Brian Hieggelke

Inspired by erotically themed club nights on the West Coast, such as Club Rubber, Naked LA, and the Exotic Erotic Ball (hello, "Wild On"!), recent DePaul graduate Christian Banach decided Chicago needed a lascivious costume ball of its own. A year later, his monthly iCandy event at Transit has evolved into a gloriously decadent and theatrical night that sets out to create a world of its own within the familiar club confines. For example, "Garden of Eden" used artificial plants and flowers, along with go-go dancers clad only in fig leaves, to celebrate a little bit of original sin. For Saturday's "SKINdependance" party, the club will get downright patriotic in its red, white and blues, with Corporalis Couture body-painting models and go-go dancers in body paint and liquid latex. By focusing on marketing to women via street teams and free-admission promotions and making sure the sexual themes put the "f" in fun, Banach has succeeded in avoiding a "sausage fest." Raise the flag, boys.

iCandy: SKINdependance takes place July 5 at Transit, 1431 West Lake, (312)491-9729, at 10pm. $20, or RSVP at globaladrenaline.net for reduced or free admission.

(2003-07-02)

Also by Brian Hieggelke

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