Sweat-soaked floors, bodies suspended in unison, skin close enough to make movements reverberate throughout the room—this is the sensual, euphoric experience of Boiler Room . The hidden, limited-capacity club night is a successor of 1980s rave culture , which was born to celebrate freedom of expression through electronic, dance and warehouse music. Here, the sound sets the mood as much as the free-range fashion does.
Tinted visors, old-school hand fans, leather pants, baby tees and shoes (never heels) are synonymous with the scene. Having first manifested in London , Boiler Room was named after the genre-defining cultural movement’s literal first venue, a derelict store room that was dubbed a ‘studio’, a space where rules of celebrity were turned on their head. Unlike traditional concerts where you’re forced to gaze at the artist of your dreams atop a stage, the set places the DJ smack dab in the centre of the crowd while a webcam streams it live to a global audience.
The intention? To showcase talent on the fringes of club culture to international listeners with their ears to the underground scene. Over the years, these hush-hush sets have exploded on the world stage . From Fred Again in London and Charli XCX in the Balearic Islands to Watashi in Mumbai, Boiler Room straddles the tightrope between democratic and aspirational by teasing a vibe—an era, really—that has also given rise to techno-coded style.
Consider Charli XCX’ s iconic Brooklyn set in February .