German-born portrait photographer wowe (Wolfgang Wesener) got his start capturing New York’s nightlife for Details magazine in the ’80s. His images of this unique and decadent period chronicle the night-time prowlings of such club denizens as Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Lisa E, James St. Ja- mes, Diane Brill and Michael Musto and celebrities on the rise including Ma- donna, Brooke Shields, Julian Schnabel, Keith Haring, Jenny Lumet and Matt Dillon. Shot with an old Leica SL and a modified handheld flash, the black- and-white portraits are particularly compelling as each subject makes eye contact with wowe, who never clicked without permission.

In 2009 Edition Braus (Heidelberg) published a two-volume slip-cased collec- tion: essence | twenty-five years of portraits by wowe.

Fluffy hair, parachute pants, A Flock of Seagulls, Danceteria: If it weren’t for Paris and Berlin in the ‘20s and Ancient Rome around 264 BC, New York in the ‘80s could lay claim to hosting the world’s most fabulously decadent decade of all time. (Stephen Saban)