The heyday of disco fashion blossomed from the music played at gay underground New York clubs such as the Loft, Tenth Floor, and 12 West in the early 1970s. Other clubs such as Infinity, Flamingo, the Paradise Garage, Le Jardin, and the Saint launched a disco culture that brought with it an anything-goes attitude and all-night dancing.
Studio 54 became the place to be seen in disco clothing such as boob-tubes, platform shoes, flared trousers and body-conscious shapes dressed in lurex, glitter and crazy patterns or colours. Studio 54 played an essential role creating the nightclub scene that is still with us today – a place where people dress to be noticed and in the latest fashion.
The successful movie Saturday Night Fever (1977) ensured that disco hung around for a few years before becoming very unfashionable when Punk Rock and New Wave became the new anti-fashion fashion. Below are 30 vintage photographs that show just how crazy 1970s disco really was…
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| A group of people get down on a mirrored dance floor, circa 1978. (David Redfern / Redferns) |
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| Actor and singer Grace Jones gives a big smile to the camera while partying at Studio 54 in New York City, 1978. (Rose Hartman / Getty Images) |
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| Metallic-painted dancers at a disco club perform on stage in New York City, 1978. (Waring Abbott / Getty Images) |
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| A woman known as “Disco Granny” dances with a young man at Studio 54, circa 1978. (Images Press / Getty Images) |
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| A crowd of dancers at the disco club in New York City, 1978. (Waring Abbott / Getty Images) |
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| A woman wipes the sweat from her face at Studio 54, 1977. (Waring Abbott / Getty Images) |
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| A couple wearing matching high socks dance at the disco club Xenon in New York City, 1978. (Waring Abbott / Getty Images) |
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| A couple bring their dancing to the floor of the disco club FunHouse in New York City, 1978. (Waring Abbott / Getty Images) |
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| Divine, Grace Jones, and friends celebrate Jones’ birthday at Xenon, 1978. (Ron Galella / WireImage / Getty Images) |
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| A disco DJ smokes a cigarette while spinning a record at a club in New York City, 1979. (Waring Abbott / Getty Images) |
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| A man in a leather thong and sparkling glitter dances at Electric Circus in New York City, 1979. (Waring Abbott / Getty Images) |
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| A man and woman take center stage on the dance floor at the disco club 2001 Odyssey in Brooklyn, New York, in 1979. (Waring Abbott / Getty Images) |
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| A group of older men and women relax on the sidelines of a disco club in New York City in 1978. (Waring Abbott / Getty Images) |
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| The Village People perform live as the audience dance the “YMCA” at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, circa 1970. (Amanda Edwards / Redferns / Getty Images) |
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| A man blowing a whistle in a sparkling purple outfit dances at Studio 54, 1979. (Waring Abbott / Getty Images) |
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| A woman dances amid other partygoers at Studio 54, 1977. (Waring Abbott / Getty Images) |
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| A man performs with fire at the disco club Infinity in New York City, 1979. (Waring Abbott / Getty Images) |
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| Bianca Jagger rides into Studio 54 on a white horse during her birthday celebrations in 1977. (Rose Hartman / Getty Images) |
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| The Queen of Disco Donna Summer performs onstage in a feather costume, circa 1976. (Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images) |
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| A woman dances in ecstasy at a disco in New York City, 1976. (Waring Abbott / Getty Images) |
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| The Jacksons perform during a concert, circa 1975. (Gary Merrin / Getty Images) |
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| David Bowie and Dutch actor and singer Romy Haag have a smoke at the Alcazar nightclub in Paris during 1976. (Rda / Getty Images) |
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| A couple dance at Studio 54 in 1977. (Waring Abbott / Getty Images) |
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| People dances on couches at Xenon, 1978. (Waring Abbott / Getty Images) |
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| A group of DJs spin records at a disco club in New York City, 1979. (Waring Abbott / Getty Images) |
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| A woman dances between two men at Studio 54, 1979. (Waring Abbott / Getty Images) |
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| A woman enters the dance floor at Studio 54, 1977. (Waring Abbott / Getty Images) |
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| A group of partygoers join in a synchronized dance number in an unidentified club, circa 1977. (David Redfern / Redferns / Getty Images) |
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| A dance club blends into a kaleidoscopic haze at a disco club in New York City, 1978. (Waring Abbott / Getty Images) |
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| Grace Jones at the disco club Studio 54 in New York City in 1978. (Waring Abbott / Getty Images) |