You might have noticed by now that most underground club events all seem to have one thing in common: a theme. While having a theme does not necessarily mean that your event is going to be a success, it can make the event more fun.

1. Pirate. This is one of the most popular themes today. The success of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies is partly to blame, but I think it is safe to say that the underground culture has always had a certain appreciation for pirates. Perhaps we feel like pirates compared to everyone else? Last Saturday, a new event called RITUAL chose pirate as its theme, and featured the Syrens of the South burlesque troupe performing pirate burlesque. Now that’s a way to kick things off with a bang.
2. Medical – This is an old club favorite. Medical and fetish go together like rubber gloves and talcum powder. Anything white or with a medical cross will work for this theme, but feel free to get creative. One of the upcoming Skin Two parties will have a medical theme.
3. Fairytale/Fantasy - This theme can encompass a wide variety of things, from mythological creatures to well known fictional characters. This theme also provides a good opportunity for group costumes. I had some friends that attended Secretroom.net’s Fairytale Fantasy Ball; they all looked amazing in their take of Alice in Wonderland costumes. The other upcoming Skin Two party will have this theme.
4. Military/Uniform - This is another old fetish favorite. The deceased Kink Patrol always had a uniform theme. Recently, Secretroom.net hosted a Military Boot Fetish. Almost everyone was dressed up in uniforms, camo with dog tags, or boots and gas masks. There was a performance resembling a prisoner interrogation, and there were military movies playing in the background. It was awesome!
5. Apocalyptic/Futuristic - For the cybergoth/sci-fi nerd in all of us! Anything shiny or metallic or sci-fi looking works for a theme like this. Gas masks and biohazard symbols are perfect. This theme used to be more common, but these days you do see a lot more costume-y type themes than cybergoth. The out of town event Purgatory, which had its final event a few months ago, used to do themes like this.
6. Vinyl/PVC/latex/rubber/leather - This is a more generic fetish theme, but not a strict dress code. Anything that is tight and looks like one of those materials works. The upcoming Skin Two is first and foremost one of these themes, since Skin Two Clothing is a line of vinyl clothing. It’s fairytale and medical themes are secondary.
7. Carnival/Circus - This is one of my favorite themes to dress up for! It gives me the opportunity to wear dramatic face make-up and sequins and bold prints. Any circus performer would make a good model for dress, whether it is a clown, a tightrope walker, a sword swallower or fire breather, or even the ring master himself! The Secretroom.net CybeRaver was themed Carnival of Chaos in April; then a week later Phobia had the theme Carnival of Kink. It was a fun challenge to try to come up with two different outfits back to back. Both events had decorations and live performances from circus freaks, but Secretroom.net impressed me more by having aerialists dangling from the ceiling.
8.  Asian – This theme is good because it encompasses things like geishas and ninjas. Kimonos, Asian prints, fans, all black, weapons; feel free to get creative. Secretroom.net hosted a Geisha art show party earlier this year. Performances included geishas and a fan dance by Defenz Mechanizm, weapons demonstrations, and there were vendors selling kimonos.
9. Horror (Zombie, Monster) – This is another favorite theme of mine. After working at a haunted house last year, and being a zombie extra this year, I really got into looking scary and disgusting. Secretroom.net’s Flesh + Fire turned out to be quite fleshy indeed, with an fashion show by AMF Korsets that featured models hooked into their outfits and another guy being suspended throughout the show. The stage was decorated with fake limbs and bloody knives and other weaponry dangling from above. It reminded me of the haunted house.
10. Seasonal - Each season will usually see at least one of these themes, such as summer/fire or winter/ice. Secretroom.net hosted the Frosted Fetish Ball last winter.  Flesh + Fire also seemed to tie in with the summer season, which I’m sure was no mistake.

Now that you’ve read about the top 10 underground club event themes, be sure to check on my blog “10 tips for dressing for themed events“.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-8063-Atlanta-Underground-Club-Scene-Examiner~y2009m6d24-Top-10-underground-club-event-themes
Author: Casey Morris

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