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Avantgardista 2023: Munich’s big celebration of kink couture
Avantgardista 2023 will showcase the exotic rope creations of French artist Fred Kyrel at new venue Motorworld Munich in October
AVANTGARDISTA 2023: MUNICH’S BIG CELEBRATION OF KINK COUTURE
UPDATED SEPTEMBER 16
Avantgardista 2023, this year’s edition of the big annual Munich fetish fashion event, takes place in mid-October in a new venue, with some format changes that mark the organiser’s ambitions for this still-newish addition to the international calendar.
Avantgardista was launched in autumn 2017 by Munich-based Prometheus Productions, who have been running the SubRosaDictum fetish and lifestyle events in Germany and beyond since 2008. Their rationale was that Germany’s wealthiest city region not only has a thriving fetish scene, but also a substantial demographic who are fetish-fashion-curious but not attracted to the standard type of fetish events.
So they conceived Avantgardista as a weekend that would play up the fashion angle and play down the more hardcore aspects of fetish in order to appeal to those interested in ‘alternative style’ without necessarily identifying as kinksters.
Since it was the clothing and accessories that would be the main focus for such people, the Avantgardista weekend would need to major both on fashion shows and shopping opportunities. Fetish folk would, of course, be attracted to these aspects too, and for the fetish partying crowd, SubRosaDictum’s legendary Space Intruders autumn party would be held on the Avantgardista weekend’s Saturday night at its traditional Kesselhaus venue.
Catwalk action: memorable moment from the Ero Chains fashion show at last year’s Avantgardista weekend in Munich
Saturday’s main Avantgardista afternoon fashion ‘showroom’ (with exhibitor stands) and its evening fashion shows (featuring around 20 alternative brands) would be held next door to Kesselhaus in the Kohlebunker, another of the family of commercial venue conversions on an extensive site in the north of Munich that included the former home of the Deutsche Bahn repair shop, and is nowadays a major leisure attraction for Munich’s car-mad population.
In the years after its launch before Covid caused a temporary hiatus to all such events, the original Avantgardista programme was tweaked a bit, as you might expect with any new event. Saturday afternoon’s showroom programme was extended backwards to start on Friday in order to give exhibitors a longer public showcase and also host the evening Meet & Greet that had first been held in a bar at the designated event hotel.
Saturday night’s Space Intruders party at Kesselhaus was extended into the Kohlebunker where, among other things, a food vendor ensured that hungry Bavarians could get some sausage inside them at any time of the day or night. (If you’ve ever been to Munich, you’ll understand how important this is!) And an Avantgardista Breakfast was also added on the Sunday (again we refer you to the Bavarian appetite noted above).
Avantgardista 2023 is moving to Mortorworld Munich, a venue that will offer additional shiny attractions like this
While the Avantgardista 2023 programme (running from October 13 to 15) seems to be similar to the above in some aspects of its basic structure (some details are yet to be confirmed), there are some key differences from previous years. The most significant of these (announced on Facebook in early May) is almost certainly that the main fashion event has been moved to a new location near the old one: Motorworld Munich. So far, we have not found any evidence that the showroom aspect of the previous events is being continued at the new location.
The gigantic Motorworld convention and event centre (including hotel) dwarfs the Kohlebunker and Kesselhaus venues it is adjacent to. We don’t yet know how much of Motorworld’s total space will be occupied by Avantgardista alongside all those fancy fast cars. But it seems almost certain it will be a bigger space than before. And in line with what look like Avantgardista’s aspirations for growth, this year’s event is now being marketed as Avantgardista Kink Couture Days, which looks to us like an acknowledgement that the branding of the earlier events was a mite too cautious, while still being careful to avoid that actual taboo ‘fetish’ word!
Designers participating in Avantgardista 2023 include, top l-r: Benno von Stein, Fernando Berlin, Leglé; bottom l-r: Taza&Jane, Liquid Disco, Moth Couture
Up to the time of this article’s first publication (one month before the Munich event), Avantgardista had announced just ten exhibiting designers and artists. But the day after our item went live, the organisers released a much longer list of participants, so we’ve updated our original story to include it.
Designers and artists now scheduled to appear at Avantgardista 2023 are: Benno von Stein, Choses Nobles, Fernando Berlin, Pairadize Clothing, YourShape, Deluxe Latex, Dino Sadino, Epic Couture, Ero Chains, Érotique Couture, Fetish Fantaisies, Fleurinna Wings Creation, Fred Kyrel, Goldpiercing Art, Kurage (presented by beGloss), Leclé, Latex Couture, Liquid Disco, Little Sin, Lorand Lajos, Lucia Venezia München, May Couture, Moth Couture by Maria Encke, Schnittmuskel (Cut Muscle), Synhaus, and Tarza&Jane.
The full list reveals a good mix of internationally familiar and much less familiar brands — one of the notable plus points of the Avantgardista events for fetish people who don’t want to see the same brands at every big gathering.
It has now also been clarified that, as in previous years, the listed brands will be presented on stands in Avantgardista’s exhibition space, with the majority also showcased on the fashion show catwalk. Currently the best place to find more info about the event’s participants, including the models, is Avantgardista’s Facebook page (its main page — there isn’t yet a Facebook event page for this year, and the new event website is still only partially finished). As for the models taking part, well we stopped counting when we got to 50 but it’s pretty safe to say there will be a lot more than twice that many walking for the designers on the day.
On the downside (perhaps), earlier Avantgardista fashion shows went on for what some described as an interminably long time, which is why the audience seating is generally in high demand. If this year’s fashion show space is larger as expected, and more seating is consequently available, that can only be a good thing. But bear in mind: seats won’t be free! On the plus side, if you’re happy to stand, entry to the fashion show is free (but you can make a voluntary contribution if you wish).
Models appearing at Avantgardista 2023 include, top l-r: Fleur Du Mal, Elody, Padi; bottom l-r: Damien, Annerlie Bizarre, Lotte LaVey
Avantgardista 2023 Programme & Ticket Info (updated Sept 16)
Friday Oct 13
17:00–23:00 AVANTGARDISTA SHOWROOM + MEET & GREET
Location: next to showroom in Motorworld Rotunda, Motorworld, Am Ausbesserungswerk 8, 80939 Munich
Admission: Free with Avantgardista Saturday Seated Fashion Show ticket; otherwise €10.
Saturday Oct 14
12:00-23:00 AVANTGARDISTA SHOWROOM
Location: next to showroom in Motorworld Rotunda, Motorworld, Am Ausbesserungswerk 8, 80939 Munich
18:00-22:00 AVANTGARDISTA FASHION SHOW – SEATED
Location: Motorworld Ground Floor, Motorworld, Am Ausbesserungswerk 8, 80939 Munich
Ticket: €30 (this ticket also includes admission to Friday’s Meet & Greet).
18:00-22:00 AVANTGARDISTA FASHION SHOW – STANDING
Location: Motorworld Ground Floor, Motorworld, Am Ausbesserungswerk 8, 80939 Munich
Admission: Free (but a voluntary contribution is welcome)
Saturday Oct 14
22:00–Late SPACE INTRUDERS PARTY
Location: Kesselhaus & Kohlebunker, Lilienthalallee 35, 80939 Munich
Ticket: €70
Party Animals: a leopard and zebra find a shared interest in latex at the big Space Intruders fetish party that traditionally follows the fashion shows during every Avantgardista weekend