’t in that room for long but the time I spent there was also pretty energetic.
For the next time at Delta (March 2), a metal/rock area has been promised, so there is an uncanny probability of me being there most of the time.
Another refreshing idea that worked surprisingly well was finding a group of amazing girls wearing outfits by the Mannheim-based latex and photography label Shitake Couture.
They were not doing a conventional catwalk show, but dancing around, offering candy, dancing on a podium or mischievously blocking entry to the play area with a well-positioned flag.
The same happened with the lovely illuminated outfits of Frankfurt model-turned-latex designer Mrs Gravedigger. They just appeared in the corner of my eye and I loved the surprise of it!
Some of the models were wearing amazing masks by Hamburg’s Jaded Jewall while dancing or chatting at the bar with friends.
Even the extravagant Ophelia Overdose was there in one of her reflective Miss Overdose outfits, strutting her stuff on the dancefloor, where she looked like a true disco queen.
I thought this was a great way to showcase the work of designers while keeping the party vibe going without the interruption of a formal fashion show.
It saved the models a lot of stress and they didn’t have to wait backstage for most of the party. Well done Flowers and Bees!
The dresscode for this first event was clear and strict, and everyone looked like fetishists who were happy to party. There was a healthy mix of couples and a few singles, but no annoying half-naked men fapping in a corner like at some Dutch parties !
Brightly coloured outfits were definitely a plus, but if you wanted to appear in black/blacker/blackest, that was not a problem either (such darkness being occasionally counterbalanced by local confetti flash mob The Confetti Commandos).
More than 700 people attended, and for a first edition this is just superb. I got the impression the night had attracted people from all over Germany, though I might have been the only foreigner there.
I was certainly not the only photographer. There were quite a few others, but like me, most were camera-less — there to party, not to shoot.
I loved this ‘new but danceable’ German fetish party, and I’ll be at the next one in March for sure.
flowersandbees.de
flowers&bees/facebook.com/events
flowers&bees/joyclub.de/event
hart-worx/hartmut-noerenberg.com
hellfox.de
me-chiel.com
shitakecouture/facebook.com
BELOW: Click to open gallery from Flowers and Bees launch night; click thumbnail to start slideshow
BELOW: Promo shot for the next Flowers and Bees Party on March 2, again at Delta Music Park, Essen
Published February 7, 2018
Tags: Latex, Models, Parties
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