Montreal Fetish Weekend: Interview with Producer Eric Paradis
Fetish Week. The Village. Fashion Frenzy with Patrice Catanzaro. Photo Sinj Karan.
Sep 2 begins the 11th edition of Montreal Fetish Weekend, as the fetishists bring out their most glamorous and famous latex-wear. The week has dollops of colour for kinksters and friends. The events begin on Wednesday September 2 with a Launch Soirée at Pandore (2 St. Catherine Street E.). Later in the week Fashion Frenzy takes over the streets in the Gay Village with Fashion’s Red Carpet that starts 6 p.m. on Friday Sept 4. I plan on being at the Bal Bizarre later that night, which promises to enthral you with its ‘Exposure Leather and Lingerie’ theme.
The highlight of the weekend, ‘coz the best is always kept for last, will be the Latextacy Ball, a grand costumed ball with a “Sin-A-Matic” Hollywood Red Carpet ultra-glamour fetish fantasy theme!
From A Night of Masks to parading on St. Catherine with the best of Latex’s fashion, Montreal Fetish Weekend promises to be a bonanza of colour and well KINK!
I am pretty new to the world of latex, but quite excited (and intrigued) about this world of glamour, a lot of creative style and just looking drop dead sexy.
I was able to sit and chit-chat with the Founder-Producer of Fetish Weekend, Eric Paradis, and talk about its evolution and what’s happening in the world of high rubbered fashion.
SK: Does this year’s Fetish Weekend have a particular theme? What is the spirit behind the festivities this year?
EP: This being our 11th annual edition, it is a bit of a reset, sort of a FW2.0 of an adventure that began in 2004. The focus is to reconnect the event and its organizers with the pure passion of sharing and meeting-up with like-minded fetishists from all over the world. The artistic theme is loosely focused on films and the connection of the 7th art in the development of fetish fashion trends.
SK: How has the event evolved over the past ten years? Can you comment on the early years of the festival (if you were involved in it then)?
EP: Speaking for myself, being a member of the production since the event’s inception in 2004, I can honestly say that its growth is constant and most assuredly organic rather than force-fed. We’ve listened to our attendees and have successfully placed more and more attention to their specific wants or needs. As such, what we experience today is a more mature event and audience than the early years.
The production levels grew exponentially between 2006 and 2009 and the fashion/designer component exploded to 280 models and 26 designers in 2010. We’ve since readjusted our target values firmly around our very ability to do what we do best which is to connect people with other people in a week-long affair of fetish fun.
SK: Given that there are so many festivals in Montreal (someone said like 3 every week), do you think that Fetish Weekend has a special place in the summer calendar of events in Montreal?
EP: No, not really, other than a few festivals who are under the guidance of the main controlling entities, our event is not funded by governments and city subsidies. It is by and for the people. Having said this, the lack of funding will inhibit long-term growth and will challenge us in unforeseen ways to ensure the event’s survival. Do more with less and, at times, less is more is our motto.
SK: Given the niche nature of the Festival, are you able to attract people from outside your community? Or is this still a closed, community type event? If so, are you thinking of doing anything to change that?
EP: Absolutely! Every year, the artistic pull and the incredible outdoor activities we present draw new clientele that have little to do with the existing peeps we have at the event.
We are absolutely thrilled to offer a fabulous street fashion show on Ste-Catherine street in the Village. This is possible with the help of Bernard Plante at SDC du Village as well as Yanick Daigle at les Garçons Sculpteurs.
We have many international designers such as Patrice Catanzaro, Dawnamatrix, Eudoxia’s Latex doing exquisitely crafted latex fashions. It is an honor to be able to bring such beauty to the eye of everyone. This is what we’ve worked for since 2004, making little changes year after year to open the curtains of what is, after all, more than a trend, a lifestyle of love!
We are pleased to bring talent from as far as Japan with the amazing Mistress Hibiki who has performed in the past and latex artist Kurage from Tokyo who return for a second year in a row. His art will be showcased at the LATEXTACY Sin-A-Matic Ball on Saturday September 5 along that of Il Bolero, purveyors of beautiful wares, toys and accessories for a quarter of century.
This is the tip of the iceberg. Look below and you will find thousands of extraordinary women and men who have made this event an international institution for fetish holidays! Montreal, with its hospitality, provides something unlike anything else in the world. Right, we have magic!
Come join the party.
Fetish Weekend starts Sept 2 and continues until Sept 7. Tickets and passes for events can be found here. For more information on the events check their website: http://montrealfetishweekend.com/.
