There's a love affair between Larry Clark and Paris. Following the success of a retrospective of his photographic work, in 2011, the French capital has become somewhat of a second home for the American filmmaker. He shot his latest movie, The Smell of Us, there, and has consistently been working in the City of Light, more recently teaming up with Dior's Kris Van Assche on a menswear campaign. Ahead of Paris Fashion Week, Clark begins a three-day residency at Salo, Paris's most talked-about underground club.
Opened last October, Salo (named after the Pier Paolo Pasolini film, Salo and the 120 Days of Sodom) aims to become a hub for the independent arts, fringe fashion, and the Paris-based counter-culture. Its pre-launch event was hosted by film director Abel Ferrara, and since then, Salo has given free reins to noted indie figures such as Bruce LaBruce, hairdresser Charlie Le Mindu, and actress-singer Arielle Dombasle to curate a series of nights -- with the ultimate goal of reaching 120 nights of unrestricted, creative fun.
Thursday's event kicked off Clark's stint in the club. A beer open bar welcomed the early birds, and the director himself could be spotted roaming around the crowd -- a mix of curious fans, lost skater boys, and Salo's new regulars, like the Vetement design team.
Excerpts of Clark's movies (Kids, Bully, Ken Park) were projected on screens installed throughout the space -- there was a dedicated spot just for the infamous foot fetishism scene of The Smell of Us-- and partygoers could relax on makeshift beds or test the DJs sets and performers handpicked by the director, providing most of the night's entertainment on a red-and-blue-lit dancefloor.
After the host departed (Clark left around 1.30am), only a handful of clubbers were left bouncing to some French hardcore hiphop, so we moved on to next door's Silencio, the David Lynch-themed, members-only club, where designer Marcelo Burlon was spinning some throwback '90s anthems. No hard feelings, though, since Salo and Silencio are run by the same team -- the Manifesto group -- yet the latter seemed more tame and almost kitsch compared to Clark's dark nighttime fantasty for the disaffected post-Charlie youth.
Salo #8 Larry Clark, through January 14. 142 rue Montmartre, 75001 Paris. For further information, visit salo-club.com
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Photography by Rainer Torrado
