As September 11th approaches and we are busy getting our outfits together for “Join The Sparkle Army” in Berlin- I want to share the inspiration for many of my own outfits: Larry LeGaspi.
Larry LeGaspi was an American clothing designer who was light years ahead of his time- so much so, that his first store in NYC was not a success at all. It was called Moonstone and back in 1973, people were not ready for his futuristic concept. According to “Disco Chic: All the Styles,Steps and Places to Go”, the store was “decorated like the surface of the moon, with a silvery moonscaped floor and twinkling stars overhead”. While it sounds like a dream to you and I, at this point in time, Star Wars had not come out yet and people basically didn’t get it. After the store closed, he had DAZZLING SUCCESS designing costumes for legendaries such as KISS, LaBelle, Divine, Funkadelic and disco lovely Asha Puthli. Thankfully, by 1978, both the disco scene and LeGaspi’s business as a designer took off, as people were finally ready to wear gold lame, winged shoulders and metallic spandex.
Larry LeGaspi: Fashion Visionary and Sparkle Army Hero!
B/W photos from “Disco Dressing” by Leonard McGill
color photos & quote from “Disco Chic: All the Styles,Steps and Places to Go” by Brian Sherratt and Nalani M. Leong
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRDTBNVWKOw
Join the Sparkle Army 