Edwige of Le Palace
Revelers at Le Palace: Clovis Ruffin and date, 1980.
As gatekeeper of the legendary Le Palace, the little known Edwige, (named for the French actress Edwige Feuillère) took center stage as the queen of Parisian nightlife in the late ’70s. Paris was exploding in those years and Le Palace was to France what Studio 54 was to America.
Armed with a discriminating eye, a diplomatic sensibility, eight bodyguards and an eye popping six feet tall stature, Edwige, at the mercifully tender age of 19, had final say on who got in and who was denied access to the famed establishment.
Grace Jones, 1983.
Creating a nightly mix of trend setters that included painter and photographer, Philippe Morillon, Andy Warhol, Helmut Newton, Grace Jones, Paloma Picasso, Mick Jagger, Yves St. Laurent and her “sweet” Loulou de la Falaise, Edwige revolutionized the Paris party scene birthing a cultural tsunami in fashion, music, dance, and art.
Newlyweds Paloma Picasso and Rafael Lopez-Campil, 1978.
In a chat with Interview, Edwige tells tales of those heady days and fast-living Parisian nights, when all a girl had to do to succeed was adopt the right outfit:
“Edwige really started existing
as we know her in ‘76-
when I shaved my hair, burned my clothes,
and only wore riding pants,
button-down shirts, skinny ties, high heels,
and a leather jacket Serge had given me.
That was my only outfit.The people I met created the revolutions
in fashion, music, art, and style.
I wasn’t really sure of what was happening
around me at the time.
I barely knew what was happening to me.”
Errant Aesthete
Q: What natural gift would you most like to possess?
I go through phases where I continually wear one ensemble
over and over again. Like a uniform. I just get so comfortable
in it, I like wearing it repeatedly. I can just imagine how
cool Edwige looked in that outfit of the riding pants, tie
and heels and at six feet tall, what a knockout she must
have been.
i LOVE this post ; )
Paul,
As a longtime admirer, I’m grateful for your comment and company.