American actress Drea de Matteo in Halloween costume in the last decade of October 2025, (Photo by Ashlee Krutzfeldt)

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)

Participants wearing fantasy costumes attend the 4th Hero Festival in Marseille, France on November 11, 2017. The 4th Hero Festival edition has attracted all sorts of people to role play their favourite characters from all kinds of movies and comic book legends. (Photo by Jean-Paul Pelissier/Reuters)

A woman dressed in traditional costume smiles at the Royal Plaza, as interest for historical clothing rises within the country, in Bangkok, Thailand April 6, 2018. (Photo by Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters)

People dressed in period costumes take part in the “Fetes Galantes” fancy dress evening at the “galerie des glaces” in the Chateau de Versailles, France on May 27, 2019. (Photo by Ludovic Marin/AFP Photo)

Visitors take photos of a child dressed in a traditional costume before a folk performance in Panyu, Guangdong province, China on April 20, 2018. (Photo by Reuters/China Daily)

A woman dressed in a Tang-dynasty costume performs at a show by designer Chu Yan at China Fashion Week in Beijing, China, October 30, 2018. (Photo by Jason Lee/Reuters)

A reveller wearing a costume dances as she holds a dring during the carnival street parade in Valletta, Malta, February 25, 2017. (Photo by Darrin Zammit Lupi/Reuters)