In pictures: Death of Glitter is Cape Town’s ‘trash glamour’ fashion rave

“The glamorous grunge of D.O.G. was born from the driftwood residue of the international club kid scene,” says Philippus Johan and Tazmé Pillay, a theatrical statement for an equally theatrical club night. D.O.G. – or Death of Glitter – was originally founded by Tazmé after moving from South Africa’s Durban to Cape Town in 2017, but the core team soon expanded to include Johan and their colleague Carlo. The trio, a self-described “Powerpuff Girls, but with extra Chemical X,” were dissatisfied with the Cape Town queer scene, one that was “predominantly white, masc4masc, or clique bait”, say Johan and Tazmé, over email. “There were queer parties, but mostly about being palatable and beautiful,” they continue. “There wasn’t really space for grungy, sleazy and downright dirty queer-as-in-fuck-you debauchery.”

With its slogan ‘Party/Art/Sex’, Death of Glitter is all about hedonism as a form of queer resistance. “A huge part of our manifesto is understanding that, often, the most radical thing we can do is celebrate being alive,” says the team. “It’s a call to subvert the expectations of social norms, and to celebrate the wild, radical power of queer joy and creativity.” Often, partygoers tend to interpret the ‘sex’ part of the slogan quite literally, but the team are quick to clarify that this isn’t exclusively a sex party. “If people wanna fuck, go ahead, but that’s not what we’re creating space for. That’s a very complicated thing to try and do in South Africa, for many reasons,” Johan and Tazmé say, alluding to the country’s complex history of LGBT rights.

But one of the main mediums that Death of Glitter does use to celebrate the freedom of creativity is fashion. Though there’s no imposed dress code, the night’s founders are all serious fashionphiles, so moodboards are dispersed pre-event to “serve as aesthetic inspiration.” They encourage a DIY approach to the fashion on the night, and challenge people to step out their comfort zones, but the kinds of things you might expect to see are “trash glamour, subversive slut, kitschy kink, punk pussy, DIY couture, club kid monster, venus flytrap, new wave, and sports-not-sports,” neatly classified for us by the team.

At the party’s most recent edition in May, this DIY ethos was on full display. With Tazmé and Johan performing under their DJ names DRAGMOTHER and Phijos – and avant-pop star Desire Marea tearing through a headline set – ravers showed up in spangled bodysuits and leather harnesses, faux-fur coats and face-dwarfing shades, and adidas booty shorts and pink plaid skirts. And while performance artists Lliezel and Dani used kink practices as a medium, their sex positivity was mirrored through the multiple latex suits and puppy dog masks, while bunny rabbit ears and full leather looks were also spotted across the dancefloor.

Elsewhere, one guest took the spirit of DIY to the next level in a conical wire bra and matching undergarment, while the party really lived up to its name, with glittery shades and diamantéd accessories captured by photographer Mich Mellow. “There’s this opinion in South Africa – and it comes from purist culture and those crewneck bros particularly – that fashion and aesthetics are frivolous, and that they distract,” say the D.O.G. team, thoughtfully. “That’s sad, because fashion and style are essential to the experience of the music.”