STUDIO 54: the most famous nightclub in history

Halston, Bianca, Andy and Liza illustrate the glamour of Studio 54

During the 1970's, Tommy Nutter, the founder of Nutters of Savile Row, dressed everyone, from the Beatles and the Rolling Stones to Elton John and Eric Clapton, from Jacko (before the Wacko) to the high priestess of Motown, Diana Ross. Nutter and his clientele defined "bon vivant" and their destination of choice at the time was the hedonistic New York discotheque, Studio 54.

Mick Jagger and John Lennon at the most famous nightclub in history

The establishment, located at 254 West 54th Street in Manhattan, was originally built in 1927 as the Gallo Opera House. Three years later it was transformed into the New Yorker theatre, then in 1942, CBS purchased the space and made it the home of renowned television programmes such as "The Johnny Carson Show". In 1976, CBS moved most of its broadcast functions to the Ed Sullivan Theatre and put the property up for sale.

In 1977, Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager acquired the premises, with financial backing from Jack Dushey, and in just 6 weeks transformed the former theatre into what was to become the most famous nightclub in history. It was a playground for the rich, famous, and infamous. The eclectic group of guests were hand-picked from the crowds that gathered outside by Rubell himself. It was an interesting mix. "It's bisexual", Rubell told Interview magazine. "Very bisexual. And that's how we choose the crowd too. In other words we want everyone to be fun and good-looking" ... and have sex and do drugs on the balcony.

A hopeful crowd gathers outside the club

By December of 1978, Rubell was quoted as saying that Studio 54 had made $7 million in its first year and that "only the Mafia made more money". Shortly thereafter the nightclub was raided, and Rubell and Schrager were arrested for "skimming" $2.5 million. They were found guilty of tax evasion and spent 13 months in prison.

Lawyer Roy Cohn, Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell, following a raid on the club

Before their internship, Rubell and Schrager closed Studio 54 with a party on February 4th, 1980, where Diana Ross personally serenaded the founders. The guests that night included Ryan O'Neal, Mariel Hemingway, Jocelyn Wilderstein, Richard Gere, Gia Carangi, Jack Nicholson, Reggie Jackson and Sylvester Stallone.

Richard Gere hits the Studio 54 dancefloor

On their release from prison in 1981, Rubell and Schrager sold the building, but opted to keep a lease. The club reopened on September 12, 1981, with a guest list of Andy Warhol, Clavin Klein, Cary Grant, Lauren Hutton, Gloria Vanderbilt, Gina Lollobrigida and Brooke Shields. During this period, emerging artists, Madonna, Wham, Duran Duran, Culture Club and Run-DMC performed at the club before going on to future success.

Calvin Klein and Brooke Shields with Steve Rubell for LIFE

Soon after selling Studio 54, Rubell and Schrager purchased the Executive Hotel on Madison Avenue and renamed it Morgan's. It was an instant success and introduced the boutique lifestyle hotel concept to the world. It was followed by the Royalton and the Paramount which pioneered the idea of "lobby socialising" where guests and New York residents alike could gather. They later opened the Palladium, a large dance club famous for displaying art by Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol, and considered central to the New York club scene of the 1980s.

In 1985, after discovering he had contracted AIDS, Rubell began taking AZT, but his illness was furthered by his continued drug use and drinking, which affected his already compromised immune system. Rubell died on the 25th July, 1989.

Rubell and Schrager understood how to create desire

Schrager has seen continuing success with both hotel and residential property developments. His latest venture is a partnership with Marriott International to develop a chain of hotels under the brandname EDITION, the first of which has now opened in Istanbul.

And Studio 54? It is now the permanent home of the Roundabout Theatre Company, but in most minds it will the remain the place that defined the Disco-Era. Star-studded, glamorous, eccentric, stylish and exclusive .... it was the Nutter of nightclubs.

Stars of the Disco-era Diana Ross & Michael Jackson at Studio 54

Dazed and Confused (Vol III/11)

Transcript pg.52 July 2012:

With Savile Row enjoying a style renaissance of late, it couldn’t be a better time to celebrate Tommy Nutter, the original maverick tailor. Known as the “Rebel on the Row”, Nutter was responsible for introducing fashion to the golden mile of traditional tailoring.

He opened Nutters of Savile Row with master cutter Edward Sexton in 1969, financed by Cilla Black and the Beatles’ executive producer, Peter Brown. Nutter defied convention, cutting lapels wider than ever before, broadening shoulders and juxtaposing bold patterns and fabrics. By modernising the style and approach of traditional tailors, Nutter reinvented the Savile Row suit, and his firm became the first tailoring house to dress women as well as men.

“Tommy was inspired by the tailoring styles of the 20s and 30s, the Golden Age of menswear and a period exuding glamour,” explains current Nutters of Savile Row owner David Mason. “As the glam rock era was about to begin, he was set to take glamour to new heights. Less than six months after the shop opened, Apollo 11 landed the first humans on the moon. Boundaries were being broken in orbit and pushed to the limits in the world of fashion, and Tommy was the frontiersman.”

Nutter made suits for numerous members of British rock aristocracy, including Eric Clapton, Elton John, the Kinks and the Rolling Stones, but his proudest boast was that he dressed three of the Beatles for the iconic Abbey Road album cover (George Harrison wore denim). He also famously dressed Mick and Bianca Jagger on their wedding day, and created what Mason describes as “the most copied suit in fashion history”: the three-piece ensemble photographed on Bianca as she was strolling through Heathrow Airport wearing a bowler hat and carrying a cane.

Bianca Jagger (Heathrow Airport 1972)

Nutter died from complications arising from Aids in 1992, but his influence lives on as bespoke tailoring undergoes a revival. Leading designer Tom Ford cites the Savile Row rebel as a key influence, and frequently produces Nutter-style velvet jackets and strong lapelled suits. Meanwhile, brands like E. Tautz, Hardy Amies and A.Sauvage are injecting new life into Savile Row bespoke tailoring and Alexander McQueen’s upcoming menswear store at 9 Savile Row will house a Huntsman made-to-measure service.

“At a time when the economy has continued to prove challenging,” explains Mason, “people are buttoning up their shirts and reaching for ties again. Many have grown tired of the dressdown movement; a younger generation are reacting against their parent’s desire to dress ‘down’ and are instead dressing ‘up’.”

As long as they do it with style, Tommy Nutter would approve.