Channeling Nostalgia from Studio 54

During a time that seems totally flat and devoid of any excitement I wanted to revisit one of the most famous party scenes of the last century: Studio 54. Located in Manhattan, New York, it’s most notable state was as a nightclub that was opened by Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager in 1977. The club quickly became renowned for its VIP status with exclusive guest lists and restrictive policies. You could be turned away for wearing the wrong pair of heels, yet once inside one could pop a couple of quaaludes in the middle of the dancefloor and nobody would bat an eyelid. Check out Wikipedia’s ‘notable patrons’ list and you’ll be surprised to see that virtually all the big stars you can think of were in attendance, including David Bowie, Salvador Dalí, and even Donald Trump. 

Historically, the building began as an opera house in 1927 and remained an entertainment venue until CBS used it as a TV and radio site in 1943. After being bought by Rubell and Schrager in 1977, the venue saw an incredibly quick renovation with big names in the interior design industry helping to give the space a lightning-fast turnaround. 

One of the names behind Studio 54’s success is event planner Robert Isabell (who later did work for Bill Clinton during his presidency, and for a period, designed Vogue’s annual Met Ball). Anna Wintour famously dubbed him “the king of the event world”, and during the 80s and 90s he worked on events for a multitude of celebrities and influential figures, including royalty. He is particularly remembered for filling the studio with four tonnes of glitter one New Year’s Eve party, which allegedly clung to everyone’s clothing months after the event.

In 2014, Elle Magazine released a collection of images from the peak of Studio 54’s iconic party days (or should I say nights), that were photographed by Tod Papageorge and published in his book Studio 54. Shot on a Fujica 6x9 film camera and developed in black and white, they offer a tanalising snapshot into some of the club’s craziest nights. The photographs depict glamorous fashion, extravagant fancy-dress, and decadent decoration. Papageorge allows us glimpses of tightly-packed crowds from above, nets full of balloons over a dancer hanging from the ceiling, and men lighting each other’s cigarettes. The effects of hedonistic partying are shown playfully, with individuals clutching drinks in both hands, resting on the bar to smoke, and collapsed in silky, drunken heaps on the floor. 

In a piece for LensCulture, Papageorge cites that his photographs had been inspired by Brassaï’s 1930s pictures of Parisian nightlife that he'd come across at the MoMA. He sought to capture the same “actuality of flesh and sweat and desire” that he recognised in Brassaï’s work, while maintaining “the sense of unfurling energy” that he associated with smaller camera photography. Papageorge would only lift his camera to photograph the scenes that surrounded him after sensing the formation of his subjects, which even now display a “poetic elegance” that gives the photographs a timelessness and separation from their era. 

The parties weren’t just wild in appearance, rumours were circulated to do with the guests that frequented them, such as Bianca Jagger appearing on a horse, and the venue’s transformation into a disco farmyard for Dolly Parton. Some 40 years later, Scott Bromley (the studio’s architect) indulges in some 70’s nostalgia: “In 1974, there was this mini economic crash, but as the decade progressed people started to loosen up. The end of the decade was joyous.” While Studio 54 was packed full of the elite, Bromley certifies that disco was for everyone, “It was really a lifestyle that didn’t matter if you’re rich or poor,” and the music played a big role, “It made you feel like you were flying.” 

The beginning of February marked 41 years since Studio 54 was shut down on account of tax evasion. Whilst it marked the end of a 33 month period of intense partying, its legacy remains. In this time of social distancing, where nightclubs have been closed for almost a year and being caught partying can see you thousands of pounds in debt, revisiting the iconic photographs makes us miss clubbing even more. There’s a sense of hope at the same time; we’re reminded that with the increasing distribution of the vaccine, getting sweaty to synthesized beats and vibing with strangers in the smoking area is on the not-so-distant horizon. 

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