Skin Two North

Posted by Tanos on Mon 22 Mar 10, 12:02 PM

Tags: events

mia and I went to the Skin Two North events in Leeds at the weekend: first the fetish market, and then the Ball in the evening. This was also mia's first outing beyond munches and local monthly nights like Club Lash, and therefore on a different scale to what she's been used to. We enjoyed them both, especially the Ball, and came away with sketches of us on the night by Dr Geof (of Fetishman fame.)

The market was on the afternoon, in the vaulted rooms of Mission with an underground feel. It was quite small - with only a dozen stalls - and would have benefited from more light in places. It was £3 on the door, but luckily free with the tickets for the evening, so it worked well as a bonus. After an hour or so there, we had a walk round the centre of Leeds which I'd not seen for years, myself. I was quite shocked at the emptiness of The Corn Exchange after all the traders had been turfed out for a revamp, although it's still one of my favourite buildings.

For the evening, I wore my Victorian style frock-coat suit and waistcoat, plus cane and a new top hat. mia had a new black corset, plus red and black bra, and holdups that gave up the ghost early on.

The Ball's venue was the Loft, with a biggish bar, dancefloor and stage area, a small dungeon, and a chill out area downstairs with sofas, a photographer, and Dr Geof sketching at his writing desk. To avoid a rush later on, I asked him to sketch us early on and this is the result If you're interested in his other work, his main site is the Island of Dr Geof and he also had books and prints in his Fetishman series.

Back upstairs there were stage shows every hour or two, with a fashion show and then a series of burlesque dancers. Most of them connected to the "Alice of Fetishland" theme, as did a majority of the people who came. (If pressed, I was Lewis Carroll, but I've worn similar with completely differenly themes and formal suits are the closest thing I have to a dressing up fetish.) There were also some stand-out costumes in their own right, including someone as a Na'vi from Avatar who acted the part too.

It was good to see an event like this happening at this end of the country, and that all the details of cloak room, bar efficiency, enough space, and layout were done properly - especially after the problems Skin Two had with their previous event organiser in London last year.

Edited Mon 22 Mar 10, 12:05 PM by Tanos