Having started in 2016, the UK Leather and Fetish Archive (UKLFA) is dedicated to documenting and celebrating the history and heritage of the leather, rubber, kink, BDSM, and fetish community in the UK.

We'll be delving into the stories found in this archive as part of our alternative Valentine's celebrations. Think ropes rather than roses and bondage rather than bouquets, as we celebrate our fascination with the fetish scene.

Valentine's Vice 2.0

Be introduced to shibari (Japanese rope bondage), with sex positive studio Anatomie Studio joining our online event to demonstrate basic techniques.

At 19:00 on Friday 12 February, we'll also be joined by London-based photographers and fetishists The London Vagabond, who will be in-conversation with our Special Collections and Archives Manager Stef Dickers.

Offering a peek behind the curtain of the UK Leather and Fetish Archive, Stef will be sharing stories from the collection.

In Conversation: Miss Kim

Founder of the fetish club Club RUB, Dominatrix Miss Kim ran events at the club for over 21 years. With an emphasis on rubber-wear and with themes on everything from pirates to Alice in Wonderland, the club became an important part of the fetish scene.

We'll be chatting to Miss Kim about Club RUB and her experiences of the fetish community at 17:00 on Sunday 14 February. Celebrate your Valentine's Day with a box of chocolates, flowers, and a look-back at how the fetish scene has changed.

Having been on London UK Fetish scene for 33 years, Miss Kim's work offers an important insight into the scene. We're honoured to be home to the Club RUB Archive, and recently caught up with Miss Kim about stories from this collection and how it came to be housed at the Institute.

Intrigued to find out why Miss Kim was told to "ceast and desist sending smut" by the Post Office General?

Want to find out more about the UK Leather and Fetish Archive?

Having started in 2016 with the deposit of records of numerous gay/bi male UK leather clubs, the UKLFA has since expanded to hold the archives of organisations, clubs, and individuals of all sexualities, gender identities, and kink persuasions. We also hold an extensive collection of books, pamphlets and magazines documenting UK fetish history from the early 1900s to the present day.