Alternative Nightlife

‘Do you know what this reminds me of? That orgy scene in “Eyes Wide Shut”,’ breathes a fellow guest at Killing Kittens. Maybe, but this is far sexier.

A club for ‘the world’s sexual elite’, its secret London home is a stately mansion where masked and basqued punters sip Champagne before heading upstairs to get naked – if they want to. Everyone here’s been vetted by photograph in advance: it’s strictly young, good-looking couples and single girls only – a far cry from the suburban swingers on late-night TV.

‘We are very elitist, but that’s what it’s all about,’ says founder Emma Sayle. ‘True, not everyone’s a supermodel but all members are attractive, aspirational, successful professionals aged 20-45.’ She’s right. In the months I’ve been going to KK parties, I’ve met TV producers, doctors, millionaire businesspeople, and, okay, some strippers: but they’ve all been intelligent as well as damn sexy.

It takes a few glasses of bubbly before you have the courage to mingle. In the bar everyone is checking everybody out, while attempting to look casual. Men typically dress smartly, most women favour corsets and cocktail dresses, while the brave just turn up in lingerie. Music is subdued: the main sounds are clinking glasses and quiet chat. Upstairs there is a huge bed which can – and does – hold dozens of writhing bodies.

It usually starts with a few couples having sex on the bed, while others watch. Girls sometimes pair off or start threesomes. ‘There’s a lot of girl-on-girl action,’ says Sayle. ‘We get a lot of bi-curious girls coming.’ She reckons KK is much more female-friendly than your average swingers party: ‘Girls make the rules. Men can’t approach girls, they wait to be approached, and not everyone gets naked – people go as far as they want. Half the people who come keep their clothes on and just turn up for a great party.’

If you’re open-minded enough, it certainly makes for an interesting night out – there’s a hedonistic, Bacchanalian vibe helped in no small part by the lavish setting and the open bar. It’s liberating just to watch the frank sexual expression and trust between partners. I met a married couple who attend parties with a girlfriend they met at KK – and select newcomers are invited to join the party. It’s no exaggeration to say that for some people, Killing Kittens has changed the way they think and live.

While KK encourages female sexual empowerment, Sayle is more post-feminist in her agenda: ‘I think feminism’s gone too far and in the process taken away women’s sexuality and sensuality, which is what KK is all about.’

Sayle has plans to expand. ‘We’re launching a lingerie and toy range, increasing the monthly parties, taking it to NYC, Sydney and other cities in the UK.’ Let’s hope that as Killing Kittens gets bigger, it only gets better: as Sayle says, the exclusivity is what it’s all about.

Killing Kittens is this Friday at a secret central London location, www.killingkittens.co.uk.