Diamanda Galás
 
There are all kinds of fashion movements that didn’t really have the presence in the US that they did in Europe, but the Italian “dark movement” is such a cool collection of looks I’m pushing for a second wave of it here in the States. You can see echoes of the British New Romantics, but a gothier version of that. Photographer Dino Ignani‘s “Dark” portraiture shows several shades of gray of the dark dandies, who often sport looks that are kind of Jesus and Mary Chain-meets-early-Madonna-chic.

The “Dark” collection, taken primarily in Rome between ‘83 and ‘85, showcases the patrons of clubs, movies, concerts and theater events associated with the dark movement. Of course nothing stays non-commodified in the modern world, and Ignani is quick to point out how rapidly the look was appropriated by high-end fashion. From his site, loosely translated:

Unfortunately, the elements that the youth of the “dark movement” had chosen to oppose the dominant aesthetic and stand out from the conformist crowd (excessive makeup, predominant use of black clothing, necklaces and other jewelry in abundance, hairstyles showy and exaggerated) were later absorbed, processed, emptied of sense of rebellion and re-presented as harmless, “fashionable” symbols.

Ah yes, from hippies to punk to grunge, nothing stays inimitable when there’s a buck to be made, but Ignani’s gallery shows some great looks from an innovative crowd of folks with naught but a frilly collar, shit tons of of eyeliner and hairspray and sulky expressions. The top photo is of avant garde diva Diamanda Galás—surely a style icon for the wee dark ones of that era (and beyond). Check her live performance of “The Litanies of Satan” at the end, should you feel inclined to commune with the dark forces.
 

Olimpo
 

Chiara and Mauro
 

Klaus
 

Luisa
 

Maurice
 

Massimo
 

Londra

Ellen
 

From the Black Out Rock Club
 

Esteban
 

Alberto
 

At the Piper club in Rome
 

At the Piper club in Piper
 

From the Black Out Rock Club
 

At the Firenze club in Rome
 

 
Via It’s Nice That

Robert Mapplethorpe image for The Saint’s “Black Party” 1981 via OrangeMercury.

Thanks to Tony Dunne for the sterling work on this - stitching together various tapes to create a four-and-a-half-hour continuous mix of the DJ Warren Gluck from the closing night of the legendary New York nightclub The Saint in 1988. Tony says:

“There may be slight differences from the originals because of the tape endings. Sound quality could of course be better but the recording was taken from cassette tapes.”

The Saint was a members-only gay club opened in 1980 by New York club owner Bruce Mailman (St Mark’s Baths), and the architect Charles Terrell. It gained legendary status almost immediately, due in no small part to the huge planetarium-style dome over the dancefloor (which hosted massive light shows and also served to hide and amplify the club’s sound system) as well as the notoriously permissive attitude to sex in the club, in the upstairs areas and at special events like “The Black Party”. Unsurprisingly the AIDS epidemic decimated the club’s clientele, leading to its closure in May 1988 (a year after both Studio 54 and the Paradise Garage). The Saint never received the acclaim for its music in the same way the Garage did, despite mixes like this proving it was just as excellent (the music may have been different but gays were raving long before acid house). University of East London lecturer, disco historian and author Tim Lawrence sums it up in his thesis “The Forging of a White Gay Aesthetic at the Saint, 1980-84” (a must read for fans of disco, gay history and New York nightlife):

...whereas historians of dance culture have hailed the Garage’s Larry Levan to be the most influential DJ in the city during the 1980s, the shifting roster of selectors who worked at the Saint have merited barely a single mention—an unlikely scenario given that privileged white groups often receive more attention than disadvantaged subaltern groups. Based on numerous interviews with key protagonists, documentary material held in the Saint’s archive and recordings of DJ sets from the Saint, this article redresses the imbalance by outlining the contributions of Jim Burgess, Alan Dodd and Roy Thode, the Saint’s principal DJs during the opening 1980–81 season, as well as Shaun Buchanan, George Cadenas, Michael Fierman, Michael Jorba, Robbie Leslie, Howard Merritt, Chuck Parsons, Terry Sherman and Sharon White… their collective impact was considerable, even if their very collectivity also meant that each was ultimately disposable.

For more information on the history of The Saint, and the ongoing “Saint At Large” reunion parties, visit Saint At Large.com. But for now lose yourself in Warren Gluck’s awesome final dj set at the club:
 

  The Saint Closing Party - Warren Gluck continuous mix by Tony Dunne