San Francisco Fetish Ball 2008 Photos and Review

Photos by Michael Diamond, Review by Lady Venus

Our last trip to San Francisco was a few years ago, and we were eager to return. To our delight, FetishMovies.com sponsored the 2008 San Francisco Fetish Ball weekend and our trip to cover this three-day event. Thursday night was the gallery show, which featured fetish artist, Michael Hussar. We arrived late Thursday night, so Michael made the trip to catch the gallery show. According to him, the party had a great, casual vibe and offered a rare opportunity to see these awesome, original works of art up close. In addition to Michael Hussar's paintings, prints from some of the best known fetish photographers were displayed, including Lithium Picnic's Philip Warner. An auction was held at the end of the night to benefit Philip's ongoing legal battle with Suicide Girls.

Friday night’s event, Club Enslaved, was more of a party atmosphere than the previous night’s gallery show. Club Whisper was the venue, and we were pleasantly surprised when we remembered the no smoking law. There were three main rooms, two of which were indoors. The third area was an outdoor dungeon where people could play and smoke. Almost immediately, an eager female succumbed to the wiles of a rope wielding artist. Before long, the lovely brunette was suspended spread-eagle in a web of pink and teal rope. When she was fully bound and suspended, he administered a good, sound flogging. The crowd seemed appreciative of his creative rope work, and his pretty submissive also seemed pleased. There was a lot to see outside, but we wanted to be sure to catch Midori and Kumi’s “Elements of Suffering” performance.

To quote Midori about this intense performance art, “Aesthetics of endurance is a pervasive element for the Japanese, even for those scattered across the globe, having decided to be the nails that stick out, thus stepping out. To endure, or "gaman", is a suffering that is distinct from suffering often expressed in the West, as one sees represented on ecclesiastical art. There is no blessings, heaven or martyrdom - The payoff is in the suffering endured in itself. The beauty and power of endurance is to be admired in itself, as part of fulfillment of one's place and identity.” We couldn’t have said it any better ourselves. Now, if you’re wondering exactly what goes on during this performance, a picture is worth a thousand words. In a nutshell, though, the performance encompassed three elements: earth, water, and fire. Michael was able to secure a spot at the front of the crowd, where Midori and Kumi were floor level, limiting the ability of a large crowd to enjoy the performance. People were standing 6 rows deep and standing on benches to try to catch a glimpse. Michael captured some amazing photos from the performance (as well as a fairly significant amount of octopus juice)! This was a small part of the entire piece; you can see another part in the Torture Garden photo gallery here.

At the conclusion of Midori and Kumi’s performance, Michael ran upstairs to catch JD of the Two Knotty Boys as he suspended bondage model Sabrina Fox in an angelic performance. JD is one of the more artistic riggers, and he takes great care in the meticulous design and execution of his rope work. Once fully bound, Sabrina was adorned with feathery white angel wings. JD swung her out over the audience before removing the wings and allowing his angel the freedom to flip and twist her body as she struggled against the tension of the ropes. Michael took a few more photos before we went outside and shared a cab with two friendly crossdressers.

Saturday was a busy day filled with photo editing (and a nap). The Regency Grand Ballroom was the venue for the main event, the Fetish Ball. We arrived early, and were excited to see that this building had a lot of character. Built in 1909, it was an example of Scottish Rite architecture that fit perfectly with the theme of the evening, Metropolis, the 1927 silent science-fiction film created by famed Austrian-German director, Fritz Lang. Before the performances began, Michael photographed the well dressed crowd. Many guests donned their best fetish gear, but some costumes were more elaborate than others. One lovely latex-clad lady came complete with her own pony boy-driven cart. The pony obediently pranced to the music and was at his lady’s beck and call. On the subject of animals, we even spied a red and white latex zebra in the crowd. One of our Sybian girls even made an appearance. Kandi Cox, now a brunette, wore an inflatable red latex ball gown which struggled to contain her trademark enormous breasts.

Hostess for the evening was Sister Roma, a well-known social rights activist who has lent her hand to the war on HIV and AIDS. German design house BODYCULT began the evening showcasing their latex creations; however, this was not the typical runway show. The models tantalized and tangoed to the delight of the crowd. Syren fashions were highlighted in a fantastic performance featuring a ten-foot tall latex wearing vamp. Latex-hooded models emerged onto the stage, each wearing a collar and leash. From stage left a towering female teetered out onto the stage. Her minions worshipped at her feet before removing her skirt to reveal that she was perched atop a seat that was harnessed to a male slave’s shoulders. The goddess was lowered to the stage before being carried off by her loyal subjects.

Antiseptic Fashions had no trouble following the elaborate performance of Syren. Antiseptic features custom leather corsets, and these particular corsets had a futuristic twist to them. Madame S also had an elaborate stage show atypical from most fashion shows. Following the Metropolis theme, many of the models wore metallic latex as they marched around the stage. After a brief lull, the fashion show concluded with Pretty Pervy, the London based crew famous for inflatable and colorful creations seemingly inspired by aliens and the insect kingdom. Our friend Dante Posh was neither an alien nor an insect. She was a walking vagina. We’re not kidding.

We’re always excited to attend events that are new to us. The San Francisco Fetish Ball is seven years old, and we suspect it will go on for many more. With any luck, we’ll be back!


Lady Venus

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