Helmut Newtons capture of Le Smoking, 1966
Located at 254 West on 54th Street in Manhattan Studio 54 was founded by four partners, Steven Rubell, Ian Schrager, Tim Savage and Jack Dushey. The club was notorious for the hedonism that was happening in it; the balconies were known for sexual encounters, and drug use was excessively. The dance floor was decorated with a depiction of a Man in the Moon that included an animated cocaine spoon that came to rest under his nose.
Owner Steve Rubell, Marina Schiano, Yves Saint Laurent and Loulou de la Falaise
As Rubell guarded the club’s door, it developed a reputation for being the world’s most exclusive nightclub, where only a few got past the door. ‘Mixing the salad’ he would say, seeking for the perfect ratio of black and white, straight and gay, from the always-huge crowds outside. Mixing beautiful “nobodies” with glamorous celebrities in the same venue.
Michael Jackson and Liza Minnelli
Before the big opening on April 26 1977, about 5000 invitations joined with a surprise gift were send to each of the invitees by a Valentino PR agent. During this opening celebrities like Mick Jagger, Liza Minnelli, Jerry Hall, Diana Vreeland, Halston, Brooke Shields, Debbie Harry, Robin Leach, newlyweds Donald and Ivana Trump, newly engaged Rick Hilton and Kathy Richards were present.
Bianca Jagger on a white horse on her birthday
Bianca Jagger dancing the night away
Being open just for one-week halston asked Rubell to open the club on a Monday night for Bianca jagger’s 30th birthday. What leaded to an amazing entrée of Bianca entering the club on a white horse. Studio 54 had made a name as the preferred nightclub for celebrities, names including Michael Jackson, Rudolf Nureyev, Elton John, Truman Capote, Margaret Trudeau, John Travolta, Jackie Onassis, Elizabeth Taylor, Björn Borg, Gloria Swanson, Mae West, Farrah Fawcett, Lorna Luft, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Divine, Rod Stewart, Alice Cooper, Suzanne Somers, Bette Davis, Al Pacino, Zsa Zsa and Eva Gabor, Bette Midler, Ann-Margret, Dolly Parton, Pelé, Hugh Hefner, Sophia Loren, Diane von Fürstenberg, John F. Kennedy Jr., Eartha Kitt, and Lillian Carter, then-president Jimmy Carter’s mother.
Olivia Newton-John in her discopants and producer Allan Carr
Diane von Furstenberg attends the party for Egon Von Furstenberg’s Book ‘The Power Look’
After Internal Revenue Service raided the club on December 1979 and bags full of money were found stashed throughout the building, the nightclub closed. On February 4, 1980 was held one final party called “The End of Modern-day Gomorrah”. Diana Ross, Ryan O’Neal, Mariel Hemingway, Jocelyne Wildenstein, Richard Gere, Gia Carangi, Jack Nicholson, Reggie Jackson, and Sylvester Stallone were among the guests that night.
Diana Ross sang to rubell and schrager on the final party
Credits:
I am glad to see more and more people are starting to appreciate what Hedi Slimane has done for Saint Laurent. As high street started ‘copying’ his shows, it’s only a matter of time before everyone wants a ‘piece’ of him.
He was not immediately understood by all fashion lovers, since he made some pretty big changes as the new creative director of Saint Laurent. People don’t really like change (at first), so it left some people gob smacked. If you’re asking me, I think he is brilliant (and yep that causes some discussions).
A little recap of what this fashion rascal has done. First he removed the Yves from Saint Laurent, which only leaves Saint Laurent. Read it again, Saint. A huge gesture and a true honor. It makes mister Yves Saint Laurent even more iconic.
Yves Saint Laurent Le Smoking Tuxedo Suit – 1966
Besides he tries to make it on it’s own! Instead of trying to continue the road of his master he is creating his own. Reworking ‘The Saints’ master pieces into contemporary beauties. Using his own imagination and inspiration to create a new and modern look. I think that’s what it should be about. Creating a collection based on Yves Saint Laurents’ best from the past, inspired by different eras and subcultures he loves.
Hedi Slimane for Saint Laurent SS14
Hedi Slimane for Saint Laurent SS13
There was one thing that kind of surprised me. Besides removing Yves he moved the Parisian headquarters to LA. Seriously, LA, what is going on up there?
‘Hedi Slimane invariably maintains the importance of LA’s rich noir subculture and vibrant music scene as the dominant sources of inspiration for his current creative output. “There is something almost haunted about Los Angeles, a vibrant mythology I find rather inspiring,” Slimane told The New York Times. *
Discover LA trough his eyes on his digital diary – http://www.hedislimane.com/diary/
This man is moving! And I LOVE it. It’s Back To The Future with Hedi Slimane. Writing about him made me think, I should start saving money to in invest in a piece of Saint Laurent. This is future vintage!
* via Business of Fashion
The unknown became our world when Columbus couldn’t resist his hunger to discover. The world became ours when we started traveling. Today, the world is (treated as) common good, we know it all, we can see it all.
So here’s a question to the wanderlust, where will you go next? & why?
In a world, as small as ours, we can take inspiration from any kind of culture. We are free in so many ways. Yet, we often copy pretty images we see on blogs & magazines instead of creating a style based on what we truly like. So here’s an idea for those with wanderlust, take inspiration from your trips around the world and create a personal style.
Bringing it back to fashion… Other cultures influenced fashion ever since people started traveling around. It wasn’t until 1903 when it found it’s way to the mass trough fashion designer Paul Poiret, a young member of the early 20th century Avant-Garde who freed women from their binding corsets. Maybe he wasn’t the first to show ethnic influences in his expensive designs, but his instinct for marketing and branding was unmatched by any previous designer. He designed flamboyant window displays and threw legendary ‘Great Gatsby Like’ parties to draw attention to his work. Using themes like “The Thousand and Second Night” (based on The Arabian Nights). He required his over 300 guests to dress in Oriental costuming. Improperly dressed guests were requested to either outfit themselves in some of Poiret’s ‘Persian’ outfits or to leave.* Paul Poiret awoke a desire for other cultures in a fashionable way.
Image of Paul Poiret “The Thousand and Second Night”
In the 70s, the world got a little smaller, since air travel became more affordable. Designers played with global references again, Kenzo with his native Japan and Yves Saint Laurent with Africa and China. Souvenirs from the hippie trains worked themselves into women’s wardrobes, like shaggy Afghan coats, Indian jewelry and South American ponchos. We were free to choose from a myriad styles.
Image of Yves Saint Laurent Africa inspired collection
Today, with the world in reach and the fact that we are always ‘connected’, the world became a ‘real life never ending inspiration board’. We can buy everything. We learned how to create pretty looks by copying our favorite bloggers. It does makes me happier to live in a more visual attractive world. But I often wonder ‘why did it become so normal to just follow fashion’? Why do we often only get inspired through others? What happened to following our instincts and guts?
A lot of fashion designers already take inspiration from their trips around the world, fashion chains copy catwalk and you, who do you copy or what’s your inspiration?
* credits: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Poiret
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