Kiss-marked marbles, plush jewelled drapery, sweeping nude murals, hypnotic mirrored halls, and concealed passageways. There is a grainy patina and a 'forbidden fruit' allure to Roses of Elagabalus, the golden-hued, decadent queer clubhouse inaugurated in Dalston, East London, by James Nasmyth and Camille Jetzer earlier this year, one that transcends the frenetic rhythms of the digital age.
Reviving the atmosphere of the secret outsider clubs of the early 20th century, from the British capital's Cave of the Golden Calf and Paris's Le Carrousel and Le Chat Noir to Vienna's Cabaret Fledermaus and American Bar, the evocative hangout strives to remedy the absence of LGBTQ+ spaces where one can "have a casual drink, a late dinner, a date, and a dance", the co-founders explain.
