15th anniversary for Fetish Project

Mistress Salem invites you to the 15th anniversary celebrations of Fetish Project. This party is her baby and he has grown well. On this occasion, we met her to discuss the origins and evolution.

Mistress Salem invites you to the 15th anniversary celebrations of Fetish Project. This party is her baby and he has grown well. On this occasion, we met her to discuss the origins and evolution.

This Saturday 15 April, we have an appointment with Fetish Project at Café Barrio. The place is quite special and sets the tone. It’s a vaulted brick cellar that could evoke catacombs in the minds of some. At each of the editions, our hostess wishes to highlight the work of an artist. This time, it's about Mauvaise Herbe, a multi-faceted performer, a character without taboos developing a global artistic concept based on recycling, experimentation and transgression. Creator of fantasies, he explores sexuality and diverts the codes of the fetish world by creating unique and destabilizing visuals. Prepare for fantasy!

The first one

When we ask Mistress Salem if she remembers the very first edition, her eyes sparkle… “Yes of course! It was 17 years ago. We are celebrating the 15th anniversary because, covid obliges, we have lost two years. We managed to bring together 130 people in an atmosphere of madness that we have been told about for a long time!”

It was with Bosk, her companion at the time, that she had co-organized it. “We were embarking on a new adventure. As a venue, we had a small barge that was a bit junk where everything was made of metal, even the floor. All she has to do is replant the decor for a first anecdote to come back to her. “I remember a submissive foot fetishist who, by dint of being on the ground, left as black as a charcoal burner. The condensation making, at the end of the evening, the ground was soaked and completely black.”

The origin

“In Belgium, at that time, there had been no more fetish parties for 5 years! Of course, there were still more SM evenings but with an older audience. We were young and wanted something else! At that time, Salem and Bosk frequented Parisian parties to find this mix of Fetish, SM and Fun, much more open. “We said to ourselves, if no one is doing it, why not give it a try! And I think we did well.”

For everyone but fetish

It’s certain that to last so long, it necessarily meets an expectation of the audience, a very varied public moreover. “The idea is to bring together people of all ages, all walks of life, whether hetero, bi, gay, trans… For me, openness is essential!” says Mistress Salem. If there's one thing she's adamant about, it's dresscode. Obviously, if we don't all lend themselves to the game, it wouldn't be Fetish Project anymore. Latex, vinyl, leather, uniforms or even another look that makes sense. Any doubt? Just send a photo to Mistress Salem. "I'm accommodating enough for a novice who doesn't know if he'll like it? I try to help them and direct them to maybe less expensive outfits at first. I also started out in the industry, then I couldn't always afford to buy a new latex outfit, for example.”

15 years

“In the beginning the Fetish Project had a straighter and darker audience as well. The organizer fought for her audience to be varied. “The public has evolved, is much more open now, but it hasn't always been easy.” she says. It was not necessarily easy to reconcile a straight audience with a gay audience (“Thank you Nordine” she specifies), an audience with also some purists in front of others perhaps not fetishists at heart but in search of a party without barriers. Delighted with what she has built, Mistress Salem congratulates herself: "Isn't there a better place than a festive place to open up and discover the other.”

The success of Fetish Project for so many years, she wants to share it with all the people who have helped her in the shadows, whether artists, personalities from the fetish scene, and especially a few friends. “I won't name because the list would be too long and I would be afraid of forgetting someone because they all made it possible and after all this time the magic is still there.” And if she had to remember a single memory, Mistress Salem doesn’t hesitate. “The two babies conceived at the party and who were born quite logically 9 months after the day of Fetish Project, one of which I am the godmother.”

After 15 years, we can look to the future but will fetishism still have its place? “I hope to be able to do an interview with you again in 15 years. More seriously, I find that fetishism is more and more accepted, it has to continue!” And on a more personal level? “Mistress Salem is an integral part of me and allowed me to evolve when Aurore was a shy young girl. Now I'm just Aurore Salem, this sweet and spicy mixture is a bit crazy!”

All information about the evening is available only on Fetish Project website.

Tickets are on presale at Spit It Out.