The People Dropping Serious Cash on Outfits For Europe's Biggest Fetish Party

This article originally appeared on VICE Germany.

Picture the scene: It’s 30°C, you’re dressed head-to-toe in latex, and you’re wandering through the streets of Berlin. You’re not alone, though, there’s 20,000 other people doing the same. Some are dressed as foxes, some as puppies and one as a motocross rider. No, this isn’t a weird dream, this is Folsom Europe, Europe’s largest fetish festival.

In September 2023, we attended the festival’s 20th edition with photographers Till Milius and Anton Roentz to capture the wide variety of leather, uniform and masked looks at the festival. And with such a vast array of DIY inventiveness on show, we desperately wanted to know the answer to one burning question: How much did it cost to make that outfit? For privacy reasons, all of our interviewees preferred to talk to us using aliases or first-names only.

“This is the tenth time I’ve been to Folsom. I spent about £600 on my outfit and I think it looks really cool. It fits tightly and makes me stand out.”

“It’s my third time at Folsom. I travelled here from Amsterdam. My outfit costs £2,500 – the most expensive part was the pants, they cost £850.”

Marc: “We’ve been here over ten times, and we always meet friends from the fetish scene. I wanted to come in a full rubber outfit today, but I opted for lycra because of the heat. This one wasn’t that expensive, maybe £170.”

Thorsten: “It’s so nice to see people living it up under a clear sky. My outfit was pretty cheap, it must’ve been under £100. I also wanted to wear leather originally, but it was just too hot.”

“It’s my first time at Folsom and I have to say, I’m a bit overwhelmed. I spent about £50 on my outfit all in all. My favourite bits are the choker and the nipple chain.”

LabWolf: “Our outfits cost about £500.”

Okami: “We had to wait a while for the latex masks – they’re quite in demand right now and there’s many suppliers.”

“I spent £230 on my outfit. It’s my third time here and it always feels like
Pride, but kinkier.”

“It’s my first time at Folsom and I spent £400 on my outfit.”

“Everything all together cost over £400. It’s my first time here and I couldn’t help but notice a lot of people are in chains. I also saw someone getting peed on.”

“It’s my first time here, and I spent about £1,700 on my look.”

“My outfit has something royal about it. I spent about £250 on it. I’m actually not that into fetish stuff, but I like to dress up and watch people. And today, there’s quite some eye-catching stuff around here.”

“I came all the way from Austria to attend Folsom. Here, we can all be free. Everyone can express themselves however they want. I spent about £600 on my outfit.”