Town & Country September 2022

In the spring of 1987, T&C commissioned Victor Skrebneski to photograph several leading craftsmen from the Paris couture scene, including Hubert de Givenchy and Yves Saint Laurent, alongside the women who best represented their “dream and its fulfillment.” Here, French actress Sabine Azéma models a gilded confection by Christian Lacroix. Just a few months after this shoot, the designer would become the Dom Pérignon toast of New York high society. In October Lacroix descended on the city to stage a fashion show at the World Financial Center—it ended up taking place just a week after the stock market crash of ’87. No matter: The couturier and his devoted clients carried on with unapologetic, opulent abandon. Julie Baumgold was on the scene to capture this stunning dissonance for New York magazine,…

When, in the early 2000s, I decided to take a sabbatical from magazine publishing and teach high school English, I learned quickly what most teenagers thought of The Scarlet Letter. But from that very first September, one thing about Hester Prynne managed to catch their attention. The fact that Hawthorne’s Puritan outcast fought her own cancellation with an A for adultery sewn not from shame but out of “fine red cloth” with “elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread”—they liked that. Beauty as defiance resonated. It still does. The question of its purpose in our current culture of incessant chaos and more than occasional sorrow was confronted, as it should be, during the July couture shows in Paris. Schiaparelli’s Daniel Roseberry did it most directly. “I think we sometimes…

WHERE ARE WE GOING? Courtside or suite? It’s a classic U.S. Open debate. During the men’s final last year, pals Bradley Cooper and Brad Pitt stayed close to the action, as did Mariska Hargitay and Gayle King. Leo DiCaprio, on the other hand, was tucked away as usual in his private box. No matter the vantage point in 2022, all eyes are on Polish prodigy Iga Swiatek, who, at just 21, is ranked number one by the Women’s Tennis Association. WHAT ARE WE WEARING? Matches at Arthur Ashe have famously run well past 2 a.m. Some say this is the best time to be in the stadium: less regimented, a little more mischievous (in the stands, at least). Strokes of genius in the dead of night? That’s the idea behind…

The morning before her wedding, the model Josephine Skriver held the kind of brunch that sends the thumbs of her 7.5 million Instagram followers tapping. Wicker abounded. White umbrellas trembled in the breeze. Fresh-cracked coconuts were draped with sliced citrus. Menus advertised not one but two varieties of millennial-inflected toast: almond butter and avocado. Almost 150 people had flown to Cabo San Lucas in April 2022 to watch Skriver and singer-songwriter Alexander DeLeon (better known as Bohnes to his quarter-million Instagram followers) tie the knot. Skriver hoped to give her loved ones a shot of relaxation—at a reasonable price. “You want it to be grand,” she says, describing her wedding planning mindset. But costs add up. “You don’t want to blow the craziest amount.” The spread at the Flora Farms…

DO STAY AUTHENTIC Not all brand partnerships are created equal: If you would never drink that D-grade brand of tequila in real life, it has no place at your reception. DON’T FORGET TO TAG It’s always good practice to give due recognition to the planners and vendors who have made your day as fabulous and wrinkle-free as possible. For a sponsored affair it’s absolutely essential. DON’T GET OBNOXIOUS Fulfill all brand requirements agreed upon, of course, but resist the temptation to document every waking second on social media. No one cares that much. DO EMBRACE THE PRIVATE MOMENTS Regardless of who is footing the bill, a wedding is a sacred occasion. Remember that.…

Beverly Hills is used to seeing its history destroyed. Over the years residents of Southern California’s best-known zip code have become inured to witnessing elegant estates demolished, often to be replaced with boxy megamansions. This appeared to be a one-way trend until several recent buyers of homes built in the 1920s reversed course, showing that it is possible for wealth and taste to work together. This change in direction is best exemplified by the meticulously planned renovation of the home known as the Beverly Estate (designed by Gordon B. Kaufman) by the financier and philanthropist Nicolas Berggruen. After having his eyes on the historic residence for some time, Berggruen purchased it in 2021 with that very commitment in mind. “I had first seen the house years ago,” he says, “and…