Amsterdam is not what it used to be: Ruled and regulated, the city is being cleaned of its dark corners. But in the middle of a construction site outside the city centre we stumble on an old oil-house from 1885. From the outside it looks like an old brick building, but once the doorman accepts our passwords, we enter a different era. With red curtains, huge chandeliers and paintings, this is a nightclub from 1920s Paris. We might as well be in the Moulin Rouge.

The Bal du Masque is a mask and costume party, held four times a year, and people come from all over Europe. The guests look ravishing: 18th-century courtiers and courtesans blend with 21st-century fetish freaks, goths and fantasy lovers. Rubber mixes with satin and brocade, velvet mixes with lace and leather. It’s a celebration of nostalgic and modern decadence: Madame de Pompadour serves her best cakes as we dip our fingers into a fountain of hot chocolate, and we meet the Green Fairy at a bar that serves all kinds of absinthe to the bohemian guests.

Dutch designer Ellen Schippers presents a mannequin in an evil dress with tentacles that lash out at the public, Avatar Aerialz performs a burlesque tissue act high above the crowd, and we watch classical ballet to the sound of Tchaikovsky. We relax by the fireplace in the garden and observe the dancefloor, where eyes behind masks are locking onto each other like hunters and their prey. Bodies move to the sound of the music, while eyes search for the truth behind the others’ disguises. Elegant and stylish, this is not a night any of the guests will forget in a hurry.