BLAKE BY BAZ

D I O R B O U T I Q U E S – 8 0 0 .9 2 9. D I O R ( 3 4 67 ) D I O R . C O M
D I O R B O U T I Q U E S – 8 0 0 .9 2 9. D I O R ( 3 4 67 ) D I O R . C O M
CHANEL.COM ©2024 CHANEL®, Inc., 6®
CHANEL.COM ©2024 CHANEL®, Inc., 6®
FENDI BOUTIQUES 888 291 0163 FEN D I .CO M
I AM MY FIRE
 #IAMBEAUTIFUL

ESTEELAUDER.COM
 4
AMBER MUSK
SANTAL
DISCOVER A WARM AND ENVELOPING FRAGRANCE
WITH NOTES OF SANDALWOOD, AMBER AND ROSE

#AERINBeauty

esteelauder.com
 September 2024

114 198
Editor’s Letter Joining Forces
Jony Ive—renowned
122 for his landmark
Masthead design work with
Apple—collaborates
128 with Moncler for a
Contributors capsule collection of
modular outerwear.
136 By Leah Faye Cooper
Up Front
Novelist Martha 226
McPhee chronicles Mixed Company
her 17-year A creative alliance
relationship with between chef Daniel
Xanax Humm and painter
Francesco Clemente
166 blossoms in a new
Nostalgia bar. By Grace Edquist
Nell Freudenberger
traveled to India 230
and Bangladesh Everybody Hertz
and discovered the Waves of all kinds are
woman she being touted as
wanted to be balms for everything
from anxiety to
170 wrinkles. By Eviana
My Life in Smocks Hartman
and Politics
In our fraught election 232
year, Lynn Yaeger Pop the Lid
looks back at some Colored mascara
key presidential used to shout—
races—and what now it whispers

FASH I ON ED I TO R: JU LI A SA R R-JA MO I S. HA I R, F RA N Z IS KA P RESC HE; MA K EU P, JA NE E N WITH ERSPOON.

P RO DUC ED BY TH EA RCA D E P RODUCT I O N. SE T D ESI G N : SA M UE L OV E RS. D E TA I LS, S EE IN TH IS ISSUE.
she wore
234
178 Hidden Gems
The First With its timeworn
Wild Garden cities and sweeping
A new book seascapes, the
celebrates the historic Southern Italian
English garden region of Basilicata is
that launched a rich with splendors
modern movement.
By Chloe Schama 236
Fall Into It
182 Big autumn books
High Alptitude offer a range of
Bally—as famously escapes
Swiss as the
Alps—is in peak 238
form under designer Walk This Spray
Simone Bellotti. Scented runways
By Chiara Barzini are the latest
merger of perfume
192 and fashion
Trust Your Gut
At-home biome
tests offer insight into
the microorganisms
that rule much
STAR-CROSSED more than just our
RACHEL ZEGLER, AS JULIET, IN A VERSACE DRESS, WITH HER ROMEO, KIT CONNOR, stomachs.
IN A WALES BONNER JACKET. PHOTOGRAPHED BY THURSTAN REDDING. By Tamar Adler CONTINUED>96

70 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOGUE.COM

B O T T E G A V E N E TA
C HLOÉ
ALTU ZARRA
 September 2024

MY GENERATION
WE ASKED EIGHT MODELS FROM SWING STATES TO TELL US WHAT’S MOTIVATING THEM IN THIS ELECTION YEAR (SEE PAGE 258).
DE’LANEY ORTIZ (IN A TOM FORD SUIT) IS SURROUNDED BY HIS FAMILY IN DETROIT. PHOTOGRAPHED BY STEF MITCHELL.

244 274 Nathan Heller, The Hills of California, dolphin skin, close-knit or
The Heist of The Simple Life does a life far, far captures the youthful vampire skin—the wide-brimmed:
the Heart The season’s most away from work ambitions—and latest Gen Z– Fall’s jauntiest
Blake Lively, the most inspired silhouettes dashed dreams— driven beauty accessory is
old-school of manage to pack 304 of a quartet of obsession is a face also its most
modern movie stars, color, texture, The Shape of English sisters. that shimmers, dazzlingly variable

FASH I ON ED I TO R: CA MI LLA N I CK ERSO N. HA I R, SA B RI N A SZI N AY.

plays opposite Hugh volume, and shape Things By Chloe Schama glows, and leaves

P RO DUC ED BY A P ST U D I O, IN C. D ETA I LS, S EE I N TH IS I SSU E.

Jackman in a Baz into sharply Annabelle Selldorf little to the 340
Luhrmann–directed edited—and utterly has built a soaring 316 imagination. By The Get
romance-mystery wearable—packages career on gentle Testament Lena Dunham Behold the
shot exclusively for interventions, subtle of Youth season’s future
our pages. By 292 forms, and an In a new production 322 heirlooms
Andrew Sean Greer Going Deep overall language of Romeo and Hat Tricks
For a decade, of elegance and Juliet, Jack Antonoff, Tall or flat, solid 348
258 Nicolas Ghesquière’s restraint. Dodie Rachel Zegler, or patterned, Last Look
Swing Shift Louis Vuitton has Kazanjian meets Kit Connor, and Sam
We asked eight thought big— the architect Gold transform a Cover Look Cat Power
models—each of globally big—with of our moment classic into a timely, Blake Lively wears a Michael Kors Collection
them with ties its mix of historic urgent work. dress and a Cartier High Jewelry necklace. Hair,
to a swing state— narrative and 312 By Liam Hess Jennifer Yepez; makeup, Kristofer Buckle/
about what’s futuristic vision. Time’s Arrow Crosby Carter MGMT using Charlotte Tilbury
important, where Fashion still holds A celebrated 320 Beauty. Details, see In This Issue.
they vote, and how a powerful sway Broadway-bound Glowing Up Fast Directed by Baz Luhrmann.
they find purpose for Ghesquière— play by Jez Glass skin, glazed- Fashion Editor: Tonne Goodman.
in uneasy times but so too, he tells Butterworth, doughnut skin, Associate Photographer: Felix Kunze.

96 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOGUE.COM

A VA I L A B L E AT D I O R . C O M
MACY'S
 Simon Porte Jacquemus Pat McGrath Victoria Beckham

Jean Paul Gaultier Honey Dijon Raul Lopez Duffy

Are you ready for the runway?

FORCES
JE A N PAUL GAU LT IE R : PE T ER L I ND BE RG H. DUF FY: G L EN LUC HFO RD.
V I CTO RI A BEC K HA M : DA N JAC KSON . RAUL LOP E Z: A NDY M A RT IN E Z.

OF FASHION
OCTOBER 16, 2024 NEW YORK CITY

F O R TICKETS, VISIT W W W. VOG U E F OR C E SOF FA SH I O N . C O M/ N Y C

CHLOÉ
 YOU ARRIVED A BUD

ARRIVAL

©2024 The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C.

YOU DEPARTED A BLOOM

DEPARTURE
Overnight
recovery.
You may have heard that skin’s
recovery increases at night.

Clinique’s guiding dermatologists know

that skin’s sensitivity does too.

That’s why Clinique created

Smart Clinical Repair™
Overnight Recovery Cream + Mask.

It visibly soothes irritation,

while delivering clinical results—
97% show visibly reduced facial lines.*

Powerful results with rigorous safety.

Allergy tested. 100% fragrance free.

You can rest easy with Clinique.

 ™

*Facial lines refers to crow’s feet lines. Clinical testing on 33 women, after using the product for 2 weeks.
Letter From the Editor

MORE TO COME
LEFT: BAZ LUHRMANN, PHOTOGRAPHED BY IRVING PENN,
VOGUE, 2002. ABOVE: NICOLAS GHESQUIÈRE,
PHOTOGRAPHED BY JUSTINE TRIET.

Blake was his perfect partner. I hadn’t realized,

until I read Andrew Sean Greer’s accompanying
profile of her, that she hadn’t appeared on the
cover of a magazine in four years. “My life has
become more intimate,” she said, meaning

Practical Magic she’s been focused, mostly, on being a mom to her four children
with her husband, Ryan Reynolds. Blake is, by all accounts, an
incredible and dedicated mother, loyal to the people she’s known
forever, and also, let us not forget, a brilliant actor (who has two
MY LETTER THIS MONTH MUST take the form of a thank-you. new movies on the way). A grateful thank-you to her, too—and
Our escapist, glamorous, inimitably cinematic September cover to Hugh, another old friend who always says yes, who said so
shoot is all down to the genius of its director, Baz Luhrmann. Baz immediately, and who is also one of Blake’s close friends, and a
and his brilliant wife and creative collaborator, Catherine Martin, compatriot of Baz’s. The perfect leading man.

RI G HT: SI T T I NG S E D I TO R: A MA N DA HA RL ECH. P RO DUCE D BY TA NN SE RV I C ES.

known to all as CM, are the kind of friends who will do anything for Another thank-you is due—to Nicolas Ghesquière, artistic
you. In fact they take favor-granting to the next level. Ask them to director at Louis Vuitton, whom Vogue profiled a decade ago when
help you host a dinner party and suddenly you’re organizing an opera. he began at the legendary French fashion house. That story
So it was no small thing to ask him to mastermind our was written by Nathan Heller—and Ghesquière graciously allowed
September cover. But instantly his mind started whirring. It would Nathan to profile him again, 10 years on, in this issue, with
have to star Blake Lively and…Hugh Jackman! It would need encounters in Barcelona and Paris, and with a highly personal
a title—“The Heist of the Heart”—and scenes that would conjure interview that reveals a designer who is at the pinnacle of fashion
Old Hollywood, Grace Kelly and Cary Grant in To Catch a Thief. and who wears a kind of mantle of confidence and contentment
Set the whole thing in Monte Carlo. Gather some priceless jewels that makes his collections ever more fascinating. He recently signed
and couture. Hire a cast of thousands! a contract for five more years at Louis Vuitton. Baz is off to work
There is no bringing Baz down to earth. Why even try? He on his next film. Hugh and Blake have projects coming. So much
creates magic, and did so at the Vogue offices in a whirlwind of to look forward to, which is exactly what we need right now.
planning, then with Blake and Hugh over two days in a studio in
New York. Watching a filmmaker organize a shoot like this is a
reminder of how important storytelling is to what we do. Before
you knew it he had fully realized characters, an entire plot sketched
out, each scene planned, every detail accounted for. The magic
in these images is real—but so is the rigor that lies behind them.

114 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOGUE.COM

FLOWERS & FLAMES, THE NEW WARM SUN-KISSED FLORAL FRAGRANCE
 THE EAU DE PARFUM AND FLOWERS & FLAMES,
THE NEW WARM SUN-KISSED FLORAL FRAGRANCE
YSLBEAUTYUS.COM

DUA LIPA
Candice Swanepoel wears Wicked Lace Unlined Balconette, Lace Adjustable String Bikini
 BEAUTY AND COMFORT: A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN
Devyn Garcia wears Lace Unlined Bandeau, Satin Maxi Skirt
 ANNA WINTOUR
Global Editorial Director
Global Creative Director RAUL MARTINEZ
Global Network Lead & US Deputy Editor TAYLOR ANTRIM Global Head of Fashion Network VIRGINIA SMITH
Creative Editorial Director MARK GUIDUCCI Global Editor at Large HAMISH BOWLES
Editor, Vogue.com CHLOE MALLE Global Director, Vogue Runway NICOLE PHELPS
Global Network Lead & US Fashion Features Director MARK HOLGATE
Executive Fashion Director, Vogue.com LISA AIKEN

FA S H I O N SOCIAL
Sustainability Editor TONNE GOODMAN Senior Director, Creative Development and Programming,
Fashion Market and Collaborations Director WILLOW LINDLEY Social Media SAM SUSSMAN
Director, Fashion Initiatives ALEXANDRA MICHLER KOPELMAN Manager, Social Media TAYLOR LASHLEY
Jewelry Director DAISY SHAW-ELLIS Associate Manager, Social Media TAYLOR ANDERSON
Archive Editor LAIRD BORRELLI-PERSSON Associate Manager, Social and Creative Operations SAMANTHA RAVIN
Digital Style Director LEAH FAYE COOPER
Senior Fashion News Editor, Vogue Runway LAIA GARCIA-FURTADO V I D E O/ M U LT I M E D I A
Senior Fashion Editor NAOMI ELIZEE Vice President, Head of Video THESPENA GUATIERI
Fashion and Style Writer CHRISTIAN ALLAIRE Senior Director, Programming LINDA GITTLESON
Fashion Writer HANNAH JACKSON Associate Director, Creative Development ALEXANDRA GURVITCH
Editors MAI MORSCH, CIARRA LORREN ZATORSKI Senior Associate, Creative Development LUCY DOLAN-ZALAZNICK
Fashion News Writer JOSÉ CRIALES UNZUETA Video Developer & Producer JORIS HENDRIK
Menswear Editor MICHAEL PHILOUZE
Senior Market Editor MADELINE HARPER FASS P R O D U C T I O N / C O P Y/ R E S E A R C H
Assistant Fashion Editors CAITLYN DOHERTY, LANIYA HARRIS-PRINGLE, Senior Production Director CRISTINA MARTINEZ
NICOLE MARTINI, SAMANTHA SOLOMON, MEKAYLAH YOWPP-HERNACKI Copy Director, Deputy to the Global Copy Director GRACE EDQUIST
Global Talent Casting Director IGNACIO MURILLO Research Director KRISTIN AUBLE
Contributing Editors JORDEN BICKHAM, GRACE CODDINGTON, Senior Production Manager JOHN MOK
ALEX HARRINGTON, SARAH MOWER, Production Managers COR HAZELAAR, HOLLIS YUNGBLIUT
CAMILLA NICKERSON, MAX ORTEGA, PHYLLIS POSNICK, Research Managers ALISON FORBES, AMY MARTYN,
LAUREN SANTO DOMINGO, TABITHA SIMMONS SOFÍA TAFICH
Fashion Credits Editor MARÍA FERNANDA LARA
F E AT U R E S Copy Manager, Senior Digital Line Editor JANE CHUN
Senior Editors CHLOE SCHAMA, COREY SEYMOUR Research Manager, Senior Digital Line Editor LISA MACABASCO
Global Entertainment Director SERGIO KLETNOY
Features Editor MARLEY MARIUS EVENTS/EXPERIENCES
Culture Writer EMMA SPECTER Director of Special Events JESSICA NICHOLS
Entertainment Associate KEATON BELL Special Events Manager SACHE TAYLOR
Contributing Editors TAMAR ADLER, ABBY AGUIRRE, Senior Experiences Editor JASMINE CONTOMICHALOS
MIRANDA BROOKS, ADAM GREEN, ROB HASKELL, NATHAN HELLER, Experiences Managers IAN MALONE, SASHA PINTO
DODIE KAZANJIAN, ALEXIS OKEOWO, LILAH RAMZI, Production & Marketing Manager ELISEÉ BROWCHUK
MICHELLE RUIZ, MAYA SINGER, RAVEN SMITH, PLUM SYKES, Experiences Associate VIVIENNE LETALON
JONATHAN VAN METER, SHELLEY WANGER, LYNN YAEGER Associate Manager of Events CONCETTA CIARLO
Contributing Editor LISA LOVE
B E A U T Y/ L I V I N G
Beauty Editor at Large ARDEN FANNING ANDREWS C O M M U N I C AT I O N S
Senior Beauty and Wellness Editor MARGAUX ANBOUBA Vice President, Communications JILL WEISKOPF
Living Editor LIAM HESS Senior Living Writer ELISE TAYLOR Manager, Communications CYDNEY GASTHALTER
Contributing Editor ALEXANDRA MACON

C R E AT I V E
Global Design Director AURELIE PELLISSIER ROMAN
Senior Art Director PARKER HUBBARD
Art Director INGU CHEN
Visual Director DAVID LIPFORD
Visual Editor OLIVIA HORNER
Associate Visual Editor DIEGO PORTILLO SANTOS
Creative Operations Assistant MADISON McTAGGART VOGUE GLOBAL
APAC Editorial Director (Taiwan, India, Japan) LESLIE SUN
C O N T E N T S T R AT E G Y/ O P E R AT I O N S
Vice President, Global Head of Content Strategy ANNA-LISA YABSLEY Head of Editorial Content, Britain CHIOMA NNADI
Executive Director, Content Planning and Development JESSIE HEYMAN Head of Editorial Content, France EUGÉNIE TROCHU
Senior Director of Business Operations MIRA ILIE Head of Editorial Content, Germany KERSTIN WENG
European Editor FIONA DaRIN Head of Editorial Content, India ROCHELLE PINTO
Associate Director of Logistics MIMOZA NELA Head of Editorial Content, Italy FRANCESCA RAGAZZI
Senior Director, Audience Development and Analytics ABBY SJOBERG Head of Editorial Content, Japan TIFFANY GODOY
Associate Director, Audience Development KATIE HENWOOD Head of Editorial Content, Mexico & Latin America KARLA MARTÍNEZ DE SALAS
Senior Commerce Editor TALIA ABBAS Head of Editorial Content, Spain INÉS LORENZO
Senior Commerce Writer ALEXIS BENNETT PARKER Editorial Director, China ROCCO LIU
Commerce Writers LAURA JACKSON, KIANA MURDEN
Commerce Producer CLARISSA SCHMIDT Editorial Advisor, British Vogue & Global Creative & Cultural Advisor
Associate Commerce Producer KYLEE M C GUIGAN EDWARD ENNINFUL
Associate Content Manager FLORENCE O’CONNOR
Associate Manager, Business Operations MEGAN COOPER Global Operations Director LOUISA PARKER BOWLES
Associate Manager, Audience Development MOLLY BARSTEIN Global Network Lead & European Features Director GILES HATTERSLEY
Production and Editorial Assosiate IRENE KIM Global Network Lead & European Beauty & Wellness Director JESSICA DINER
Executive Assistant to the Editor in Chief LEILA ALI Global Fashion Network, Deputy Director LAURA INGHAM
Assistant to the Editor in Chief SAMMI TAPPER Associate Director, Integrated Planning MILLY TRITTON
External Policy Advisor HILDY KURYK Associate APAC (Taiwan, India, Japan) Content Operations Director VAV LIN

122 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOGUE.COM

Contributors

Cap It Off
“Does anyone still wear a hat?” That was a
question posed in the Sondheim musical
Company way back in 1970—but, as Vogue
contributing fashion editor Max Ortega
observed at the fall shows, the answer in Adventure Time
2024 is a resounding yes. “Hats had recently This month’s transporting cover story, “The Heist of the Heart” (page 244), found
fallen off, but for fall there were so many novelist Andrew Sean Greer in Rome, where Blake Lively was shooting a sequel to
exciting new ways to see them,” he says. In his her delightful, Paul Feig–directed thriller A Simple Favor, from 2018. For the pictures
story “Hat Tricks” (page 322), shot by Sean that accompany Greer’s profile, Lively made movie magic with another top-flight
Thomas, the cast of mad hatters included filmmaker—one Baz Luhrmann, who conjured dreamy scenarios amid the beaches,
models Abby Champion, Alton Mason, and casinos, and hotel suites of Monte Carlo (sets at Pier59 Studios in New York, in
Ugbad Abdi (above), as well as actors Sarah reality). “Ultimately, I absolutely did it for fun,” Luhrmann says of the assignment,
Pidgeon and Juliana Canfield, whose 1970s-set which teamed him up with Lively and her friend Hugh Jackman. (That’s all three
play Stereophonic fit the theme. As Ortega of them above.) While “the kickoff point” visually was Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch
notes, “The show is about something nostalgic, a Thief, the aim was not so much to tell a full story as to evoke “seeing lobby cards
but staged in a modern way.” or stills from a movie,” Luhrmann says, “and you’re kind of working it out yourself.”

TO P LE FT: M A X ORT EGA . TO P RI G HT: SA M A N TH A SUSSM A N. BOT TO M: P HOTOG RA P H BY J USTINE TR IET.

Dog Days
To mark Nicolas Ghesquière’s 10th anniversary designing womenswear for
Louis Vuitton, Vogue contributing editor Nathan Heller shadowed the artistic
director at work in Paris (and, later, Barcelona) as he prepared to show the
cruise 2025 collection. (See “Going Deep,” page 292.) Justine Triet, meanwhile,
was dispatched to Ghesquière’s country house to see him at rest, surrounded
by his partner and their pets. “He’s a great artist and has a childlike quality that
I really like,” says Triet, director and cowriter of the 2023 French legal drama

P RO DUC ED BY TA N N S ERV IC ES. D E TA I LS, S EE I N TH IS I SSU E.

Anatomy of a Fall, who wore Vuitton to both the César Awards and the Oscars
earlier this year. Not only do her images reflect Ghesquière’s playfulness,
but they also happen to reaffirm Triet’s uncanny talent for photographing dogs.
(This is, after all, the woman who gave us all Snoop.) “I wanted photographs
that captured movement,” she says. “The dogs were a great help.”

VOGUE IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ADVANCE MAGAZINE PUBLISHERS INC. COPYRIGHT © 2024 CONDÉ NAST. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. VOLUME 214, NO. 7. VOGUE (ISSN 0042-8000) is published 10
times per year in Winter, March, April, May, Summer, August, September, October, November, and December by Condé Nast, which is a division of Advance Magazine Publishers Inc. PRINCIPAL OFFICE: 1 World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007.
Roger Lynch, Chief Executive Officer; Nick Hotchkin, Chief Financial Officer. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and at additional mailing offices. Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40644503. Canadian Goods and Services Tax
Registration No. 123242885-RT0001. POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS (see DMM 507.1.5.2); NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: Send address corrections to VOGUE, P.O. Box 37617, Boone, IA 50037-0617. FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS,
ADDRESS CHANGES, ADJUSTMENTS, OR BACK-ISSUE INQUIRIES: Please write to VOGUE, P.O. Box 37617, Boone, IA 50037-0617, call 800-234-2347, or email subscriptions@vogue.com. Please give both new and old addresses as printed
on most recent label. Subscribers: If the Post Office alerts us that your magazine is undeliverable, we have no further obligation unless we receive a corrected address within one year. If, during your subscription term or up to one year after the
magazine becomes undeliverable, you are ever dissatisfied with your subscription, let us know. You will receive a full refund on all unmailed issues. First copy of new subscription will be mailed within four weeks after receipt of order. Address all
editorial, business, and production correspondence to VOGUE Magazine, 1 World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. For reprints, please email reprints@condenast.com or call Wright’s Media 877-652-5295. For reuse permissions, please email
contentlicensing@condenast.com or call 800-897-8666. Visit us online at www.vogue.com. To subscribe to other Condé Nast magazines on the World Wide Web, visit www.condenast.com. Occasionally, we make our subscriber list available to
carefully screened companies that offer products and services that we believe would interest our readers. If you do not want to receive these offers and/or information, please advise us at P.O. Box 37617, Boone, IA 50037-0617, or call 800-234-2347.

VOGUE IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RETURN OR LOSS OF, OR FOR DAMAGE OR ANY OTHER INJURY TO, UNSOLICITED MANUSCRIPTS, UNSOLICITED ART WORK (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DRAWINGS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND
TRANSPARENCIES), OR ANY OTHER UNSOLICITED MATERIALS. THOSE SUBMITTING MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, ART WORK, OR OTHER MATERIALS FOR CONSIDERATION SHOULD NOT SEND ORIGINALS, UNLESS SPECIFICALLY
REQUESTED TO DO SO BY VOGUE IN WRITING. MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND OTHER MATERIALS SUBMITTED MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY A SELF-ADDRESSED STAMPED ENVELOPE.

128 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOGUE.COM

 ADVERTISEMENT

FALL BE AUT Y SP OTLIGHT

The Science of

Beauty Sleep
 ADVERTISEMENT

Move over, Retinol.

A new combination of anti-aging ingredients improves eight
signs of aging night after night—no irritation required.

hen it

W comes to
achieving
youthful skin, three truths
are universal: We must
protect, nourish, and
restore. But we all know
that the basic selfcare
trio—water, nutrition, and
adequate sleep—can
only take us so far.
Luckily, what nature
provides can now be
enhanced with the help
of one little jar. La Mer’s
new Rejuvenating Night Cream amplifies the
skin’s ability to visibly restore itself night after
night by relying on key anti-aging essentials:
hydrating, plumping, and stabilizing skin.
The secret? La Mer’s new MRA-3. A powerful
marine-derived retinol alternative, MRA-3
enhances skin density, complements natural
support polymers increasing skin elasticity,
and boosts cell turnover.
Formulated with Miracle Broth™, the cream’s
buttery texture stays put while you sleep to
promote visible skin restoration, enhances
barrier resilience, and energizes recovery.
As you sleep, eight signs of aging—including
texture, firmness, lines, and wrinkles, and more—are
visibly improved nightly, without the unwelcome effects
that retinol usually brings: irritation, redness, and flaking.
Powerful restoration overnight without over drying, even
Scan QR code to learn more
for those with sensitive skin? Now that’s true beauty sleep.

Clinical testing on 31 women after using product once, overnight improvement across 8 signs of aging – fine lines, plumpness, softness,
radiance, firmness, smoothness, texture, wrinkles.
Up Front

Quitting Xanax
For novelist Martha McPhee, Xanax was a miracle cure for panic attacks.
The dependency that emerged was gradual and hard to shake.

CH A D W YS, A R RA NG EM EN T I N SKI NTO NES 5, D I G I TA L C- P RI N T, 2016.

I
n 2006, I started taking Xanax and continued, more A good friend appeared out of nowhere. He smiled and then
rather than less, for the next 17 years. The drug was first stopped and asked what was wrong. I fell against him and told
prescribed to me after I experienced a panic attack. him I was dying. He reassured me, instructed me to breathe, then
I had thought that I was dying. My children were two and hailed a cab to take me to my doctor.
six years old. We were at home—my husband had gone I loved my doctor, an old man with a tremor. He did an EKG,
for the day and the babysitter was late. I started sweating asked some questions. I started to feel normal. Eventually he
and had this urge to run, to get outside. I didn’t know what was explained that I’d had a panic attack, and that they run themselves
wrong, but my heart felt weird and I didn’t want to die in front of out. He prescribed a mild dose of Xanax, said it would take the
my kids. So I stuffed them in a stroller and went down to the edge off, told me I could bite the pill in half for an even milder dose.
street—West 106th in Manhattan—hoping to intercept the sitter. A month or two passed. I was in the subway when the space
There she was in the lobby. She took the children. I didn’t explain. started to close in on me. The ground felt like glass. I fled >1 4 2
On the street, the noises were loud, the light galactic. I think
PILL FRIENDS
it was summer. I was walking but had no idea where I was going. XANAX WORKED LIKE MAGIC: “EASE SPREADING THROUGH ME PLEASANTLY
Fear crawled over me like ants. UNTIL I FELT NORMAL AGAIN,” McPHEE WRITES.

136 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOGUE.COM

* A part of me
Up Front Addiction Story
because I didn’t want to die down there in front of all those In the mornings, I’d wake up feeling rested. I’d have my coffee
strangers. On the street, I made myself breathe, told myself what and start the day. For years, I didn’t think much about this.
was happening, recalled the Xanax and went home in a cab to It was my pattern, how I managed my sleep. If doctors weren’t
take one. The pill worked like magic, ease spreading through me concerned, then why should I be? In my household, my kids, my
pleasantly until I felt normal again. husband—they knew that Xanax was my thing. (I did not tell
my sisters. I have five. Sisters can be like mirrors. When one sister

W
e are an anxious nation, an anxious learned I took Xanax on occasion, she warned me that it might
world. Look at the news and it is there for cause dementia, that I shouldn’t risk it. “Read the studies,” she
everyone to see. Some 16 percent of the said.) Sometimes when my husband couldn’t sleep, he’d take one.
US adult population takes medication for Like me, he is a writer, a poet, vulnerable to the pressures of the
mental health (a figure measured pre- creative life. Once he took my Xanax for several nights, depleting
pandemic; one wonders what it is today). my supply. I got furious. I worried the doctor would think I was
Years ago, at a party with a new friend, I was admiring her calm overindulging. But when I asked her for a refill sooner than usual,
happiness. “I’m drugged,” she said matter-of-factly and with she didn’t bat an eye.
a joyous smile. She then pointed to people around the room and This is not a story about how doctors are bad and pills are evil.
told me: “He’s on Prozac, she’s on Zoloft,” and on and on until I believe in medicine, and there is a good place for Xanax when
almost everyone in the room was accounted for. used properly. But I didn’t use it properly.
But this is nothing new. Soma immediately comes to mind, the
mythical drug of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. “All the If people for millennia have sought quick remedies with magic
advantages of Christianity and alcohol; none of their defects…the potions to life’s turbulences, in the past 150 years the chemist
warm, the richly colored, the infinitely friendly world of soma- has been the innovator, harnessing this need. In the realm
holiday. There is always soma, delicious soma, half a gramme for of sedatives, the hunt for the fastest acting, least harmful, least
a half-holiday, a gramme for a weekend, two grammes for a trip to addictive medication has fueled an industry. In the 1800s
the gorgeous East, three for a dark eternity on the moon.” bromides came about, an alternative to alcohol and opium used
The name was borrowed by Huxley from the ancient Rigveda, for centuries. In the early 1900s we had barbiturates, followed
where it is repeatedly praised as a divine by carisoprodol and meprobamate—with
potion that bestows euphoria and courage.
Other elixirs for inner turmoil tumble
Most nights I’d bite half brand names like Seconal, Miltown,
even Soma. Red Devils (or simply Reds)
down to us from sources as old as myths. a tablet—2 a.m., wide- was the street name for Seconal. All of
Mandrake, hellebore, hyoscyamus, opium
poppy, ergot fungi, peyote, cannabis.
eyed, my brain electric. them captured my imagination as a child
when I heard those names tossed about
Telemachus took nepenthe, Juliet some kind Some nights half a by adults who had trouble sleeping.
of nightshade, Anna Karenina laudanum.
“These are the tranquilized Fifties,” Robert
tablet wouldn’t work, so created In the mid-1900s, benzodiazepines were
by Leo Sternbach for the firm
Lowell wrote, famously giving voice to a I’d take another bite Hoffmann-La Roche. The first in this class
cultural condition in which sedatives, was Librium, soon followed by Valium,
prescribed as casually as breath mints, seemed the remedy for which immediately became famous among housewives for
modern anxiety. Each era has its own reasons for anxiety. calming their nerves. Valium would become the pharmaceutical
If there were a coat of arms for human nature, one element of the industry’s first $100 million product and the Western world’s
heraldry would be a hand reaching for a little something to take most widely prescribed drug. By 1966 it was the protagonist of
the edge off—better living through chemistry. the Rolling Stones’ song “Mother’s Little Helper.”
When Xanax (its generic name is alprazolam) came along,
I never took a lot of Xanax. The dose was so small that doctors it was fast-acting, had a short half-life, and was processed
rarely saw anything amiss. My dependence happened slowly: At swiftly by the body—all of which distinguished it from earlier
some point early on, I discovered that taking the drug could help benzodiazepines, including Valium. By the time I started taking
me sleep—help me fall asleep, help me go back to sleep when it, in 2006, millions of other Americans were doing the same.
I awoke in the middle of the night. I kept the canister of tablets According to Yale Medicine, “between 1996 and 2013, the number
on my bedside table, like a totem to ward away the sleep demons. of benzodiazepines prescribed for adults increased 67 percent
Sleep had troubled me since I was a teenager, when my mother to 135 million prescriptions per year, and the quantity prescribed
would give me pills of calcium in the middle of the night. per patient more than tripled during that period.” Prescriptions
Doctors I saw over the years, they’d say, “Well, Martha, you also for alprazolam peaked in 2014 with 28 million filled. And though
need to sleep. It’s a small dose you’re taking of Xanax. Don’t worry.” prescriptions have since declined (in 2021 there were 15 million),
Most nights I’d bite half a tablet—2 a.m., wide-eyed, my brain the addiction rate to sedatives of all kinds has increased.
electric. Some nights half a tablet wouldn’t work, so I’d take Xanax is intended for short-term use only, and for targeted
another bite. I never needed more than 1.5 tablets. The prescription situations—panic attacks, fear of flying, and other phobias. It is
was written for .25 mg, 2x per day; a one-month supply amounted not a sleep aid and was not approved for treating insomnia by
to 60 pills, which could last two to three months. The cost, after the Food and Drug Administration. Its addictive properties can
insurance, was $2.37. Cheap and easy. be difficult to notice but can draw you up short. >1 4 4

142 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOGUE.COM

Up Front Addiction Story

W
hen my kids were in the early double of me. The fallout lasted a few weeks. I tried meditation, picked up
digits, it occurred to me that I didn’t have yoga again, practiced breathing. But it was hard.
enough life insurance. I applied for more. I kept the remaining tablets for about three weeks. I was on the
I was required to fill out forms, have blood upward climb to feeling better when I took them off my nightstand
drawn, was visited by a representative and poured them into the toilet. I will never take another Xanax—
for the underwriter. Somehow from not ever—is what I was saying with that act. “Don’t write that in your
somewhere, they retrieved the medications I took regularly. There article,” my friend Kate said about flushing them. She is a clinical
was only one. A few weeks later I received a letter informing me psychologist at the University of Chicago. “That is not the safe way
that I had been denied. I was too high a risk. Xanax was the culprit. of disposing of medicine. It gets in the water, contaminates it.”
But even this didn’t cause alarm; I recalled the doctors’ mantra: For a while I was mad. I wanted to blame Xanax for everything—
“You need to sleep, Martha.” my elevated A1C, high bad cholesterol, frail bones. But blaming
Around 2018, my daughter started asking me for Xanax to help never accomplishes much. I could have better informed myself
her sleep. She was a stressed-out high school student applying for about Xanax. All the information anyone needs is available on the
college. On occasion, she nabbed a few from my totem canister. At internet. Instead I turned a blind eye on myself.
first, I hid them. Then I realized I needed to set a good example, so Eventually, I felt all right. I felt calm. All the anxiety I suffered for
I quit cold turkey. I had a rough go for several days. I couldn’t sleep. so long was artificial. My natural state is several decibels lower. I am
I couldn’t concentrate. I felt like a live wire. But I was determined. not as volatile, not as easily provoked, not quite as sad or mad or
Eventually, my body adjusted. I did not throw the canister away. anxious. My children and husband noticed. My sisters noticed. I was
Rather, I gave it to my husband for safekeeping—just in case. more relaxed, more playful, but I still had trouble sleeping. Managing
The year 2020 rolled around, and by April I was having a nibble sleep is a practice; it takes discipline and self-control—less wine
again. I realized if I had a glass of wine or two…or three…(alcohol and sugar, more breathing. I have had to look at my own habits and
sales were up and liquor stores were deemed, conveniently, an vices that interfere rather than ignore them by taking a pill. And a
essential service during lockdown), I’d fall sleepless night now and again no longer panics
asleep but then wake up wide-eyed and racing
in that old familiar way. A bite of Xanax
When I told my doctor me;Inthe price of the alternative isn’t worth it.
this period, my daughter, Livia, and
would put me back to sleep. that I had stopped taking I saw a Nan Goldin work at the Louisiana
I only took the Xanax at night, but started Museum of Modern Art outside of
needing more. During the day I was jazzed,
Xanax, she became Copenhagen, a 24-minute digital slideshow
anxious about everything—stuff that emotional. “You did?” she capturing images of Goldin’s addiction to
I needed to be anxious about and stuff that
I didn’t need to be anxious about. We were in
asked. “Do you know OxyContin. In the darkened screening room,
Livia, who is 24 years old, asked, “Did taking
the pandemic, living in my childhood home— how hard that is?” Xanax feel like going into your mother’s arms?”
a farm in New Jersey—with my mother who Though my experience was nothing like
had late-stage dementia, the children now college-aged stuck far Goldin’s, the line Livia drew from Goldin to me pierced, reminding
away from their lives. There were the usual money worries, work me that for most of my children’s lives I had not been myself.
worries, my tendency to try to fix everything. The anxiety came We were in Copenhagen for a conference on health care innovation
out in my tone. In the lines of my face. In my posture. I attributed through the arts, as I had become curious about a burgeoning
this to family history—the long line of anxious people that practice to treat anxiety and depression by prescribing museum visits.
I descend from. I became a shrunken shriveled stick twig, weighing There were various European health care groups who knew that
not more than a hundred pounds. I cried. I fainted. I screamed engagement with art could treat depression, anxiety, and other
at my husband. In Italian there is one word that captures it all: mental disorders—and the conference was meant to bring them
sciupata. I was sciupata: damaged, spoiled, ruined, run-down, together so that they could have a critical mass of influence.
worn out, wasted, squandered. Sometimes I’d wonder if my body Various doctors spoke: One said that his days are filled with patients
could keep going like this; it didn’t feel like it could. who seek prescriptions when what seems to be wrong is loneliness.
In 2023, a new doctor for me, a new life for us all. This doctor Another emphasized that there is only one dopamine, and art and
didn’t mince words: “You cannot keep this up. You must stop.” social connection is the better place to get it.
She raised the risk of dementia from long-term use. A new shrink In the Louisiana Museum, it wasn’t lost on me, a novelist, that
said the same thing and explained that I was suffering from rebound a work of art, Goldin’s, was doing the job that art has always done,
anxiety—that desire to race out of my own skin. When I was on allowing us to see ourselves in someone else’s predicament. The
Xanax, my anxiety, rather than go away, went into storage mode, predicament of the individual mirrors the predicament of the culture.
where it accumulated only to be released as soon as the drug wore off. Fourteen months after going cold turkey, I returned to my new
It took a few months for me to gather the courage to quit GP for an annual physical. When I told her that I had stopped taking
again. When I finally did, I kept the Xanax canister front and center Xanax, she became emotional. “You did?” she asked a few times. “Do
on my bedside table so I could have a conversation with it. I am you know how hard that is? Without any support? On your own?” She
not going to be fooled, tempted, provoked by you. Once again, I didn’t had to pause for a breath, which caused tears to prick in my own eyes.
taper. (I do not recommend this. It can be dangerous.) It was like My doctor, she asked, “Do you mind if I share your story with
I was on speed. I couldn’t sleep. It felt like my brain was ricocheting my patients? I have so many who need to hear this. I won’t mention
around my skull, my body sucked into a black hole in the center your name.” *

144 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOGUE.COM

SHOP THE BEST
OF THE SEASON

VOGUE.COM/SHOPPING
BLUE, PERIOD
Pablo Picasso’s love of blue lasted just a few years, from
1901 to 1904. Ours has turned out to be more enduring—
if we’re talking about blue jeans, that is: It’s been two
centuries, give or take a decade or so, since denim arrived
on these shores from the town of Nîmes in France
(hence de Nîmes). But what do the origins matter? Today,
everyone speaks the language of denim—it’s the original
global phenomenon: clothing for everyone, and for
everywhere, and in every hue. Even when our denim fades,
it never fades away. Over the next pages, a few friends
celebrate that most forever of fabrics.
SHOP VOGUE’S
DENIM GUIDES
Nostalgia

Eastern Passage
On trips to India and Bangladesh, the novelist Nell Freudenberger struggled
with what to wear—and what kind of woman she wanted to be.

I
was 22 when I first went to India. In the late ’90s, the missed. When we bought cannabis, it was from a farmer in
TO P LE FT A ND RI G HT: A LE X T RAVE LL I.

hippie trail from Agra to Jaipur to Rishikesh was still a Himalayan village where they grew the world-famous Malana
full of backpackers. Germans, Israelis, and Australians cream. We were two recent Harvard graduates in India, and we
traversed the country in elephant-printed harem pants were all about doing our homework.
and Buddhist prayer beads, indulging in banana-pancake Young people may be known for taking risks, but often that
breakfasts and cannabis-laced bhang lassis. My rebellion has a conventional shape. Looking back, our >1 6 8
boyfriend—a serious student of the subcontinent, equipped with
maps, train tables, and a prestigious fellowship—planned to TRAVEL DIARY
do India differently. We would dress respectfully, live on a local TOP ROW: TWO PHOTOS OF THE AUTHOR, AGE 23, ON HER FIRST TRIP TO INDIA IN
1998. BOTTOM ROW: FREUDENBERGER TRAVELED TO BANGLADESH NEARLY A
budget—less than $5 a day—and see places other backpackers DECADE LATER, IN 2007, EXPLORING DHAKA AND THE SUNDARBANS RIVER DELTA.

166 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOGUE.COM

Nostalgia Dressing the Part
pretensions to authenticity were just another set of rules. minister at the time, Narendra Modi. Three years later, on a flight
One thing my American boyfriend felt strongly about was Indian from New York City upstate to Rochester, where my grandmother
clothing on white women, which he considered not only had just died, I met a young Muslim woman named Farah.
culturally insensitive but unattractive. This presented me with a Farah had recently come to the US from Bangladesh to marry
problem, since the shorts and T-shirts left over from my LA her American fiancé, Dave. That unconventional arranged
adolescence were too revealing, especially in the off-the-beaten- marriage—she’d arranged it herself, on the internet—immediately
track architectural sites we liked to visit. struck me as the subject for a novel, and the two of us began
I opted instead for long skirts and short-sleeve blouses, modest corresponding. Early in 2007 I accompanied her to Bangladesh
but impractical for a hike or overnight train. Once, traveling to meet her family.
second class from Gwalior to Agra, we almost missed our stop; In the middle-class Dhaka neighborhood where Farah’s parents
when the conductor bellowed Agra, Agra, Agra, we rushed to lived, a shalwar kameez was de rigueur for even the least religious
the exit and leapt from the moving train. He made it fine, but women. My friend had been concerned that I wouldn’t have
in my ankle-length skirt and platform sandals, carrying a the requisite clothes, but this time I’d come prepared. I’d bought
backpack half the length of my body, I stumbled and fell on a few shalwar kameez in New York, from a Tibetan-run shop
the platform. When I opened my eyes, I was surrounded by on Greenwich Avenue in the West Village. My favorite was
a crowd of curious onlookers. made of translucent mint
In my attempt to fit in, I’d green cotton, with delicate
wound up the most foolish white embroidery on
kind of spectacle. the smock and sleeves. The
pants were simple and tied
A few years later I went to with a drawstring, and there
India alone, to work on my was a matching scarf
first book. I rented a room that could be worn as a loose
in a boarding house a short head covering.
walk from the Chowpatty No one seeing me in this
seaface, just south of the ensemble in Dhaka, or in
Hanging Gardens. I wanted Farah’s grandmother’s village
to have adventures— in the Sundarbans river delta,
something to put in the mistook it for a local item.
stories I was supposed Because it had been made by
to be writing—and I started enterprising Tibetan New
dating a very different kind Yorkers who knew American
of guy, a native Mumbaikar sizing and taste, it fit
from a prominent Hindu WHAT TO WEAR me perfectly. The color didn’t
family, who owned hotels No one in Bangladesh mistook the author’s wash me out, and the
and vineyards and loved shalwar kameez for a local item. Still, “I felt cool, comfortable, cut was flattering to my very
a party. He had no problem and for the first time in South Asia, even pretty.” minor curves. To Farah
with white girls in Indian and her parents, who liked
clothes; he’d dated plenty of us. He did tell me that he preferred presenting an American friend to extended family members
the sari to the Muslim shalwar kameez, a flowing tunic worn skeptical of her foreign marriage, it was charmingly exotic but
with a scarf and loose trousers gathered at the ankle, which hid reassuringly modest. In it I felt cool, comfortable, and for the
the female body rather than celebrated it. first time in South Asia, even pretty. Maybe that was because I’d
During those months in the city that the playboy and his finally chosen for myself.
friends still called Bombay, I went to the club, the racetrack, and a At Farah’s grandmother’s house in the village, I slept in a room
party on a yacht. In preparation for the wedding of a Bollywood painted a brilliant grass green that I’ve never seen anywhere
starlet on a nearby island, he took me to a boutique run by one of else. There was an antique sewing machine on a wooden table and
his many well-heeled female friends. She suggested a magenta a four-poster teak bed under generous white mosquito netting.
blouse threaded with gold and a matching full lehenga skirt, but Soon after we arrived, Farah suggested a bath—in the village pond.
when I went hopefully into the dressing room, it was immediately When I wondered what I would wear, she giggled and indicated
clear that the outfit was made for someone else. The waist was the mint green shalwar kameez I already had on. Bathing in front
laughably tight, and I didn’t come close to filling out the top. of strangers in thin cotton clothing is more revealing than doing
Lacking the requisite curves, I ended up wearing my own clothes: so in a swimsuit, and it made me think that my fancy Bombay
a plain black dress from Agnès B. that was all wrong for that boyfriend may have had something to learn from the Deshi village
splendid, glittering event. I went back to the hotel early while my boys taking in the spectacle. In the photos Farah’s husband took
date partied into the night. of us, Farah and I are half submerged, our wet clothes sticking to
I left India in 2002, during the communal violence that killed our bodies, our hair dripping. We’re laughing but also inventing
over a thousand Muslims under the watch of Gujarat’s chief things: one of us a story, the other a whole new life. *

168 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOGUE.COM

LAGOS.COM
 My Life in Smocks and Politics
All politics, as the saying goes, are personal. In our
fraught election year, Lynn Yaeger looks back at some key
presidential races—and what she wore.

t was the summer of 1984. Republican journalist and cultural critic H. L. Mencken candidates were selected with the same pre-

I Ronald Reagan was running for reelec-

tion against Democrat Walter Mondale,
who had picked a woman, Geraldine
Ferraro, for his running mate. I was watch-
ing the political conventions on my little
once observed that electing Coolidge was
like a man being presented with a banquet
and “stay[ing] his stomach by catching
and eating flies.”)
If politics notoriously makes strange
cision I reserve for choosing my outfits.)
It might seem strange, or trivial, to view
social history through the lens of fashion,
but please consider: The issues that animate
us, the causes that rile us up, the music and
pink TV—no cable—in my apartment on bedfellows, the same can be said about films that thrill us—they all inform our
East Ninth Street that cost $177 a month, those of us obsessed with affairs of state political views. Why, then, would we not
wearing a silky flapper frock bought from but also besotted with fashion. I am now, express our moods, our desires—the essence
a vintage store on St. Marks Place. Let the and have been for my entire adult life, as of ourselves—through our clothing as well?
rest of the world flounce to the ballot box excited by a great stump speech as I am by Maybe it was my rebellious nature that
in neon colors, miniskirts, big-shoulder a superb runway show. (In fact, I wish our first led me to causes and clothes that stray
overcoats, and Jane Fonda workout clothes: far from the beaten path—or maybe it was
© SYLV I A P LACHY.

I was dressed for the occasion as if it were just the realization that a vintage ensemble
SUFFRAGETTE CITY
1924, not 1984, with prohibition in full suited me better than the sexy suggestions
The author, photographed by Sylvia
swing and Republican Calvin Coolidge Plachy during the 1984 election season, the runways were dictating. Surely I was
winning the White House. (The waggish gets ready to work the landlines. the only one manning the Sandinista >1 7 2

170 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOGUE.COM

 benefit table at the Clash concert at Bond’s literally called “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which around—this is why politics are so fascinat-
in Times Square wearing an ankle-length allowed gay people to serve in the military— ing! Years later, an ailing McCain would
linen skirt (with a French label, found at the as long as they remained deeply closeted. (It play a pivotal role in saving Obamacare. In
discount store Loehmann’s) and a deterio- would be more than two decades before the early morning hours of July 28, 2017,
rating antique camisole, my hair pinned in the Supreme Court legalized same-sex he entered the Senate, dramatically turning
braids on top of my head—looking, despite marriage—and on the night the ruling came his thumb down, and thus rescuing the law
the fierce expression on my face, more like down, Obama lit up the White House in a from the clutches of the Trump forces hell-
Liesl von Trapp than Lydia Lunch? powerful spectrum of pride.) bent on destroying it.
At any rate, there I was, clad in my fraying
getup, watching the 1984 polls, my Cupid’s
bow mouth—painted with the Kryolan lip- 2008 2016
stick I bought at Patricia Field on Eighth BARACK OBAMA VS. JOHN McCAIN DONALD J. TRUMP VS. HILLARY CLINTON
Street—pursed with concern. Though my
politics were far, far to the left of even the When McCain announced Alaska governor As ever, I hosted an election-returns party
Democratic ticket—how many eyebrows Sarah Palin as his running mate, did your at my apartment. My guests, though, were
did I raise on picket lines dressed like Clara jaw drop down to your Britney Spears– generally not accoutered in the trends of the
Bow?—and I had bottomless contempt for inspired school uniform, bypassing your season—I don’t recall any chokers, bombers,
President Reagan and his cohorts, he did cropped leggings and settling into your or corsets in the house. I do remember, as the
deliver one of the great lines of any pres- Uggs? Palin may have been able to see Rus- night wore on, several of my friends dissolv-
idential debate, one that resonates loudly sia from her house, but could she also see ing into tears. More than a few were drunk.
today: “I want you to know…that I will not me in my folkloric Dries Van Noten get- One had brought a huge cheesecake with
make age an issue of this campaign—I am ups? (Thankfully, sometimes the clothes “I’m With Her,” one of Hillary’s campaign
not going to exploit, for political purposes, slogans, inscribed in blue icing, and as the
my opponent’s youth and inexperience,” he results rolled in—by 9:45, Florida seemed
famously quipped. Mondale was 56 at the Let the rest of the world to be no longer in play—I whispered, Better
time, Reagan 73. cut that dessert now. I was wearing a lace-
And so, in this deeply fraught election flounce to the ballot box topped number from Marc Le Bihan, who
year, here is my highly partisan, deeply in neon colors, big-shoulder has a shop at the foot of Montmartre in
personal, deliberately random stroll down Paris, that I had popped over a tutu from
memory lane: What I, and the rest of the overcoats, and Jane Fonda Repetto on the Rue de la Paix. Oh, to be in
world, was wearing when various players workout clothes: I was Paris, far, far away, when the unbelievable
were vying for the highest office in the land. happened! With the final states counted,
After all—I remember every cause and cam- dressed for the occasion as I swept the last inebriated visitor into the
paign as well as I do my wardrobe and my if it were 1924, not 1984 elevator and stayed up until 3 a.m. to watch
favorite runways. the presumptive president take the stage.
Melania, in a white Ralph Lauren jumpsuit,
on the department store racks—where are looked as stunned as I was.
1996 you, Barneys?—actually coincided with
BILL CLINTON VS. BOB DOLE my notions about how I wanted to live and
look—and who could resist a beaded-and- 2024
By the time Clinton faced down Dole, embroidered coat from Dries?)
Americans were dancing the macarena in This was also when I introduced what All things solid melt into air; all of our
baby tees, slip dresses, and scrunchies while became the Lynnie equivalent of blue jeans hopes and dreams, all of our victories of
I had graduated to the somber musings of to my wardrobe: the tulle tutu, which I the past century—reproductive rights, gay
Comme des Garçons, which compelled topped with a giant cardigan by the British rights, women’s rights, civil rights—are
me for so many reasons—among them the brands Eskandar or Shirin Guild. No matter not inviolable: They can vanish, and far
fact that it was a Japanese company with a that the result was a silhouette that could more quickly than you think. Teetering on
French name, and wasn’t I, like Socrates, charitably be described as “not small”— this precipice—the most important elec-
a citizen of the world? Weren’t those odd, this huge sweater and fluttery skirt combo tion, one could argue, in the history of the
flappy garments—the disciples of Comme’s evoked, I believed, not a woman hustling republic—does it matter one bit if you are
designer, Rei Kawakubo, were referred as over to her job at the Village Voice, but rather wearing athleisure or Altuzarra, gym shorts
“crows”—the perfect shroud for me to don a ballerina whiling away the hours backstage or Junya, boho or Balmain? I may be cruis-
as I cruised around the Lower East Side? at Lincoln Center. ing around town in frothy Simone Rocha
But I was also a devotee of the cult down- But back to McCain! He actually com- layers, grabbing strangers by the shoulders
town designer J. Morgan Puett, whose snap- pared Obama to Spears herself, accusing the and begging them to vote—but this year
front linen smocks I had in every color of junior senator from Illinois of being a naive the stakes are so high, with the fate of
the rainbow. Speaking of rainbows: Gay lightweight in a TV ad referencing the two. democracy itself hanging in the balance, I’d
marriage was still an unfathomable dream His machinations were futile—the elec- be willing to swallow my pride, relinquish
in the 1990s, and President Clinton, trying tion saw the highest voter turnout in four my tutus, and wear jeans and a T-shirt to
to please everybody, introduced a policy decades, and Obama ran the table. But stick the polling booth. *

172 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOGUE.COM

 THE POWER WITHIN
THE NEW EAU DE PARFUM INTENSE
 THE NEW REFILLABLE
EAU DE PARFUM INTENSE
A 6-PART ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY SERIES

SEPT 13
2024
 *

*
In a 28-day study applying a 1% Pentavitin® formulation, skin remained hydrated for 72 hours.
 The First Wild Garden
A new book celebrates the historic English garden that launched
a modern movement. By Chloe Schama.

W
ithout naming the most grotesque examples of tree After his death in 1935, at the age of 96, Robinson faded some-
mutilation in England, it is clear that much beauty is what into obscurity. But during his life, he shifted the entire idea
lost in our gardens by the stupid and ignorant prac- of what a garden could be. “There are really two styles,” Robin-
tice of cutting trees into unnatural shapes,” wrote the son wrote, “one straight-laced, mechanical, fond of walls or bricks,
Victorian-era gardener William Robinson in Gravetye Manor: Or or maybe gravel…fond too of squirting water to an immoderate
Twenty Years’ Work round an Old Manor House (1911). Robinson’s degree.” The other, he wrote, unfolds “with true humility and right
fighting words were laid out in the preface to his book, an account desire…accepting nature as a guide.” The latter philosophy—based
of the decades he spent creating his garden at the Elizabethan house on conservation, plant ecology, and native beauty—might seem a
of Gravetye Manor in Sussex, England, and recently reproduced in product of the 21st century more than the 19th, but it is Robinson’s
facsimile by Rizzoli alongside stunning contemporary photographs. vision that contains the seeds for the wild gardening movement itself.
Born in Ireland in 1838, Robinson was just nine when the Great No matter how in tune with nature a garden is, however, it
Famine descended, and he began working as a garden boy before he takes a certain degree of maintenance. During World War II,
COU RT ESY O F RI Z ZO LI .

was a teenager. Over the following decades, he would labor in the Canadian troops were stationed at Gravetye (pronounced >1 8 0
gardens at Regent’s Park, travel the world to learn about botanical
specimens, and publish more than 70 books. When, in 1934, he was GRADE ON A CURVE
offered a knighthood, he politely refused: “I feel I must leave life as The mature wild garden at the Elizabethan house of Gravetye Manor,
I entered it, and therefore decline with renewed thanks,” he said. tumbling down the slope. Photographs by Claire Takacs.

178 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOGUE.COM

 SECOND COMING
Scenes from the garden at Gravetye Manor, designed in
the late 19th century and revived in the 21st.

grave-tie)—and the garden fell by the wayside. The house was

developed into a hotel in 1958, but when that era came to an end,
the gardens had descended into disrepair. In 2010 there was revived
attention to Robinson’s vision, with new owners and a new head
gardener, Tom Coward (who, in the course of his long career, he says,
spent a few years working on grounds belonging to Paul McCart-
ney). When he took the job, Coward confronted a landscape choked
by deep-seated perennial weeds, plagued by crumbling infrastructure until a visiting artist pointed out that a rigid hedge was creating an
and a voracious deer population. The new proprietors also wanted unpleasant formality in one section that he replaced it with roses
Gravetye to continue as a hotel. (A Michelin-starred restaurant has and clematis. When Robinson began his life’s work—and the only
since been added, pulling many of its ingredients directly from the garden he actually built and designed for himself—he was timid
garden.) But that, too, posed a challenge: “Because the hotel is never about introducing any bright hues. “The simple form and the colour
shut,” Coward says, “we always have to look our best.” of the house were so beautiful that all had to be done in relation to
More than a decade after Coward began at Gravetye, the gar- them,” he wrote in an early passage.
dens are at a pinnacle, and their lush cacophony is captured in the In the late spring, when Coward and I speak, alliums are bobbing
images published with Robinson’s text—which is not just a histor- their purple heads while lacy white wisteria drip from pergolas. But,
COU RT ESY O F RI Z ZO LI .

ical artifact, but a living guide to the possibility of a garden, ren- somewhat surprisingly, it is February that Coward loves best. During
dered stunningly vibrant. “What we’ve been doing,” says Coward, the summer, he says, “you’re just completely overwhelmed; it’s the
“is moving it forwards and employing the principles of William most beautiful time, but you can’t enjoy it.” Whereas in the earliest
Robinson, but not being dogmatic.” The garden, as Coward points months of the mild British spring, when the snowdrops and narcissi
out, was constantly changing, even during Robinson’s life—it wasn’t emerge, “anything is possible.” *

180 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOGUE.COM

 High Alptitude
Bally—as famously Swiss as the
Alps—is in peak form under new designer
Simone Bellotti. By Chiara Barzini.

ROMANCE AND REBELLION

Bellotti has drawn from Bally’s archive—and played it forward with punk
influences. Bally bag, shirt, and studded skirt from the fall 2024 collection.

beautiful neoclassical fonts. Every single shoe in the archive—from

Victorian slippers to old hiking shoes to snow boots—had its own
glass case, with some samples dating as far back as the ninth cen-
tury. I found ancient Egyptian sandals, Eskimo shoes, fragments of
statues from the Roman Empire.”
While Bellotti has maintained the brand’s reverence for antiquity,
he’s infused it with a contemporary streak informed by underground
club scenes, teddy boys in mid-century England, and the work of
the Swiss photographer Karlheinz Weinberger, best known for his
t’s summer in Italy, which means the trains are delayed and the intimate photographs of rebellious working-class men, construction

I air-conditioning is broken. I arrive in Milan from Rome, dishev-

eled and an hour and a half late, to meet the creative director
of Bally, Simone Bellotti, at the label’s atelier in Viale Piave,
but Bellotti—despite being in the midst of preparing his next
collection—greets me with a humble, calm aura. As we walk through
workers, bikers, and athletes. Bellotti kept the Swiss bells (a good
luck charm in the national culture) but added studs, occasional furs,
and the kind of edge that has transformed Bally into a brand that
people are talking about. Perhaps even more remarkable: Bellotti
has managed to do this not by orchestrating a social media tsunami, LE FT: DAV I T G I ORGA DZE . RI G HT: CA R LOT TA MA N A I G O.
the showroom, a wunderkammer filled with Alpine cultural refer- but with an organic ease that’s generated a rather old-fashioned
ences and beautiful objects, accessories, and clothes, an elegant model word-of-mouth buzz.
appears and disappears wearing different looks, making me wish For 16 years before turning his attention to Bally, Bellotti worked
I were 20 years younger so I could be brave enough for these sexy at Gucci, ultimately as the head of menswear and special projects
Swiss culottes, high-stringed leather boots, and studded handbags. (after earlier stints at Carol Christian Poell in Milan, Ferré, Bottega
Since becoming Bally’s creative director in May 2023, Bellotti, Veneta, and Dolce & Gabbana). It was at Gucci where he first cul-
45, has been combining the romance of Swiss folktales with punk tivated his flaneur approach to creativity, working next to Alessan-
rebellion and a kind of alternative-intellectual-banker cool. An dro Michele and living in the heart of Rome’s old Jewish ghetto.
early experience in the Bally archives in Schönenwerd, Switzerland, Meandering around the city’s center, he fell in love with Il Museo
was formative: “I was blown away,” Bellotti tells me. “I found nega- del Louvre in Via della Reginella––an antiques shop curated by the
tives, photos from the 1950s, printed menus from dinner events in passionate Giuseppe Casetti, whom Bellotti grew instantly >1 8 7

182 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOGUE.COM

FREE PEOPLE
SHOP THE COLLECTION F R E E PE O PL E.CO M
 close to. At Casetti’s shop, which soon became a kind of second over to much of the rest of his life: He commutes by bicycle—even
home, drawers and shelves overflowed with rare books, art catalogs, in the rain—collects vinyl records and film-based photography, and
letters, drawings and paintings, and original prints and other work listens to his music through a vintage tube amplifier. (He is also
by Francesca Woodman, Luigi Veronesi, Ugo Mulas, and Mario very fond of his unbearably enchanting cats, whom he often finds
Schifano—images that would change his life and career, particularly propped in perfect meditation poses on the floor—backs straight-
a collection of “mysterious, sepia-hued photographs of a group of ened, with their upper paws folded onto their laps.)
women sprawled in nature,” as Bellotti describes them. “They seemed As we walk around the room, the model, Federica Manzini, returns,
like hippies that predated the hippie movement—I was hypnotized in one of the most striking pieces from Bally’s winter collection—
by those women, with their hands on their foreheads and that incred- the mermaid skirt. “In researching ancient folktales, I discovered the
ible light filtering in.” Casetti revealed to Bellotti that these were the story of the diavolezza—a mermaid who lived in the lakes near St.
first-ever images of the Monte Verità, Moritz and moved around the moun-
a kind of early-20th-century proto- tains with a herd of deer,” Bellotti says.
Esalen near the Swiss town of Ascona “When she realized the hunters were
in the heart of canton Ticino, where spying on her, she used her powers to
thinkers and dreamers from all over make them lose their bearings. The
the world (including Isadora Dun- great thing about these legends,” he
can, Carl Jung, and Hermann Hesse) continues, “is that they reveal how
sought alternative forms of living. much we are all driven by instincts,
Bellotti’s fiancée, Martina Zern- which is also something I find neces-
eri, whom he met at Gucci when she sary when trying to create new worlds.”
worked in the brand image office, later Instinct is also what brought Bel-
gifted him the Ascona photos he fell lotti closer to music. He grew up with
in love with, which are now like talis- a passion for dance culture, and en-
mans, inspiring—among much other trusted the soundtrack of his very first
work—the flower or honey-holding Bally show to the legendary DJ Leo
pouchettes Bellotti designed for Bal- Mas, whose 1980s sets at Ibiza’s Am-
ly’s last two collections. “I wanted to nesia club put the island’s scene on the
add an element of irrationality and global map. “I wondered what a musi-
instinct, of utopia and freedom—not cal equivalent of Monte Verità might
necessarily what we conjure when we be—a place where people would feel
think about Switzerland,” he says. free to dance in the sun,” Bellotti says.
When he and Zerneri arrived in “The answer was Ibiza.”
Milan in 2022, they lived in the very If his creative vision is filled with
central area of Carrobbio—chosen contrasts rather than unity, that’s be-
because of both its abundant Roman cause it mirrors reality. “Utopia and
ruins and its tourists. (“Chaos and disillusionment, minimalism and
antiquity,” Bellotti says: “It was the primitivism—the tension between op-
closest thing to Rome I could find posing forces is where the juice of life
in Milan.”) While Bellotti clearly is,” Bellotti says. (That, and keeping
misses the Eternal City’s sensorial a curious mind: At the moment, he’s
splendors—“I was living at the Por- reading everything from Swiss novelist
tico d’Ottavia and would wake up a Fleur Jaeggy to Hermann Hesse, lis-
few steps away from Teatro Marcello; ACTING ON INSTINCT tening to Chet Baker, John Coltrane,
sometimes the beauty felt daunting”— Bellotti has added “an element of irrationality and instinct, Rachmaninoff, and Shostakovich, and
his life in Milan has maintained that of utopia and freedom” to his work for Bally. studying the artwork of Beni Bischof.)
dreamy, meandering romanticism. It’s dark outside now, but before
“Alessandro helped me find the right attitude,” he says, “a way to mix leaving I tell Bellotti that I need to visit the famous wisteria terrace
the old with the new without feeling overwhelmed by it.” on the top floor of the Bally building. The two of us head upstairs
Sometimes, the moments of transcendence seemed to find Bel- and look out at the tropical garden below, which belongs to Milan’s
lotti, rather than the other way around: That Milan apartment just famous Diana hotel. “My destiny is linked to this terrace,” Bellotti
happened to feature a renowned pianist as his and Zerneri’s down- says, pointing to the building next door, which once housed the
stairs neighbor, and Bellotti would return home from work and lie original Gucci offices. “Tom Ford’s office used to be right there, and
for hours on the floor listening to him play Chopin, overwhelmed Alessandro’s was in that same room for a brief period. This wisteria
by a deep sense of gratitude. “I love when beauty is so much that you has seen so much!”
can’t hold it in,” he says. “I feel so lucky.” A huge magnolia is spread out beneath us, lush in a way that’s
He was born about 20 miles north of Milan in the town of Gius- rare for a Milanese garden. It seems that the things Bellotti loves—
CA R LOT TA MA N A I G O.

sano, in Brianza, an area known for its furniture. His father was in nature, beauty, surprise—follow him wherever he goes. “When you
the upholstery business, and he grew up immersed in craftsmanship are in a state of openness toward the world, you can receive a lot
amid the smell of wood and textiles, which clearly left an impression: from it,” he says. “The question is how to stay in that space.” It’s
Ever since, Bellotti seems to need to touch with his hands and see getting late; the employees downstairs are probably about to head
with his eyes in order to create. This rather analog approach carries home—but with Bellotti, one feels that time is always relative. *

VOGUE.COM SEPTEMBER 2024 187

 Trust Your Gut
New at-home biome tests offer insight into the microorganisms that
rule much more than just our stomachs. By Tamar Adler.

ave you ever spent a really long time looking at a diagram in rodents, specific microbiomes have been linked to different

H of butanoate metabolism? Or wondered if your Firmic-

utes are producing butyrate? I’ve been having all kinds of
thoughts like this since sending my intestinal microbes to
verified labs for identification and testing. I’m a food writer,
not a science writer. But as I explain to my husband
personalities. It’s like getting a star chart reading—but scientific!
Apparently, one can’t (yet) go to your internist for a microbiome
checkup. But in our age of at-home health tests, I can have my
microbiome evaluated from the comfort of home. Four
tests I read about—DayTwo, Genova, Labcorp, and
while googling “how to identify your microbi- Carbiotix—need a doctor’s prescription. But
ota,” it’s a logical professional evolution from others are sold direct-to-consumer. It’s an
food to digestion. embarrassment of riches. Cross-referencing
I’ve long been preoccupied by my colon. reviews, I choose two, Viome and Zoe.
My father died of colon cancer when Speaking of embarrassment: to test
I was a teenager; mine is of the ut- one’s microbiome, one must provide a
most concern. Digestive health has sample of what comes from one’s mi-
always been rather niche—not to crobiome. At a dinner party, I work-
mention private. But suddenly, shopped several euphemisms and
everyone talks about “gut health.” found them all lacking in poetry.
We talk, specifically, about our Waiting for the tests to ar-
microbiomes—the trillions of rive, I read. The belief that
bacteria that inhabit us, which bacteria are bad is as outdat-
have been linked to sleep, ed as bloodletting. The field
heart health, mental health, of microbiology focused on
aging. I read aloud to my pathogenic—i.e., disease-
husband from the medical causing—bacteria for over a
journal The Lancet: “The century because the connec-
expectation that sequencing tion between disease and bac-
one’s gut microbiome might teria had just been established.
be the key to diagnosis and In the last 25 years, however,
treatment where conven- we’ve seen that our guts are
tional approaches have brimming with beneficial
failed is now fairly com- bacteria. (Also: viruses, fungi,
monplace within gastroen- archaea, and eukaryotes.) The
terology clinics and beyond.” role of microbiota in the gut-
According to a publication brain axis, an active network
called Nutrition in Clinical of communication between the
Practice, these days, internet intestinal nervous system and the
searches for “gut microbiome” central nervous system, was dis-
and “gut microbiota” generate covered by two women in 1986. Re-
millions of results. Amazon teems search in the last decade has revealed
with microbiome books, including ever more intimate links between our

P HOTOG RA P H ED BY IRV I N G P E N N, VOGUE, N OV E MBE R 2004.

microbiome books for kids—Meena microbiomes and all our bodily func-
and the Microbiome (forthcoming in tions. We’ve currently identified one
2025)—and dogs—Healthy Gut, Healthy thousandth of one percent of all the mi-
Dog. Gut health is taking over TikTok. Scan crobes on earth. Each microbiome is as unique
your refrigerator for the word “probiotic.” Brands are as a fingerprint. They’re also catching: Research says
shilling directly to your bacteria! our microbiomes can resemble those of the people we live with.
Roshini Raj, MD—associate professor at NYU Grossman School My test kits arrive in sleekly designed boxes emblazoned with
of Medicine, frequent guest on the Today show and CNN, and slogans. Zoe’s declares: “It’s time to start understanding your body.”
author (Gut Renovation: Unlock the Age-Defying Power of the Micro- In Viome’s instruction manual, I read: “Welcome to the next step on
biome to Remodel Your Health from the Inside Out)—tells me that your health journey!” I buzz with anticipation. These boxes contain
smaller boxes, containing finger prickers and pipettes—both Viome
(UN)HAPPY MEAL and Zoe require you to take your own blood. It’s when I pull a tape
In our age of direct-to-consumer testing, microbiome evaluation is available measure out of the Zoe box that I wonder if I’m in too deep. (You
from home. More perplexing is what to do with that information. can exhale. It’s for measuring one’s stomach bloat.) >1 9 4

192 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOGUE.COM

ADVERTISEMENT
 Zoe’s test requires clients to eat two glucose-heavy cookies before red bell peppers because, apparently, my gut hosts a red bell pep-
testing. They are awful. The first I forgo after two bites, deeming no per virus I’m obliged to starve out. Otherwise, I’m supposed to eat
internal astrology worth it. The other is robin’s-egg blue. I pretend “superfoods”—like cabbage, fennel, and bamboo shoots—and take
it’s Play-Doh—which I used to enjoy—and choke it down. As I pro- $199 worth of custom formulated precision supplements, prebiotics,
ceed with my sample collection, I’m reminded that some enterprises probiotics, and oral lozenges, each month. (Each supplement pack
tend to elude you the instant you focus on them. Like sneezing, and arrives with my name printed on it, which is oddly flattering.)
getting pregnant. And…other things. Zoe doesn’t sell supplements. Its researchers advise me to avoid
But let us skim nimbly past such details. Eventually, two incon- my “gut suppressors”—which include canned soup and cheese-
spicuous padded envelopes filled with relevant samples are dropped flavored corn puffs—and eat “gut boosters,” including avocados,
off to be mailed. For Zoe, I wear a blood sugar monitor for two lentils, kale, collards, peas, chickpeas, kidney beans…and bell
weeks—gathering information that will help dictate my personal- peppers. Zoe’s lead nutritionist, Federica Amati, tells me that this
ized recommendations. I find this engrossing, checking it every 15 will provide a beneficial substrate for my good bacteria and ideally
minutes, which, according to my husband, makes me look like I’m starve “the bad guys.” When I review all the recommendations side
investigating my armpit. But then, my test results arrive, first from by side, they amount to avoiding processed foods and eating lots
Viome, then Zoe, and it’s time for me to meet my trillions of tenants. of plants. “I just don’t know that the science is quite there yet for
According to Viome, my active gut microbes include Akkermansia recommendations to be that accurate on an individual basis,” is
muciniphila and Bifidobacterium adolescentis ATCC 15703—which Raj’s assessment. Suzanne Devkota, director of the Cedars Sinai
are both generally considered “good”—as well as Bubaline alpha- Human Microbiome Research Institute, is even less ambiguous.
herpesvirus 1, a virus native to water buffalo. There are dozens of “The sequencing part of most of these tests is probably fine, but
others, sequenced and identified. Though I keep reviewing my lists, the recommendations they give you are all crap.” She recognizes the
I can’t find any additional description of my value in Viome’s data. “But what to do about
microbes as “good” or “bad.” It’s just a neutral it? We still don’t know.”
list of Latin names which, after I’ve waited so Research in the Because they aren’t FDA regulated, at-home
expectantly, is a bit of a letdown. last decade has revealed microbiome tests can’t diagnose anything
I call Grant Antoine, Viome’s supplement really worrisome. Even if there were an
lead, and Viome CEO Naveen Jain, for help
more intimate links accepted microbial fingerprint for leaky gut,
navigating my results. I read Antoine my list of between our or depression, or insomnia, neither Viome
microbes, hoping for some thumbs-up or down.
He repudiates me. Apparently, microbes can’t
microbiomes and all our nor Zoe would have been legally allowed to
identify it to me. Devkota, who’s advocated
be clearly defined as good or bad. But wasn’t bodily functions for FDA oversight of at-home microbiome
that the whole point? What about the rodents? tests, believes the tests have a place in health
“Those are just associations,” says Antoine. “There’s no causal rela- assessment—she tells me: “I think everyone should have a healthy
tionship there that we’re aware of.” Bacterial diversity should be high. baseline, and that includes the microbiome. What I recommend is
Otherwise, the list of microbes is just a courtesy. to only use one company, and buy a few of the kits and test your-
Viome’s technology focuses on RNA, providing insight into the self every six months. And only compare your data to yourself, and
actual function of my microbes. Viome then rates this functioning— totally ignore where they put you on a plot.” I ask Alessio Fasano,
delivering 63 qualitative scores, including Digestive Efficiency (41, MD, professor of nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Pub-
“Average”) and TMA Production (“Good”). I have a lot of “Aver- lic Health and director of the Mucosal Immunology and Biology
age.” My biological age is two years younger than my actual age. Research Center at MassGeneral Hospital for Children (he also
I have red “Suboptimal” scores for Cognitive Health, Digestive sits on Viome’s advisory board), how science knows that if I follow
Efficiency, and Gut Lining Health, among others. My microbes, my recommendations my microbes will move in the right direction.
it seems, are falling asleep on the job. Antoine tries to reassure me. “That’s the $30 million question,” he says with a laugh. “And to make
“Your results were pretty good. You had a couple of areas to work a long and complicated story short: It’s definitely a work in progress.”
on.” Jain disagrees: “Anything that’s ‘Average’ requires improvement.” One of the most quietly revolutionary developments to come
Zoe sequences my microbiome using a technology called shotgun from the field of microbiome research is a further dismantling of
metagenomics, which maps DNA. I prefer Viome’s app and what the orthodoxy of “calories in, calories out.” A 2015 study published
my husband calls “user experience.” But I prefer my results from in Cell found wide variation in blood sugar response to the same
Zoe. Zoe divides my microbes into “good” and “bad”—though I now foods based on participants’ “lifestyle, medical background, and the
have Antoine’s voice in my head reminding me it’s just association. composition and function of his or her microbiome.” Whether or
My Blood Sugar Control is “Excellent.” My Blood Fat Control and not my own personalized recommendations are helpful, the underly-
Microbiome Biodiversity are “Good.” ing scientific fact—that one man’s meat is another man’s poison—is
I compare the two lists of microbes. There’s some overlap, and potentially life changing, on a population level.
some divergence. Maybe my microbiome changed. Maybe the com- It’s been several weeks since I started eating “superfoods” and “gut
panies use different datasets for identification. Looking back and boosters” and (mostly) skipping “avoid” foods. I’m unquestionably
forth, it occurs to me that there’s no standardized dataset against healthier. I refuse to log meals, and I plan to cancel my supplement
which to compare results. There’s no universal terminology, no con- subscription. But, conscious that I’m feeding my vast internal pop-
sensus about which variables matter and what causes them to vary. ulations and seeking to starve bad actors, I’ve been eating differently.
More perplexing is what to do next. Viome instructs all clients There’s solid data showing that eating 30 different plants a week
to avoid sugar, flour, soda, and cured meat. My personalized list of results in a more resilient microbiome, a number I hold in the back
“avoid” and “minimize” foods from Viome is short: cassava, cous- of my mind. I’m certain that my internal star map would look better
cous, barley, maple syrup, molasses, white rice, and breadfruit—plus if I tested it today. *

194 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOGUE.COM

®

IMMUNE + DIGESTIVE + MUSCLES + BRAIN

Learn more about our breakthroughs for cats.

Purina trademarks are owned by Société des Produits Nestlé S.A.

 Beat
the Heat
With the NEW Daily Defense Tinted SPF
Take on the day with an all-mineral, broad-spectrum SPF.
This versatile tint is made with hydrating and protective
botanicals including prickly pear seed oil and rosemary,
to shield your complexion naturally, 365 days a year.

Scan to discover Éminence’s full

collection of Daily Sun Essentials or visit
www.eminenceorganics.com/spa-locator
to find a spa near you.



15


 
Bring home an
antioxidant-rich
SPF that offers…
UVA, UVB and blue
light protection

A versatile tint that

blurs imperfections

A lightweight, natural
finish suitable for all
skin types

r
ea

P y
ckl
Pri
 FASH I ON ED I TO R: JU LI A SA R R-JA MO I S. HA I R, F RA N Z IS KA P RESC HE; MA K EU P, JA NE E N WITH ERSPOON.
P RO DUC ED BY TH EA RCA D E P RODUCT I O N. SE T D ESI G N : SA M UE L OV E RS. D E TA I LS, S EE IN TH IS ISSUE.
Joining Forces
Jony Ive—better known for his landmark design work
with Apple—collaborates with Moncler for a capsule collection
of modular outerwear. By Leah Faye Cooper.

he air in San Francisco on a cloudy about the jackets he and the LoveFrom team in the world. “We wanted to collaborate...

T May day is crisp and predictably

cool. Inside the brick façade Jack-
son Square office of LoveFrom, the
creative collective founded by former Apple
chief design officer Jony Ive, I’m offered
have designed with Moncler.
“The motivation was so clear and pure,”
says Ive, 57, whose work at Apple made him
one of the most celebrated tech designers
just for the love of doing it.” This, he tells
me, is the case with most LoveFrom proj-
ects, which have ranged from creating a
turntable with Scottish audio brand Linn
to designing a special typeface for Terra
a cup of tea to fend off the morning chill COLOR CODED Carta, King Charles’s environmental char-
(served hot with milk and sugar, as in Ive’s “I was trying to develop colors that felt ter. (The new collection was sparked by a
somehow inevitable,” Ive says. Model Ajok
native UK), and as I sip from a white ceramic Daing wears the LoveFrom, Moncler chance meeting between Ive and Moncler’s
mug, Ive waxes poetic—and passionately— poncho. Photographed by Thurstan Redding. chairman and CEO, Remo Ruffini, > 2 0 3

198 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOGUE.COM

at a Maison Bonnet store in London— look and feel of the iPhone, the iPad, says. “Because we spent so long with Mon-
both men are loyal to the brand’s eye- MacBooks, and AirPods, but has no for- cler on the actual raw material, I think I was
glasses.) Behind these efforts is a LoveFrom mal fashion training. “When you move trying to develop colors that felt—maybe
team of designers, writers, engineers, and beyond your traditional practice, you do so this is an odd thing to say—somehow inev-
architects—many of whom worked with Ive being very self-aware and deferential to all itable. I love design where you think, Well,
at Apple—as well as Ive’s 20-year-old twin the stuff that you don’t know. I think the of course it’s this way—why would you do
sons, Charlie and Harry. most important thing is that you are clear it any other way?”
Hanging on two racks to the side of us that you are designing for people, and that The two teams’ work spanned three years
are a smattering of down-filled base-layer you have a fundamental attitude of curi- and as many countries, with Ruffini assem-
jackets in yellow and off-white and a trio osity.” And though Ive insists that many bling a dedicated group at Moncler’s Milan
of outer shells in pale shades of blue, green, creative challenges are universal—whether headquarters, where they were often joined
and orange: an oversized parka, a hooded you’re designing a building, headphones, by Ive and other San Francisco–based
popover poncho, and a field jacket with util- or a garment—“one of the very distinct LoveFrom creatives—with some of the
itarian front pockets, all of them modular challenges [of the Moncler collaboration] latter also spending time in Bacău, Roma-
and gender-neutral. But as with the myriad was understanding the drape of the textile nia, where Moncler has a sprawling pro-
of culture-shifting products Ive designed at and how the fabric moves and relates to the duction facility. (At one point, LoveFrom
Apple, there is much more nuance at play human form.” LoveFrom leaned heavily on engineer—and Apple alum—Patch Kessler
than might first appear. Moncler for textile wisdom, with Ruffini’s traveled 6,300 miles from the Bay Area to
“This is how it all started,” Ive says, slid- team ultimately developing a custom fabric Bacău with a 100-pound custom-built tool
ing three bound volumes of exhaustive to automatically fasten and unfasten the
research toward me across a long wooden duo buttons. “You can fasten them yourself
table. “We did months and months of fas- “When you move maybe 15, 20 times,” says Kessler, “but what
tener research and button research before we
even started drawing anything.” Eventually,
beyond your traditional about a thousand times?”)
This depth of research—and this careful
the LoveFrom team landed on what they’re practice,” Ive says, “you consideration of every detail (down to the
calling “duo” buttons—two-part magnets do so being very self-aware garment boxes, which are each cut from one
piece of foldable card, as were the shopping
engineered from aluminum, brass, and steel.
The buttons connect any of the base-layer and deferential to all bags specially made for the collection)—
pieces to any of the shells at five different the stuff that you don’t might seem obsessive to some, but it’s long
points on each garment, making a delightful been Ive’s calling card. “Why are we still liv-
and tactile clicking sound in the process. “It’s know. The most important ing with a round button and a slot?” he asks.
quite a nice symbol of the collaboration with thing is curiosity” “It’s because you know it works and you don’t
Moncler, of these two different things com- have to do all this. If you want to innovate, if
ing together,” Ive says. (One half of each you want to do something new, you have to
button is etched with LoveFrom’s new mas- for the collection by treating recycled nylon know what that costs.”
cot, Montgomery the bear; the other with with compressed air (or taslanizing the yarn, And while the entire collaboration could
Moncler’s long-standing logo.) to use fabric-speak) to create what looks be seen as a master class in design at the
Since 2018, Moncler has collaborated and feels like a natural matte fiber akin to intersection of tech, style, and functionality,
with the likes of Valentino, JW Anderson, washed cotton. it is imbued with both sensuous and practi-
Roc Nation, and Simone Rocha, among Ive’s other great ambition for the project? cal pleasures: The pieces drape comfortably
other brands, through its Moncler Genius Achieving a seamless, one-piece cut for each over the body, can be worn alone or as part
initiative. Still, “this is not really a collabo- garment. “It would’ve been very easy for the of a modular set, will withstand the ele-
ration like the other ones,” Ruffini says when conversation to end with: ‘You can’t get fab- ments, and come in colors that effortlessly
we connect over Zoom. “This is more of a ric that wide,’” he says. “[But] at every stage, pair with crisp khakis, your favorite faded
concept than a collection.” where there were those challenges, there denim, or, as Ruffini suggests, “vintage blue
When one thinks of Apple, it’s not just wasn’t a gritting of teeth.” Instead, Moncler chinos or classic gray trousers.” Who among
laptops and smartphones that come to mind cast a wide search, eventually finding unusu- us— fashion-obsessed or other wise—
but, rather, clean lines; a design that’s intu- ally large looms capable of such a thing doesn’t want that?
itive as well as innovative; and minimalist, in Italy (with the exact location a closely The collection will be available in select
origami-like packaging that’s of a piece with guarded secret). stores this month and online in October—
the products. Perhaps Cupertino, Califor- Lightweight and soft to the touch, the the culmination of an effort that “has been
nia, comes to mind, too—the slice of Silicon jackets were designed for everyday wear— nothing but simple and joyful,” Ive says—
Valley where Apple is headquartered, and an outer layer for your morning commute, with, perhaps, more to come. “Moncler
where Ive, who has lived in San Francisco perhaps, or the piece you grab on a rainy didn’t need LoveFrom and LoveFrom didn’t
since 1992, commuted to for nearly 30 years. day—but the muted Creamsicle palette need Moncler,” he continues, flashing the
“I didn’t approach this as a fashion and robust functionality lend them to more same friendly smile he has been all morning.
designer—I approached it as a designer,” active pursuits like hiking too. “I find it very “But if we stopped working together now,
says Ive, who is of course revered for the hard to disconnect color from material,” Ive I would be profoundly upset.” *

VOGUE.COM SEPTEMBER 2024 203

BALMAIN.COM
WINONA RYDER — NYC, MAY 2024
MICHELE celebrates the legacy you create
with every milestone you achieve.

ASHLEY GRAHAM IN DECO DIAMOND

 Revel in life’s beautiful details.
For an authorized retailer visit TACORI.COM
TACO RI Cre sce nt Ecli pse B a n gle s
At Home From St. Barts TO BERMUDA

Made to carry all your stuff,

Whatever it might be.

FROM PINK SANDS TO AZURE BLUES,

HOME ON ELBOW BEACH’S HUES.

With pure Egyptian cotton,

woven in Italy, NEVER FORGOTTEN.

CANVAS TOTE NO.40 - $135

DOONEY.COM/tote40
®
THIS IS WHAT
TO WEAR NOW
Introducing By Stacy London, only at QVC.

THIS IS THE AGE OF POSSIBILITY

 FLIGHTS OF FANCY
left: Clemente in
front of work that will
hang in a new bar
above the Manhattan
restaurant Eleven
Madison Park. below:
An image from a book
to be published this
fall as a collaboration
between Clemente
and Humm.

hree years ago, Francesco Clemente

T was in his Manhattan studio speak-

ing with a friend, a devoted vege-
tarian, by phone. “She was asking
me if we should go have a meal at Daniel’s
restaurant,” recalls Clemente, meaning the
much-acclaimed and then newly plant-
based Eleven Madison Park, helmed by chef
Daniel Humm. “I said to her, ‘I don’t know
Daniel.’ And then the bell rang, and Daniel was in the room.”

Mixed
Humm, consistently recognized as one of the best and most
innovative chefs in the world, was tagging along with the gallerist
Vito Schnabel, a mutual friend, who had some business to attend
LE FT: YE FA N . RI G HT: F RA N CESCO C LE ME NT E .

Company to with Clemente before he and Humm continued on to the US

Open. To Clemente, this was no coincidence. “I’m very good at
not second-guessing anything that happens,” he says. “That is my
An artist alliance between chef only compass.”
A deep friendship blossomed from there. During their many
Daniel Humm and painter shared dinners in New York, the two men, of disparate back-
Francesco Clemente blossoms in grounds and generations (Clemente, 72, was born in Italy; Humm,
47, in Switzerland), bonded over their mutual love of art and the
a new bar. By Grace Edquist. immigrant city that embraced them. This fall, their kinship mani-
fests as a new cocktail lounge called Clemente Bar, perched > 2 2 9

226 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOGUE.COM

L’ELIXIR

NEW
 BROAD CANVAS
Another mural for
Clemente Bar and an
artful eggplant dish
at Eleven Madison Park.

one floor above Eleven Madison Park in a former private dining couch create a warm, intimate setting. Cocktails are garnished with
space. Beyond bearing his name, the bar will feature three lumi- something far beyond the lowly lemon wedge. The Negroni-colada
nous murals by Clemente, all in the painter’s dreamlike, figurative features an iced Campari coin, which adds a tint of pink as it melts.
style—an aesthetic that made him an art world star after he moved A mini churro adorns an old-fashioned made from raicilla, an agave
to New York in 1980. spirit from Jalisco. An inventive menu of light bites and a chef ’s
“Art was always important at Eleven Madison Park,” Humm says. counter called Alba, named after Clemente’s wife, will offer a more
The restaurant, which boldly switched to an all-vegan menu in 2021 accessible way to experience the three-Michelin-starred cooking
after winning the top spot on the World’s from downstairs.
50 Best Restaurants list in 2017, features It’s fitting that beverages made with equal
commissions from Rita Ackermann, Daniel “I’m very good at not parts fun and consideration will be served
Turner, and Rashid Johnson—all friends of
Humm’s. “Clemente Bar is just continuing
second-guessing anything beneath Clemente’s murals. Both the drinks
and the artwork have a surface-level whimsy
this story,” the chef says. that happens,” says that plays out atop layers of complexity. Cle-
The cocktail program, led by Eleven Mad- Clemente. “That is my mente’s two paintings in the main bar room
ison Park beverage director Sebastian Tollius use the same earthy palette of brick red, gold,
and head bartender Richie Millwater, delivers only compass” and black, and as a pair they tell a story. “It’s
LE FT: FRA N CESCO TON E LLI . RI G H T: Y E FA N .

surprising riffs on classics with a dose of nos- a pilgrimage,” Clemente says in his charming
talgia. There’s a Negroni–piña colada hybrid; a take on a boulevardier Neapolitan accent. There are lovers, fish, giant eyes, a camel—all
inspired by Samoas, the beloved Girl Scout cookie. All of the drinks, symbols recognizable to Clemente fans and moving in their emo-
including the nonalcoholic options, went through months of testing, tional heft. “Every time you look, you see something different,”
and many components, like a cacao miso, are made from scratch says Humm. Clemente’s third mural is an Eden of plants painted
in-house. “We’re treating time like an ingredient,” Tollius says. in gold. Among the gilded grapes and pomegranates is a sunflower,
They’re also having fun with it, dialing the formality of Eleven reminiscent of the first watercolor the artist ever made for Humm,
Madison Park down a notch. As with EMP’s 2017 renovation, Brad of the inaugural meal he had at Eleven Madison Park following
Cloepfil of Allied Works led the design for Clemente Bar. Tex- their auspicious meeting. Since then, it’s clear Clemente was right:
tured walnut paneling, dark marble surfaces, and a cushy vintage “It’s always good to have someone ring your bell out of nowhere.” *

VOGUE.COM SEPTEMBER 2024 229

 Everybody
Hertz
Waves of all kinds—magnetic,
electric, sound—are being
touted as balms for everything
from anxiety to wrinkles.
Eviana Hartman rides the next
wave in wellness.

ecently, in the name of research, I

R found myself on a waterbed for the

first time since elementary school.
I put on a set of headphones, and
the bed began to pulse in sync with the hyp-
notic, repetitive sounds blasting into my
ears. My entire body was vibrating like the
floor of a nightclub.
As the tones began to vary, my mind went
elsewhere, everywhere, nowhere. When I
awoke 40 blissful minutes later, I certainly
felt like my molecules had been rearranged.
“A spa treatment for your DNA” is the tag-
line for Quantum Clinic, a year-old wellness
center in Los Angeles’s Frogtown neighbor-
hood. The minimalist space may look like a
Scandinavian luxury spa, but there are no
mani-pedis here: Instead, they offer sound-
and vibration-based experiences they call WHAT’S THE FREQUENCY health playbook all along. Sound bathing,
“frequency therapy”—treatments that pur- Sound bathing has migrated from fringe for example—the practice of listening to
port to start at the subatomic level. yoga studios to hotel spas. (and feeling) various tones—has migrated
Sound waves like the ones I experienced, from fringe yoga studios to hotel spas, with
and their electromagnetic counterparts, are Ambrose cautions, “there is a significant research on singing bowls in particular
increasingly being touted in the alterna- dearth of high-quality studies to verify supporting claims of diminished tension,
tive wellness world as restoratives for body, the claims of these frequency therapies.” anger, and fatigue.
mind, and spirit. While many influencers The research that has been done doesn’t Lately, the trend has trickled down to the
and entrepreneurs are making claims that apply to what places like Quantum Clinic direct-to-consumer gadgets and potions of
mainstream science hasn’t yet backed, the are offering, and even scientists immersed Instagram, like one skin-care brand, Bio-
proposition is intriguing: Change your vibe, in the field admit that it’s hard to explain Quantum, that purports to contain “specific
change your life. why the reported effects occur. “People have frequencies that activate the DNA.” Why
The premise builds off the idea that been, for decades, finding electromagnetic stop at forehead wrinkles when you might
certain frequencies (speeds measured in fields that do stuff in biology,” says Clarice rouse the third eye behind them? A whis-
wave cycles per second, or hertz) of sound, Aiello, PhD, a former UCLA biologist who tle pendant called the LoveTuner claims to
light, or electromagnetic energy may be now runs the quantum-biology nonprofit allow the wearer to blow a tone at 528 hertz,
biologically beneficial. “Frequency-specific research organization QuBiT Lab. “There known in New Age parlance as the fre-
A M ST ER DA M, 20 15 © YOS HI N OR I MI ZU TA N I.

microcurrent therapy,” for example, says is very little mechanistic understanding of quency of love. (The necklace, which sounds
Adrian Jacques H. Ambrose, MD, MPH, how those things play out.” Nevertheless, like a one-note harmonica, was purloined by
MBA, a chief clinical integration officer various types of waves—light, sound, and my six-year-old before I had the chance to
in the department of psychiatry at Colum- electromagnetic—are increasingly being uti- spend much time with it, though perhaps
bia University, “is a type of treatment that lized in mainstream medicine, from ultra- that incident validates its premise.)
uses low-level electrical currents to stimu- sound therapy to laser surgery. There’s even Techies might appreciate the Sensate, a
late healing in the body. It is based on the a flexible, electromagnetic field (EMF)– heavy stone-shaped pendant that claims to
principle that different frequencies of elec- emitting helmet used to treat brain tumors. stimulate the vagus nerve (the master reg-
trical current can have specific effects on In the broader sense, this kind of treat- ulator of the parasympathetic, or “rest and
various tissues and conditions.” However, ment has been part of the alternative digest,” nervous system) by vibrating > 2 3 2

230 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOGUE.COM

A WORLD WITHOUT JOURNALISM
IS A WORLD WITHOUT TRUTH
The Committee to Protect Journalists is an independent, nonprofit organization that
promotes press freedom worldwide. Show your support for the right of all journalists to
report the news safely and without fear of reprisal. Scan the QR code to get involved.
 at frequencies the company says send the Aiello: “There are a lot of weird, more Yoda- EMFs, the brain, and consciousness, includ-
body a signal of safety. The Sensate rests like claims out there…. Anything that sells ing the potential role of EMFs in treating
on the breastbone—the vagus nerve runs itself as ‘quantum healing’ is BS, I think.” neurological disorders like Parkinson’s and
from the nape of your neck toward the However (or whether) it may work, the Alzheimer’s. The mysterious nature of non-
thorax—where it creates a physical sensa- Healy does indirectly address a key aspect of physical treatment, McFadden explains,
tion akin to that of snuggling with a purr- the mental health crisis, which is the erosion makes it a hard sell for the science estab-
ing cat. Company founder Stefan Chmelik of community. To have a Healy is to connect lishment. “When I first expressed interest
says that during the pandemic, he came to to a fanatical fan base, if for no other rea- in working with consciousness, people said,
think that people urgently needed a tool to son than to figure out how to use it. Soon ‘You’ve gone mad.’… There’s the whole
shift their nervous systems out of fight-or- after obtaining mine, I was added to several spectrum of stuff that is from the wacky to
flight. Mindfulness, schmindfulness: “The WhatsApp groups and onboarded by a men- very sound science.”
only people who can successfully meditate tor in Ibiza, a fellow mom who leads “wild In any case, the “frequency treatment”
are the ones who don’t need to,” he says. The feminine awakening” retreats and who texts wellness trend appears to be more about
Sensate is supposed to do the job in 10 min- me regularly to check in. I ran a sequence of prevention— or, in biohacker- speak,
utes, no mantras or mudras required. (I can Healy programs for 28 days alongside 900 optimization—than dramatic cures. And
confirm that the device served as a swift and other people from around the world who, entirely pedestrian, low-tech sources of ben-
potent chill pill after a particularly stressful in a chat thread, shared updates about their eficial wavelengths may be more accessible
trip through airport security.) vivid dreams, posted playlists, and invited than we realize: “Forest bathing,” for instance,
Perhaps the most mysterious gadget to me to visit them in Buenos Aires. Try asking immerses the body in a veritable symphony
have attained influencer saturation is the that of your Fitbit. of sonic vibrations; the practice of taking in
Healy— a German-engineered clip- on All of this aside, the central mystery natural sunlight at dawn or dusk can aid the
device the size of a saltine that the company remains: How, exactly, do various kinds of body’s circadian signaling processes. These
says delivers sets of electrical microcurrents waves influence what your body does? “The approaches may be in favor among TikTok
or pulsed EMFs when synced with an app. problem is that sometimes the answers run trendsetters, but they’re also the subjects of
It offers hundreds of programs designed to well beyond where the science is…and studies of physical and emotional health. In
address everything from the thyroid to hair because we don’t understand it, it’s very other words, perhaps if we more closely fol-
follicles to sciatica. (These claims haven’t difficult to establish proper protocols in the lowed the habits and rhythms of our ances-
been evaluated in peer-reviewed journals; the experiments,” says Johnjoe McFadden, PhD, tors, we might not need all these devices. My
device has FDA clearance to market itself professor of molecular genetics at the Uni- new self-care routine? You’ll find me alone
for pain relief, but not FDA approval.) Says versity of Surrey, whose research focuses on in the woods, staring off into the sunset. *

Pop the Lid

COU RT ESY O F TH E A RTI ST A ND T HE MO D ER N I N STI TU T E /TO BY W E BST E R LT D., G LASGOW/COURTESY OF PH ILLIPS.

Colored mascara used to shout—
now it whispers.
am an early adopter of the colored-mascara trend. In junior high,

I I wore a royal blue Maybelline shade; in high school, I was batting

around an electric turquoise hue. I’ve hoarded samples of YSL
Beauté’s Vinyl Couture mascara, which, true to its name, appears
to lacquer the lash. But if the colored mascara of yesterday was about
the shock of the unexpected, today’s is about a subtle shift. At the
Hermès fall 2024 show, model América González blinked a cherry-
brown shade of Trait d’Hermès Revitalizing Care Mascara down the
runway, while Lily Gladstone wore a navy lash tint from Le Rouge
Français at Cannes. Reportedly, the iris-enhancing optical effect of
maroon mascaras has recently caused drugstore brands to sell out.
People aren’t wearing as much on their faces, says makeup artist Sam
Visser, who favors Diorshow’s new blue shade of Iconic Overcurl:
“People don’t want to feel like they’re wearing a viral makeup look.”
Quiet luxury has seeped into beauty, leaving fewer places to play.
Gently colored mascara lets people experiment—and new products
entertain the impulse: The Hermès offerings also come in lapis, moss
green, and violet; Rabanne’s Famous Topcoat in a silver-gold; Chanel’s
Noir Allure in lilac, tomato red, and rusty orange; and Clinique now
has Black Honey mascara, inspired by its classic plum lipstick shade, LASHING OUT
lauded for flattering anyone.—   Jim Lambie’s Everythings Gone Green (Eyelash Red), 2003.

232 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOGUE.COM

RULE THE WORLD.

3000 S LAS VEGAS BLVD, LAS VEGAS, NV 89109 | RWLASVEGAS.COM

 Hidden Gems
With its timeworn cities and
sweeping seascapes, the Southern
Italian region of Basilicata
is rich with splendors.
JOURNEY TO ITALY
clockwise from top left: A view from

O
n my first morning in Matera,
Santavenere; at Sextantio Le Grotte Della
I awoke to a chorus of fire- Civita; a pasta dinner at Santavenere.
works. I had arrived, by acci-
dent, on the day of the city’s tasted, in the evenings you can also enjoy
most important religious festival—and one of 300 Italian movies hand-selected by
there, the party starts early. Coppola in the cinema room.
If Southern Italy is a boot—with Puglia You’ll likely want to finish your visit to
the heel, Calabria the toe, and Sicily a foot- Basilicata with a few days by the beach—
ball being kicked into the Mediterranean and in the town of Maratea, you’ll find a
Sea—then the region of Basilicata, where mountainous paradise overlooking the Tyr-

LE FT: COU RTESY OF SA N TAV E N ER E . RI G HT: S EXTA N TI O. BOTTO M : COU RT ESY OF SA NTAVENER E.
Matera is, occupies the country’s instep. rhenian Sea. Here, head straight to Santave-
Though often overlooked, it has a little bit nere, an imposing five-star hotel that once
of everything, from dramatic mountain played host to the likes of Sophia Loren and
ranges to lush regional parks, charming Anita Ekberg, but has been given a recent
beach towns to ancient cities. refresh by the family behind Borgo Egnazia,
My hotel, Sextantio Le Grotte Della the cult-favorite destination hotel in Pug-
Civita, was constructed around Paleolithic lia. Santavenere is an exercise in restrained
caves, its 18 rooms spread across a network Italian elegance: whitewashed walls; heaving
of buildings that seem to tumble down into Ford Coppola purchased a quiet slice of par- platters of fruit and cheese at breakfast; a
the canyon below. (Director Pier Paolo adise, the 19th-century Palazzo Margher- private beach club that you can be whisked
Pasolini once used Matera as a stand-in for ita, back in 2004, with dreams of turning it to by golf buggy at a minute’s notice.
ancient Jerusalem.) Wandering up to the into a hotel. Restored in collaboration with My final night at Santavenere coincided
main square at sunset, I watched as another legendary interior designer Jacques Grange, with yet another religious festival, during
barrage of fireworks erupted from the can- it now houses suites named after various which hundreds of locals piled into boats
yon, and locals gathered on their terraces members of the Coppola clan (one member and sped out of the harbor to throw offer-
to play music, sip prosecco, and cheer. It of which, Sofia, was married here in 2011), ings onto the shores of a tiny, uninhabited
felt like the kind of Italy you can’t quite and is decorated in lavish southern Baroque island. Then it was back to the hotel for
believe still exists. style amid vine-wreathed courtyards and wood-fired pizza as the horizon faded to an
The following day, I was on to the medi- fragrant gardens. Naturally, after a long day inky blue. It struck me as the kind of scene
eval town of Bernalda, some 40 minutes of visiting the ruins of a nearby temple, or you just don’t find along the more overrun
south by car. It was here, in the birthplace of joining a cooking class to make the most stretches of the Italian coastline: la dolce
his grandfather Agostino, that one Francis obscenely fresh tomato sauce you’ve ever vita, but utterly real.— 

234 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOGUE.COM

 Fall Into It 14th), plunges beneath the waves and serves as another

most vividly set in French Polynesia, on Makatea, a tiny

Big autumn books offer a atoll “lost on an endless field of blue” where a small popu-
range of escapes. lation is confronted with endless trash washing up on shore
and a proposal from a shadowy consortium of investors to
transform their island into a staging ground for floating

S the latter, following up The Mars Room

women’s prison, with

backwaters of rural France. There, a charismatic leader, Bruno
scuba pioneer to an AI tycoon who sees
sea-steading as an escape from his rav-
aged body, Playground is ravishing in its
descriptions of an underwater universe
as fragile as it is ancient and unyielding.
— 
identity remains mysterious) wants to disassemble. Whoever sees Though it certainly wouldn’t hurt, one
a threat in the motley counterculture crew has sent a spook who needn’t have read Kate Atkinson’s five (!)
prior novels featuring the wry, caddish,
more-than-a-little-haunted ex-detective
plot unspools, questions of control and co-
Death at the Sign of the Rook (Double-
top of Kushner’s enveloping noir. Sadie has day). A cast of characters including Brodie;
a brash confidence and a manner of mov- a young detective constable by the name of
Reggie Chase; the wonderfully batty Lady

DEAT H AT T H E SI GN OF TH E ROOK : COU RT ESY O F D OU BLE DAY BO OKS. B LU E SI ST ERS: COURTESY OF BALLANTINE BOOKS. RE JECTIO N : COURTESY OF WILLIAM MOR ROW.
Milton; the somewhat adrift village vicar, Simon Cate; and the dear
but depressive former army man Ben Jennings—as well as a com-
pany of actors hired for a murder mystery weekend at Lady Mil-
ton’s grand but money-strapped country pile—animate a story that

CR EAT I ON L AK E : COU RT ESY OF SC RI BN E R. P L AYG ROU ND: COURT ESY OF W. W. N O RTON. IN TE RME ZZO : COURTESY OF FAR RAR , STRAUS AND GIROUX.
is principally about two seemingly related art thefts, but is more
broadly concerned with loss, alienation, and
is always cause for celebration; there is sim- the sometimes-blurry boundaries between facts
and fictions. A very British caper, warmly funny
and delightfully involving.— 
century with more care and compassion. But in Intermezzo Coco Mellors’s bolt-from-the-blue, best-
(Farrar, Straus & Giroux) she broadens her scope and diverts selling debut, Cleopatra and Frankenstein (2022),
from the casually complex conversational tone for which she was the story of a love affair, but as much about
has previously been known. This is—don’t let it deter you!—in a youthful scene as the people swirling through
it. Her new novel, Blue Sisters (Ballantine),
versing the same Dublin landscapes as continues in a similar, satisfyingly specific vein,
many of his heroes. Is the Irish novelist world-building while charting the fate of four
sending a message about the artist as a sisters—all addicts (to drugs or alcohol or love).
young woman? If so, there’s nothing ob- The family all grew up in a tiny, bohemian
jectionably pointed in Intermezzo, which apartment in New York City and have since
does take some getting used to if you’re scattered and fled: One is a successful lawyer
expecting the typical Rooney vernacular, in London, gradually unraveling her life; one is a professional boxer
but the book rewards the effort. In an- stuck in a career divot; one is a world-famous model, posing since
other shift, the central characters here her teens; and the last, a tender and beloved school teacher, has just
are men—a pair of brothers—rather died from an overdose. This intricate portrait of a family of sisters
is deeply nuanced and compelling, a family drama with intimate
their father and romantic relationships. psychological portraits within it.—..
One of those brothers is a serious chess A blistering collection of interconnecting short stories,
player, and the game offers a frame for Tony Tulathimutte’s Rejection (Harper Collins) takes a
the book as a whole: How much can you magnifying glass to the mind in the internet age. With a
plot out and foresee the trajectory of your life, and how particular focus on romantic disappointment, the collec-
much is subject to forces beyond your control?—.. tion confronts psychosexual hang-ups, dating, and iden-
The global success of The Overstory in 2018, a tity through the eyes of Redditors and group-chat girlies.
grand multigenerational novel about trees and the Tulathimutte is particularly adept at depicting unforced
people who live beneath them, changed the course errors that spiral out of control, engendering a poignant
of Richard Powers’s career. Powers—to that point empathy for even his most hapless characters. Despite
a respected fiction writer with a bent for science— the prominence of digital-age posts and texts, he depicts
attained the aura of an eco-prophet, and Playground the timeless sting of rejection—an experience that every-
(Norton), his vivid and ambitious new novel (his one can surely comprehend.— 

236 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOGUE.COM

 Walk This Spray
Scented runways are the latest merger of perfume and fashion.

arlier this year, the New York–based fashion designer Willy first of our five senses to appear while we are in the fetal state.”

E Chavarria sprayed Parfums de Marly’s Haltane on not just

himself but on his models, the roses he left on the seats, and
throughout Brooklyn’s Greenpoint Terminal Warehouse.
Afterward, Chavarria pretended to imbibe from a novelty-size
bottle of the scent; he drinks it “by the gallon,” he joked. Haltane is
(Each of the fragrances within a new suite of Dior perfumes refer-
ences a precise moment in the fashion house’s history.)
Chavarria is not the first, of course, to use scent to expand the
experience of the runway show in particular. Ten years ago, Rodarte
(partial to the fragrance company 12.29, run by synesthete sis-
an animalic perfume, heavy on the oud—a woodsy, musky smell— ters Dawn and Samantha Goldworm) created a distinct olfactory
mixed with more delicate florals such as lavender and bergamot. backdrop for its shows; other brands from that time, like Opening
It is masculine but not over- Ceremony, Thakoon, and
powering, and to Chavarria, Prabal Gurung, were also
it served as another portal combining smell with style.
into his collection. Victoria Beckham was fond
“Willy was combining the of lighting scented Dipty-
power of the visible with the que candles at her runway
power of the invisible,” ex- shows. Perhaps something
plains Yvan Jacqueline, pres- was in the air: Ian Schrager
ident of Parfums de Marly developed with Le Labo a
and Initio Parfums Privés, scent for his Edition hotels
Americas. “With smell, you at around the same time.
can project a message that Still, this recent trend is
has an effect on someone’s slightly different from what
subconscious.” Unlike our we’ve seen in the past. If
other senses, smell direct- scent was previously used as
ly accesses our limbic sys- an accompaniment—a top
tem, the part of our brain note to the orchestration that
that contains both memory is a fashion show—then to-
and emotions. The scent of day, scent is world-building,
sandalwood, for example— offering a new dimension for
almost gingery, and strangely a brand and teasing what’s
sweet—immediately recalls to come. At Balmain’s most
my Chinese grandparents’ recent Paris show, Olivier
home, where a sculpture Rousteing infused the air
made from the fine-grained with a new scent (out this
wood stood at the entryway. month). Burberry and Tom
With scent, memories arrive Ford joined the new wave of
before thought or logic have catwalk scents this past sea-
a chance to catch up. son, too, marking the air with
Largely for this reason, Perfumer H’s Ivy and Ford’s
fashion has always had a Vanilla Sex, respectively. And
strong relationship with Beckham—who recently
scent. It’s impossible to smell, launched her own line of
for example, the particular perfumes, inspired by per-
aldehydic and floral swirl sonal memories—spritzed
we’ve come to associate with Chanel No. 5 and not think of the fash- Suite 302, a leathery musk conjuring romantic getaways to Paris
ion house more broadly. Christian Dior famously developed his own with David Beckham, at her fall runway show, with plans to launch
line of perfumes with Serge Heftler-Louiche, his childhood friend a new fragrance at her next.
(and grandfather to master perfumer Frédéric Malle). “Perfume is “A funny story about scenting the runway,” recalls Beckham.
a world on its own,” says Dior’s current in-house perfumer, Francis “When we launched Suite 302, the girls came backstage and they
Kurkdjian, who has spent hours in the archives, researching the way went, ‘My gosh, the floor was so, so slippery.’ We couldn’t work out
MAT T HEW MO RRO CCO.

Dior thought about smell. “Smell is physically and biologically the why, because we were just spraying the girls as they were going out.
The next day my CEO said, ‘Didn’t it smell gorgeous?’ I was like,
OUT OF THE BOTTLE ‘It did, but the girls thought that the floor was slippery.’ She said, ‘It
Fashion houses are using scent as an element in their could have been because I was walking around two days prior with a
world-building, on and off the runway. perfume oil.’ Thankfully no one fell!”—  

238 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOGUE.COM

THE

H E IS T
OF THE

STARRING AND
BLAK E LIVELY HUGH JACK MAN
AS "THE CAT" AS "L'OMBRE"

DIRECTED BY

BAZ LUHRMANN
 EXT. MONTE CARLO
– NIGHT:

The blue Monte Carlo

moonlight spills over
the city like liquid
sapphire. PAN UP… to
THE CAT, poised like a
panther. Dangling
from her hand, Elizabeth
Taylor’s famed ruby
necklace. Her eyes
glittering like the
stolen jewels, she lives
for this.

BLAKE LIVELY,
MOVIE STAR
By Andrew Sean Greer

I
have come to meet a movie star, but
it’s not a movie star who arrives—
it’s a mother of four.
“Sorry about all the kids!” Blake
Lively shouts merrily as she stag-
gers under the weight of one child
and pulls another along by the hand; a third
wanders behind. We are at a terrace restau-
rant near the top of the Spanish Steps in
Rome, and from here we can see the entire
city in the slant of evening light, the famous
hills and arc of the Tiber river, the marble
monuments and ruins tinted pink and blue.
Blake’s children are dancing and singing
around their mother; it is a scene of joy and
silliness and utter chaos, and she seems to be
delighting in it. I tell her I’m not going to
mention her kids in this piece, and she says
oh you can mention them. “Sitting around
with them doing chicken dances while I
have a very serious conversation with you is
probably the most accurate portrait of me
possible. Did you bring cookies?” she asks,
noticing the bag in my hand. I’d hoped to
bake with her in the kitchens of the Rome
Sustainable Food Project, which had sent
along a batch; Blake is known as a world-
class baker. “So sorry about that,” she says,
brushing her hair out of her face. “I’d love to
bake with you! But you can see my life….”
I’m not sure I can see her life, but I can
sense it: in the sunny kindness in which she Balenciaga pantabodysuit. Hood
sends her children back to their hotel room, London hat and sunglasses.
Khaite backpack. Cartier necklace.
in the glee with which she attacks the cookies,
Fashion Editor: Tonne Goodman.
in the almost nerdy enthusiasm she projects Men’s Fashion Editor: Michael Philouze.
for Baz Luhrmann and the shoot they just Associate Photographer: Felix Kunze.

246
 CUT TO: finished for Vogue. Here is the wife of Ryan
Reynolds, star of Gossip Girl, The Sisterhood
INT. CASINO – NIGHT: of the Traveling Pants, The Age of Adaline,
and A Simple Favor—the sequel to which has
The Monte Carlo jet set at fever pitch as the mysterious brought her here to Rome. (She also has a
MONSIEUR L’OMBRE is about to throw the dice, though his eyes new movie, It Ends With Us, out in August.)
remain fixed on The Cat, now in the guise of an “Heiress.” Here she is talking about Luhrmann not as
Nearby, THE DOYENNE, her neck adorned with an iconic Cartier a celebrity might but as the teenage girl she
necklace…the next mark? used to be, sitting in her bedroom in the San
Fernando Valley and looking up at her signed
poster from La Bohème.

248
 “I’m just gonna go out on a limb and say sequence of A Simple Favor 2. “I just love Jackman and Lively (in a LaQuan Smith dress
Baz is my favorite director,” she states boldly. Baz so much. Because he celebrates love. and a Cartier necklace) share a scene with
(from left) George McNally, Marc Kudisch,
She is dressed in patched light-colored jeans Nobody does love like that.” I ask if that’s Ali Fazal (in a Sabyasachi coat), Paloma
and pink-green patterned knits over a white why she agreed to this shoot for Vogue. The Elsesser (in a McQueen by Seán McGirr dress),
T-shirt, her blond hair floating around her three jeweled bracelets slip down her arm Simon Jones, Anthony Michael Lopez,
Morgan Spector (in a Tanner Fletcher jacket),
as she gestures. Her face, beautiful in its as she leans her head into her hand. “I’m a Dayle Haddon (in a Louis Vuitton jacket,
planes and shadows, faceted by the setting very shy person, so I don’t like doing photo Cartier necklace), and Amanda Murphy.
sun, is equally expressive. We have a few shoots, really. Because when I’m acting, I’m
hours before Blake needs to head to hair playing a character. And I don’t…I don’t feel
and makeup and then, around midnight, super comfortable in front of a camera. It’s
to the Trevi Fountain to film a critical part of why I don’t want to be in magazines.

249
EXT. OUTDOOR CAFÉ
– DAY:

L’Ombre, impeccably dressed,

lowers his newspaper.

CHIEF OF INTERPOL (V.O.)

You know what to do, but
don’t get too close.
I know it’s not something I’m supposed to “I’m not saying actors are children, but if I What makes a movie star? There are so
say—I mean, this is I think the first cover play—letting go of my fears and my fear of few left, at least in the old-fashioned sense
I’ve done in four years. Because I just,” she embarrassment—then everyone else has the of Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn, and
adds, becoming quiet as she goes back to the license to play.” here I sit before one of the last of these rare
package of cookies. “I’m just too shy.” Blake has come around to my side of the creatures. Breezy and thoughtful and almost
I wonder how someone so effusive could table, “and I had Elizabeth Taylor’s necklace!” geekily enthusiastic, now showing me a vid-
call herself shy. she’s telling me. “Elizabeth Taylor’s necklace eo of Luhrmann dancing along as he shows
“My life has become more intimate,” she in my hand. I have to show you. So there her the moves he wants (“I’ve watched this
explains, meaning she has been focused on were these people there that had these rubber video so many times”), with pauses where she
her young children in recent years, and tak- covers on their fingers, and I had a foam mat seems to be wondering, Have I said too much?,
ing fewer movie roles. “But when they said below me in case the necklace fell….” before she launches back in with breathless
Baz will do it, I thought, Okay, I’ve always As she is showing me pictures on her exuberance, talking now about the abun-
wanted to work with Baz. Even if it’s just phone, I’m watching her and wondering: dance mindset of Luhrmann and her love of
a week doing a photo Jackman (“He’s a guy who
shoot for Vogue, that ’s will show up for you any-
still working with him. time or place. Whether
Seeing through his lens it’s public or private, that
and how he tells stories.” man shows up!”), and
She smiles, and with a how can you not be swept
little laugh adds: “Grac- up in it? I wonder if that
ing these pages is not my is what makes a star: this
gift to the world. I under- drive to create. More even
stand I’m lucky to do it.” than magnetism and tal-
I ask if they came up ent and charm, a force of
with the character of the will that directors like Paul
jewel thief together, and Feig and Luhrmann rec-
she says Luhrmann saw ognize in her. The grit and
a new side of her in A determination to make
Simple Favor, something something from nothing.
a little dangerous that he “Are you hungry?” she
liked, that made him think asks. “Should we order
of timelessness and Old something? I think I’m
Hollywood and To Catch a going to go with fish.”
Thief. “I said, ‘It’s all mis- And then we are on to
chief. Mischief is what the subject of Halloween
I love.’ ” She finishes the costumes….
cookie and brushes off the
crumbs. Her ear jewelry sparkles in the light. EXT. MONTE CARLO BEACH “They are megawatt stars,” Hugh Jack-
“It was building something around Blake,” – DAY: man tells me over the phone from London,
Luhrmann will later say of the images on talking about Blake and her husband. “These
these pages—a story of Lively as “The Cat,” L’OMBRE are like old-school megawatt stars…and of
romanced and brought down by the myste- You made quite a splash at the course I’ve spent many hours with them, like
rious L’Ombre (played by Hugh Jackman): tables last night… in pajamas just hanging out in their house
“A quality in her, wanting to see her play The Cat peers seductively over with their nine hundred children and dogs
something that you don’t immediately as- her glasses… and it is just as normal as can be, and Blake
sociate with her body of work.” will be baking and cooking and saying,
Lively tells me about going to the Vogue THE CAT ‘Let’s make pizza,’ and then the next thing
offices for a fitting before the shoot. “It was I don’t like to gamble… you turn around,” he says, describing her
just supposed to be a fitting, you try on the [with a f lick of her hair] changing for an event, “and there she is, this
clothes, there’s a tailor there, they pin the It’s too risky. incredible star. It’s…it’s astonishing to me.”
clothes.” She shakes her head, laughing. I ask him what he thinks it is, the trans-
“There was no pinning of clothes. Because it L’OMBRE formation.
was Baz and we turned it into a multi-hour You know what they say… The “It’s someone who is comfortable in their
photo shoot with hair dryers becoming wind house always wins. own skin,” is how he explains it. “You can’t
machines and me mounting a desk and peo- make that happen. You can’t bestow it on
ple with flashlights creating lighting effects. someone. She says she’s shy. And I believe
And later we realized we didn’t take a single that. I think there’s a shyness there. I’ve seen
fitting photo! Because that’s what he does, it before. Nicole Kidman and others have it.
sweeps you up into his world,” she says. There’s a shyness, and it leads into this abil-
Luhrmann laughs remembering the scene. above: Lively in a Jacquemus swimsuit ity to morph and shape-shift. And she’s, as
“We must have a sense of play,” he says. with matching towel. I said, walking around in pajamas and then

251
 five minutes later—it’s Elizabeth Taylor! At said: ‘It’s that she’s a writer. She writes on “Blake just happens to be a great actress who
the height of her beauty. And you’re like, every movie she works on.’ And the inter- also is a movie star. And when you’ve got
What? How? And it’s totally…it’s miracu- viewer said: ‘And the baking? And the bak- those two things, then the sky’s the limit.”
lous. It’s a beautiful thing to watch.” ing, right? She’s a great baker.’ It was just

B
Luhrmann has something to say on this such an interesting moment. I don’t know if lake and I arrive at the movie
subject as well. “It may sound corny,” he it’s a female thing or not. They want to talk set after a brief stop in her
tells me, “but a movie star projects light. about the baking.” hotel room for her to make us
They’re more luminous in a scene or on the “I’m sorry I asked to bake together,” I say, cappuccinos, which we sip on
screen. And while they can be deeply, deeply a little abashed. “I’m a terrible baker.” the balcony with the feeling of
authentic and real, they are also aspirational Her eyes narrow. “Why did you ask about New Yorkers on a fire escape,
in their glamour, their humanity. I’ve seen writing?” then a car whisks us away to the Villa Bor-
it in film, and I’ve seen it in drama, and I say the question occurred to me the ghese gardens, where trailers are lined up
I’ve seen it in musical stars: that you can be night before. I had read about all her cre- on the darkened street; it’s impossible to
standing next to them and they’re lovely and ative endeavors, and something about that set these up in the narrow cobbled streets
human and the next thing, they’re giant on restlessness felt familiar. Later, Feig will around the Trevi Fountain, so hair and
the stage, you know?” confirm that she worked to bring about her makeup and costumes are all done here, two
Being with Blake Lively is not like being vision for a character (“She did work on her miles away. Though Blake invites me into
with any of her characters. Not the chic and dialogue to make that happen,” he will say, her makeup trailer, I give her some privacy
wicked Emily Nelson from A Simple Favor, admiringly. “And it just brought everything and look around at Rome at night. A giant
not the morally ambiguous Serena van der to life.”) I ask Lively if she would ever write geodesic dome rises in the darkness behind
Woodsen from Gossip Girl, not even the something from scratch. us. I realize we are set up right beside the
strong and suffering Lily Bloom from her She considers this. “A blank page is not zoo. A little later, a shout:
latest, the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s nearly as exciting to me as starting with a “Okay, let’s go!”
bestselling It Ends With Us. It is not like script and finding something people have It is Blake, all in pearls. As in: the dress,
being with a celebrity who has been asked overlooked. Saying no, no, no, there’s diamond-patterned in ropes of pearls, jewels
every possible question and carefully gives something there! To me, it’s a treasure hunt. sparkling among them—and she makes her
the practiced response. It is more like being And so when I can see the treasure, then I way to the car on enormously tall high heels.
in a fast-moving river, one that is changing get to be an archaeologist. I get to excavate, Her hair is done; her makeup is done. She
every minute—from acting to film editing to I get to carve it out and find this thing and merrily lifts the strands to hoist herself into
running businesses to being a mother—and show people the value in it. That, to me, is the car. She explains she found the dress at
the current is so strong and sure, why not what I love.” Tamara Ralph and thought it was perfect
just go along for the ride? The last light glints from another ring, for the character and this scene with the
We talk about the Halloween costumes a bright coil around a finger. great Italian actress Elena Sofia Ricci. We
she created for her children—“I got cloaks on “After this I’ll make you an oatmeal cap- ride through the gardens and out into Rome
Etsy and went to the Garment District, got puccino,” she says brightly. “Because it’s the again, through twisting streets, until we stop,
all the trims. Look, I did all this, the sweet- only way we’ll stay awake till 6 a.m.” and we are there. The Trevi Fountain.
heart shape, the details on the sleeve…”—and Everyone I talk to emphasizes her com- I ask if she needs help with the ancient
about her theories of baking—“I’d so much mitment as a mother. I talk to Hoover, who marble steps.
rather buy a box of Betty Crocker vanilla cake has spent a great deal of time with Lively Blake pauses for a moment, measuring
mix, because they’ve already done the chem- and her family. “She could be on a phone call the physics of it all. “Take hold of my arm,”
istry of it, the science, and then now I get to with, it doesn’t matter, the freaking Pope,” she tells me. “I have to hold the dress.”
make it taste delicious. Now I get to add my she says, “and if her kid walks into the room, And so, holding her arm, we descend into
bourbon or my elderflower liqueur…”—and she’s gonna give one hundred percent of her the splashing grotto in the heart of Rome.
about home decoration, how her friends attention to her children. As a mom, I just Bright lights are on us, and a crowd is gath-
send her photos of their homes, dorm really fell in love with that part of her.” ered, kept at a distance by yellow tape. As
rooms, anything—“and I draw on it, and I Feig says the same: “She’s the best, one we make our way, I say that she keeps men-
find the pieces for them. And I love design.” of the best moms I’ve ever seen.” He laughs. tioning how lucky she is but what I see is a
It is creation, in fact, that is the main “When she’s working and when she’s in it, hardworking, passionate person. “Isn’t that
subject of our time together. She is leaning a rock-solid pro—but it’s so funny because what luck is, really? Opportunity followed
over her food now, explaining to me about a then there she is, off running to get gelato by hard work?”
friend of hers, an architect who says noth- for the kids.” Blake nods, considering this. I know
ing great was ever built without enthusiasm. Feig also touches on the question of a she realizes how much effort she puts into
“I think it means you have to go out there movie star. “From my experience, movie everything—and in fact we are this very
and fight for what you believe in,” she says. stars have a charisma that is undeniable. I moment entering her workplace.
“You’ve got to have passion.” can’t even describe why it’s there, other than “Gelato break!” Blake yells, and sud-
I ask if she writes. they’re just born with it and they are able denly we are headed up to the gelato bar
Blake tilts her head, suddenly curious. She to throw their energy at you. There’s lots of
plays with the big blue ring on her finger. good actors who simply aren’t movie stars.
“My husband did an interview where they There are movie stars who aren’t the world’s Jackman wears a Bode shirt and shorts,
Tom Ford sunglasses, and Officine Creative shoes.
asked, ‘What’s something surprising that greatest actors, it’s just you can’t take your Omega watch. Lively wears a Dolce & Gabbana
people don’t know about your wife?’ And he eyes off them.” He pauses for a moment. dress and Christian Louboutin shoes.

252
EXT. MONTE CARLO
STREETS – MONTAGE:

Speeding around
the perilous curves of
the Côte d’Azur, the
investigation takes
a dizzying turn…
DISSOLVE TO:

INT. ABANDONED
HOTEL – NIGHT:

SLOW PUSH IN TO:

The Cat, in her lair,
surrounded by
jewels, treasures,
dreams. And yet…

Lively in a Louis Vuitton

winged cape.
INT. DOYENNE’S
SUITE – NIGHT:

Distant fireworks and

the din of revelers f rom
the casino below…

CLOSE ON: the glittering

Cartier necklace.

The Cat, coveted trophy in

hand, steals toward the
terrace – SUDDENLY, L’Ombre
steps from the shadows,
their faces almost touching,
locked in a deadly dance.

Lively wears a Michael Kors Collection

dress and Cartier High Jewelry
necklace. Hugh Jackman wears a
Ralph Lauren Purple Label suit.

255
 on the piazza. The crowd moves to make EXT. POLICE CAR
– NIGHT:
room for us; it’s just me and Blake and her
mom, Elaine, a cheerful, dreamy woman
CLOSE ON: The Cat’s
in a baseball cap who discusses chocolate
slender wrists encircled
flavors with me. Elaine often comes along not with diamonds, but
to help with the kids. Blake has mentioned with handcuffs.
her mother, how growing up she always
told her: “You can’t mess it up.” Blake grew WIDE: As L’Ombre resists
up with four siblings and, as the youngest, the urge to steal one last
was often thrown into the entertainment- glance… The question
industry lifestyle of her mother and late lingers in the air: “What
father, Ernie, both veterans of Hollywood might have been?”...
who took Blake along to acting classes. Dec-
orating the house for a party, even letting her FADE OUT.
cut her hair, Elaine told Blake: “You can’t
mess it up.” “And I could very much mess it CREDITS ROLL.
up!” Blake says. “My instinct is I really want
to do the work and prepare and be ready
before I even take the first step in trying.
And she’s somebody who’s just like, Go go!
Learn as you go!”
“I want two cups,” Blake says to the young
woman behind the counter. “Big ones! I
want lemon and mint ginger and coconut
and….”
Then we are making our way back
through the crowd. She is telling me that
she’s off to Madrid the next morning—to
bring her family to see her friend Taylor
Swift. Swift, like Jackman, is someone she
holds dear. She’s known for these close
friendships, and Gigi Hadid tells me, “To be
friends with her is to have the most beauti-
ful, effortlessly cool, witty, fun, fashionable,
creative, caring bonus sister.”
“I was thinking about what you said
before, about luck,” Blake says, holding out
both dripping cups of ice cream as we make
our careful way back to the fountain. Then
she stops and looks me directly in the eye:
“Wouldn’t it be terrible if I didn’t realize
how lucky I am?”
Blake heads back to work, and I sit to chat
with her mother until she tells me to turn
around.
Suddenly, here she is: the person I came
to see.
Festooned with pearls in a Botticelli pat-
tern of foam decorating this particular god-
dess, standing before the Baroque grotto of
the Trevi Fountain, its falls and inlets, its
storm-carved stone, its water splashing and
Jackman and Lively (in a Gucci dress
glittering, she walks, herself glittering with and Bulgari High Jewelry earrings
tiny jewels, the pearls clinking like shells and ring), joined here by Simon Jones
or gold coins, and the hair, Botticelli again, and Michael Philouze. In this story:
For Lively: hair, Jennifer Yepez;
falling over her right shoulder in soft blond makeup, Kristofer Buckle/Crosby
waves precisely like the waves of the foun- Carter MGMT using Charlotte Tilbury
tain itself, spilling over the final lip in the Beauty. For Jackman: grooming,
glow of the evening lights. She walks toward Thomas Dunkin. For supporting
talent: hair, Edward Lampley;
the camera, and just for a moment, none of makeup, Liselotte van Saarloos.
us can breathe. * Details, see In This Issue.

256
PRO DUCE D BY BOO M PRO DUCT I O NS. PRO DUCTI O N D ESI G N : CATH E RI N E MA RT I N .
A RT D I RECTO R : CH RI STO PH ER TAN G N EY. SE T D ESI G N : NI C HO LAS D ES JA RD IN S.
PRO DUCE R : F L E TC HE R D O N OHU E . LO CAT IO N : PI E R 59 ST U D I OS.
SWING SHIFT
With the election of their lifetimes looming on the horizon, eight models—
each of them with ties to a battleground state—tell us what’s important
to them, what they’re fighting for, where they’re voting, and how they’re finding
value and purpose in uneasy times. Photographed by Stef Mitchell.

PRECIOUS LEE
GEORGIA

I was raised in Atlanta, in Fulton County, and grew up knowing that voting is a privilege that was handed to
me by the blood of my ancestors. Civil rights activists fought for equality through the power of the vote.
I felt so incredibly grateful that I was able to cast my first vote for Barack Obama when I was attending
Clark Atlanta University. The entire Atlanta University Center—Morehouse, Spelman, Morehouse
School of Medicine, and Clark Atlanta—was bursting with pride and pure joy. We all knew that we were
a part of history. That election was all hands on deck, and we made it happen.
Fulton County has always been crucial in elections, so no matter where I am in the world, I make sure
I get back to Georgia to vote. I took three planes to get back for the last election. I’ve waited in lines for
hours into the night when necessary—and I’ll be doing the same on November 5. Civil rights, women’s
rights, environmental consciousness—the list of important issues is long. We can’t afford to ignore what’s
happening—we have to show up and vote. Period.

Precious and her mother, Anita, photographed at Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta. Precious wears an Erdem
top and skirt; erdem.com. Anita wears a Dolce & Gabbana dress; dolcegabbana.com. Jimmy Choo shoes on both;
jimmychoo.com. Hair, Sabrina Szinay; makeup, Grace Ahn.
Fashion Editor: Camilla Nickerson.
 QUANNAH CHASINGHORSE
ARIZONA

The Navajo Nation in Arizona is like my

second home. I have a lot of Diné family
there, including my little brother, and I
just feel closely intertwined with the culture
and way of life. I’m registered to vote in
Alaska, but because Arizona is a swing state—
and because of how powerful the Native
vote is there—I keep up with its politics.
My mom explains things to me—not just
the candidates, but what they’ll bring to
our community—and I talk to my friends.
My friend Nanabah—she’s a Diné model—
and I have had many long conversations.
We’re all more involved with and more
aware of this election. One thing we
discuss a lot is what the Native community
would endure in the future depending
on the outcome.
There’s a historical mistrust between our
people and the government: Throughout
history, we’ve had so many broken treaties.
But it’s important that we understand who
is actually willing to listen and help us make
a change and not just pretend that we’re
not here. I try to think, What impact will my
vote have? How will my vote allow me to
feel like my voice is being heard?
To this day, Indigenous people are still,
constantly, fighting to protect our sacred
lands, and to have clean water—or even access
to water—on our reservations. My biggest
worry in this election, though, is losing our
sovereignty. When we lose our sovereignty,
we lose our lands. We lose all of the things
that we fought so hard for, including
health care, scholarships to help Native kids
go to college, and so many other programs
that help Indigenous people.
I’m staying positive by knowing I’m not
alone in this fight. Seeing more women
of color and people of color take up space
in Congress is refreshing. And in the 2020
election, the Native turnout was one of the
biggest in history. We saw how important
and how impactful the Native vote is. It
showed that when we show up, we show out.
There’s power in numbers.

Quannah Chasinghorse (far right, in a Ralph Lauren

Collection dress; ralphlauren.com) and members
of the Navajo Nation, photographed at the Page
Shores Amphitheater in Page, Arizona. from left:
Jocelyn Billy-Upshaw, Naomi Upshaw, Mya Upshaw,
model Nanabah (wearing a JW Anderson dress;
jwanderson.com), Sharon Claw-Watson, and Rose
Claw. Hair, Sabrina Szinay.

260
TESS BREEDEN
WISCONSIN

I spend my summers in Wisconsin, where

my mom’s side of the family is from, and
my grandma’s neighborhood there tends to
lean right—it’s full of red yard signs.
I hold Wisconsin close to my heart—the
lakes and forests and the wildflowers
alongside the roads. My family and I spend
our time on the water, skiing, kayaking,
and swimming. I love Washington, DC,
where I live now and where I’m registered to
vote, more than anything, but Wisconsin
revives me. That said, my family and I discuss
the news and current events all the time
in DC, and debate the merits of this policy
or that law—but when we visit Wisconsin,
we generally don’t talk about politics because
of the party divide among my family there.
There are so many issues that motivate
me to vote, but they’re all about being heard.
American women have been losing the
right to make choices about our own bodies.
I also think that elections are an important
time to spotlight the issue of various local
laws and regulations and complications that
prevent minorities from getting to the
polls. So many Americans don’t even get a
platform or the opportunity to express
their voices, to be heard—and isn’t that
what democracy is all about?

Tess and her cousin Charlie, photographed at a

friend’s farm in Hartland, Wisconsin. Tess wears
a Burberry sweater and dress; us.burberry.com.
Charlie wears a Zara tank top (zara.com) and Gap
shorts (gap.com). Hair, Sabrina Szinay.

263
DE’LANEY ORTIZ
MICHIGAN

Gun laws are something I feel very strongly

about. I have two brothers that passed
away due to gun violence: One was killed
last year, and my younger brother died
previously—he was playing with a gun.
I think gun education is very important—I
mean, they’re here, and they’re not going
away; it’s ridiculous how accessible guns are
in Detroit. So let’s figure out how we can
exist with guns instead of just going back
and forth, arguing and pointing fingers.
It’s very easy to be cynical, but I choose
the other option, which is to believe in
people. Having served in the military,
I have to believe in the things that I put my
life on the line for. It helps to know how
much young people actually care about
what’s going on, despite some in the older
generation thinking that kids don’t care
about anything. That is a bright spot: seeing
how much they want to fight for good,
despite everything that is going on. I’m
lucky that I have a lot of family younger
than me—literally, when I want to sulk,
I put my head down and I see my nieces and
nephews. And they’re looking up.

De’Laney Ortiz (fourth from right, in a Tom Ford

suit; tomfordfashion.com), photographed with
family at his grandmother’s house in Detroit.
from far left: CJ Finley, Skylar Destini Love,
Derrick Poston (in a Tom Ford suit), Dominique
Dickerson (in a Marc Jacobs dress; bergdorf
goodman.com), Blessing Poston, London Knight,
Derrick Poston Jr., Rae’Jon Hampton, Dereke
Pauling, Raquel Ortiz, and De’Kartier Poston.
in foreground: Diez Poston. Hair: Sabrina Szinay.
Menswear Editor: Michael Philouze.

265
 top: Darius Poston wears a Hanes tank top (hanes.com), H&M shorts (hm.com), and Nike shoes (nike.com).
bottom: Dereke Pauling (far left) wears a Calvin Klein tank top (calvinklein.com). London Knight (second from right)
wears an Adidas tracksuit.

266
top, back row: Jamie Knight (in a Dior dress; Dior boutiques), Aubony Poston (in an Emilia Wickstead dress;
emiliawickstead.com), London Knight, Raquel Ortiz, Derrick Poston, Blessing Poston, Dominique Dickerson, CJ Finley,
and Darius Poston. top, front row: Saudia Poston, De’Kartier Poston, Diez Poston, Dereke Pauling, De’Laney Ortiz,
Rae’Jon Hampton, Derrick Poston, and Skylar Destini Love.

267
JESSICA MILLER
NEVADA

Las Vegas is my hometown, and my aunt

and my cousin and her four children live in
Reno, and yeah: The politics can be quite
colorful, and the election years have always
been very interesting. I don’t see eye to
eye with all my family members, but I think
it’s healthy to have civil conversations
with folks whom we don’t agree with on
every issue—that’s how we move forward.
Our society seems focused on what
separates us, but I think we have more in
common than we might expect.
I’m still registered to vote in Nevada, and
I proudly go back home and vote with
my dad in every election. We vote at my old
elementary school—it’s our tradition.
One of the most important issues to me
in recent years—and even recent weeks,
or days—is protecting reproductive rights.
There has been an assault on reproductive
rights, and particularly as a woman it
feels like I have to use my voice and my
vote to make a difference.
I’ve been a voting cheerleader since I first
signed up and registered when I turned 18.
And I understand that young folks may feel
disillusioned and feel their vote doesn’t
count, but if you don’t use it, you’re ceding
that vote to someone else.

Gabriela Hearst dress; gabrielahearst.com.

Hair, Jimmy Paul; makeup, Grace Ahn.

269
HUNTER PIFER MADDIE ZIEGLER
FLORIDA PENNSYLVANIA

I was born in Michigan and then moved to Florida when Because of my dance background, I grew up being told that you
I was super young. Growing up queer in that state, I didn’t had to do whatever your teacher said, and not to speak to an
understand why people viewed me so differently—in high elder unless you’re spoken to—there was no other option. It’s so
school, while I was transitioning, policies were being put into cool to be able to weigh in on the conversation now.
place about whether or not I could use which bathroom, or Education and civil rights and liberties are really important to
whether I’d have access to bare-minimum trans health care. me. I also feel strongly that a woman’s body is hers, and that no
Luckily, I had an amazing support system, including my mom politician should be making medical decisions for another human.
and my friends. I acted in a film that came out this year, Fitting In, which was based
Being able to vote for the first time in 2020 was incredible— on the experiences of the writer-director Molly McGlynn, who
it felt like there was a new wave of young people making has a reproductive disorder called Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser
ourselves feel known. Before that, I felt so powerless having (MRKH) syndrome. That whole process really helped to clarify
all these adults telling me what I could and couldn’t do with what this election will look like for me, and what I care about.
my body. The fact that those rights are now being threatened I voted for the first time in the last election, when I had just turned
again is terrifying. Whether or not a specific candidate 18. I submitted an absentee ballot because I was out of town, but
fully aligns with how you feel, we just need to get out there my mom and I still went and picked up “I Voted!” stickers—it was a
and vote—to make sure that our voice means something. very big moment. This year, I plan to go in person.

Hunter wears a Chloé jumpsuit; chloe.com. Her mother, Paula, wears MM6 Maison Margiela slip dress; maisonmargiela.com. Hair, Jimmy Paul;
a Prada dress; prada.com. Gentle Monster sunglasses; gentlemonster makeup, Grace Ahn.
.com. Hair, Jimmy Paul; makeup, Grace Ahn.

271
 ZAHRA TRAORE
NORTH CAROLINA

The issues I’m paying attention to are

foreign policy—my parents immigrated to
Charlotte from Mali—and where our tax
money is going. I’m young, so gun reform
is huge. Also women’s rights, and bodily
autonomy, and knowing what my options
are, especially since in the South, as soon
as you go out of the city, people have
completely different ideals. You feel these
things so heavily in a swing state: You
don’t know what the majority of people
are going to say, because it’s so completely
different 30 minutes away. It’s why I’m
still registered to vote in North Carolina;
it feels like my vote matters more there.
Everyone’s kind of holding their breath
with this election, but young people are
tired, and we’re calling things out for what
PRO DUCE D BY A P ST UD IO, I N C.

they are. No matter who becomes president,

though, there’s still going to be a demand
that we make our voices heard.

Zahra and her younger sister Mariam, photographed

in their mother’s backyard in Charlotte, North
Carolina. Zahra wears a Loewe dress; similar styles
at loewe.com. Hair, Sabrina Szinay.

272
The
Simple
Life
Call it the legacy
of minimalism
or just plain
good sense, but
the season’s
most inspired
silhouettes
manage to pack
color, texture,
volume, and
shape into sharply
edited—and
utterly wearable—
packages.
Photographed by
Nigel Shafran.

PAPER TRAIL
Reading the room—and
the news from the fall
runways—model Angelina
Kendall understands
that relaxed proportions
and a pastel palette let
louche layers fly. Dries Van
Noten coat, top, button-
down shirt, and pants;
driesvannoten.com. The
Row shoes (here and
throughout); therow.com.
Fashion Editor:
Alex Harrington.
 ON THE UP AND UP
Angelina leans over
and into the fitted and
the swagging, the luxe
and the utilitarian in
an Hermès bodysuit
(Hermès boutiques)
and Undercover
pants (Dover Street
Market, New York).

276
BURNING THE DAYS
above: Actor Guy
Remmers wears a
coat from The Row
(therow.com), a T-shirt
from Calvin Klein
(calvinklein.us), and
ERL pants (erl.store).
All worn here and
throughout. opposite:
A shapely Fendi jacket
and pants; fendi.com.

279
COUNTER CULTURE
Angelina posts up
and listens in, dressed
in a handsome mohair
Gucci jacket worn
inside out (gucci.com)
and two-tone Lutz
Huelle jeans (Mameg,
Los Angeles).
beauty note
Maximize your time:
The cooling formula
of La Mer’s Deep
Purifying Mask contains
pretoxifying ferment
designed to smooth
and clarify skin
in just 10 minutes.

281
 BREAKING NEWS
Layered over
pants, Angelina’s
breezy Prada shift
dress (prada.com)
seems especially
smashing. Maison
Margiela belt.

282
LET IT DRIP
above: Undercover
jumpsuit; Dover
Street Market, New
York. opposite: A
feather-fringed dress
from The Row (the
row.com) cranks up
the cool factor.

285
 TECH SUPPORT
Angelina manages
her screen time
in one of Demna’s
perfectly mad, intently
human creations
for Balenciaga: a dress
that appears to be
bound about the body
with packing tape;
balenciaga.com.

286
 WATCH IT!
Tiffany & Co. Elsa
Peretti pendant and
earrings; tiffany
.com. Rolex Datejust
31 yellow-gold
watch; rolex.com.

288
 TIPPING POINT
PRO DUCE D BY H OL MES PRO DUCT I O N.

Angelina shakes
things up—and out!—
in an aqueous top
and viscose silk
SE T D ESI G N : DA ISY A Z IS.

cargos from Phoebe

Philo; phoebephilo
.com. In this story:
hair, Soichi Inagaki;
makeup, Dick
Page. Details, see
In This Issue.

290
ALL IN
Ghesquière with
his black Labradors
Léon and Achille
at his country home
outside of Paris.
Sittings Editor:
Amanda Harlech.
 For a decade, Nicolas
Ghesquière’s Louis
Vuitton has thought
big—globally big—with
its mix of historic
narrative and futuristic
vision. Fashion still
holds a powerful sway
for Ghesquière—but so
too, he tells Nathan
Heller, does a life far, far
away from work.
Portraits by Justine Triet.

DEEP
GOING
W
a perpetual courtier to the powerful female added a fourth full collection, called Voy-
personae he helps design. He is neither tall ager, aimed largely at the Asian markets that
nor short, with pale blue eyes and a rush of now account for its greatest growth. “I first
dark brown hair that was long in his youth proposed to do a show in Korea—everyone
but is now barbershop-crisp and slick. At was a bit shocked, but Nicolas was the first
53, he wears a brush of graying whiskers one to jump on board and say, ‘Why not?’ ”
and a wardrobe both low-key and precise: explained Vuitton’s CEO for the past year
Nike ACGs in subdued colors (today, gray); and a half, Pietro Beccari, who pushed the
voluminous, beautifully made sweatshirts idea along with a rapid distribution to shops.
(generally black); and casual trousers. With “It’s basically our version of ‘see now, buy
Brokaw, Buonomano, and Sauvé, he perches now’ ”—a key phrase in fashion ever since
at a pair of simple chrome-framed tables, the runway audience has expanded from edi-
When Nicolas Ghesquière presented his with a huge foam board of headshots leaned tors and buyers to the world. It meant that
fall show in a courtyard of the Louvre in on a pillar nearby. The models who approach Ghesquière prepared a major new collection
March, it was with a view not only forward are wearing Vuitton shoes and, in place of for March, another for April, and a third for
but a long way back. The collection marked garments, Vuitton cloth: Since most pieces May: a breakneck creative pace.
Ghesquière’s full decade as artistic director at of the new collection aren’t ready, the models “Dealing with the acceleration has become
Louis Vuitton—an impressive tenure by any have been done up with dummy wraps and important,” he explains. These days, he rises
standard, and an exceptional one at a moment simple cuts that simulate the finished pieces’ at what seems to him an ungodly early hour
when creative turnover in the fashion indus- movement and silhouette. Such extensive (seven) and devotes himself to preparation
try seems to accelerate every year. But it also pre-engineering is unusual but bespeaks for the day: meetings, fittings, plannings.
made a claim for the unity of Ghesquière’s the needs of the world’s largest brand; “The studio has grown, the atelier has grown,
vision over a period when, it could be said, Ghesquière’s anniversary show brought and we have had to adapt,” he says. When-
little else in the world held. Down the run- ever I saw him, he was downing large cups
way that day came an allusive tour of his of French coffee in continuous succession,
previous collections—shift dresses and tur- “I’m conscious of the like a smoker using the butt of one cigarette
tlenecks, It bags and frock coats—building
toward the revelation that so wide a sampling
possibility of celebrating to light the next.
Now, after a moment sitting in thought,
worked as a coherent collection in 2024. different representations,” Ghesquière rises to inspect the board.
“There’s a maturation of his ideas across
collections but really across seasons,” as the
Ghesquière says. “Not “I think three skirts are enough,” he says
cautiously. “We have four skirts, but that
filmmaker Ava DuVernay, a frequent guest at everybody can afford what means we repeat a shape, which I’m not
Ghesquière’s shows, puts it. “The ideas have we do, but the way that crazy about.”
“No,” Buonomano says, standing up sud-
had a journey—and a life.”
Then, a couple of months later, Ghes- anyone can recognize denly. “There’s another.”
quière assembled a cast of models in his stu- themselves in it is free” “Another shape?” Ghesquière lights up.
dio and—in the rhythm of his own life over “Ah-oooh! You’re right—the skirt that goes
the past decade—prepared to do it all again. on the side!”
“Hi, Sacha!” he exclaims as the model 4,000 guests to the Louvre but was seen by A new model is coming down the stu-
Sacha Quenby enters, wearing a purple an estimated half-billion people online. dio runway, dressed in culottes, high heels,
bow-like wrap top, high boots, and billow- “Fashion used to be for weird people,” and a shawl. This is América González, a
ing jodhpurs, and begins to stride down a Ghesquière tells me at one point, with a former Venezuelan medical student, and
test runway in the middle of the room. The laugh. When he started out in the business, Ghesquière, his mood lifted by his luck with
studio is bright and spare, with fine cream- in the ’90s, he explains, the fashion-forward the fourth skirt, greets her warmly.
colored carpeting and Vuitton bags arranged seemed a small, sweet tribe of outsiders and “Hi, América!” he exclaims with a wide
on open metal shelves. Ghesquière sits with passionate iconoclasts, mocked or treated smile. And América grins and says hi back.
his close deputies: casting director Ashley as space aliens by the broader world. Now
Brokaw; the house’s design and image direc- fashion turns the great machine of creative I first profiled Ghesquière for Vogue 10 years
tor, Florent Buonomano; and Marie-Amélie enterprise and global celebrity—embraced, ago, on the occasion of his arrival at Louis
Sauvé, the stylist and editor who has been evaluated, and expounded by a billion Insta- Vuitton after a rise at Balenciaga so meteoric
Ghesquière’s collaborator for some 30 years. gram channels, as mainstream as the enter- that it defied designers of two generations
“Did you enjoy China?” Ghesquière asks tainment industry and by most measures to best it. When we met for the first time
Quenby, who had walked in Ghesquière’s more lucrative. Of all the successes borne then, in Paris, Ghesquière was friendly but,
show in Shanghai the previous month. on these ascents, perhaps no brand has risen I thought, plainly on edge: He was reserved
“It was fun,” she says, while making higher than Vuitton, or as quickly. and inwardly cast, there but somehow lost
another march down the runway. “I will not say this job isn’t comparable in his mind. His looming project, in early
Ghesquière turns to his team. “Pretty, no?” to the one I took 10 years ago, but it has 2014, was creating not just a collection but
“Beautiful,” says Sauvé. become almost another job,” Ghesquière a vocabulary of mood, style, and codes to
“The flowers will look great,” he says. says. Last year, to Vuitton’s three flagship guide his future at the house—an endeavor he
In person, Ghesquière has a buoyant, women’s collections—spring, fall, and cruise, described to me, sounding at times like Paris
well-turned aspect that seems to cast him as all designed by Ghesquière—the brand on the heels of Helen, as “the new profile.”

294
 a show, we went to lunch very quickly after,
and it was love at first sight.”) Ten years
into his tenure at Vuitton, one can wonder
whether Ghesquière’s path fits less with his
contemporaries’ than with the lions’ of the
previous generation: Jean Paul Gaultier, for
whom he was once an assistant; Yves Saint
Laurent; Azzedine Alaïa; and, of course, the
mercurial wizard of Chanel. Since 2019,
there has been a Karl Lagerfeld–size hole in
French fashion, with no obvious candidate to
replace that odd blend of eclectic refinement,
commercial ambition, ambassadorship, and
perdurance. As the longest-, highest-standing
active designer in Paris, Ghesquière can seem
to be the closest thing to next in line.
“He has a vision of the world in general,
not just about fashion—his own specific
way of seeing and interpreting that is very
specific to himself—which is why, for me,
yes, he’s a fashion designer, but also a true
artist,” Sauvé says. Beccari, who worked with
Lagerfeld at Fendi, tells me, “Nicolas never
wants to do only something that he did in
the past, and in that he is similar to Karl.
He’s also a maniac for detail and for the con-
struction of the clothes.”
Ghesquière himself is wary of the compar-
ison, and protective of the idea of Lagerfeld’s
uniqueness. “I’m not sure I’m that person,” he
I hadn’t understood what he meant until I DOG DAYS tells me one day on a sofa in his precisely, qui-
saw it on the runway. Ghesquière’s new sil- Ghesquière and his partner, Drew Kuhse, etly decorated office. He wears black trousers
with Léon, Achille, and (in
houette, elaborated across the garments of Kuhse’s arms) Banjo, a greyhound-terrier and a Gaultierian marinière (also known as
his first shows, had the effect of summing mix and new addition to the family. a mime shirt). “Karl had this character he
up the fashion of the past decade and set- presented to the world, and people reacted
ting the course for the one to come. The overall earnings of its parent, LVMH—and to that; I’m more of a chameleon somehow,
look was precise and strong at the shoul- his extended influence is plain. “Nicolas built which is I think part of my creative process.”
ders, long and tailored at the torso, formed codes at Louis Vuitton, where ready-to-wear If he is aware of leadership responsibili-
of refined new fabrics (a Ghesquière signa- is actually quite recent,” Beccari says. What ties in his singular position, they have more
ture), and cut in futuristic geometries based was a new silhouette 10 years ago is now the to do with making sure that the industry, in
on the Vuitton V. The hems fell just above heraldry of luxury’s largest empire. its current enterprise and ubiquity, doesn’t
the knee, with a youthful flair. The pieces Ghesquière’s latest contract renewal, lose sight of the values that shaped its icon-
were paired with little ankle boots that which he signed last fall, gives him at least oclastic Weird People days. We are speak-
drew out the long, straight form of the leg. five more years at Vuitton—a commitment, ing during France’s summer of political
The new silhouette reflected Ghesquière’s one might say, to the idea of commitment, chaos, as the anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ
hybrid genius, drawing together elements at a time when other designers of his gener- far right seemed to amass power and sup-
T HI S PAG E A ND P REV I OUS SP R E A D: P RODUC E D BY TA N N S ERV I CES.

in such a way as to be almost anything to ation, such as Phoebe Philo and Hedi Sli- port before losing its bid for governmental
anyone—Parisian but international, tai- mane, trace more restive careers. Ghesquière control in July. Ghesquière is ginger with
lored enough for workplace powerwear made his name at a time when feedback on politics—“Being at a brand like Vuitton, with
but romantic enough for the after-party— a collection meant rushing to the news- this big platform, we have to be very careful,
while remaining emblematically itself. stand the morning after a show, and yet if we take strong positions, not to exclude,”
“He was working on a type of femininity— the social media earthquake did not unseat he says archly—but thinks the time is ripe
this sharp and strong woman,” says Julien him. He was at the center of Vuitton when for reassertion of fashion’s progressive out-
Dossena, his longtime protégé and confidant Brigitte Macron campaigned for her hus- sider values. “Dressing is a way of expressing
and now the artistic director of Rabanne. “It band’s presidency, in 2016, and, a few global yourself in ways that have been, sometimes,
was his own taste, and it fit with Vuitton.” upheavals later, in the 2020s, when, as first forbidden,” he says. “And there’s the principle
Soon the profile was everywhere, and the lady, she wore Vuitton as a global emblem of of a new silhouette, a new perspective, new
brand, too. When Ghesquière joined Louis French craft and savoir faire. (Ghesquière’s character, a new person, a new way of wear-
Vuitton, the house was doing nine billion friendship with the president’s wife—or, as ing your hair or makeup, breaking genders,
dollars a year in retail. Last year its retail he calls her, “Brigitte”—is, he insists, a mat- making different body shapes, supporting
exceeded 20 billion—more than half of the ter of neither state nor trade: “She came to women’s rights.” A good collection works

295
 to extend, not shrink, the frame of accep­ These days, Ghesquière’s challenge is a beige dress hung carefully under plastic.
tance, all the more so in a moment of high different: He’s a dean of the field, around “This, I love.”
mainstream influence. “It is a great way,” he yesterday, around tomorrow, dragging his In draping, or flou, as it ’s known in
says, “to make people understand things they large oeuvre forward while watching a Paris—charmingly, the French word for
wouldn’t be ready to understand.” new crop of new darlings turn heads. “You “vagueness” and “blur”—all work is done on
As an example, Ghesquière points to know you’re never going to be the surprise mannequins, in the round.
his spring 2020 collection, which, arriving of the day,” he says. “But you can still be “This is the skirt we were looking at before,
amid trans­rights struggle, centered on a the surprise of the season, if you see what I on the boards, when we were wondering
close­up of the late Scottish trans music art­ mean.” Some of the new wunderkinder leave whether to add another one!” he says, rush­
ist SOPHIE singing “It’s Okay to Cry” pro­ him cold, he confesses; some have work he ing over to a piece in progress. He pauses to
jected on an enormous screen alongside both admires; and some he loves so much that he consult with Margot Roszak Defays, the flou
women and “genderless” models. Or his deci­ has contributed to their ascents. (He won’t “first”—like the first chair in an orchestra—
sion, he says against internal counsel, to base say who has received this beneficence.) As a whom he has worked with for 22 years:
a collection on Japanese anime with Sailor mentor, he’s invested in the idea of designers When he left Balenciaga, he brought her
Moon and the manga super­nerd Fernanda aiming not just for success but for endur­ with him, along with a tailoring first named
Ly as part of the campaigns. “That’s why I ance. When Dossena made the leap to the Christelle Arbefeuille. “Their hands are mag­
wanted to take the job—I was conscious of helm of Rabanne in 2014, Ghesquière ical,” he explains. “We assign them to flou and
the possibility of celebrating different repre­ offered counsel. “Nicolas said to me, ‘It’s tailleur, but, honestly, they can do anything.
sentations,” he says. (The manga collection working—but the important thing is not “You always face the blank page as a
ended up a great retail success.) “Of course, to make a splash but to last; it’s to get to designer,” he goes on. “Except now, behind
we’re creating luxury, and not everyone can your body of work and go on and on and the blank page, there are 10 years of fun­
afford what we do. But the way that any­ damentals that have been developed with
one can recognize themselves in it is free.” vocabulary: a pocket, a detail, a combination
He sees this halfway measure as one of the “I knew I was in trouble,” of colors, a specific shape of trouser. And
advantages of social media: Even people out­
side the market for Vuitton’s retail can draw
Ghesquière recalls of his that creates”—he grins—“serenity.”
“He breaks barriers in his design—he was
on a culture of idiosyncratic self­expression first date with Kuhse. one of the first people to say that we can wear
that, he argues, the house helps value.
Ghesquière appreciates these subtler
“I felt so good. I felt excited. short dresses to the Met Gala and put boots
with those dresses and then sneakers and
points of influence, in part because so much I felt”—he reflects shorts with our riding jackets—but on the
about Vuitton seems big and booming. He
is proud of new models who have their first
for a moment—“happy” other hand his designs are always quite teth-
ered,” the actress Jennifer Connelly, one of his
walks on his runway. When his team dis­ early and enduring muses, says. “Somehow
covers someone they love, they offer a six­ on, because that’s where you are going to he’s able to do those things and maintain bal­
month exclusive contract to let the model be satisfied, not just used by the industry,’ ” ance and wearability with the overall design.”
train under their focused vision. “It’s also Dossena remembers. When Ghesquière began work on his
a way to protect the models,” he explains. 10th­anniversary show, he put down the
“Because if they’re everywhere too quickly, One afternoon, I follow Ghesquière to an pencil and, instead, assembled his studio to
what we’ve seen in the past is that it’s some­ atelier set up below his office in the sleek, ask which of his past pieces stood the test
times very hard to handle mentally.” He had discreet 2nd­arrondissement building to of time. Then he began to mix them up and
his own early fashion job, with Gaultier, as which Vuitton moved this year on a tem­ play—could a winter coat from a past season
a teenager, and in retrospect is grateful for porary basis: Its riverside headquarters are become an evening dress? “It’s a clue game
the way the designer shielded him from the being renovated, and the entire operation that the connoisseur might recognize,” he
industry’s toxic dynamics. “I don’t know if has been uprooted. For a man in the busi­ says. “The newcomer won’t, but they might
I learned that much there—I was making ness of endurance, Ghesquière’s life has recognize a style.” Some silhouettes had
coffee and photocopies—but I realize now, lately been in startling flux. The homes he more potential than he’d seen five or seven
more than 30 years later, that they put me in owns (there are a few) are also under ren­ years ago and were carried forward. “In a
the right lane, and what I represent today is ovation, a fact he notes sheepishly. “This way, this is what makes a beautiful luxury
people who, one after another, kept me in is something I’ve always had—the need to house,” he avers. “It took me a few years and
that lane,” he says. initiate something,” he explains. an anniversary show to own it. But I’ve real­
Ghesquière’s ascent at Balenciaga, which The Vuitton atelier is a space of both ized that it’s actually okay to turn in a cycle.”
seemed a step up from a string of obscure tradition and modernity. Clustered work­ The cyclical nature of life—and the for­
fashion jobs but which grew from perhaps benches are devoted to the classic fashion ward movement it entails—has been much
the least propitious design assignment in disciplines—tailoring, draping, knitwear. on Ghesquière’s mind this year, in part
fashion—he was in charge of funeralwear Ghesquière races around with whoops because his father died in April. “He was
for the Japanese market—spouted him up as of excitement. not well for a long time, but you never get
the industry’s top wunderkind with incred­ “I can tell I’m going to discover some stuff ready for those moments, and it feels like a
ible speed. “Being the new darling was very I haven’t seen!” he exclaims to a wry, unflap­ new life starting, somehow,” he says. A tight
stimulating,” he says dryly. “You always pable man named Mario Lefranc, who leads circle of close friends helped, as did his
remember that moment—and think, maybe, the atelier as Vuitton’s technical director of mother. “She has always been a great inspi­
it’s never gone.” womenswear. Ghesquière pauses to admire ration for me, and I admire her more in this

296
 LOOKING THE PART
from top left: Ghesquière’s Louis Vuitton on
Rachel Brosnahan (with Oscar Isaac) in 2023; Adut Akech
in 2022; and Sora Choi and Imaan Hammam in 2022.

moment,” he says. “She’s so strong, so sen- was in trouble,” Ghesquière recalls. “I felt
TO P LE FT: P H OTO G RA P HE D BY N O RM A N J EA N ROY, VOGUE, W I N TE R 2023. TO P RI G HT: PH OTOGRAPH ED BY STEFAN RUIZ ,

sitive. And she has a vision for the future.” so good. I felt excited. I felt”—he reflects for
Ghesquière had a close bond with his a moment—“happy.”
father, and today thinks back on family time When Ghesquière returned home at the
VO GUE, MAY 202 1 . BOT TO M: P HOTO GRA P H E D BY N A D IN E IJ EW E RE , VO GU E, O CTOBE R 2022/TRUNK ARCH IVE.

they had over the last year, as in an evening end of that trip, he had a sense something
boating together on the Seine. “I was able to had changed. “I knew it was serious,” he says.
spend—not a lot of time, but a good time,” “I came back to Paris and wasn’t stressed.”
he says. “But I have to be honest.” He furrows He showed his fall collection; when the
his brow. “It’s not that I didn’t prioritize that show ended, he flew back to LA. “I had
time, but I probably put it to the side a little work to do there,” he said. “But I was also
bit too long, for the love of my work.” It’s a there to see Drew.”
mistake he doesn’t plan to make again. That was mid-March 2020. The Vuit-
ton show was the last on the Fashion Week

I
n January 2020, Ghesquière was set schedule that year, but Ghesquière didn’t
up on a blind date by a friend who know, as he fled to the West Coast, that it
thought that something might be would be the final show in Paris for a long
missing from the wide sweep of time. He stayed in LA for two weeks, field-
his life. The date, Drew Kuhse, an ing calls from home. “Marie-Amélie Sauvé
earnest, handsome man, had been and Julien Dossena were like, ‘There’s going
born in Oklahoma but reared largely in the to be a lockdown,’” he recalls. “My mom was
beach havens of San Diego and Costa Rica. couple of acting credits, most prominently like, ‘Come back!’ Everyone had a different
At 18, Kuhse went to Los Angeles, in pur- as a pizza-delivery man in Milk, written way of dealing with it. I was falling in love
suit of a bigger life, and moved into what’s by his onetime roommate and best friend in LA. They said, ‘You can take the plane
known as VIP marketing—product place- Dustin Lance Black. He was late for his tomorrow,’ but every day I postponed my
ment on celebrities and in films—working first date with Ghesquière, in the dining return.” He had holed up in a Chateau Mar-
first for Levi’s, then for Ray-Ban and Persol, room of the Sunset Tower Hotel, during mont bungalow with Kuhse. “Drew was very
and finally, in the boom following Califor- one of Ghesquière’s hasty four-day business cool, but also—I don’t know how to explain
nia’s marijuana legalization, for a cannabis trips to California, and the designer recalls it,” Ghesquière says. “There’s an authenticity
start-up. Along the way, he picked up a being startled when he arrived. “I knew I about his kindness.”

297
 With reluctance, Ghesquière eventually drops,’” he recalls. “ ‘We don’t know if we’re
flew back, lovelorn in the midst of a growing going to be able to do shows, so we’ll do
crisis—“I didn’t know when I was going to small thematic collections every month.’”
see Drew again,” he says—and decamped to Promoting these mini collections was a
his country house with Dossena and Sauvé. new challenge. Ghesquière volunteered to
“Like everyone, I was trying to organize pinch­hit as the photographer for two ad
a new life around dealing with domestic campaigns that June, including one with
things,” he says. He spent weeks on the phone the tennis star Naomi Osaka, fully aware
with Delphine Arnault, then the brand’s that the shoots would send him back to LA.
STEP LIVELY
director and executive vice president, trying “I could come back to Drew,” he says. Model Lulu Tenney
to track a global retail landscape undergoing What followed was a two­month Califor­ wears Louis
drastic change. Louis Vuitton stores in China nia visit that Ghesquière describes as “totally Vuitton (here and
seemed to shut down almost overnight, and, suspended time.” He suggested he and throughout);
select Louis
as the weeks passed, similar lockdowns came Kuhse rent a house in Malibu. “I thought, Vuitton boutiques.
and went across the world. “Delphine was I will never again be able in my life to have Fashion Editor:
like, ‘Okay, let’s divide the collection into two months for this,” he recalls. They settled Grace Coddington.

298 Fashion photographed by Steven Meisel

 LET IT FLOW
“[Ghesquière] is
working on a type of
femininity—this
sharp and strong
woman,” says
his former protégé
Julien Dossena,
now at Rabanne.
Model Sascha
Rajasalu wears
Louis Vuitton (here
and throughout).
BELLE OF
THE BALL
Ghesquière’s
designs are at
once Parisian and
international,
tailored enough for
the office but
romantic enough
for the after-party—
while remaining
emblematically
themselves.
 into a summer on La Costa Beach. “It was before. We could go see graffiti in Calaba- AIR APPARENT
an acceleration—we had no choice: If we sas, vintage bookstores that are completely Ghesquière’s virtuosity
wanted to be together, it was together in the crazy.” In Paris, he never goes to movies, but runs the gamut from
the flou to the tailleur—
same house,” Ghesquière says. In a gesture in California he and Kuhse go all the time. but it’s also animated
of commitment, they brought their dogs “When I’m in LA—I won’t say I’m different, by his singular spirit.
(Ghesquière had two, Kuhse one) into a but I can let go. In Paris, home is an exten- In this story: hair, Guido
Palau; makeup, Pat
single canine family. sion of work.” McGrath. Details, see
For 25 years, Ghesquière had been a For Kuhse, though, Paris has been a brave In This Issue.
dutiful creature of the office: “I would have new world. “The Paris fashion thing has beauty note
felt so guilty not to be there.” Now, to his really been, for me, like learning a new lan- Hyperchromatic and
supernatural? Dae
surprise, he settled into remote work. Every guage, and I’ve loved every minute of it,” he
P RO DUC ED BY P RO D N.

Mirage Mist Leave-In

morning he Zoomed with Paris. Boxes of says. At the moment, Kuhse is more profi- Conditioner uses the
fabric arrived in Malibu, where the local cient in fashion than he is in French—“We rose of Jericho to
style of imagination influenced his own. speak English at home,” he says with an hydrate and guard all
hair types (and colors)
“Drew has a very strong Californian cul- apology. He first arrived in December 2020, from heat damage
ture, and he shows me places I’ve never been and submitted a full C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 3 4 4 up to 450 degrees.

302
The Shape of
Annabelle Selldorf has built a soaring career on gentle interventions,
subtle forms—a design language of elegance and restraint. Dodie Kazanjian
meets the architect of our moment. Photographed by Annie Leibovitz.
 MAINE LINES
Selldorf on the tiny
island in Penobscot
Bay where she
spends downtime.
Her New York–based
firm’s renovation
of the Frick Collection
aims to open at
the end of the year.
 A
the art world, designing spaces for artists ( Jeff Koons, Eric Fischl,
and April Gornik) and galleries (David Zwirner, Hauser & Wirth).
Her budding architectural practice got what she calls a “damn lucky
break” in 1997, when Ronald Lauder asked her to turn a Beaux Arts
mansion on Fifth Avenue into a private museum for his collection
of Austrian and German Expressionist art. The result was the Neue
Galerie, which launched her career. Originally built by Carrère and
Hastings in 1914, it was the perfect calling card for the job at the
Frick, another Carrère and Hastings mansion built the same year
(for the industrialist and collector Henry Clay Frick).
In addition to the Frick—“by a long shot my favorite museum in
New York,” Selldorf says—she has recently finished or is working on
major renovations at the National Gallery in London, the San Diego
Museum of Contemporary Art, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the
Annabelle Selldorf, the architect of the Frick Collection’s renovation Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC, as well as new residential
and expansion, is leading me on a hard-hat tour of the site on Man- towers for the Two Trees Domino Sugar Factory redevelopment in
hattan’s Upper East Side, a few months ahead of the reopening. We Brooklyn and private homes in Manhattan, Long Island, Mexico,
are standing inside the beloved Beaux Arts building, on scaffolding Mustique, and other points around the globe. One of the many
inside a large, curving oval space that will be the new auditorium— reasons her clients love her is that she’s such a great listener. But
something the old Frick never had. For some reason, I have a sense she doesn’t hesitate to disagree when necessary. When the French
of enveloping pleasure and purity, as though I’m inside an egg. “I perfume expert Frédéric Malle asked her to build him a modern ver-
wanted this space to be the color sion of a group of saltbox houses on
of nothing,” Selldorf tells me. “I beachfront property in Southamp-
think it’s always fascinating how ton, Long Island, he remembers her
an overcast sky can be active and saying, “Absolutely not! Not when
yet have no color.” When the work- you have the view, and that type of
ers were skimming and sanding light. You are not building a house
and painting many undercoats of with tiny windows!”
the same whitish primer on the Selldorf is also building a new
ceiling, she realized that the “noth- winery for the preeminent Châ-
ing” effect was integral to the space, teau Haut-Brion, near Bordeaux,
and that no other color was neces- and just before COVID struck, she
sary to produce it. “That’s when I finished adapting a “very, very sim-
thought, Okay, let’s stop. Let’s not ple” 1840s house for herself and her
do any more, because the less we partner, Tom Outerbridge, on the
do, the better.” southernmost tip of a tiny, remote
The nothing effect is a key to island in Penobscot Bay, where his
Selldorf ’s architecture, which has family has summered for genera-
placed her at the top of her profes- tions. “Tom loves the island,” Sell-
sion. “I think Annabelle Selldorf ’s dorf says. “When we met, it took
goal is to create a space that you him a while to invite me to Maine
can feel but don’t have to focus on,” because it was clear that if I didn’t
Michael Kimmelman, the New like it, our relationship would not
York Times architecture critic, says. have lasted.”
“There’s a rigor and a Miesian or- She and Tom, who runs a private
der and attention to materials, but recycling company, and Jussi, their
also a humanity in her work. She 12-year-old corgi-Lab mix, lived
is one of today’s most thoughtful on the island for 18 months during
architects of spaces for art.” HOME FRONT
the pandemic. The nothing (and
Born in Cologne in 1960, Sell- A snapshot by Selldorf of the 1840s house she shares with
everything) effect that she wanted
dorf came to architecture through her partner, Tom Outerbridge, in Maine. for the ceiling of her Frick audito-
her parents. Her father was an rium is all around you on the island,
COU RT ESY O F A NN A B ELLE SE LLD O RF.

architect and her mother worked with him as an interior designer. a never-ending moving picture of sky and sea. Although there is no
They also designed furniture for the German studio Vica, which ferry and there are no roads, shops, or markets of any kind, and only
was founded by her grandmother Ludovica in the 1950s, and which a handful of houses, the island somehow got high-speed internet in
has been reinvented as “Vica by Annabelle Selldorf,” a line of furni- 2019 “just in time,” and, like the rest of the world, Annabelle and Tom
ture, lighting, and accessories run out of a Selldorf-designed gallery found that they could carry on their careers from their island home.
space in downtown New York. Annabelle has lived in the city since “I think I worked harder on the island than ever in my life, but the
1980. In 1988, she opened her firm here, and not too long after- things that are fundamental about architecture—drawing, proportion,
ward, the German art dealer Michael Werner asked her to design scale—I couldn’t do on a computer screen,” she says. “I work with a
his New York gallery. It was the beginning of her collaboration with pencil.” (A yellow 0.9 mm Pentel.) “I can’t draw on the computer, and

306
 ON THE ROAD was there to begin with because the Sainsbury Wing wasn’t per-
Selldorf with her dog, Jussi, in the small utility vehicle fect. It didn’t function as a main entrance.” The revolving doors
she uses to get around the island. and complex fenestration made entering the museum crowded and
confusing. Selldorf ’s design clears and simplifies the space, and adds
it was so hard for me not to be with my team in the office.” That team a public square for gathering outside to make the experience more
ranges from 65 to 70 highly talented and fiercely dedicated people, coherent and more welcoming. After considering all of the criticism
some of whom have been with her for more than 20 years. and complaints in the press, the Westminster City Council gave the
While Selldorf was on the island, the firm won competitions for Selldorf design a green light and the new wing is scheduled to open
the work at the National Gallery in London and the Hirshhorn. The next May. “Many years down the road, this will be remembered as
first phase of the National Gallery job involved a redesign of the a Venturi, Scott Brown building and not as a Selldorf building,”
Sainsbury Wing’s entrance, inside and out, and Selldorf ’s changes Selldorf says. “And I think that’s right.”
had to weather a public critique by Denise Scott Brown (wife and It’s been 10 years since I first wrote about Selldorf for Vogue, and
partner of Robert Venturi, a founder of postmodernist architecture), her reputation has continued to rise. She’s been tapped to serve
whose firm—Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates—had designed on many boards—World Monuments Fund, Center for Curatorial
and completed the building in 1991. “She’s making our building look Studies at Bard College, the Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas,
like a circus clown…wearing a tutu,” Scott Brown told a reporter for and the American Academy of Arts and Letters—and she takes
The Guardian in 2022. This wasn’t the first time Selldorf encoun- these very seriously. She still gets around town on Citi Bikes, buys
tered criticism from Scott Brown. The Museum of Contemporary her groceries at Union Square Market, and prefers quiet evenings at
Art San Diego had also been redesigned by Venturi, Scott Brown in home, cooking simple things (rarely fish), and chatting with Tom—
1996, and when the museum chose Selldorf to do a renovation and and Jussi—about their day. They all enjoy watching Scandinavian
40,000-square-foot expansion, Scott Brown joined 70 architects, police procedurals on TV. Although she has no signature style, and
critics, and preservationists in signing a protest to stop this “tremen- is never referred to as a starchitect, there is no one as adept as she
dous mistake.” (The museum opened in 2022.) is at making the subtle and intensely sensitive interventions that
When Annabelle got the National Gallery commission, she vis- add up to great architecture. The closest she has come to a grand
ited Scott Brown. “I made peace with her and I thought we had a gesture may be her minimalist auditorium for the Frick. She beat
nice relationship,” Selldorf tells me. “But she had an unreasonable about 70 architects in the international competition for the Frick
expectation that I wasn’t going to change the building. The project job. “Annabelle has a track record of working really respectfully and

307
IN THE ROUND
The Frick Collection’s
sculptural new
auditorium, seen
here from two angles,
is a centerpiece of
Selldorf’s renovation.

308
 astutely with historic buildings, being true to herself as a modern open, cinematic sky up in Maine? “No,” she says, “but who has access
architect, but merging what she does with what came before,” Ian to the unconscious? It has something to do with the sky, that’s abso-
Wardropper, the Frick’s director, says. “I wanted her to create a lutely true. I thought of the Domino building as an anchor next to
beautiful space that would harmonize with what was there before. the Williamsburg Bridge. I wanted it to almost disappear at certain
We genuinely hope that you need to pause and ask yourself what’s times. The ephemeral quality is something I find really fascinating.”
new and what’s old.” The museum’s beloved round Music Room had The whole house in Maine is wood—white pine inside and cedar
to be eliminated to make space for a much-needed special exhibi- outside. When they bought it, they thought they’d use it only on
tions gallery that connected with the permanent collection, and a weekends and short vacations, but they’ve found they can stay
lot of people complained about that. But as Wardropper explains, longer—and now drive up with Jussi whenever they can find a stretch
“Sometimes progress requires taking down what was there before, of time when she’s not traveling. (In the past few weeks, she’s been
and the Music Room has always been too small for its purpose back and forth to London three times and to Bordeaux and Texas and
and the acoustics were always subpar.” Concerts and lectures and Paris, where she’s just been hired to renovate the Musée Yves Saint
performances will now be in Selldorf ’s sculptural 220-seat audito- Laurent.) She works during the week but not on weekends, which is
rium. It will be called the Stephen A. Schwarzman Auditorium, in when they hike, wandering in the woods and along the rocky beach,
recognition of a gift from Schwarzman’s foundation. and often take a picnic lunch on their boat, a mini version of a lobster
One of Selldorf ’s most unusual projects is the Château Haut- fishing skiff. This same boat takes them to and from the island in the
Brion winery, in the Bordeaux town of Pessac. Prince Robert of summertime. “I’m not a serious hiker, but I love long walks,” she says.
Luxembourg, the chairman and CEO of the centuries-old wine They keep a small utility vehicle on the island—“much less than a
estate, happens to be a childhood truck,” she says—to navigate the vir-
friend of Annabelle’s partner, Tom tually roadless terrain. Tom tends the
Outerbridge—they became friends
over summers in Maine—and Prince
“Architecture is such garden with its 100-year-old lilacs
and its lettuce, squash, tomatoes,
Robert and Annabelle hit it off.
They began talking about the win-
ery in 2014. He wanted to bring the
a real profession. You and other veggies. She’s the cook.
At 64, Annabelle Selldorf is still
infatuated with architecture. “I’m
complex machinery of winemaking
up to date in a totally carbon-neutral
have to think about much, much more aware of the rea-
son why I enjoy doing what I do,”
structure. He also wanted to intro-
duce a visitor center with a museum how people use space… she says. It’s late afternoon and she’s
talking to me from her all-white
that tells Haut-Brion’s storied his-
tory, of a winemaking tradition
that goes back some 2,000 years.
and how you can upstairs office on the island. “Until
I worked with Ian Wardropper at
the Frick, I don’t think I made it
“What’s exciting about Annabelle
is that she could build a recycling
make them feel better” clear to myself that I’m a practical
person. I’m a visual person. I think
facility in Sunset Park and then do about how things go together. I have
the National Gallery in London,” Prince Robert says. (That’s how very strong opinions about what is beautiful, but at some point I
she met Outerbridge—he was the general manager of the municipal realized it’s about something bigger than that. Architecture is such
recycling plant that hired her.) “For me, that made it clear that she a real profession, and we can imbue it with all kinds of theoretical
could understand great winemaking. Also, there’s something that thinking, but it’s pretty basic when you’re working in the public
corresponds between Annabelle’s character and talents and the type realm. You have to think about how people use space and how they
of wines that we make at Haut-Brion.” circulate and how you can make them feel better.”
Could you flesh that out a little bit? I ask. She continues, “Good architecture is infused by profound think-
“First of all, our wines are always understated. There’s a depth to ing about shelter and society. It includes art, but it’s not the only
them. There’s an elegance. They’re intellectual wines, and Annabelle thing it is. As a young architect, I was preoccupied with putting
is ‘still water runs deep.’ She takes her time. She’s thoughtful. She’s materials together to make space. I now think more about how peo-
not out to wow you. She’ll measure her words and find the exact ple want to come together and in what kind of a space. And that
response to a particular question or problem. I think that thought- space can be almost nothing.”
fulness and that humility will be reflected in our project.” What does almost nothing look like?
Selldorf gives a lot of consideration to the materials she uses, “It looks like having paid attention to absolutely everything all
and for the exterior of the new winery she chose rammed earth, an the time.” She pauses before adding, “What does that look like?
ancient building method using compacted blocks of soil and other It looks like it is at ease and it is in service. The in-service part is
natural materials. “With wine, everything is about the ground where really important.”
the vines grow,” she explains. “It was symbolic to use the earth from She tells me that one of the grand moments in her life came soon
that place and make it visible.” after the opening of David Zwirner’s 20th Street gallery, when the
For the flat, elegant, geometric façade of her residential towers artist Richard Serra came up to her. “‘You’re the architect?’ he said.
P RO DUC ED BY A L ST U D I O.

(one of them is 55 stories, the other one is 39) at Domino Park in I said, ‘Yes,’ and he said, ‘Good job.’ Could there have been a bigger
Brooklyn, she used white pearlescent ceramic tiles, made in Spain, compliment?”
to reflect the changing light from the sky throughout the day. “It’s “No unnecessary flourishes, right?” I ask. “Like your Frick
maybe a little like everything I do,” she says. “I wanted it to feel like auditorium.”
it’s there and it’s not there. When the sky is overcast, it’s incredibly “I aim to do no more than what needs to be done, but no less
beautiful. It’s a powerful building.” Was she thinking of that wide either.” *

310
 TAKING CARE
“Good architecture is
infused by profound
thinking about shelter
and society,” Selldorf
says. “I aim to do
no more than what
needs to be done,
but no less either.”
TIME’S ARROW

FAMILY TIES
The cast of Hills, which
opens on Broadway this month.
from left: Helena Wilson,
Ophelia Lovibond, Leanne Best,
and Laura Donnelly (in costume).
Sittings Editor: Gerry O’Kane.
 M
any months ago, when the British collaborators (Mendes also directed The
playwright Jez Butterworth was Ferryman) and friends; they used to have
starting to ponder the subject for seats next to each other at Arsenal’s Emir-
his next work, he was watching a ates Stadium, and Mendes first became
spider build a web in the doorway aware of the new play when Butterworth
of his farmhouse in Devon. The sun came to his house to watch a match. “My
illuminated each delicate strand as wife, Ali, said, ‘What’s that at the bot-
the arachnid labored. “And it didn’t tom of the coat closet covered in coffee
know,” he tells me, “that my dog stains?’” Mendes recalls. “And he was like,
was going to come running through ‘Oh yeah, I brought that for Sam.’ ” But-
that doorway from his walk and just smash the whole thing to shit.” terworth told him it was his new play, that
That idea—of investing heart and soul in something precarious he should have a look. “I was like, Fuck,
and fragile, only to have it carelessly destroyed—stayed with the I’ll read that. It wasn’t the act of a friend.
playwright as he began writing The Hills of California, which opens It was because I wanted to know what Jez
at Broadway’s Broadhurst this month after a run on London’s West Butterworth was writing next.”
End. Hills is the story of a mother, Veronica, and the four daughters Hills is one of those plays in which you
she is raising by herself in 1950s Blackpool, a seaside resort town can sense a lifetime of simmering ten-
in Lancashire that was once something like the Atlantic City of sions and rivalries, but also a lifetime of
England—a place for frothy diversions and bad behavior. Veronica love and care, within the opening scene.
and her daughters live in and run the Sea View Guesthouse (no “Very few writers provide you with a
seaside visible), where the quarters are named Minnesota, Indiana, fully created and a fully imagined world,”
Alabama, and so on; Blackpool may have a boardwalk, but the dream says Mendes. “And by which I mean not
is on the other side of the ocean. “The hills of California will give imagined onstage, but offstage as well.”
you a start,” sings Johnny Mercer in the classic American standard— Each of the four main actors who play the
part of the girls’ choreographed act. “I guess I better warn ya, ’cause adult sisters—Laura Donnelly ( Joan, the
you’ll lose your heart.” oldest, as well as Veronica in the 1950s
Veronica is painstakingly cultivating her daughters as a quartet section), Leanne Best (Gloria), Ophelia
in the mold of the Andrews Sisters, the harmonizing group from Lovibond (Ruby), and Helena Wilson
Minneapolis that rose from humble beginnings in the 1930s and ’40s ( Jill, the youngest)—received just a few
to help define the sound of the boogie-woogie era. The hammy bops pages when they auditioned, but each
that propelled the group to fame are on the way out, but Veronica of them spoke of the way it conjured
is unaware and undaunted. “Have you heard of Elvis Presley?” asks an entire era and emotional atmosphere.
a talent scout type who shows up to assess the girls. “I don’t know “It was just shouting from the page,
what that is,” she replies. who these people were,” says Lovibond.
This is the “before” of the play, but Hills actually opens in the “after,” “There was such a rich world there,”
about 20 years later, in 1976. The girls are grown, and Veronica, an agrees Donnelly, who with her twin roles
unseen presence in the towering, multistory boarding house, is dying, across two time periods has perhaps the
upstairs and offstage. The youngest sister, Jillian—dutiful and made a most challenging performance in the
little timid by the small scope of her life—has never left home, while play. (She also happens to be married to
the two middle sisters (Gloria and Ruby) are heading to their mother’s Butterworth—an element of her profes-
deathbed with various degrees of dread. Joan, the oldest sister, has sional life that, remarkably, does not seem
been gone for years—she actually did make it to America, though the to introduce much friction. “Laura just
more you learn of her journey the less triumphant it seems. sort of goes into this zone in order to be
The play flips—literally, the set rotates to indicate temporal able to do the show eight times a week,”
shifts—between the two eras: the before, a time of youth, possibility, says Butterworth. “I’m on morning coffee
and ambition; and the after, with its dashed dreams and unfulfilled duty and cooking tea when she gets home. But she doesn’t come back
promises. If this all seems a rather bleak agenda, anyone familiar and throw the tea cups around and complain.”)
with Butterworth’s writing will know that the play doesn’t occupy Best is one of six children herself, and understands the dynamics
one register for long. Like all of his plays (this is his eighth; his most of large families: “Your family knows which button to push because
recent, The Ferryman, won the 2019 Tony for best play, among other they put them there,” she jokes. These are ordinary women in some
honors), it traverses broad and fertile terrain: the unpredictability of ways, she says, failing to overcome the parameters of their pedestrian
cultural changes, the relationship between parents and offspring, the lives, but “there’s no such thing as ordinary people; you will never
force of ambition, the sense of time running out. come across an ordinary person.” Wilson, also, saw this juxtaposition
“He’s kind of a rock star, Jez is,” says the play’s Broadway direc- between the quotidian and the exceptional the first time she read the
tor, Sam Mendes, who shepherded the West End production of play: “It’s domestic. It’s a crumbling seaside hotel in a crumbling sea-
Hills earlier this year. Mendes was a few years ahead of Butter- side town, and yet it’s transcendent and epic and emotionally huge.”
worth at Cambridge University and followed the playwright’s early
career with admiration and a dose of healthy jealousy. “He sort of One has the sense, watching a Butterworth play, that he must have
breezed onto the scene in a really effortless way, but didn’t seem to lived through the Irish Troubles (the milieu in which The Ferryman is
be an intellectual or wannabe. There seemed to be something raw set) or cut his teeth in a seedy Soho nightclub (the setting for Mojo,
about him,” Mendes says. “And there still is.” The two have become his first play) or spent serious time amid hard-partying riffraff in

314
 CALIFORNIA DREAMING mugger,” as he puts it. If you wanted to get people’s attention, he
Playwright Jez Butterworth (at left) and his friend and says, “your material had to be good.” He gathered his brothers as
collaborator, director Sam Mendes. Both wearing Hermès. In this he was in the early phases of writing this play and asked them to
story: hair, Shon Hyungsun Ju; makeup, Kirstin Piggott;
grooming, Sky Cripps-Jackson. Details, see In This Issue. remember specific turns of phrase that their own father used; some
of them ended up in the script.
When Butterworth’s adult sister fell ill with brain cancer, he
P RO DUC ED BY TH E A RCA D E P RO DUCT I O N .

Wiltshire (Jerusalem). Watching Hills, you feel that he must have brought her to a cottage on his property in Somerset, and the broth-
come of age in 1950s Blackpool, sweeping the planks of his mother’s ers gathered before she died in 2012. He is, unlike the characters
boardinghouse while listening to a staticky radio broadcast. And yet: in the play, immensely close to all his grown-up siblings, and it
“Tennessee Williams said that all of his plays add up to an emotional was a family communion he drew upon. With Hills, he wanted to
autobiography,” Butterworth tells me, “but nothing that’s happening get at the varied ways that children can experience the death of a
onstage has happened to him in the way that it is being portrayed.” parent. He describes attending another funeral where he watched
In this way, he built the family in Hills from memory. One of five three brothers process the death of their mother: “One of them was
children, Butterworth grew up “in rooms where you had to fight your just hugely, hugely grateful for the life that she’d had. One of them
corner to be heard.” The four Butterworth brothers (there was one was ‘Move along, nothing to see.’ And one of them was absolutely
sister, the eldest) all shared a bedroom, and it was all very “hugger devastated. And I remember seeing one of C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 3 4 5

315
 MODERN MAESTRO
“He was the first collaborator
I thought of,” says director
Sam Gold of composer Jack
Antonoff, pictured here.
The Row jacket and pants.
Margaret Howell shirt
and tie. Grooming, Inna Shats.
Fashion Editor: Max Ortega.

Photographed by Andrew Jacobs

In a new production
of Romeo and
Juliet, Jack Antonoff,
Rachel Zegler,
Kit Connor, and
Sam Gold transform
a classic into a
timely, urgent work.
By Liam Hess.

Testament
of Youth
 I
t’s a Sunday morning in spring- “The entire balance of success hangs on the older but, like Connor, can easily pass for a
time London, and Rachel Zegler chemistry between those two people,” Gold teenager—was plucked by Steven Spielberg
and Kit Connor are standing on a acknowledges. “And when I cast them, as an unknown and thrust into the lead role
park bench in Primrose Hill. They they didn’t really know each other.” Before of María in the director’s 2021 adaptation
raise their hands to their mouths their Vogue shoot, in fact, the pair had only of West Side Story, opposite Ansel Elgort.
in unison, and as the photographer really spent any time together while they “That’s the best thing about the job,” Connor
calls, One, two, three, they scream into the were filming a music-video-style trailer, notes. “You meet someone, and they go, ‘Stare
void. Over the next few hours, not even which sees them canoodling in a bedroom longingly into their eyes. Touch each other’s
the whipping winds of a blustery, overcast in suburban New Jersey to the Bleachers hair.’” Zegler adds: “Hey, you’re in love: Go!”
afternoon can deter them from giving the song “Tiny Moves.” The musician behind Neither actor has appeared onstage since
camera their all. Bleachers, Jack Antonoff, will be writing an they were teenagers.“I have been deeply
Eventually, though, a different kind of original score for the production. craving Shakespeare,” says Connor, who
reality sets in: It’s 55 degrees, grew up in the London sub-
and once Zegler’s pink satin urb of Croydon and already
skirt has been fluffed for the had an impressive CV before
final time, she’s bundled into a Heartstopper. One of his most
puffer jacket with a hot water formative teenage experienc-
bottle and sent to her trailer. es was in a stage adaptation of
That’s where I find them— Ingmar Bergman’s Fanny and
Zegler with a silk scarf cov- Alexander at the Old Vic in
ering her hair, Connor ’s 2018; his only frustration was
cheeks turned ruddy by the that he had to share the part
weather—leaning on a sofa, due to British child labor laws.
teasing each other. For Zegler, who spent her
“Are you memoriz ed?” teenage years acting in New
Zegler asks. Jersey high school musicals,
“I’m pretty much off-book,” saying yes took a little more
Connor replies with a grin, consideration. “I was María
and the pair high-five. since I was 16 years old,” she
“Are you nervous, though?” says, “playing the part of this
“Oh, yeah,” Connor says. naive ingenue who is older

P REV I OUS S P RE A D : P RO DUC ED BY GTS P RO DUCT I ON . P RO DUCE D BY TH EA RCA D E P RODUCTION. SET D ESIGNER : SAMUEL OVERS.
“I’m bloody nervous.” and smarter than she seems.”
In September, Connor and Zegler is referring to West
Zegler will be making their Side Story, of course, and its
Broadway debuts in a bold reimagining of Shakespeare’s
new Circle in the Square pro- Juliet. What brought Zegler
duction of Romeo and Juliet around, however, was the
by director Sam Gold (its tag- chance to work with Gold; she
line? “The youth are f**ked”). recalls saving up money she’d
Today, they’re preparing for earned singing at weddings
a read-through with Gold to to see his Tony-winning pro-
be conducted over video link duction of Fun Home. Gold
from Zegler’s hotel. (Both are advised her that she could use
in London for work: Con- her familiarity with the char-
nor filming Alex Garland acter to her advantage. “Juliet
and Ray Mendoza’s Warfare; has this air about her, a sense
Zegler doing reshoots for her that she’s been here longer
starring role in Disney’s live-action Snow THAT WHICH WE CALL A ROSE than we know,” she says, a description that
White, with Gal Gadot.) above: Kit Connor wears a Gucci jacket and could equally apply to Zegler herself.
As soon as the photo shoot is over, they’re Paul Smith pants. Rachel Zegler wears a Coach
top and skirt. opposite: Zegler grins in a
in a black cab to Piccadilly. And when we Versace dress. Connor swings in a Wales Bonner Every generation has its own Romeo and
meet at the hotel, both have changed: Zegler jacket. Hair, Franziska Presche; makeup, Juliet. For many, it was the (now contro-
is in a black sweater, Connor in jeans and a Janeen Witherspoon. Details, see In This Issue. versial) 1968 Franco Zeffirelli adaptation,
white T-shirt, the sleeves of which he inter- Fashion Editor: Julia Sarr-Jamois. with Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey
mittently tugs down over his biceps. Before in sumptuous Danilo Donati–designed
I ask them much about anything, Zegler Thankfully, both actors have a history period costumes. For me, it was Baz Luhr-
poses a question to Connor with a sly smile: of delivering chemistry. The 20-year-old mann’s radical recasting of fair Verona as a
“Imagine if we didn’t get along?” Connor’s breakout role in the 2022 Netflix beachside gangland, with a doe-eyed Leon-
Given how the show was cast—primarily sleeper hit Heartstopper hinges on a fizzy ardo DiCaprio staring moodily out at the
over Zoom and, according to Gold, largely feeling of first love with his onscreen partner, sunset to Radiohead’s “Talk Show Host,”
on “gut feeling”—that was a genuine risk. Joe Locke, while Zegler—who is three years and Claire Danes C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 3 4 6

318
Photographed by Thurstan Redding
GLOWING
UP FAST
Glass skin, glazed-doughnut skin, dolphin skin, vampire skin—
the latest Gen Z–driven beauty obsession is a face that shimmers,
glows, and leaves little to the imagination. By Lena Dunham.

’m slick as an otter. I’m greased up like layered concealer, foundation, and multiple

I
a Thanksgiving turkey. I have just left a powders so heavily that a sander was needed
face-shaped spot on my gingham linen to detect natural texture. As a high school
pillowcase. My husband is asking me acne-sufferer with an “oily T-zone” (thank
not to hug him for fear I’ll do the same you, Sephora lady in 2002, for letting me
to his shirt. know), I committed to a regimen of strip-
How did I find myself here, a human ping my skin dry with Proactiv before lay-
Slip ’N Slide, coated in more lotions, prim- ing an unflattering shade of beige CoverGirl
ers, and face oils than I knew existed? In over the top like I was spackling a wall. To
my time writing for Vogue, I’ve tried a lot of shine, even a little, was a humiliation we
beauty moves, both trendy and classic. But spent all our bathroom breaks avoiding. Oil
never have I taken on an assignment with was a dirty word—quite literally.
such academic focus as this one: attempting Members of Generation Z, however,
to understand the growing obsession with are freeing themselves from the tyranny of
dewy, gleaming skin. makeup as subterfuge. While there is a fac-
Over the last few years, the Gen Z passion tion of beauty influencers doing things with
for skin that glows, glistens, and glitters has powder that compel yet confound me (what
gone by many names: glazed-doughnut skin is “baking” your undereye?), an inspiring
(Hailey Bieber’s raison d’être) is a little bit array of young faces is celebrating textures—
different from dolphin skin (which employs even when they are freckled or “flawed.”
mermaid-ish blue micro-glitter), and should While the glass skin trend (let’s pick a
not be confused with honey skin, Jell-O skin, name and stick with it) has steadily risen in
vampire skin, or the not-so-subtly named popularity since its import in about 2017, it
celeb skin. Cloud skin (dewy without being reached a new height in early 2024, when
reflective) is not the same as cloudless skin legendary makeup artist Pat McGrath sent a
(which seems simply to be a euphemism parade of models down the Maison Margiela
for perfect skin). Some of these trends are Artisanal runway with glass skin on steroids.
about sheen, some about sparkle, while oth- The look—slick but firm, both full cover-
ers are about a natural, youthful glow meant age and ethereal—set the internet ablaze
to look like it involved no products at all. as TikTok sleuths tried to figure out how
But whether you subscribe to glass skin (the McGrath had turned regular old human
K-beauty import redefining our skin-care beings into porcelain dolls. (Of course, in
process) or status skin (the name speaks for McGrath’s world, where diversity is a cor-
itself ), the common denominator is clear: nerstone of beauty, porcelain doesn’t mean
gone are the days of skin so matte that it white, but rather a finish that allows models
resembles a coat of Farrow & Ball paint on of any shade to look like children’s play-
a patio floor. Skin, once robbed of its char- things run amok.)
acter, has come alive again. McGrath has long been a proponent
I’ve always had a theory that, no matter of “aliengelic” skin—natural, but better—
HIGH VISIBILITY
how much we transform ourselves with rejecting the hypercontoured look of the last
Jocelyn Hobbie, Shine
age, we can never quite shed the baggage 10 years in both her work on the runway and Star Flower/Orange
of our high school beauty rules. Even if her namesake beauty products. (If an other- Plaid, 2024. Oil on
we define ourselves against them, they stay worldly glow is what you seek, Pat McGrath canvas, 16 x 16 inches.
with us like ghosts. As a rapidly aging mil- Labs’ Divine Skin: Rose 001 The Essence Courtesy of Fredericks
& Freiser, New York,
lennial, the look that spoke status when I will get you there.) But the viral Margiela and Jessica Silverman
was a teen was flawless and powdered. We moment was not, C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 3 4 6 Gallery, California.

320
HIGH AND MIGHTY
Understatement has
its merits, but so
too does a bolt of pure
whimsy—just ask
model Abby Champion
(near right) and
her corker of a Stefan
Cooke hat; stefan
cooke.co.uk. Miu Miu
coat; miumiu.com.
Model Ugbad Abdi
wears a J.R. Malpere
hat; jrmalpere
.com. Ferragamo coat;
ferragamo.com.
Fashion Editor:
Max Ortega.

Tall or flat, solid or patterned,

close-knit or wide-brimmed:
Fall’s jauntiest accessory is also
its most dazzlingly variable.
Photographed by Sean Thomas.

HAT
R KS
TRIC
 SHEER GENIUS
Is she dressed
for Ascot—or to parade
down Astor Place?
Champion would rather
keep her answer tucked
under her gloriously
frothy, silk gazar hat from
Albertus Swanepoel.
Saint Laurent by Anthony
Vaccarello bodysuit, skirt,
and bracelets; ysl.com.
THAT’S THE SPOT
Actor Sarah Pidgeon,
a star of the
Tony-winning play
Stereophonic,
doffs her cap to the
kingdom animalia
in top-to-toe Dior;
Dior boutiques.
325
EVERYTHING
UNDER THE SUN
above: Actor Juliana
Canfield, one of
Pidgeon’s Stereophonic
costars, steals away
into the sunlight in a
coruscating skirt suit,
turtleneck, and chic
chapeau from Hermès;
Hermès boutiques.

326
 MAIN SQUEEZE
Champion and her
younger brother,
Luke Champion, feel
the love in bold hats
and boxy coats from
Prada; prada.com.
UPTOWN GIRLS
From the flat caps
down to the tweedy
skirt suits, there is
something distinctly
anachronistic—and
enduringly appealing—
about this tableau.
Canfield wears a
Chanel hat, pullover,
and pants; select
Chanel boutiques.
Pidgeon wears a
Chanel hat. Jil Sander
by Lucie and Luke
Meier jacket and skirt;
jilsander.com.

328
BELL DE JOUR
You can almost hear
Abdi’s glimmering,
shimmering knit cap—
a work of raucous
maximalism tethered
to the earth by a very
good coat. Both from
The Row; therow.com.
beauty note
Sometimes, the
secret to great skin is
thrillingly simple. The
Japanese vitamin C
derivative in Westman
Atelier Suprême C
gel-oil serum has the
potential to gently fade
hyperpigmentation
with a single ingredient.
 WELL SUITED
from left: Model Alton
Mason wears a McQueen
by Seán McGirr hat;
alexandermcqueen.com.
Max Mara coat; maxmara
.com. Louis Vuitton Men’s
shirt and shorts; select
P RO DUC ED BY BO OM P RO DUCT I ON S.

Louis Vuitton boutiques.

His younger brother, Alston
Mason, wears a Giorgio
Armani hat; armani.com.
Louis Vuitton Men’s
jacket, shirt, and shorts;
select Louis Vuitton
boutiques. In this story:
hair, Dre Demry-Sanders;
makeup, Francelle Daly.
Details, see In This Issue.

330
BIBI BRESLIN

DRESS
$89.99

AVAILABLE SEPTEMBER 12
LOLI BAHIA
WALI DEUTSCH

AVAILABLE SEPTEMBER 12
BLAZER
$79.99
ARCA

FAUX-LEATHER
TOP
$29.99

AVAILABLE SEPTEMBER 12
LILA MOSS

MINI SKIRT
$17.99

AVAILABLE SEPTEMBER 12
The Get 2

All in the
Family
Future heirlooms and
timeless hand-me-downs
redefine past perfect.

PRODUCTS: COURTESY OF BRANDS/

WEBSITES. PHOTOGRAPHED BY DAN
MARTENSEN, VOGUE, AUGUST 2023.

340 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOGUE.COM

 8
9

10

1. LORO PIANA JACKET;

LOROPIANA.COM.
2. RABANNE DRESS;
RABANNE.COM.
3. CHANEL NECKLACE,
$1,675; SELECT CHANEL
BOUTIQUES. 4. 18TH-
CENTURY DELFT PLATE,
$950; JOHNDERIAN
.COM. 5. COACH BOOTS,
$295; COACH.COM
FOR SIMILAR STYLES.
6. LOEWE BAG; LOEWE
.COM. 7. BODE BAG,
$1,800; BODE.COM.
8. TOTEME COAT; TOTEME
.COM. 9.

10.

.COM. 11.

12.

13.

11
SHOPPING 12

341
 GOING DEEP Ten years ago, Ghesquière went all in and A few minutes later—alarmingly close
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 302 showed his first cruise collection in Monaco, to the moment when guests will swarm the
dossier of recommendations from former on a bluff overlooking the Monte Carlo park—Buonomano and the day’s hair stylist,
colleagues in an application for residency port. This year, he planned it for Barcelona, Duffy, go to work on the hats in a temporary
“based completely on my own professional in the run-up to the America’s Cup sailing tent filled with makeup vanities and models
merit,” as he proudly puts it. He launched race. “Pietro, our CEO, committed to start in various stages of dress. The challenge is
a communications consultancy (drawing on the America’s Cup in Barcelona,” he recalls. that every model’s hair is different—long,
his previous experience, he works mostly with “I said, ‘I love Barcelona, and I know exactly short, curly, fine. In some cases, they weave
clothing brands, and to a smaller extent with where I want to do it.’” the hats into the hair with string. Others
American cannabis companies) and swiftly The Park Güell, perched partway up the carry an Eiffel Tower of pins.
took to the Parisian life of pedestrian fla- hills behind the city center, had originally “The hats are an important signature of
neurism (“I love, I love, I love walking—I been conceived as a planned residential com- the beginning of the show—a very strong
walk everywhere always”) in a way that, for munity by Gaudí, the region’s most influen- statement: hat on, sunglasses, almost like a
a Southern Californian, is truly a new leaf. tial architect. During construction, the site drawing,” Buonomano says. “I told Nicolas,
For Ghesquière, fascination ran the other was reconceived as a public park that is today ‘Don’t stress—remember last year, in Seoul?’”
way. After a month of renting in Malibu, one of Barcelona’s most visited destinations. That show, on the Jamsugyo Bridge, involved
he decided to buy in the area, eventually Beds of flowers, palms, and lavender run up wigs, and took place during freezing, gale-
setting his sights on the so-called Wolff the hills, which look out to the Mediterra- like winds. “‘There were no wigs on the floor.
Residence—a stone-clad 1961 house near nean shore. Groves of Aleppo pines reach You can trust me: Those hats will stay on.’”
Sunset Plaza by the architect John Laut- over clearings and patios along the ascent The guests are arriving: DuVernay and
ner. He had admired it from afar for nearly to the park’s center, the Hypostyle Room, a Connelly, and others among Ghesquière’s
a decade, having first included it in a mood Doric-colonnaded pavilion with mosaic ceil- Hollywood supporters, from Chloë Grace
board for one of his collections in 2014. ings. For its cruise show, Vuitton managed to Moretz to Sophie Turner and the indie
Almost a year later, the agent called him take over the whole park for a day, locking trio Haim. Meanwhile, in one of the park’s
back: That very house was coming on the out all tourist traffic: an unheard-of feat, and cavernous arcades, models are being photo-
market. “It was important for us to be in a temporary appropriation of public space graphed in their looks.
Paris but have a place where Drew comes that elicited protests in town. On the day of “Turn around, if you please! Continue!” a
from,” Ghesquière explains. “It was a way to the show, police and security officers line the director shouts. “Pas de silhouette, enfin! Beau-
commit—to say, Okay, we spend most of our periphery, checking credentials. A walkway tiful! Nice!”
time here, but our Californian time is pre- toward a patio where visiting celebrities will At 8:45 p.m. the audience is settled, and
cious for the relationship we have.” take their cocktails is repaved in earth-toned the show begins. The first model appears to
The Western exposure also changed his carpet. The Hypostyle Room—the site of the “Music for Chameleons,” by Gary Numan:
work. In spring 2022, for its cruise collec- runway—has been set with white benches of hat on tight, sunglasses, a trim tunic with a
tion, Vuitton took over the premises of the Gaudí-esque curves. collar in Ghesquière’s distinctive Vuitton V.
Salk Institute, the biological-research cam- A few hours before the show begins, Then the second: beige hat, beige jacket, beige
pus that Louis Kahn designed on a seaside Ghesquière has settled on to one of the audi- pipette trousers, and—the startling Ghes-
bluff in La Jolla. Ghesquière describes the ence benches, flanked by Buonomano, Sauvé, quièrean detail—rainbow opalescent boots.
show as one of his favorites ever. (“I thought Brokaw, and other members of his team. He On the runway, Ghesquière is known for
we would never get the place, because those is flustered: Rushing out of bed that morning, the way he iterates ideas, allowing each profile
biologists are working on saving the world,” he had tripped and, in the course of trying to develop in small sequences. “Sometimes
he says. “Like, ‘Hey, I’m a fashion designer.’ to break his fall, had torn the flexor ten- I’ll see him start something in one show and
But they said yes!”) His Californian educa- don in his index finger—his drawing hand. continue the idea through another,” DuVer-
tion, too, changed his idea of luxury. “It’s (When he finally makes it to a doctor, in Los nay observes. “It’s the way that I tell stories—
not about being casual,” he says. “There’s an Angeles, a few days later, the problem will thing by thing, the character coming in here
extreme sophistication with things that don’t be diagnosed as “jersey finger,” after athletes and then coming back around.” From the ini-
look sophisticated—it’s the mix, the combi- who hurt themselves grabbing at the jersey tial looks, the collection progresses through
nation, that makes it new and sophisticated. cloth of fleeing opponents: a fitting ailment, a dazzling array of fabrics and treatments—
And I love the fusion between South Amer- he thinks, for someone caught up in the layered, wrinkled, draped—all based on the
ican and Asian influences.” rush of the fabric trade.) As the music starts, profile he created 10 years ago.
“He has always had this way of twisting,” announcing the rehearsal, the models begin Then, gradually, a new thread emerges,
Sauvé explains. “He’ll be inspired by some- their procession wearing their own clothes gently tracing the contours of Ghesquière’s
thing and will twist the idea into something with Vuitton shoes and wide-brimmed, flat- West Coast life. Dresses take on a caftan-
else, or cross the idea with another idea that topped hats: a version of the sombrero cor- like draping. A hoodie has been reimagined
is exactly the opposite.” At Balenciaga, there dobés which Ghesquière has brought in as a into a Vuitton profile, wide at the shoulders,
had been the frilly 18th-century-inspired nod to the setting. the hood expanding outward. The allusions
tops joined with short skirts and pipette In practice, though, the hats invite disaster. are eclectic but precise: California, after all,
trousers: a paradox of froufrou historicism It is a warm, clear evening, with winds off the is a place imprinted by Spanish conquest,
and urbane chic. At Vuitton, there were sea. As the first model rounds a bend in her and the stylistic leap between Barcelona and
frock coats paired with sneakers: part 19th path, a gust flips her hat off her head, where the Salk Institute is shorter than one might
century, part 1967, and somehow utterly it hangs, from a pin or two, like a popped think. (“For me,” Ghesquière tells me later,
forward-looking. After the lockdown, Cal- top. Ghesquière gives a start—“The hat!” he “Barcelona is the most Californian Euro-
ifornia became one more ribbon in his imag- exclaims to Buonomano and Sauvé—and, as pean city, the same way of living.”) As the
inative braid—a world of Pacific style to be the rehearsal continues, they go into a close show ends, in ovation, Ghesquière, dressed
turned and twisted into the next thing. huddle on the bench. in a black sweatshirt, black work trousers,

344 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOGUE.COM

and black Nikes, jogs the runway, winking to do more costume design for movies) and he says, “without me really meaning to, all of
at guests as he goes. no plans to retire from his trade as long as the people that walked onto the stage were
He arrives past midnight that night at the the world keeps giving him ideas. “It’s not women.” What happens, if you are a thought-
Vuitton after-party, held at the Espai Xavier that I wake up every day and say, ‘Give me ful male director taking on such a work, says
Corberó: a villa built, in the 1970s, by the the pen!’” he says. But the impulse to creative Mendes, is that you begin to think “about
Catalan artist whom it is named after. The expression is always there, and the ideas are one’s own mother, one’s own wife, and one’s
site resembles a modernist ruin, open and low, still flowing—even during a San Diego week own daughters. It’s inevitable. So I asked a lot
with a courtyard in which servers pass small of birthday gatherings. of questions, and I felt it was very important
plates of paella, cones of roast potatoes, cro- “Drew’s stepdad is in charge of the San to say, ‘Does this feel real? Does this chime
quettes of Iberian ham, tomato sandwiches, Diego Air and Space Museum,” Ghesquière with your experience?’”
ceviche, and, as the night wears on, matcha says. “We went in the morning and had lunch “We, as actors, very often have the conver-
shortcake, lemon meringue, cream puffs, and with them, and then I said, ‘Can I come back sation that society fails to have,” says Don-
fruit set in steaming dry ice. Guests in Vuit- in the afternoon?’ ” As he toured the space nelly, reflecting on the stickiest, toughest
ton finery dance at a smoky red-lit disco in capsules and jet planes—the bright colors, the part of the play—and her earlier years as an
a large bunker below. At nearly 1 a.m., with sleekness, the travel, the speed—something actor. “I can see that there was at best a lack
Kuhse in tow, Ghesquière arrives, drifting clicked in his mind: “I was like, ‘This is so of responsibility. And a blurring of lines that
through the group and into a VIP room. They Louis Vuitton!’ we today now know as inappropriate,” she
have spent the evening enjoying a long meal “That’s not in my summer 2025 collection,” says. “And I feel like I’ve been very lucky. I
on a boat moored in the Mediterranean. he adds, running his eyes over the silk wall- have not been on the sharp end of that in my
“The hats stayed on!” he marvels to a vis- paper in Paris, 10,000 miles away. “But it’s a career. But I can certainly see moments when
itor as he settles in. “That was one of those good example of something that will stay in I think, Had I been less sure of myself, had it
things—you prepare everything, but in the my mind.” * been a bigger job that I felt more vulnerable
end nature takes over. It’s really cool.” in, had those people perhaps been bigger and
TIME’S ARROW more successful than they were….”
It is a couple of weeks later when I meet CONTINUED FROM PAGE 315 Best came to acting somewhat later than
Ghesquière in the F. Scott Fitzgerald suite of them just disappear behind the church into many of the other women. “I kind of had
the Paris Ritz, to which he and Kuhse have the darkness and the fog, and I just thought, already turned myself into a human car
decamped during the heaviest renovation ‘Oh my God, I’ve got it.’” alarm,” she says, joking. “I had made myself
work on their Paris apartment. “I have to Equally important is what our parents do the promise that I would never ignore my intu-
make room for what is coming,” Ghesquière to us while they’re alive. Butterworth has four ition. I had done it before, and it had cost me
says, speaking as much of his work as of his daughters, two from a previous marriage to dearly.” She speaks of reassuring conversations
life, while setting his second large espresso the former film editor Gilly Butterworth and on these issues that she’s had with a younger
of the hour on an 18th-century-style gilded two from his current marriage to Donnelly, castmate. That actor, she said, felt permission
coffee table in front of him. A distinctive fea- and so of course he lives with a parental per- to point out what she felt wasn’t right. In this
ture of the F. Scott Fitzgerald suite, it must be spective as well as a filial and brotherly one. younger generation, Best sees an articulate rage
said, is that everything in it is gold: gold silk Early on, the idea came to Butterworth that that is also practical: “She was like, ‘I know
jacquard wallpaper, gold vases, gold fixtures, he would have the same actor play Veron- what that is. I’m angry about it and it’s not
gold frames, gold rugs. Ghesquière has only ica and the adult Joan (the sister who suf- okay.’ She was so clear. And I was like, ‘God-
recently returned to Paris and its luxuries: He fers the worst consequences of her mother’s damn, we’re doing something right.’”
and Kuhse left Barcelona the day after the ambition)—a kind of mirroring of cause and All the actors are taking a moment between
show to spend a precious stretch in golden effect. “I wanted to create a moment where the West End and Broadway productions to
California. somebody, a parent, makes an unforgivable gird themselves for this new iteration of this
“It was Drew’s 40th birthday, which is decision, but you understand exactly why and play. “By the time we finished” the London
very important to me,” he says. “We went how it comes about,” he says. run, says Best, “we all made sure there was
down to San Diego to see his friends for a That unforgivable decision is precipitated no juice left in the orange.” It is a play that
long time, and his mom and his stepfather by the appearance of a music producer who asks a lot of its performers. “Sam would say to
were there, too. seems to hold the keys to opportunity for us,” recounts Lovibond, “you’ve got to really
“Also, I started some research,” he adds the young girls and abuses that power for dredge, and he’d kind of clench his hand into
shyly. “For summer 2025.” his own shameful ends. Until then, the play a fist to draw it from his stomach up towards
For Ghesquière, research usually involves has really been about women; there are men his esophagus.” Donnelly, who also starred
making lists of ideas, wandering galleries and present, but they are bumbling and inef- in The Ferryman, elaborates on the unique
vintage shops, and starting to sketch, but the fectual, and ushered to the periphery. The demands: “I think I can speak for all of us
path from compilation to collection is indi- music producer introduces an entirely new women in that, as much as we got more out
rect and might take years. (“Nicolas doesn’t dynamic: He preys upon and disrupts the of this play than any other job, it also took
look for inspiration, but inspiration some- fragile dreams the women have built. (With- more out of us.”
how always finds him,” Kuhse says.) “It’s a out giving too much away, it’s worth men- But they are also approaching this new
quest for something that only you can see— tioning that Jez Butterworth once worked outing with excitement for what audiences
something accidental and quite beautiful,” with Harvey Weinstein on his first and only will get to experience. “Jez’s work is particular
Ghesquière explains. “It’s something you see film as a director, an adaptation of Mojo, in and universal,” says Wilson. “We are bringing
that’s totally out of context that makes sense 1997. “The reason why it was the last film I what feels to us like quite a niche world, but
with the story of the house.” ever directed,” he tells me, “was that Harvey actually it’s not. The process of sharing it has
At the moment, Ghesquière has no con- made sure that was the case.”) only shown us—over the last 20 weeks in the
crete plans for a life after Vuitton (the most Butterworth didn’t set out to write a play West End, and then hopefully again in New
formulated notion, he says, is that he’d like about women suffering the abuse of men, but, York—it is universal.” *

345
 TESTAMENT OF YOUTH Hope might not be the first word that “I’ve honestly been a huge skin person from
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 318 springs to mind when conf ronted with such an early age, probably because my mother
perched on her balcony in angel wings. Ear- the show’s bracing tagline. “It’s a very new, took such amazing care of her skin,” McGrath
lier this year, a buzzy, Tom Holland–fronted strange, difficult time in cultural history,” says. “She would do a full face of makeup—
version opened in London, directed by Gold acknowledges. “The institutions are which, at the time, due to limitations in tech-
Jamie Lloyd. kind of crumbling, a lot of the theaters are nology, was very matte and powdery—and
“When I set out to do my own productions out of money and artistic directors are leav- then sit in a warm bath. The steam would give
of Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet wasn’t one ing. The mode in which we receive our stories the makeup a gorgeous, dewy finish.”
I wanted to start with, because of just how is drastically shifting. I just felt like I really, John Galliano’s vision for his models at
incredibly famous it is,” Gold tells me from really wanted to take one of the great stories Margiela, which, McGrath says, was “deeply
Manhattan, where he’s headed into auditions and do it in a way that young people would rooted in the allure of 1930s porcelain dolls,”
to assemble the rest of the cast. “Romeo and come and connect to.” gave her the chance to “push” herself—and
Juliet has been done on Broadway 36 times, that she did. The result was something so
whereas An Enemy of the People has maybe A few days after the shoot, I reconnect with fresh and compelling that social media has
been done twice,” he says, referring to his Zegler, whose popularity among her Gen Z been overrun with (largely unconvincing)
recent staging of Henrik Ibsen’s classic, cohort can in part be ascribed to her out- imitators. (Pat was made a dame for a rea-
which earned its lead, Jeremy Strong, a Tony. spokenness, whether sharing fundraisers for son, kids.)
“It’s a very different thing.” victims of the war in Gaza, or eloquently So, how would McGrath advise an oldie
Rehearsals won’t begin in earnest until condemning the racism that accompanied like me, who still experiences bumps and
weeks after we speak, but Gold’s vision for the the announcement that she, a Latina actor, splotches in my visage with the same anxi-
show is already starting to coalesce, with Con- would be playing Snow White. Unsurpris- ety as I did in 10th grade? “Glass skin works
nor and Zegler at the forefront of his mind. ingly, the timeliness of the play has been top on any skin tone, gender, and skin type,” she
“There’s not a lot of people at that age that of mind for her. “That’s what we do as artists urges. “For those who feel they can’t pull off
can do what I’m asking, to carry really chal- and actors: We hold a mirror up to the world, the look because they don’t feel confident
lenging parts eight times a week, in the round, and what they do based on that examination about their skin, I’d remind them that beauty
on Broadway,” he says. “It’s a big ask.” Yet Gold is up to them,” she says. “I think Sam has is about enhancing your unique features, not
is keen for the troupe of actors he’s currently really taken that to heart: What world are we conforming to a singular ideal.”
gathering—many of whom will play multiple leaving behind for future generations?” It’s With that wisdom duly noted, next I
roles—to have a hand in shaping the produc- a political landscape Connor is wading into wanted to understand the tricks behind the
tion’s final form. “That’s the thing that excites with curiosity and humility, having worked tricks—the skin prep that allows the pop girl-
me most: putting an ensemble together, and shoulder to shoulder with American actors ies and tiny-purse influencers, who wouldn’t
approaching the most third-rail, most dan- on his Warfare shoot for the past couple of dare leave home without a lewk, to go confi-
gerous, most heartbreaking, most challenging months. His greatest wish is simply that this dently bare-faced.
parts of human experience together.” “ballsy” play can meet the moment. And so I turned to David Kim, MD, of
Gold’s main coconspirator on the project, Zegler contends the tagline is hopeful, Idriss Dermatology in New York City, who
along with choreographer Sonya Tayeh, best despite it all. “The youth are fucked if the is known for his focus on cutting-edge skin
known for her Tony-winning work on Moulin older generation doesn’t do anything about care that doesn’t overcomplicate the issue.
Rouge! The Musical, is the maverick pop pro- it,” she says. “And so you hope that it serves Please, I begged, break it down for those of
ducer Antonoff. “He was the first collaborator more as a warning than as a declaration.” For us who long relied on harsh exfoliants, sting-
I thought of when deciding to do the play, Gold, it should be galvanizing. “It’s a play ing serums, and avoiding oils while slathering
and he’s sort of like a North Star for me for that leaps out from behind literature and toothpaste on our zits. “In order to look truly
the whole production,” says Gold. Although connects to popular culture,” he says. “I’d glowy and radiant, your skin has to be smooth
Antonoff has done film soundtracks before, love there to be people who come find me and healthy. You can achieve that with really
this marks his first time composing for 10, 15 years from now and say, ‘Hey, I had good drugstore brands,” Dr. Kim says—a
Broadway, and he’s adjusted his processes never seen a play before, and I went to see reminder that you can look like a dough-
accordingly, relying heavily on voice notes of that Romeo and Juliet, and now I love going nut without a caviar budget. The steps are
dialogue from Zegler and Connor. “Those to the theater.’ ” If Connor and Zegler have as follows: gentle cleanser, hydrating serum,
recordings have become my bible,” he says. anything to do with it, the kids will, indeed, a lightweight moisturizer in the evening (he
Antonoff won’t specify what the finished be all right. “It’s about unity,” Connor says. loves The Inkey List, which I recently bought
music might sound like, but in keeping with “It’s about love.” in a crunch at an airport and bragged about
the spirit of the production, he is looking to “This is a love story,” Zegler adds. for weeks), and “SPF, SPF, SPF.” Finally,
achieve “something classic that’s been kind of Then Connor, with mock sincerity: “I’m once-a-week exfoliation, which can be done
twisted a little bit.” not sure if you’re aware: This is a love story.” with L’Oréal’s 10 percent glycolic acid serum
Gold draws a parallel between Antonoff ’s Zegler theatrically pulls out a pen and for the price of a couple of matcha lattes.
“anthemic” choruses as a songwriter and his paper. “Wow, I need to write that down: This So, getting “status skin” does not need to
ability to reinterpret the epic sweep of Shake- is a love story….” mean working with status time and budget.
speare. “He has an amazing sense of what Connor points to the bottom of Zegler’s But if Dr. Kim were to recommend one treat-
is going to excite a young person, get under scribblings. “You can add my name there. ment most likely to take skin from dull to
their skin,” Gold says. Thanks.” At that, the two erupt into laughter. * dolphin? That would be “very diluted botuli-
“When I think youth, I just think of free- num toxin,” which is to say, Botox, “through-
dom,” Antonoff says. “They can be incred- GLOWING UP FAST out the face—including in the forehead,
ibly hopeful because they haven’t had their CONTINUED FROM PAGE 320 cheeks, and upper lips,” every three months.
dreams crushed. Sometimes what we quantify she tells us, simply a response to a trend. It This treatment is the norm in Korea, which
as youth is actually just hope.” had, in fact, been “years in the making.” is, after all, the home of glass skin.

346 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOGUE.COM

 Needle-shy, and with the makeup appli- Janelle Zharmenova, a.k.a. @janelthebear on and some Carmex. (You can take the girl out
cation skills of a four-year-old, I determined TikTok, try to re-create the Margiela magic, of the pharmacy, but you can’t take the phar-
it was time to get my hands dirty. Not just and quickly concluded I would not be painting macy out of the girl.) I sent a photo to the var-
dirty, but so slick that I was dropping brushes over my hard-earned eyebrows with the Dior ious supporters of my mission: “You look 12,”
and unable to properly work my iPhone’s Forever Skin Glow foundation, no matter one texted. “PRINCESS,” cooed another. “Are
touchscreen. As I waded through a box of how beautifully it slid across my skin. All I you going to a costume party?” asked a third,
glow-getter products, I decided to put each saw was a mess of pinky beige until I hit upon but from now on most men are banned from
one to a very specific test. Do I feel like the product that seemed to make my skin sing: this process unless they have skin in the game.
myself when it’s on? Can I give a hug with- L’Oréal Lumi Glotion in shade 901, a mois- By foregoing foundation in favor of deep
out leaving a mark? And, finally, do I look turizing primer with an almost 3D irides- moisture, then highlighting my cheeks’
age-appropriate, or am I giving “I’m not a cence. Once that settled, I slashed some Dior natural—dare I say it—glow, I was catwalk-
regular mom, I’m a cool mom” vibes? Forever Glow Maximizer across my cheeks ing on to my next Zoom like the queen of
I drew recklessly with Victoria Beckham and eyelids, with a little bit on the tip of my angel skin herself, Sabrina Carpenter, at
highlighters. I made a mess of a Chanel blush nose for good measure. And then, the quiet Coachella. Hello, everyone. What a dream come
palette. I tried La Mer for the first time, and star—Guerlain’s Météorites, an enamel tub of true to be here. My name is Lena Dunham, and
was actually enraged to find out that a nearly pastel balls of crystalline powder, which I pat- I am an alien dolphin vampire cloud. And if
$400 tub of face cream did, in fact, garner me ted under my eyes and in the groove above my they thought they saw a pimple sprouting on
bouquets of compliments as it resurfaced my lip. I finished the look with a touch of brow my cheek? I won’t deny it. But what’s one zit
skin. I watched my favorite beauty influencer, tamer, a nude Charlotte Tilbury lip contour, when you’re shining so bright? *

In This Issue
256–257: On Lively: dress; boutiques. Tailor: Megan Belperron earrings;
available upon request. O’Connor. Manicurist: belperron.com. 324: Hat;
Christian Louboutin shoes; Hayley Evans-Smith. albertusstudio@me.com
us.christianlouboutin.com. to order. 328: On Canfield
Earrings and ring; bulgari TESTAMENT OF and Pidgeon: Jimmy
.com. Manicurist: Elle YOUTH Choo shoes; select Jimmy
Table of Contents: 70: Michael Kors Collection Gerstein. Tailors: Carol Ai 316–317: The Row jacket Choo boutiques. Chanel
On Zegler: dress; available dress; michaelkors.com. and Lucy Falck. and pants; therow.com. necklaces; select Chanel
upon request. On Connor: Necklace; select Cartier Margaret Howell shirt and boutiques. Manicurist:
jacket; walesbonner.com. boutiques. 246–247: SWING SHIFT tie; margarethowell.co.uk/ Mayumi Abuku.
Manicurist: Hayley Evans- Pantabodysuit; balenciaga 259: Tailor: Cha Cha Zutic. us. Tailor: Cha Cha Zutic. Tailor: Cha Cha Zutic.
Smith. Tailor: Della George. .com. Hood and sunglasses; 264–265: On CJ: Gap 318: On Connor: Gucci
Cover Look: 96: Michael hoodlondon.com. Backpack; hoodie; gap.com. On Skylar bomber jacket and shoes; THE GET
Kors Collection dress; khaite.com. Necklace; select and Blessing: Ralph gucci.com. COS T-shirt; 340–341: 1. Jacket,
michaelkors.com. Cartier Cartier boutiques. 248– Lauren Girls dresses; ralph cos.com. Paul Smith pants; $4,550. 2. Dress, price
High Jewelry necklace; 249: On Kudisch: Banana lauren.com. On Derrick: suit; paulsmith.com. On Zegler: upon request. 6. Bag,
select Cartier boutiques. Republic jacket; banana tomfordfashion.com. On Coach top and skirt; $2,650. 8. Coat, $5,250.
Manicurist: Elle Gerstein. republic.gap.com. On Fazal: London and Rae'Jon: Adidas coach.com. Vivienne 9. Watch, price upon
Tailors: Carol Ai and Sabyasachi coat; sabyasachi tracksuits; adidas.com. On Westwood shoes; vivienne request. 12. Bag, $10,200.
Lucy Falck. 96: On De’laney: .com. On Elsesser: dress; Raquel: dress; emilia westwood.com. Pantherella
suit; tomfordfashion.com. alexandermcqueen.com. wickstead.com. Tailor: Cha socks. Ben-Amun by
THAN THE AUTHORIZED STORE, THE BUYER TAKES A RISK AND SHOULD USE CAUTION WHEN DOING SO.

LAST LOOK
On Rae'Jon: Adidas On Jones: Brooks Brothers Cha Zutic. 270: On Hunter: Isaac Manevitz earrings and 348: Brooch and bag; miu
M EN T I ON ED I N I TS PAG ES, W E CA N N OT GUA RA NT E E T HE AUT HE N TI CI T Y O F M ERCHA N D ISE SOLD

tracksuit; adidas.com. On tuxedo jacket; brooks Gap tank top. 272–273: On necklace; available upon miu.com. 350: Rings;
BY D I SCOU N T ERS. AS I S A LWAYS T HE CASE IN PU RCHAS I NG A N I T E M FRO M A N YW HE R E OTH ER

Raquel and Aubony: brothers.com. On Lively: Zhara: Levi’s jeans. request at ben-amun.com. select Chanel boutiques.
A WO R D A BOU T DI SCOUN TE RS W HI LE VOGUE TH OROUG HLY R ES EA RC HES TH E CO MPANIES

Emilia Wickstead dresses; dress; laquansmith.com. Joomi Lim choker. 319: 351: Shoes; ferragamo
emiliawickstead.com. On Spector: jacket; tanner THE SIMPLE LIFE On Zegler: Versace dress; .com. 354: Bag; prada.com.
On Jamie: Dior dress; Dior fletcherstudios.com. 279: On Guy: Octi necklace available upon request. 355: Boot; loewe.com for
boutiques. Tailor: Cha On Haddon: jacket; select and ring. Miansai ring. Vivienne Westwood shoes. similar styles. 358: Watch;
Cha Zutic. Contributors: Louis Vuitton boutiques. 280–281: Apple iPhone 15 Pamela Love earring; bulgari.com. 359: Bag;
128: Top left image: The Row Cartier earrings, necklace, Pro; apple.com. 282– Bergdorf Goodman. Joomi bottegaveneta.com. 362:
coat and hat; therow.com. and bracelet; select Cartier 283: On Angelina: belt; Lim choker. Ben-Amun Shoe; armani.com.
Top right image: On Lively: boutiques. Graff ring; graff 20agearchive@gmail.com by Isaac Manevitz 363: Bag; balmain.com.
Michael Kors Collection .com. 250: Charvet scarf; for inquiries. 286–287: necklace; available upon 366: Shoes; gucci.com.
dress; michaelkors.com. Place Vendôme. 251: On Apple 15-inch MacBook Air request at ben-amun 368: Bracelet; tiffany.com.
High Alptitude: 182: Lively: swimsuit and towel; with M3 chip; apple.com. .com. On Connor: Wales
Left image: bag; bally.com. jacquemus.com. Oliver 290–291: On Guy: Adidas Bonner jacket; walesbonner
Right image: shirt and skirt; Peoples Khaite sunglasses; sneakers; adidas.com. .com. COS T-shirt. Paul CONDÉ NAST IS
COMMITTED TO GLOBAL
bally.com. Joining Forces: oliverpeoples.com. Manicurist: Saffron Goddard. Smith pants. Prada shoes; ENVIRONMENTAL
SUSTAINABILITY. SCAN
198: Poncho; moncler.com. Gigi Burris Millinery hat; gigi Tailor: Benedict Dufort. prada.com. Manicurist: HERE FOR DETAILS.
Kendra Scott earring. burris.com. 253: On Hayley Evans-Smith. Tailor:
Jimmy Choo boots; jimmy Jackman: shirt and shorts; GOING DEEP Della George.
choo.com. Manicurist: bode.com. Sunglasses; 292–303: Manicurist: Jin
Hayley Evans-Smith. Tailor: tomfordfashion.com. Soon Choi for JinSoon Nails. HAT TRICKS
Della George. Shoes; us.officinecreative 322–323: On Champion:
.store. On Lively: dress; TIME’S ARROW Miu Miu top; miumiu.com.
THE HEIST dolcegabbana.com. Shoes; 314–315: On Butterworth: Jennifer Fisher necklace;
OF THE HEART us.christianlouboutin.com. Hermès cardigan; Hermès jenniferfisher.com. On Abdi:
244–245: On Jackman: suit; 254: On Lively: cape; select boutiques. On Mendes: Bottega Veneta turtlenecks;
ralphlauren.com. On Lively: Louis Vuitton boutiques. Hermès coat; Hermès bottegaveneta.com.

347
Last Look

Miu Miu pouch and brooch

When a spare look wants for a little bounce, a pop of color goes a long way. Miu Miu’s
fall 2024 runway had examples in abundance—orange gloves, a baby blue shirt collar,
thick green tights—and whether it conceals a smartphone, house keys, or a juicy
summer treat, this little pouchette made of mustard yellow silk duchesse satin works
a similar magic. (Consider the sparkling brooch an added fistful of fairy dust.)
P H OTO G R A P H E D B Y DAV I T G I O R G A DZ E

348 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOGUE.COM

WHERE
DOES
YOUR
BEST
SKIN
BEGIN?
Last Look

Chanel rings
While the Camelia Solaire ring (bottom) presents a Chanel signature in miniature,
paving the maison’s forever fleur in white gold, yellow gold, yellow diamonds,
and, well, regular diamonds, the No. 5 Abstraction ring (top) is something else:
an enchanting crush of 18-karat yellow gold and even more diamonds,
set about a large cushion-cut yellow diamond. Here, more c’est very much more.
P H OTO G R A P H E D B Y DAV I T G I O R G A DZ E

350 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOGUE.COM

 Ferragamo shoes
There’s a statement shoe, and then there’s the absolute conversation starters that
sailed down Ferragamo’s fall runway. Question one, probably: What are those?
Satin pumps with ostrich feathers, of course. Question two: Where can you
wear them? Anywhere! As fantastic as they look on the page (and in the grass),
they’re even better on the go, their purple plumage waving with each step.
P H OTO G R A P H E D B Y DAV I T G I O R G A DZ E

351
 SHA'CARRI RICHARDSON
TRACK & FIELD

I PUT IN THE WORK EVERY DAY.

THE SWEAT. THE GRIT.
Last Look

Prada bag
Though Prada’s Cleo bag comes in various colors, textures, and materials (brushed leather, patent
leather, satin with winking crystals; black, ivory, green, platinum, and more), this version—
with graphic pink and blue flowers on a black spazzolato leather background—is one of the most
fetching we’ve seen yet. Perhaps it’s the lack of pretense: We could as easily see it on a nonna
at mass as we could swinging from the arm of a Manhattan It girl. And isn’t that the Prada way?
P H OTO G R A P H E D B Y DAV I T G I O R G A DZ E

354
 Loewe boot
Teeming with small wonders, Jonathan Anderson’s fall collection for Loewe was
variously inspired by the sublimely simple landscapes and interiors of American painter
Albert York (1928–2009) and by the darling floral and vegetal motifs of 18th-century
Chelsea porcelain. One delicious highlight? This caviar-bead-embroidered biker boot,
which manages to make the humble radish seem as attractive as a damask rose.
P H OTO G R A P H E D B Y DAV I T G I O R G A DZ E

VOGUE.COM SEPTEMBER 2024 355

 INTRODUCING
A BETTER CLEAN
EVERY DAY
NEW

GET YOUR
FREE SAMPLE
WHILE IT LASTS
Last Look

Bulgari watch
True to its name (which is derived from the Italian for “cheerful” or “happy”), Bulgari’s
Allegra cocktail watch consists of an alligator leather band in the dearest shade of pale pink.
Its perfectly round face is encircled by (deep breath) a row of brilliant-cut diamonds, 32 pink
sapphires, three citrines, two dark pink rhodolites, two peridots, and a single pink tourmaline.
Think of it as a panoply of all that glitters, set to visibly brighten your day at any moment.
P H OTO G R A P H E D B Y DAV I T G I O R G A DZ E

358
 Bottega Veneta bag
This dazzling iteration of Bottega Veneta’s Tosca shoulder bag shares both a name
and a flair for the dramatic with Floria Tosca, the embattled soprano at the
center of one of Puccini’s greatest operas. Just as Tosca describes living for her art
and for love, wearers of this Tosca—enchanted by both its playful silhouette
and its multicolored intrecciato weave—may feel a strong urge to sing its praises.
P H OTO G R A P H E D B Y DAV I T G I O R G A DZ E

VOGUE.COM SEPTEMBER 2024 359

SOAK ACTIVATE
WASH
Last Look

Giorgio Armani shoe

This velvet Mary Jane is the apple of our eye, both sweet (see: all that tufted floral
embroidery) and a little sharp (its romantic shape conceals a small heel).
And while they may seem like just the thing for brunches, lunches, and visits
to the park, don’t they also remind you a bit of dancing shoes? Sometimes,
after all, a turn—or 10—about the dance floor is just what the doctor ordered.
P H OTO G R A P H E D B Y DAV I T G I O R G A DZ E

362 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOGUE.COM

 Balmain bag
In the early 1950s, Balmain’s Jolie Madame perfume balanced the fruity scent of violet with an earthy
base, adding up to an “elusive essence” that “captures the grace and elegance that is Paris,” per a 1954
advertisement in this magazine. That fragrance shared its name with the house’s fall 1952 collection,
and then with a nipped-waist jacket by Olivier Rousteing. The latest Jolie Madame? A coolly sculptural
bag that—befitting its rich heritage—is both elegantly mesmerizing and an icon of strong chic.
P H OTO G R A P H E D B Y DAV I T G I O R G A DZ E

363
3X BETTER
CLEAN
CLEANS TONES REFRESHES
Last Look

Gucci shoe
Sabato De Sarno’s Gucci has so far been defined by all things fun, short, and
sexy—from truly mini minidresses to tailored skirt suits, shorts suits, and jumpsuits. These
crystal-fringed pumps from the fall collection—De Sarno’s sophomore outing—feel
similarly party-ready: embellished enough to throw some serious light under whichever
disco ball you find yourself, yet practical enough to keep you moving through the night.
P H OTO G R A P H E D B Y DAV I T G I O R G A DZ E

366 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOGUE.COM

 THE
GAME
CHANGERS
70+ YEARS OF SKIN SCIENCE BREAKTHROUGHS
FOR YOUR BEST SKIN YET.

First of its kind cleansing

technology. Ten+ years in
development with 50 patents
for a better clean every day.

Olay's most powerful

serum delivers 5 benefits
in 1: hydrates, brightens,
evens, smooths and visibly
firms skin.

MICRO-SCULPTING

The 99% pure niacinamide

formula breakthrough to
deliver unbeaten hydration
versus premium brands.

SHOP YOUR BEST SKIN

LINE UP AT OLAY.COM
Last Look

Tiffany & Co. bracelet

An enduring admiration for nature animated Jean Schlumberger’s work for Tiffany & Co.
During his tenure with the company from 1956 until his retirement some two decades
later, the French jewelry designer created pieces inspired by flowers, fruits, dolphins,
birds, and all manner of other fauna—as with this charming butterfly-inspired bracelet
in platinum and yellow gold, with everything aflutter in citrines and diamonds.
P H OTO G RA P H E D BY RO B KU L I S E K

368 SEPTEMBER 2024 VOGUE.COM

 YOUR
BEST
SKIN
STARTS
HERE
© P&G 2024
D I O R B O U T I Q U E S – 8 0 0 .9 2 9. D I O R ( 3 4 67 ) D I O R . C O M