BEHIND THE CLUB SCENES

It takes a great leap of the imagination to reinterpret and revive looks from the past, especially when experimentation is the hallmark of the time. We asked Oscar-nominated costume designer Michael Wilkinson about the looks he created for the Studio 54 scenes in the film American Hustle and for Party Monster, the cult movie about the notorious “club kid” Michael Alig. (Alig murdered his friend and drug dealer in what is claimed to have been a drugfuelled frenzy.)

people lived large,

took risks and didn’t give a damn. At Studio 54, downtown mingled with uptown,

and business tycoons danced with graffiti artists,”

says Wilkinson. “So I created characters in designer suits, kids in tube socks and scoop shorts, models in outfits made of pantyhose and heiresses in haute couture—all bathed in a layer of sweat

and glitter.”