"Fashion Pack" (also known as "Fashion Pack (Studio 54)") is a song by French singer

Amanda Lear Amanda Lear (; born 1939) is a French singer, songwriter, painter, television presenter, actress, and former model. She began her professional career as a fashion model in the mid-1960s, and went on to model for Paco Rabanne, Ossie Clark, and ...

from her third album ''

Never Trust a Pretty Face ''Never Trust a Pretty Face'' is the third studio album by French singer Amanda Lear, released by the West German label Ariola Records in 1979. The album included notable hit singles " The Sphinx" and " Fashion Pack (Studio 54)", and turned out a ...

'', released in 1979 by

Ariola Records Ariola (also known as Ariola Records, Ariola-Eurodisc and BMG Ariola) is a German record label. In the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of the Bertelsmann Music Group, which in turn has become a part of the international media conglomera ...

Song information

The song was composed and produced by Lear's long-time collaborator,

Anthony Monn Anthony Monn (also known as Tony Monn, born March 17, 1944) is a German singer, composer, and record producer. Biography Monn started his career as a singer in the German schlager genre in the early 1970s. Among his best-known songs from tha ...

. Musically, it showcases mainstream disco sound, which in the second half of the 1970s was at the peak of its popularity. The lyrics, written by Amanda Lear, focus on positive aspects of fame and capture the eminence of the

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

-based

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

Studio 54 at the time – hence the subtitle added on the single cover. Name-checked are some of its most famous attendees, such as

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...

Margaux Hemingway Margaux Louise Hemingway (born Margot Louise Hemingway; February 16, 1954 – July 1, 1996) was an American fashion model and actress. She gained success as a supermodel in the mid-1970s, appearing on the covers of magazines including ''Cosmopo ...

Francesco Scavullo Francesco Scavullo (January 16, 1921 – January 6, 2004) was an American fashion photographer best known for his work on the covers of ''Cosmopolitan'' and his celebrity portraits. Biography Scavullo was born January 16, 1921, on Staten Island, ...

, Liza Minnelli,

Bianca Jagger Bianca Jagger (born Blanca Pérez-Mora Macías; 2 May 1945)

and

Paloma Picasso Paloma Picasso (born Anne Paloma Ruiz-Picasso y Gilot on 19 April 1949) is a French and Spanish fashion designer and businesswoman, best known for her jewelry designs for Tiffany & Co, and her signature perfumes. She is the daughter of artist P ...

. The song references the fashion and celebrity magazines ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'', ''

Women's Wear Daily ''Women's Wear Daily'' (also known as ''WWD'') is a fashion-industry trade journal often referred to as the "Bible of fashion". Horyn, Cathy"Breaking Fashion News With a Provocative Edge" ''The New York Times''. (August 20, 1999). It provides inf ...

'', ''

Interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" ...

'' and '' Ritz'', as well as such activities as " travolting", " sniffing" and travelling by

Concorde The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France an ...

. The second verse of the song tells about

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and its trendy venues

Maxim's Maxim's is a restaurant in Paris, France, located at No. 3 rue Royale in the 8th . It is known for its Art Nouveau interior decor. In the mid 20th century Maxim's was regarded as the most famous restaurant in the world. History Early history ...

Le Palace Le Palace is a Paris theatre located at 8, rue du Faubourg-Montmartre in the 9th arrondissement. It is best known for its years as a nightclub. Created by impresario Fabrice Emaer in 1978, intellectuals, actors, designers, and American and Europ ...

and Chez Régine. It also references the names of famous French fashion designers Yves Saint Laurent and

Loulou de la Falaise Louise Vava Lucia Henriette Le Bailly de La Falaise (; 4 May 1947 – 5 November 2011), known as Loulou de la Falaise, was an English fashion muse and accessory and jewellery designer associated with Yves Saint Laurent. Author Judith Thurman ...

. "Fashion Pack" was released as the single in 1979 to promote Lear's third studio album, ''

'', heavily

edited Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

from its original album length of 5:05. The B-side was "Black Holes" on most single releases, "

Lili Marleen "Lili Marleen" (also spelled "Lili Marlen'", "Lilli Marlene", "Lily Marlene", "Lili Marlène" among others; ) is a German love song that became popular during World War II throughout Europe and the Mediterranean among both Axis and Allied troo ...

" in Italy and Japan, "Intellectually" in Canada, and "Forget It" in Russia. "Fashion Pack" was heavily promoted by TV performances and reached the top 40 in charts across Europe. The song remains one of Lear's biggest hits of the disco era. The singer has re-recorded "Fashion Pack" three times in the later years, first for the 1993 dance comeback album ''

Cadavrexquis ''Cadavrexquis'' is a studio album by French singer Amanda Lear, first released by Chène Music in 1993. Background ''Cadavrexquis'' was a collaboration with French musicians and producers, and German production team Bass Bumpers, recorded in Im ...

''. To reflect changing fashions, the new, updated lyrics replaced most names from the original version with artists and designers more relevant to the early 1990s, such as

Naomi Campbell Naomi Elaine Campbell (born 22 May 1970) is an English model, actress, singer, and businesswoman. She began her career at the age of 15, and established herself amongst the most recognisable and in-demand models of the past four decades. Cam ...

, Madonna,

Jean-Paul Gaultier Jean Paul Gaultier (; born 24 April 1952) is a French haute couture and prêt-à-porter fashion designer. He is described as an " enfant terrible" of the fashion industry and is known for his unconventional designs with motifs including corset ...

Thierry Mugler Manfred Thierry Mugler (; 21 December 1948 – 23 January 2022) was a French fashion designer, creative director and creative adviser of Mugler. In the 1970s, Mugler launched his eponymous fashion house; and quickly rose to prominence in the fo ...

and

Vanessa Paradis Vanessa Chantal Paradis (; born 22 December 1972) is a French singer, model, and actress. Paradis became a child star at the age of 14 with the international success of her single "Joe le taxi" (1987). At age 18, she was awarded France's hig ...

. Any references to the 1970s disco era are also removed and Studio 54 is replaced with the word "discothèque". In 1998, Lear released a new version of the song on the album ''

Back in Your Arms ''Back in Your Arms'' is an album by French singer Amanda Lear, released in 1998 by Dig It Int'l, consisting mostly of re-recordings of her greatest hits from the 1970s. Originally released on the Italian market, the album was subsequently re-laun ...

'', which mostly consisted of re-recordings of her classic hits. That version retained the subtitle "Studio 54", the characteristic disco arrangement and most of the original lyrics, adding only

Claudia Schiffer Claudia Maria Schiffer (; born 25 August 1970) is a German model and actress based in the United Kingdom. She rose to fame in the 1990s as one of the world's most successful models, attaining supermodel status. In her early career, she was compa ...

and Sylvester Stallone. In 2016, she recorded another version for the album '' Let Me Entertain You''. The lyrics included names from first two versions and added

Joe Dallesandro Joseph Angelo D'Allesandro III (born December 31, 1948) is an American actor and Warhol superstar. Having also crossed over into mainstream roles such as mobster Lucky Luciano in the film '' The Cotton Club'', Dallesandro was a sex symbol of g ...

, Kate Moss, Chanel and Dior, also mentioning

Paris Fashion Week Paris Fashion Week (french: Semaine de la mode de Paris) is a series of designer presentations held semiannually in Paris, France with spring/summer and autumn/winter events held each year. Dates are determined by the French Fashion Federation. ...

, the magazine '' Vanity Fair'' and Instagram.

Track listing

*7" Single :A. "Fashion Pack" – 4:24 :B. "Black Holes" – 5:00 *Italian 7" Single :A. "Fashion Pack" – 4:27 :B. "

" – 4:45 *Japanese 7" Single :A. "Fashion Pack" – 3:37 :B. "Lili Marleen" – 4:40 *Soviet 7" Single :A. "Реклама вокруг нас" ("Fashion Pack") – 5:05 :B. "Забудь это" ("Forget It") – 4:10 *Canadian 7" Single :A. "Fashion Pack" – 3:29 :B. "Intellectually" – 3:40 *12" Single :A. "Fashion Pack" – 5:05 :B. "Black Holes" – 5:00 *Italian 12" Single :A. "Fashion Pack" – 5:09 :B. "Lili Marleen" – 4:45

Chart performance

Cover versions

* "Fashion Pack" was performed by

Louise English Louise English is an English actress. She was a regular performer on ''The Benny Hill Show'' from 1978 to 1986, as an actress and in dance group Hill's Angels (the show ran from 1955 to 1991), and has performed in West End plays and nationall ...

and Sue Upton during the "Madame Louise Summer Collection" segment of the March 5, 1980 edition of ''

The Benny Hill Show ''The Benny Hill Show'' is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill that aired on the BBC and ITV (from 1969) between 15 January 1955 and 1 May 1989. The show consisted mainly of sketches that were full of slapstick, mime, parody ...

''. * In 2006, Spanish singer

Pedro Marín Pedro Marín (born 22 November 1961) is a Spanish pop singer. Biography Pedro Marín is one of the most emblematic Spanish pop singers. Since his beginnings during the 80s as the pop superstar to his mysterious retirement during years and his l ...

released a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

of the song on his Amanda Lear tribute album ''Diamonds''. * Italian singer Anna Clementi covered the song on her 2012 album ''Fräulein Annie''.

References

{{authority control 1979 singles 1979 songs Amanda Lear songs Ariola Records singles Songs about Paris Songs written by Amanda Lear Songs written by Anthony Monn Cultural depictions of Andy Warhol Studio 54