Review: This is what Obscene 2025 was like in Karlsruhe

Author: Kat Kristall

The trade fair season always kicks off at the beginning of spring with Obscene in Karlsruhe. We were there, and alongside old friends, we also saw some new faces and exciting products!

What we particularly liked this year: There was more space. We love the bazaar-like atmosphere of the stalls at the front, but we were pleased that there was enough space between the stalls to allow us to browse in peace. This year the bondage area was also significantly larger, so that people could try out new ropes and techniques directly at the trade fair.

The trade fair offerings were diverse, ranging from latex care with a polishing station, to steel furniture from Stylefetisch, numerous clothing and harnesses, and even new digital kinky platforms. You can find a video about the trade fair on our Instagram.

Newcomers

Every year, new products and services are introduced at trade fairs. Here's our selection:

Kinky Fans: The first thing that caught our attention was our neighbors at the booth across the street. Kinky Fans is a platform for exclusive fetish and BDSM-related content. Finally, there's a platform that doesn't banish you when things get "rough," but instead encourages you to express yourself—whether you're a professional content creator or an amateur. The website also offers live streaming options and a dedicated shop where you can sell lingerie or toys. The team also reliably supplied us with snacks.

Juice Shop Originals

This booth also caught our eye. The two guys from Dresden offer bondage devices, but not made of leather or rope, but rather 3D-printed. For example, mittens called "anchor mitts" or "mittens" enclose the entire hand and are fastened with an allen key. They've also come up with a clever choke collar. We borrowed the mittens and tested them out at the trade fair; they're a pretty fun idea! The guys also gave us a delicious glass of juice; the name says it all.

Atelier in Silva: This little studio was absolutely gorgeous! We immediately fell in love with the gorgeous hairpins, harnesses, and necklaces! So, this new stall was more about accessories, since we see clothing so often. There were sophisticated earrings, bracelets, and necklaces, including harnesses and belts. Everything here is also hand-knotted and assembled. Kinky people are known to be magpies, and we collected quite a few things here.

Stage shows

This year we had our stand right next to the stage and were able to enjoy virtually all of the stage shows.

This year there were mainly ropes on stage again, and the final show at the end of the fair was particularly noteworthy. In this show, six couples tied themselves together in a row and included each other. Ropes flew between the riggers and the unusual interaction was a lot of fun.

Another highlight: Dan Apus Monoceros' show with his bottom. As a gay couple, the two were a pleasant introduction to the other couples. But Dan also always values ​​a good dose of performance drama. The year he tied up his bottom during a live performance of "Rise Like Phoenix" will remain unforgettable! This year, he himself entered the stage in a very dramatic way, wrapped in a cape and lip-syncing along to the music! He spectacularly manipulated his model into various positions and didn't even lose time. Pretty cool!

Kinky Burlesque

One of Obscene's after-show parties is Kinky Burlesque, where acrobatics and burlesque dancers put on a stylish evening program over several hours. We were able to enjoy an excerpt from the evening program. It was definitely incredibly hot and we were happy that the audience cheered and whistled a lot.

Workshops

Of course, you can't just look and buy things at Obscene, you can also learn something! This year, there were over 30 workshops you could participate in. These are for both beginners and experienced BDSM practitioners who want to learn something new. Many of them this year dealt with explicit topics rather than covering a large number of topics. I really liked that, because you often can't get a complete overview of a topic in just three hours.

We particularly liked:

Latex for every BODY – All bodies can shine: A beginner's workshop on latex, the main focus of which was to ensure that everyone can wear latex. By Fluffy Queenie.

Choking & Breathplay: About safely reducing breath and how to create it in different ways. By Vaegabound x Sapieha.

Sex! Worth it! Wanting! Britta Theurer and Volker Schmidt talked about how to have better sex and how to have even better sex together .

People we met

Our biggest highlight at the trade fair, of course, remains the people we met there again or met for the first time. The influencer booth, where we had the opportunity to meet people we usually only meet online, is particularly recommended.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by. We look forward to seeing you next time!