The Rubber Bunch is an evolving community for rubber enthusiasts, and Amsterdam's antidote to the large commercial fetish party. It runs two things: an accessible munch — a social gathering, held at the Eagle Amsterdam on the Warmoesstraat, where nobody has to be in gear — and a party with a genuinely strict dress code. The community states its priorities plainly: intimacy over anonymity, small scale over mass, and individuality, consent, inclusivity and like-mindedness as the things that matter in the scene.

The party is built for rubber people first. Hardcore rubber pervs, fetish fashionistas, leather lovers, drag queens, rubber boys, divas, latex gimps and rubber puppies are all named in the organisers' own invitation; full leather outfits are allowed too, and the doorbitch decides. The atmosphere they describe is exuberant rather than solemn — a room where you can lose yourself completely, but also socialise, change, dance to techno and progressive house, and play. Their instruction on dressing is the clearest in the Dutch scene: dress up, and up and UP.

Play is part of the format rather than an afterthought. There is a play room upstairs as well as space in the club section, with the organisers asking guests to stay aware of everyone else — their own example being that a long bullwhip has no business on a crowded dance floor, and that if you are unsure you should ask a team member. The house rules run under the name The Code: Read, Respect, Enjoy, and consent and mutual respect are the stated foundation of the whole event.

Its parties are held at Toekomstmuziek in Amsterdam-Noord, a venue with a large supervised area, techno and progressive dance floors, lounge space, shows, photo studios and changing facilities. Because the community is small and deliberately stays that way, its detail lives partly in its Fetlife group rather than on its website — so its own pages are the place to check before booking. Browse EroticAdvisor for the next Rubber Bunch party and the other Amsterdam fetish nights around it.