Inside Studio 54
A photo portfolio of the disco mecca
Between 1977 and 1980, Swedish photographer Hasse Persson spent hundreds of nights at Studio 54, the legendary New York City discotheque that reveled in a giddy, anything-goes debauchery and attracted such regulars as Andy Warhol, Elizabeth Taylor, Elton John, Debbie Harry and Mick Jagger. In 2015, Persson compiled his photos capturing the decadence of the club into a hardcover book, marking the first time that many of the shots had been published.”Truman Capote was a frequent guest at Studio 54 and he said this might be one of the most interesting social experiments in the U.S.,” said Persson. “That you could mix lesbian people, gay people, black people, young and old people. So it was a good mix and like a hedonistic paradise in there.” Here are some of the raucous images Persson took, capturing the sense of euphoria and exhilaration that the fabled club tended to induce in anyone who was lucky enough to walk through its doors.
