Four minutes isn’t a lot of time. Unless, of course, you’re Loulou de la Falaise and Thadee Klossowski, whose June 1977 wedding clocked in at a mere 240 seconds flat. But the couple more than made up for the abbreviated nuptials with the reception, which lasted a cool nine hours. “Finally a good, lively, funny party in Paris…one of those once-in-an-eon affairs,” wrote WWD on July 5. “Loulou, who married Thadee in a four-minute ceremony a few weeks ago in Paris, decided her wedding celebration should be a bit longer. The party, which started at nine, went on until the next morning.”
The blowout took place at the then-little-known eatery Le Chalet des Iles, which sits on its own island in Paris’ Bois de Boulogne park. After checking in with security, the 500 guests in attendance (only 300 actual invitees, however) were ferried across the swan-filled lagoon in a 15-person boat decorated with flowers. Yves Saint Laurent himself took care of the party’s decor — from the black felt mannequin heads topped with giant doily headdresses down to the table centerpieces, crafted from candles, white sweet pea and red rose blossoms. “At one point,” WWD reported, “[Saint Laurent] took Bianca Jagger upstairs to a big mirrored hall near the powder room and one by one arranged ferns in her hair and her pink décolletage.” In addition to the truffled pâté de foie gras, cherried breast of duckling, almond-encrusted potato pancakes, terrine de poisson and “hundreds of little hors d’oeuvres” being served, partygoers apparently brought their own treats, too. “There was the distinct odor of cannabis in the air,” the paper noted.
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Considering the guests (Paloma Picasso, Karl Lagerfeld, Kenzo Takada, et al.), fashion was naturally a high priority that night, veering towards the outrageous and over-the-top. “The invitations stipulated black tie — long dress,” WWD explained, “but evidently a good 50 percent of the crowd couldn’t read or read between the lines.” Among the more memorable outfits: gallerist Alexander Iolas’ “country and western singer costume” and Marina Schiano’s purple satin jodhpurs, gold bandeau top and sequined black vinyl jacket, designed by Saint Laurent to promote his new Opium perfume. The best dressed, however? The bride, natch, who wore a purple and gold lamé dotted blouse, matching zouave pants and a hooded shawl plus snake bracelets up both arms, a wreath of glittered cut-out stars and moons “standing a half-foot above her head” and “a lot of rouge.” She was perhaps only outdone by the unnamed guest who, by 6 a.m., “shed his tuxedo on the dock, dove into the lagoon nude and swam for home.”