“VANILLA – a BDSM term meaning anything or anyone non-kinky i.e. sex excluding all forms of deviancy such as sadomasochism, bondage, or discipline.”
by Leatherati Northern Correspondent JJ Deogracias
With the above definition typing across the video screen at Toronto’s waterfront venue, Sound Academy, it kicked off the Northbound Leather annual fetish fashion show, Vanilla? on October 23rd, 2010. Flocking from across North America, Europe, Africa, Australia & New Zealand, around 2200 people came dressed to the nines fetish-wise for the “world’s largest fetish and leather party”, and saw a very different fashion show from what the innovative leather and fetish store has put on in the previous 14 years.
Originally, the fashion show began as a party called “Extreme Extravaganza” in 1997, according to George Giaouris, the owner of Northbound Leather. He explained to me that this initial “one-time-only, pulled-out-all-the-stops, blow-out kind of bash” celebrated the tenth anniversary of Northbound Leather at the time. “Everyone made it impossible for us to go forward without doing it again because they had such a good time … so we did it again. But, every year since, tradition has it that the event has a different theme and a different name every single year.”
For the 14th year of the Northbound Leather fashion show, the theme and title was Vanilla?. I spoke to Carolyn Kelly, the producer of Vanilla? and an ex-pro-dominatrix who worked in the film industry for 9 years, about how the concept of “vanilla” infiltrated this year’s fashion show.
And to exemplify this infiltration, short clips from mainstream television (i.e. Family Guy, Just Shoot Me, Dollhouse), movies (i.e. 9 ½ Weeks, Secretary, Police Academy) and commercials (i.e. IKEA, Heineken) were played on the video screen throughout the fashion show highlighting how BDSM crossed over into mainstream consciousness. Then after each video clip, these BDSM and kink-filled scenes were reinterpreted into skits that played out on the runway.
When I asked Kelly about what the audience can expect from this year’s show, she said, “A lot of laughs. You’ll laugh, and have a good time, and [it’ll] leave you smiling, and you’ll remember why you got into this in the first place. It’s a feel-good, really fun kind of show. It’s not scaring the masses. It’s just good, tantalizing, cheesy, flirty, cheeky fun.” The cheesy, cheeky skits included a tug-of-war between two boy scout troupes, a Benny-Hill-like day in a chaotically, sexually-charged office, musclemen trying to impress a pretty woman who gets swept off her feet by a third guy, and policemen busting but then joining in a tango between leatherman that ended with the policemen going down on the leathermen because of doughnuts.
These skits were brought to life not by runway models, but by real players from Toronto’s BDSM, kink, and leather scene. These models included Fenn (Mr. International Rubber 2009), porn star Sam Swift, boy Alex Dunlop (Bootblack Toronto 2006), Brad Hill (International Leatherboy 2009), Andrea Zanin (a.k.a. Sex Geek), Dan Falkenham (Eastern Canada Leatherboy 2004), Brendan McGovern (Mr. Leather Ottawa 2009), Sir Dart, Dan Madden, and local drag king Clint Lyckher (who performed a number for one skit in the show). Kelly reasoned, “The importance of picking real players was to show the diversity of people that are drawn to this lifestyle, as opposed to showcasing models that have nothing to do with kink at all. The real life players breathe life into the clothing.”
As well, Kelly pointed out the clothing showcased were not one-off designs just made for the show. “This show has a few new pieces that are being made [i.e., the boy scout uniforms and the school teacher outfit], but we’re mainly using stock items that they make on a regular basis that have not been seen on a runway before,” Kelly said.
After the fashion show ended with independent film producer Carolyn Kelly and all the models throwing Monopoly-like money into the audience which showcased Northbound Leather staff’s faces on the various bills, Giaouris and his partner, Anna emerged on the runway in a lime-green-piped military outfit and a lime-green ballgown accessorized with a lime-green feather boa and jewels respectively. Giaouris spoke to the audience before the night continued. He brought back Carolyn Kelly – who was wearing a Northbound Leather chocolate brown leather corset and pencil skirt with pink piping and trim – to thank her for all her work organizing the show. He then thanked his staff at Northbound Leather who “indulged [him] for many years”, bowed on his knee for them, and said, “Without you, we wouldn’t be here as well.” And to the audience, Giaouris said, “I’m not preaching to the perverted. This show is a celebration. Let’s celebrate who the fuck we are!”
For the rest of the night, people danced the night away until 5:00am under the music of DJs Serial Sean, Betty Forde, and Jimi LaMort (the resident DJ for the monthly Northbound Fetish Night). People also played between the two dungeons located on both floors of Sound Academy, had their leather footwear shined by the bootblacks on service that night, or had photos of themselves taken with photographer ZAIDEN at the Glam Photo Booth – including yours truly, who sported a pink dragon corset and special matte-PVC kimono sleeves from Northbound Leather.
Not long after the dust settled from Vanilla?, Giaouris asked Kelly if she would produce next year’s show, and she accepted. And what can people expect for next year’s show? “[Something] a bit darker, a bit edgier,” Kelly remarked, “but still keep the theatrical draw to the unique type of fashion show that has become the trademark of Northbound Leather.”
Pictures? Oh hell yes, we have pix at Leatherati Galleries and at Northbound's website
Plus, be sure to check out the video from Fab TV below...
With additional notes from Serial Sean at gayguidetoronto.com and Nicholas Maronese at Excalibur, the student newspaper of York University
I loved this, right on, have fun!
Posted by: Dano | 11/16/2010 at 06:34 PM