A Look Back at the Palace Years

Yves Mathieu-Saint-Laurent was born and raised in Oran, Algeria. His parents led an active social life, which provided constant opportunities for his mother, Lucienne Andrée Mathieu-Saint-Laurent (1914﹣2010), to dress up: she "spent most of her time getting dressed." While still a child, he was captivated by her dresses, which ended up inspiring his earliest work.
Very early on, the young man organized his own parties. In the summer of 1951, his father lent him his garage, so that his son could receive his friends there. Yves Mathieu-Saint-Laurent took pleasure in brightening up the place by covering the walls with drawings of bebop dancers.

He also developed a passion for the theater―its setting and ambiance sparked his creativity. In the early 1950s, he imagined himself as a costume designer for well known plays such as Sodom and Gomorrah by Jean Giraudoux (1882﹣1944), which premiered in 1943, or La Reine Margot by Alexandre Dumas (1802﹣1870) from 1845, sketching costumes for both.

Upon arriving in Paris, Yves Mathieu-Saint-Laurent immersed himself in the city’s festive social scene and attended its balls, notably the legendary "Bal de Têtes" given in 1956 by Baron Alexis de Redé (1922﹣2004). The young couturier was invited to create several costumes and a backdrop for the ball. It was there that he met the dancer Zizi Jeanmaire (1924﹣2020) who would become a great friend and with whom he collaborated on numerous occasions. In 1971, he designed Belle Époque-inspired costumes for the "Bal Proust" given by Baroness Marie-Hélène de Rothschild (1927–1996) at her Château de Ferrières for the centennial birthday celebration of the writer Marcel Proust (1871﹣1922).

A nightclub culture arose and "clubwear" evolved as fast as clubs were opening. For Kenzo Takada (1939﹣2020) and Karl Lagerfeld (1933﹣2019), along wth Jean-Paul Gaultier (b. 1952), Jean-Paul Goude (b. 1938), Thierry Mugler (1945﹣2022) or even Jean-Charles de Castelbajac (b.1949), Parisian evenings became a sort of research and inspiration laboratory for "young designers."

Yves Saint Laurent, who also found inspiration in Parisian nightlife, unveiled an evening wardrobe, which, often inspired by staples of the male wardrobe, played a role in the emancipation of women while accentuating their beauty.

An iconic example of this was the woman’s tuxedo―le smoking―that was first seen in Yves Saint Laurent's fall-winter 1966 haute couture collection. It became one of his signature creations, variations of which would be seen again and again in subsequent runway shows. The couturier was determined to dress his contemporaries in relaxed yet glamorous clothing.

Beginning in the 1960s, Yves Saint Laurent became a major participant in Parisian nightlife. When going out, the couturier was often accompanied by Pierre Bergé (1930﹣2017), Loulou de La Falaise (1947﹣2011) and her husband Thadée Klossowski (b. 1944), but also by his mother Lucienne Mathieu-Saint-Laurent (1914﹣2010). The group of friends would go from one club to another; it was at New Jimmy's that Yves Saint Laurent met Betty Catroux (b. 1945), whom he would soon refer to as "his double."

Partying was part and parcel of life at the fashion house. After the runway shows, the models would go out on the town dressed in Saint Laurent outfits.

Yves Saint Laurent was often seen at Le Sept. Located on the Rue Saint-Anne, the club featured a restaurant on the ground floor and a small and very chic dance floor downstairs. It was one of the first fashionable places catering to a gay clientele. Fabrice Emear (1935﹣1983), owner of Le Sept and Pimm’s, was a key player in Parisian nightlife. Hundreds of people would flock to his clubs every evening. This leading figure of the gay rights movement made sure his clubs were forward-looking venues, open to all.

Régine (1929﹣2022), a singer and, above all, owner of influential clubs such as Chez Régine and New Jimmy’s, was another ruling figure of Parisian nightlife. Her clubs became must-go-to places for Hollywood stars when visiting the French capital. She went on to export her concept by opening clubs in New York, Monte Carlo and Rio de Janeiro.

At the end of the 1970s, Fabrice Emaer was dreaming of bigger things than Le Sept. He was captivated by Studio 54, which he discovered while on vacation in New York; it inspired him to find a larger venue for his new club. Michel Guy (1927﹣1990), at the time the French Minister of Culture, showed him a space that had formerly housed a music hall, operetta theater and cinema: it was to become Le Palace.

Fabrice Emaer decided to restore the theater and resurrect its past glamour. He entrusted the interior decoration to the painter Gérard Garouste (b. 1946), who passionately immersed himself in researching the Rococo period and Italian theater sets, vestiges of which could still be seen on site. Part of the team at Le Sept followed Emaer to Le Palace for the launch of this new high temple of the Parisian club scene, which boasted at its height about a hundred permanent employees.

Sylvie Grumbach (b. 1947), press officer for Valentino and Castelbajac, met Fabrice Emaer at Le Sept. She became Le Palace’s press officer; her address book enabled her to play a key role in establishing the club’s renown and its success.

Fabrice Emaer sought to "democratize" what it meant to be chic. To this end he hired three "physiognomists"―the French form of the word can refer to both a club bouncer and someone who can easily recall faces―whom he posted at the gates of the club: Paquita Paquin (b. 1949), Jenny Bel’Air (b. 1953) and Edwige Belmore (1957﹣2015), known as the queen of punks, who rigorously examined clubgoers’ looks upon arrival.

Guy Cuevas (b. 1945) was one of the club’s first disc jockeys. Formerly at Le Sept, he took his turntables to Le Palace when it opened.

Thousands of people across Paris received invitations to the opening. As for the dress code, the invitation stated, "tuxedo, evening gown or anything that suits the occasion."

Even before opening, Le Palace was already legendary. Beginning at 11:00 p.m. on March 1, 1978, a crowd gathered in front of the building; the guests, dressed to the nines, waited impatiently to enter. Although the theater was authorized to hold 1,300 people, some 3,000 made it inside that evening. Yves Saint Laurent was there, accompanied by Loulou de La Falaise.

The evening’s entertainment was not left to chance. Grace Jones (b. 1948), a regular at Le Sept, took the stage for a show that would become legendary. Yves Saint Laurent was asked to intervene when a flaw in her stage costume was discovered. Behind the scenes, he dressed her in a black fringed cape. During her performance, she sang "La Vie en Rose", which immediately became the club's anthem.

Anyone who was anyone on the Parisian night scene―including numerous artists, actors and luminaries of the fashion and music worlds―quickly called Le Palace home. Kenzo Takada (1939﹣2020), Sonia Rykiel (1930﹣2016), Philippe Krootchey (1954﹣2004), Maud Molyneux (1948﹣2008), Line Renaud (b. 1928), Andy Warhol (1928﹣1987) and Paloma Picasso (b. 1949), to name just a few, became regulars of Le Palace.

A festive atmosphere reigned. The staff at Le Palace was given only one instruction: "Serve them champagne until they drop!"

Several events contributed to the myth of the Palace years. On April 12, 1978, Loulou de La Falaise and Thadée Klossowski, wearing angel and demon costumes, organized their "Magic City" evening. Fabrice Emaer, evoking Betty Catroux, wore a long blonde wig.

On October 25, 1978, Karl Lagerfeld organized a Venetian costume ball at Le Palace, "From the City of the Doges to the City of the Gods", which would enter the annals of Parisian nightlife history. Several thousand people attended, all dressed in eighteenth-century costumes. Jenny Bel’Air, who worked the door at the club, made an entry that did not go unnoticed: she was carried in on a gondola by Parisian firemen, before eventually falling off it.

That same year, Kenzo Takada threw his "Cross-dressers’ Ball". Men came dressed as women and vice versa. Among the many guests that evening were Mick Jagger (b. 1943) and Jerry Hall (b. 1956).

For Fabrice Emaer, music and fashion defined the age and were the two pillars on which he built Le Sept and then Le Palace. Sylvie Grumbach was given the responsibility of organizing parties for the leading figures of fashion. Le Palace was particularly busy during Paris Fashion Week, when runways shows or private parties at the club would bring together the entire fashion world of the time.

During those evenings, the owner would close off the main door of Le Palace, and everyone would enter through a service door that opened onto the stage, allowing the public to enjoy an improvised runway show and congratulate the fashion designers and their teams.

Le Palace was practically a social phenomenon in its own right. It was the epicenter of the disco movement, where large crowds would gather and dance the night away. The club’s notoriety rested on it attracting an extremely varied clientele: the owner mandated that a guest’s "look" was paramount in order to be allowed entry, which led to what was referred to as the "dictatorship" of the doorpeople. The clientele of Le Palace understood one needed to be inventive and arrive dressed in an out-of-the-ordinary way, in clothing that was above all chic and glamorous.

Fashion magazines were quickly intrigued by the club; their articles were illustrated with photographs of the extravagant and daring styles worn by the clientele. Le Palace fashion also made its mark with the uniforms worn by the employees, designed by Thierry Mugler.

In 1980, Fabrice Emaer opened the restaurant Le Privilège. The former skating rink in the basement was turned into a dining room in which only members could be seated.

Fabrice Emaer died in 1983. Following his death, Le Palace lost its momentum and struggled to recover its former glory. The establishment closed its doors, leaving only magical memories of a bygone era.

Le Palace changed owners in 2006; it has regained its status as a performance hall and hosts exhibitions.