The underbelly of fetish parties has been exposed in photographs captured by Belgian photographer MagLau. The photographer dedicated three years to capturing the obsession with leather and chains, visiting fetish parties through Europe and Japan. The photographer told: “I just took pictures, always finding some beauty in the dark side”. He said that most people were happy to be photographed for the project, with the images included in a new book Fetish Ballad. Aiming to capture the candid moments, he said he never judged but instead wanted to simply observe and understand. Here: Picture from Fetish Ballad book. (Photo by MagLau/Laurent Muschel)

Model present creations by Emilia Wickstead for Matchesfashion.com during Australian Fashion Week, May 15, 2018. (Photo by Edgar Su/Reuters)

A model poses at the Le Silla Spring/Summer 2012 presentation as part Milan Womenswear Fashion Week on September 23, 2011 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vincenzo Lombardo/Getty Images for Le Silla)

Father Christmas waiting for a bus in the London West End with his reindeer and a sack of presents. (Photo by Evening Standard/Getty Images). 12th August 1970

Presenter Sofia Vergara arrives at the 88th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California February 28, 2016. (Photo by Adrees Latif/Reuters)

A “mouse house” fire station and book store, designed by an anonymous group of Swedish artists known as ”AnonyMouse”, is installed next to a retail store in Newton, Massachusetts, USA, 23 June 2022. Known for mouse-themed miniatures in Sweden, France and the Isle of Man, the collective has started installing several of the miniatures in Boston and the surrounding areas. (Photo by C.J. Gunther/EPA/EFE)

Undated handout photo issued by Guinness World Records of Fabio Reggiani from Italy who has made it into the Guinness Book of World Records for constructing the worlds largest rideable motorcycle measuring 5.10 meters (16ft 8.78 in) from the ground to the top of the handlebars. Six times larger than a normal motorcycle, it's 10.03 m long, 2.5 m wide, and weighs approximately 5,000 kg (5 tonnes). (Photo by Guinness World Records/PA Wire)

A woman holds a portrait of Alexei Navalny and a book titled “A saint against the Reich” as people gather outside the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 1, 2024. Relatives and supporters of Alexei Navalny are bidding farewell to the opposition leader at a funeral in southeastern Moscow, following a battle with authorities over the release of his body after his still-unexplained death in an Arctic penal colony. (Photo by AP Photo)