• Intelligencer
  • The Cut
  • Vulture
  • The Strategist
  • Curbed
  • Grub Street
  • Subscribe to the Magazine Give a Gift Subscription Buy Back Issues Current Issue Contents
    Subscribe to New York Magazine
  • Subscribe
  • Profile
    Sign Out
The Cut
  • Style
  • Self
  • Culture
  • Power
Style
  • Fashion
  • Beauty
  • Parties & Red Carpet
  • Fashion Shows
  • Cathy Horyn
  • The Cut Shop
Self
  • Health & Wellness
  • The State of the Uterus
  • Parenting
  • Advice
  • Sex & Relationships
  • Horoscopes
Culture
  • Books
  • Television
  • Movies
  • Music
  • Celebrity
Power
  • Politics
  • Work
  • Money
  • Rebecca Traister
More
  • Latest Stories
  • Video
  • About Us
  • nymag.com
  • New York Magazine
  • Intelligencer
  • Vulture
  • The Cut
  • The Strategist
  • Grub Street
  • Curbed
nostalgia
December 1, 2014

Revisit the Glorious Debauchery of the Last Days of Disco

By Erica Schwiegershausen

Share

  • Share
  • Tweet
Photo: Tod Papageorge

In the early morning hours of January 1, 1978, photographer Tod Papageorge was ringing in the New Year at Studio 54. It was his first visit to the legendary club, and, inspired Brassaï’s photographs of Parisian nightlife in the 1930s, he’d brought along a hefty, six-by-nine-centimeters Fujica camera. “I hoped to capture something of the actuality of flesh and sweat and desire I’d recognized in the Hungarian photographer’s work,” Papageorge explains in the epilogue of Studio 54, a new book featuring his photographs from the eponymous club, out this month from Stanley Barker.

Between 1978 and 1980, Papageorge visited the 54th Street disco club only a handful of times — six or eight, he guesses — and took only a few frames each time (the Fujica could only make eight exposures before requiring a film change). The resulting photographs provide an exquisite look back at the club’s unparalleled decadence and debauchery, from ice sculptures and bedazzled nipple pasties to Lycra unitards, confetti, and many a passed-out partier. Sixty-six of Papageorge’s photos make up the entirety of his new book, where they appear without captions or identification. “They were always meant to speak for themselves, with a persuasiveness distinct from the fact-telling of journalism or the occluded eloquence of ‘old’ photographs,” he writes.

Click through the slideshow for a look back at the glorious revelry that defined the heyday of Studio 54.

Related

Classic New York: Grace Jones, Jackie O., & More
View
1 / 11 Photos
Photo: Tod Papageorge
Photo: Tod Papageorge
Photo: Tod Papageorge
Photo: Tod Papageorge
Photo: Tod Papageorge
Photo: Tod Papageorge
Photo: Tod Papageorge
Photo: Tod Papageorge
Photo: Tod Papageorge
Photo: Tod Papageorge
Photo: Tod Papageorge
1 / 11

Tags:

  • gallery
  • nostalgia
  • studio 54
  • last days of disco
  • the '70s
  • tod papageorge
  • slideshow
  • photography
  • new york
  • More

More Galleries

red carpet June 5, 2022
All the Best Looks at the 2022 MTV Movie and TV Awards  Sydney Sweeney, Vanessa Hudgens, Jay Ellis, and more! 
parties! May 20, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  Harry Styles > everyone! 
parties! May 13, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  Bury me in Dove Cameron’s Saint Sintra skirt. 
parties! May 6, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  Cue the Met Gala after-party FOMO. 
met gala 2022 May 2, 2022
Met Gala 2022: All the Looks [Photos]  Billie Eilish, Kim Kardashian, Michelle Yeoh, Hailey Bieber, Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B, Blake Lively, and more. 
parties! Apr. 29, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  This one goes to Olivia Rodrigo and her sweater vest. 
parties! Apr. 22, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  “Fuck those Zoom tops.” 
celebrity style Apr. 18, 2022
The Best Looks From Coachella 2022  From Harry Styles’s sparkling Gucci set to Megan Thee Stallion’s metallic bodysuit. 
style Apr. 13, 2022
A Look Inside the New Museum’s Spring Gala  Featuring all the best looks. 
grammys 2022 Apr. 3, 2022
Grammy Awards 2022 Red Carpet: All the Looks  Lady Gaga, Olivia Rodrigo, Lenny Kravitz, Lil Nas X, Billie Eilish, and more. 
oscars 2022 Mar. 28, 2022
How Were The Oscars After Party Looks Better Than The Actual Award Looks?  Finally, some fun. 
oscars 2022 Mar. 27, 2022
All the Looks From the 2022 Oscars Red Carpet  Zendaya, Regina Hall, Timothée Chalamet, Andrew Garfield, Kristen Stewart, Ariana DeBose, and more. 
style Mar. 22, 2022
Bridgerton Season 2 Premiere: All the Red-Carpet Looks 
style Mar. 13, 2022
BAFTAs 2022: All the Red-Carpet Looks  Florence Pugh, Daniel Kaluuya, Emma Watson, and more! 
celebrity fashion Mar. 6, 2022
Spirit Awards 2022: All the Red-Carpet Looks  Julia Fox, Andrew Garfield, Kristen Stewart, and more! 
Mar. 1, 2022
All of Rihanna’s Maternity Looks  From belly-baring looks to sexy leather dresses. 
Feb. 27, 2022
SAG Awards 2022: All the Red-Carpet Looks  Selena Gomez, Ariana Debose, Daveed Diggs, and more! 
paris couture week 2022 Jan. 27, 2022
Glenn Martens Wows As Guest Couturier for Gaultier Haute Couture It is a sight to behold.
By Vivian Chuang
Dec. 9, 2021
All the Looks From the And Just Like That … Red Carpet  Sarah Jessica Parker, Billy Eichner, Sara Ramirez, and more. 
style Nov. 29, 2021
Gotham Awards 2021: All the Red-Carpet Looks  Tessa Thompson! Kristen Stewart! And more. 
  • Style
  • Self
  • Culture
  • Power
  • Newsletters
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Help
  • We’re Hiring
  • Press
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Ad Choices
  • Do Not Sell My Info
  • Accessibility
The Cut is a Vox Media Network. © 2022 Vox Media, LLC. All rights reserved.