27 Jun 2011, Posted by admin in Thoughts, No Comments. Tagged london, Retro, Review
Belle Epoque
Words by Sophie
Anyone walking the back streets of Shoreditch on a recent Saturday evening would be forgiven for thinking they had stumbled across a nineteenth century Parisian brothel, with women sidling past in brightly coloured corsets and men donning braces and top hats.
They were heading for the Belle Epoque party at Shoreditch Studios, where guests entered a lavish music hall decked out with golden balustrades, crimson velvet curtains and trapezes – from which scantily clad women twisted and tumbled. On the gilted balconies, groups of people sipped cocktails laced with absinthe and watched the stage, where burlesque dancers teased their audience with seductive moves and coy glances.
The steamy dance floor was filled with the heady scent of perfume and anise, as men and women swayed together to hypnotic music. Live bands and DJs played an eclectic mix of sultry chansons, classic jazz and big band tunes, inspired by the streets of Montmartre and Pigalle.
In nooks and crannies under the arches, cocktail waiters offered concoctions with tantalising names such as ‘La Vie en Rose’, while absinthe dripped from fountains onto cubes of sugar. Guests emerged from a face painting boudoir in the corner with metallic designs adorning their eyelids and cheeks.
Leaving the heat of the music hall and entering the narrow alley outside was like stumbling into a side street off the Boulevard de Clichy. Girls dressed as courtesans leant provocatively against metal grills, smoking and flirting with masked villains and men in coat tails. The air was filled with the sweet smell of crêpes, as a chef catered for punters with ‘une petite fringale’ at the end of the night.
Belle Epoque was the latest event from Bourne & Hollingsworth – the same company that organised The Blitz Party and Prohibition. Billed as ‘the darker side of Moulin Rouge’, Belle Epoque dazzles guests with its period setting and atmosphere of hedonism. Organisers encourage people to release their inner exhibitionist by enforcing a strict dress code, ensuring everyone is dressed to impress.
For a night of unashamed escapism, you can’t do much better than this – glamour, indulgence and a hint of sleaze. Even if stockings and suspenders don’t float your boat, it’s hard not to be impressed by the sheer spectacle of it all. Suitably dishevelled by 2am, guests pour out into the cold night with sore feet and the promise of dreams of the green fairy.
The next B&H event is The Chap Olympiad on 16 July, which has become Britain’s most eccentric sporting event, attracting Londoners to this now famous ‘celebration of athletic ineptitude and immaculate trouser creases’. Welcoming only the elegant and unathletic, we reviewed it last year and will be there again in force snapping pics, see you then!
