Vogue India June 2019

http://www.vogue.inVOGUEINDIAJUNE 2019199

guywhoextendedhisheightbywear-

inghighplatformbootsandcomplete-

ly unbelievableclothes transforming

himona weeklybasis.Oncehe was

Shiva,witha blue-greenfaceandIn-

dianjewellery.Anothertime,hewas

entirely covered with spots—spots

wereembroideredandprintedonhis

clothes, from head to toe. It was a

comment on the AIDS epidemic,

whichwasaffectingthatcommunity

atthetime,anda lotofsufferersde-

veloped Kaposi sarcoma. It was his

wayoftakingownershipofa terrible

affliction. Many of his looks were a

commentonissuesthathauntedthe

age—body dysmorphia, HIV/AIDS,

cultural appropriation. He unfortu-

natelydidnotsurvivetheAIDSepi-

demicanddiedintheearly’90s.He

wasevenmusetoartistLucianFreud,

whopaintedhisnudelikeness.These

iconicpicturesarenowininstitutions

like the Tate and the ModernMuse-

umof Art.It’skindof a funnythingto

have this crazy, inventive club kid

institutionallyimmortalised.

PARTYPEOPLE

At the endof the ’80s, therewas a

wonderfulolder couple,Michael and

Gerlinde Costiff; she was Swiss, he

was English. She was a beautiful,

strikingwoman,a musetoVivienne

Westwood.Theystartedgoingtothe

Carnival in Brazil in the ’80s and

came back with this euphoric spirit

andstarteda clubcalledKinkyGer-

linky,wherepeoplewereencouraged

to cross-dress and the mood was

upbeatandfun.Whatwasincredible

aboutthoseclubswasthe

energy, the amazing

music and this obsession

withthewayyoulooked.

Thatwasfollowed bythe

rave movement, with

smiley faces and every-

thing being fluorescent

Day-Glo neon and quite

trippy,whichI wasn’tre-

ally a part of, as I

hadmovedtoNewYork.

In the 1990s, it was more un-ex-

travagantbuttherewerestillamaz-

ingpartiesand somelarger-than-life

characters: San Francisco hostess

Dodie Rosekrans,who renteda floor

of the Brandolini Palazzo on the

GrandCanalinVeniceandhadamaz-

ingpartiesthere.InParis,therewasa

fabulous Portuguese-born hostess,

São Schlumberger, who hosted par-

ties at her beautiful 18th-century

townhouse and dressed in the most

fanciful haute couture from Karl

at Chaneland ChristianLacroix. In

New York, there was Susanne

Bartsch,whohada boutiqueinNew

YorkrepresentingtheyoungLondon

designerswhoweregoingtoallthese

clubs. Shestarteddoingclubnights,

and she’s still doing them! They’re

stillimmensefun,andit gladdensmy

heartbecausewhenI gotoherevents

she’s surrounded byall theseyoung

kidseverybitasimaginativelydressed

and playful as the characters

I rememberfromearly-1980sLondon.

Now there’s more finish of course.

Maybeit’s the influenceofRuPaul’s

Drag Race, buteveryone hashigher

standards.Lately,theCostumeInsti-

tute Gala at the Met and the sur-

rounding after-parties have this

amazingsenseof competitivedressing

up,whichis sofunandtakesmeback

to my club days. It absolutely sets

thebarforthefashionOlympics.

Elementsfora successfulsoiréein-

cludea wonderfulambience,amazing

decor and flowers,or a locationthat’s

intrinsically beautiful or interesting

andpeoplereallymakinganimagina-

tive effort with the way they dress.

But,whatreallymakesa greatpartyis

theguestlist.It’simportantthatpar-

ties be pan-generational—they’re

much more fun with the right mix.

Aroundthetimeof theBlitz,therewas

another club called the Embassy,

which was a much more upmarket

spotwherea lotof theposhkidswent,

butwasalsofrequentedbyaristocratic

womenwhohadbeengreatJazzAge

beautiesinthe1920s,likeLadyDiana

CooperandtheDuchessof Argyll.See-

ingtheseiconicwomen,thenintheir

seventies,ina discowith thesecrazy

clubkidswasjustsoglamorous.I say

thiswithnodisinterestbecauseofmy

advancingage!n

—Astoldto ParizaadKhanSethi

TheNewRomantics
ofthe’80swere
allabouttheatrical
costuming

DJJeffreyHinton,

wearingBodyMapjeans,

besideperformanceartist

LeighBowery,inyellow,at

TabooinLondonin 1986

“WHATWASINCREDIBLE

ABOUTTHOSECLUBSWAS...

THISOBSESSIONWITHTHE

WAYYOULOOKED”

—HAMISHBOWLES