COVER GIRLS: party guests at Guerrero’s Paradiso + Inferno event in August 2018 (photo: Matthew Reeves)
ALEJANDRA GUERRERO CO-HOSTS LASH! CHICAGO cont’d
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Alejandra always handled the photography and designed the event flyers, creating them to look “more like party invitations”. To shoot at the actual events, photographers were hired “as running a party is very hectic”. But, she adds, she did still take snaps.
“We continued hosting these parties for several years, holding a total of seven events between 2013 and 2015. We rented various venues, primarily lofts, art galleries, and a large house, always keeping them private and invite-only.
“I hired performers I knew, either from modelling for me or from seeing their performances at other events. Over time, the parties I organised became more complex.
“For the later events, in addition to designing the flyers, I began incorporating my own art by exhibiting my work and projecting my collection of fetish-oriented videos that I’d shot, which added a nice ambience and mood.”
The photographer also started styling the bartenders and servers to better fit the party’s theme.
Paradiso + Inferno in apartment complex
“For example, our last party was held in an apartment complex with three connected loft apartments (owned by an artist), accessible by an elevator. We rented two of them, and the theme was Paradiso + Inferno.
“On the Inferno level, everyone working the party was dressed in black, along with leather masks of bunnies or cats. On the Paradiso level, the opposite was true, with everyone in white.
“Each floor featured different music and performances. We used the bedrooms as play spaces, and in one, I set up a projector playing a video I had shot specifically for the party, alongside a dominatrix conducting a bondage demonstration on a St Andrew’s Cross.
These parties grew to have attendances of around 120 people. “I always received a lot of love and positive feedback from my guests,” says Alejandra. “They truly enjoyed the parties and thanked me for providing such memorable experiences.”
Inevitably, perhaps, word got out about Alejandra Guerrero and these events, leading a
local club impresario to hire her a few times to host parties with similar vibes at his clubs.
“I ended up doing three of these, with the last one being for Halloween in 2019. Of course, the club versions were a watered-down version of my private parties.
“While some friends who attended the private events also came to these club parties, they were open to the public and lacked real dresscode enforcement, so they weren’t proper kink events. They were still fun, though!”
This prompts me to wonder what the Chicago kink scene is like now, compared to what I’d experienced on a visit to the city in the early 1990s when I was on Skin Two magazine. At that time, a certain Cindy DeMarco was queen of the Chicago scene with her House of Whacks organisation.
Cindy DeMarco and Steve Diet Goedde
It was Cindy who introduced me to a fledgling fetish photographer studying in Chicago at the time, by the name of Steve Diet Goedde.
I was impressed by his photography (exclusively executed in black-and-white at that time), and was able to give him his first magazine portfolio in Skin Two Issue 15, published in 1994.
I tell Alejandra that it feels to me as if today’s Chicago fetish scene doesn’t have quite the profile that it had 30 years ago — despite her own impressive efforts in more recent times!
“To be honest, I agree that Chicago’s fetish profile isn’t what it was when I first got into the scene,” she says.
“Places like House of Whacks and Black Market Chicago are long gone, Paul C has passed away, Vex Clothing has moved to LA, and the erotic art galleries that once existed are no more.
“I feel it’s become much more underground, leaning into an ‘if you know, you know’ vibe, and gravitating towards private clubs like the Leather Rose Association and dungeons.
“However, Chicago still holds a huge place in the leather fetish community. We have the Leather Archives & Museum, and every year host International Mr Leather (IML), an event founded here in 1979. That scene, in particular, remains very significant.”
And let’s face it: if Lash! takes off in the way it has the potential to do, it could well restore the reputation as a creative fetish scene that Chicago enjoyed in days gone by.
Lash! – Chicago Saturday August 9: details and tickets
KINK KABARET’s ‘Mila La Machina’ and ‘Psyche De Lick’ are set to perform at Lash! on August 9 (photo: Alejandra Guerrero)
8pm- 2am at Morgan MFG, 401 North Morgan Street, Chicago, IL 60642
A 21+ dark fetish soirée with recommended dresscode
PERFORMANCES: Sally Marvel, Ammunition, Honey Bee, Seph Victor, Valerie Van Damme
Plus Kink Kabaret featuring Mila la Machina & Psyche De Lick
FASHION SHOW: Blacklickorish Latex
DJs: Megan Louise of Desire (CA), Black Asteroid (NYC), Petra Steele (Detroit), Scary Lady Sarah, Echodroides
+ Live Domme Demonstrations
on the balcony
+ Visuals by @videowaste
+ Hosted by @Nicozworld
DRESSCODE: suggested attire includes latex, leather, lingerie, lace, corsets, vinyl, fetish glam, cyber erotic, victorian, drag, costume play, sexy uniforms, ultra-formal,
masked ball attire, tuxedos & suits with masks (think the Eyes Wide Shut movie). Creative dressing is highly encouraged! Absolutely no blue jeans or casual wear! (Coat check and changing room available)
THE HOSTS say of this event: “We’re proud to foster an atmosphere where people of all genders and expressions can dress up, express themselves authentically, and connect with like-minded individuals without fear. We aim to be one of the friendliest and most relaxed party environments you’ll encounter. Consent and respect are at the heart of this event. Anyone who cannot adhere to these guidelines will be asked to leave immediately.”
TICKETS FOR LASH! ON AUGUST 9
Early Bird and General Admission – Wave 2 tickets are now sold out.
General Admission – Last Call tickets are still available at $57.50 incl fees.
Headlining DJ Megan Louise of Desire (left); fashion (right) by Blacklickorish Latex (model: Mosh)
BELOW: Galleries of Alejandra Guerrero’s promo photography and design for the Lash! Aug 9 party.
Click/tap either preview to open gallery and click/tap any thumbnail to start slideshow
Alejandra Guerrero and Lash! – all related links in one place
Alejandra Guerrero/CorporateVampire
Alejandra Guerrero/Instagram
Alejandra Guerrero/Facebook
Wicked Women: Fetishistas Interview
Auto Erotica: Fetishistas Review
Glitter Guts/Instagram
Lash!/Facebook Event
Lash! Tickets/Restless Nites
Matthew Reeves/Instagram
Sanctum Chicago/Instagram
Tags: Parties, Performers, Photographers
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