“The key of the success of Studio 54 is that it’s a dictatorship at the door and a democracy on the dance floor,” said club regular Andy Warhol. It’s hard to imagine anything boasting as short a lifespan and, simultaneously, as outsized a legend as Studio 54. New York’s famed West 54th Street nightclub remained open for a mere 33 months before the IRS shuttered its doors in February of 1980. “Night Magic”—an exhibition of photography, fashion, drawings, films, and never-before-seen costume illustrations—traces the rich history of Studio 54, setting it within the wider context of New York City and documenting the extravagant bashes that, in little over a year, made Studio 54 mythic. —J.V.

Studio 54: Night Magic was featured in the March 14, 2020 issue of Air Mail. Read on