For 45 years, the international conference and competition for leather lovers known as IML has been held in Chicago drawing an average of 20,000 attendees from around the world annually.
Mr. Leather International celebrated this Sapphire Anniversary in 2023 over Memorial Day weekend in the Windy City at The Congress Plaza Hotel & Convention Center. The opening ceremonies began on Thursday at 8 pm. and continued late into the night on Monday.
Fetishes are a big part of this festival and many involve BDSM, which is a compound acronym that stands for Bondage, Discipline, Dominance, Submission, Sadism, and Masochism. Consent and safety are crucial tenets of the leather fan community.
Within the iconic location, a popular market selling various fetish items appeared. Single day admission was $10 and ticket holders had to be 21 or older. The bars were spaced apart to serve guests while mingling and shopping along the way. Shoe shine facilitators were on the third floor to shine shoes for a fee.
Information on HIV preventive medications was available for those who wanted to learn more about PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) and condoms were available for distribution.
Award-winning Boy Butter lube and reasonably priced CheapLubes.com were two standout companies that are back again in 2023 with a great selection in the leather market.
Novelties and adult toys accompanied an abundance of leather goods on display throughout the venue. Courtesy of JimSupport, a raffle opportunity for a portable sling was offered several times over the weekend for one lucky winner.
Themed dance parties and special events were planned throughout the weekend. Trainers and pups would gather to play on their leashes and rubber aficionados would gather in the Rendezvous room.
On Saturday at the Florentine Ballroom POW! Superhero Fetish Party had people dress up as comic book characters and dance to late-night DJ sets. The crowd enjoyed Crocodile Rockstar playing Elton John tunes on the piano, plus a cabaret performance by Penny Tration before the dance party.
The winner of the 45 International Mr. Leather class was Marcus Barela, hailing from Los Angeles, California. Barela was crowned champion at the nearby Teatro Auditorio and will continue to reign for a full year. The first runner-up was Chris González and third place went to Matthew Moody.
CircuitMOM Productions hosted IML’s massive victory celebration and annual Black and Blue Ball featuring DJs Ale Maes from Chicago and Isaac Escalante from Miami. The revelry lasted for five hours at the House of Blues on Dearborn Street on Monday at 9pm and finally brought the weekend celebration to a close on Tuesday at 4am.
Sponsors for this year’s kinky festival included the Leather Archives & Museum, located on Chicago’s North Side, the Windy City Times newspaper publication and the Swiss Navy lubricant company.
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