Clubs

Ever seen The Stud? Joan Collins vamping it up in decadent disco-loving Seventies London? Well you would be wrong, but forgiven, for thinking it was filmed in a nightclub called L'Equipe Anglaise. It is a disco palace on two floors, with a viewing window between the levels, and flashing lights. It's meant to be a rival to high-roller places like Tramp, but it's never quite had the cachet to attract the smart crowd, instead playing host to a small huddle of homesick Kuwaitis. Until now that is. The Billion Dollar Babes have arrived.

The Billion Dollar Babes, a group of transvestites, have taken London's clubland by storm. What they have done is put the fun back into a night out. It is almost as though they have cast a spell. Suddenly it's alright not to care about the music. It's OK to talk to someone you have never met before. Gay? Straight? No problem. It's fine to dress up to the nines, and have a good time. London is generally so uptight that the Babes are a breath of fresh air.

They have called their new club Studio 94 as a tribute to the legendary New York club, Studio 54 - known to all hedonists as the nadir of nightclub decadence and frivolity.

Studio 94 is a laugh. And very trendy, too. Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista were there last week. And as London Fashion Week comes to a close, you can bet this is where the supermodels and the aspiring supermodels will be letting down their very pampered hair.

Studio 94 is at L'Equipe Anglaise on Friday, 23 Duke St, W1 (071-486 8281) 11pm-4am, pounds 8