Vanity Fair UK 10.2021

THE POWER OCTOBER 2021
AND THE
GLORY OF TRUMP’S
TOADY
REGINA
KING SHOWDOWN

By By Gabriel Sherman
JESMYN
WA R D SECRETS
AND SHAME
Photographs AT EXETER
by
JAC K I E By Nancy Jo Sales
NICKERSON
FA L L
STYLE

F EAT UR I NG

SANDRA OH
CHRISTIAN
LOUBOUTIN
CLAIRE FOY

REBECCA
FERGUSON

PHOEBE
DYNEVOR
ALESSANDRO
MICHELE
KAITLYN

DEVER
CAMILLE

COTTIN

and more!

D I O R .COM - 020 7172 0172











Contents /Issue No. 732

On the PAGE 52 Vanities C L A I R E F OY ’ S C OAT BY G U C C I ; C O R S E T BY V I V I E N N E W E S T W O O D ; E A R R I N G S BY DAV I D M O R R I S . F O R D E TA I L S , G O TO V F. C O M / C R E D I T S .
Cover
“I don’t deserve this, but I feel 21
like the love continued.”
21 / Opening Act Rising
—CLAIRE FOY star Kaitlyn Dever on
costarring with Julia Roberts
Regina King’s gown by Balenciaga; earrings by Taffin; rings by Mateo. Hair and George Clooney.
products by Flawless by Gabrielle Union. Makeup products by Chanel. Nail
enamel by Chanel Le Vernis. Hair by Larry Sims. Makeup by Porsche Cooper. 24 / Beauty For Louis
Manicure by Jolene Brodeur. Tailor, Hasmik Kourinian. Set design by Bette Adams. Vuitton’s latest perfumes,
Produced on location by Viewfinders. Styled by Nicole Chapoteau. Photographed Frank Gehry gives shape
exclusively for V.F. by Jackie Nickerson in Malibu, California. For details, go to to the ineffable.
VF.com/credits.
26 / The Gallery Versatile
new Prada accessories.

28 / Trending Coats, boots,
and blushes in desert hues.

30 / My Stuff Nell Diamond,
creator of the Nap Dress,
shares her favorite things.

32 / Books The best new
photography books, novels,
and celebrity memoirs.

34 / Fairground Spin
through a Broadway opening
and a Gagosian debut.

Columns

36

Man of the Times

BY JOE POMPEO
PHOTOGRAPH BY
PHILIP CHEUNG

A conversation with the
Los Angeles Times’s
Kevin Merida, the most
sought-after news exec of
the moment.

38

Bright Lights,
Big City

BY CHRIS SMITH

Eric Adams, New York’s
presumptive new mayor,
has big ambitisons—for the
Big Apple and beyond.

6 VANITY FAIR PHOTOGRAPH BY TO M C R A I G OCTOBER 2021

Cuvée Rosé, chosen by the best.

Illustrated by Quentin Blake

The Royal Albert Hall

MAISON FAMILIALE INDÉPENDANTE

champagnelaurentperrier www.laurent-perrier.com

Photo credit: Iris Velghe / Illustration credit: Quentin Blake / Conception Luma

Elegance is an attitude

Kate Winslet

The Longines
Master Collection

Contents /Issue No. 732 PAGE 40

Features “It’s really
hard to come
40
up with
In Her Element something
that you’ve
BY JESMYN WARD never seen
PHOTOGRAPHS BY
JACKIE NICKERSON before.”

From Westerns to dramas, —REGINA KING
superheroes to historical
figures, the Oscar-winning
actor, director, and red
carpet icon Regina King
has the world in thrall.

52 REG I NA K I N G’ S S TO L E BY G I O RG I O AR MAN I ; PAN T S BY P R ADA ; S H O E S BY MAN O LO BL AH N I K ; R I N G BY TAF F I N . F O R D E TAI L S , G O TO V F. CO M / C RE D I T S .

After Hours

PHOTO PORTFOLIO
BY TOM CRAIG

Sandra Oh. Claire Foy.
Phoebe Dynevor. V.F.
relaxes in style with seven
actors starring in the
most anticipated projects
of the year.

66 Features The Prophet

Mr. Weber’s 74 BY LEAH FAYE COOPER
Confession PHOTOGRAPHS BY GIOVANNI ATTILI

BY NANCY JO SALES Inside the fantastical world of Alessandro Michele,
the beloved creative director of Gucci.
The journalist investigates
a strange allegation of 82 88 92
sexual misconduct at her
alma mater, Exeter, after Enter the Dragons In the Details Roast the Runway
she learns the school
believes she is a victim. BY GABRIEL SHERMAN BY ALEXIS CHEUNG BY MAUREEN O’CONNOR
ILLUSTRATIONS BY PHOTOGRAPHS BY ILLUSTRATION BY
16 Editor’s Letter CHRISTOPHER BUZELLI CYRIL ZANNETTACCI JORGE ARÉVALO
18 Contributors
112 Proust Questionnaire Whether or not Trump will An intimate look behind The scrappy Instagram
run in 2024 has everyone the scenes with the artisans feed Diet Prada became
guessing—no one more at Hermès. fashion’s unexpected moral
so than his competitors for compass. Now its founders
the MAGA crown. face scrutiny of their own.

10 VA N I T Y FA I R PHOTOGRAPH BY J AC K I E N I C K E R S O N OCTOBER 2021



®

Editor in Chief Radhika Jones

Creative Director Kira Pollack Deputy Editor Daniel Kile Executive Digital Director Michael Hogan

Director of Editorial Operations Caryn Prime
Executive Editors Claire Howorth, Matthew Lynch Executive Editor, The Hive Miriam Elder Executive Hollywood Editor Jeff Giles

Director of Special Projects Sara Marks Global Head of Talent Alison Ward Frank
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Senior Media Correspondent Joe Pompeo National Correspondent Emily Jane Fox Politics Correspondent Bess Levin
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National Political Reporter Abigail Tracy Chief Critic Richard Lawson Senior Features Writer Julie Miller
TV Correspondent Joy Press Senior Staff Writer Joanna Robinson TV Critic Sonia Saraiya Art Columnist Nate Freeman
Staff Writers Dan Adler, Kenzie Bryant, David Canfield, Cassie da Costa, Yohana Desta, Charlotte Klein, Chris Murphy, Erin Vanderhoof

Staff Reporter Caleb Ecarma Special Correspondents Nick Bilton, Bryan Burrough,
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Design & Photography
Design Director Justin Patrick Long Visuals Director Tara Johnson
Senior Designer Ashley Smestad Vélez Senior Visuals Editor Cate Sturgess Senior Visuals Editor, Research Tim Herzog
Visuals Editors Lauren Margit Jones, Allison Schaller Digital Designer Quinton McMillan Visuals Editor, Research Eric Miles

Designer Justine Goode Associate Visuals Editor Madison Reid

Fashion & Beauty
Fashion Director Nicole Chapoteau
Beauty Director Laura Regensdorf Accessories Director Daisy Shaw-Ellis
Senior Menswear Editor Miles Pope Market Editor Kia D. Goosby Assistant Fashion Editors Samantha Gasmer, Jessica Neises

Content Integrity
Legal Affairs Editor Robert Walsh Research Director David Gendelman
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Production Managers Beth Meyers, Susan M. Rasco, Roberto Rodríguez

Research Managers Brendan Barr, Kelvin C. Bias, Michael Sacks
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Communications
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UK Emily Hallie

Contributors
Contributing Art Director Emily Crawford Production Director Kerrie Keegan Visuals Producer Michael Kramer

Associate Editor S.P. Nix Digital Visuals Editor Jessica Xie Architecture Consultant Basil Walter
Summit Contributing Producer Graham Veysey Special Projects Art Director Angela Panichi

Contributing Photographers
Annie Leibovitz

Jonathan Becker, Larry Fink, Collier Schorr, Mark Seliger

Contributing Editors
Kurt Andersen, Lili Anolik, Jorge Arévalo, Peter Biskind, Buzz Bissinger, Derek Blasberg, Christopher Bollen, Douglas Brinkley,

Michael Callahan, Adam Ciralsky, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Leah Faye Cooper, Sloane Crosley, Katherine Eban, Lisa Eisner,
Bruce Feirstein, Nick Foulkes, Ariel Foxman, Alex French, Paul Goldberger, Vanessa Grigoriadis, Michael Joseph Gross,
Bruce Handy, Carol Blue Hitchens, A.M. Homes, Uzodinma Iweala, May Jeong, Sebastian Junger, Sam Kashner, Jemima Khan, Hilary Knight,
Wayne Lawson, Kiese Makeba Laymon, Franklin Leonard, Monica Lewinsky, Bethany McLean, Nina Munk, Katie Nicholl, Maureen O’Connor,
Jen Palmieri, Evgenia Peretz, Maximillian Potter, Robert Risko, Lisa Robinson, Mark Rozzo, Maureen Ryan, Nancy Jo Sales,

Elissa Schappell, Jeff Sharlet, Michael Shnayerson, Chris Smith, Richard Stengel, Diane von Furstenberg,
Elizabeth Saltzman Walker, Benjamin Wallace, Jesmyn Ward, Ned Zeman

12 VA N I T Y FA I R OCTOBER 2021

Bee My Love Collection
EMBRACE YOUR LIGHT

®

Publishing Director/CBO Travel & Lifestyle Simon Leadsford

Head of Partnerships Lucie Burton-Salahuddin Senior Account Director, Travel–Travel & Lifestyle Emma Heuser
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Creative Design Director, CNX Scott Moore Deputy Art Director Anja Wohlstrom
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Senior Copywriter, CNX Jessica Burrell Copywriter, CNX Clementina Jackson
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Classified Director Shelagh Crofts Classified Sales Manager Emily Valentine

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Associate Publisher, U.S. Shannon Tolar Tchkotoua Manager, Italy Valentina Donini

Manager, India Rachna Gulati Manager, Dubai Prasad Amin
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Circulation Director Richard Kingerlee Newstrade Marketing Manager Olivia Streatfield
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Assistant Marketing & Promotions Manager Claudia Long
Production Director Sarah Jenson Commercial Production Manager Xenia Dilnot
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Communications Director Emily Hallie Chief Digital Officer Simon Gresham Jones
Digital Commercial Director Malcolm Attwells Digital Operations Director Helen Placito
Chief Operating Officer Sabine Vandenbroucke Head of Finance Daisy Tam H.R. Director Hazel McIntyre

Managing Director Albert Read

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14 VA N I T Y F A I R OCTOBER 2021

Magic Alhambra long necklace
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Editor’s Letter

It’s been four years A new V.F. podcast whose performances in front of and behind the PHOTOGRAPH BY TINA BARNEY
since Harvey Weinstein’s cohosted by Karina camera this past year have marked a new chapter of
crimes came to light, Longworth of artistry in a storied career, and who also managed
kick-starting the #MeToo You Must Remember to light up the red carpet time and again when there
movement, which rippled This and Vanessa wasn’t even a red carpet to speak of. I was probably
through industries Hope—and not the only person hoping that her triumphant
and institutions from featuring Jon Hamm, opening of the Oscars broadcast in April was going to
Zooey Deschanel, segue into a one-woman heist movie. She could’ve
Hollywood to the U.S. women’s gymnastics team and Griffin pulled it off. Here, on the occasion of her new movie,
to the Supreme Court—in some cases leading to Dunne—explores The Harder They Fall, she talks with Jesmyn Ward
convictions and appreciable change, in others one of Hollywood’s about the decades of work through which she has
to a dispiriting reification of the status quo. most shocking and built not only an iconic career but a treasured
violent scandals. community. And a resplendent portfolio of luminous
In this issue, Nancy Jo Sales reports a story actors from around the globe reminds us further of
of alleged sexual misconduct at her alma the power and range of women onscreen at this
mater, Phillips Exeter Academy. Nancy Jo has moment, from Camille Cottin to Rebecca Ferguson
written for Vanity Fair for 21 years—such to Sandra Oh. n
blockbuster pieces as “The Suspects Wore
Louboutins,” which became the basis for her radhika jones, Editor in Chief
acclaimed book The Bling Ring and Sofia
Coppola’s 2013 film of the same name. Her
writing and documentary film work revolve
around community, whether she’s exploring
celebrity subcultures or the self-selecting
world of dating apps. She spent years
reporting among teenagers and young adults
for her book American Girls, experience that
gives her the exact right tools to excavate a
decades-old story of misplaced trust and
murky accusations at a school that, like so
many contemporary institutions, is wrestling
with a history of crossed lines when it came
to dynamics of power.

Only Nancy Jo could do justice to this story,
for reasons that become clear in the telling. And
when she says, while recounting a surreally
convoluted series of conversations, that she feels
as if she’s in a Beckett play, she is not exaggerating.
Throughout this theater of the absurd, her voice
remains a calm and authoritative presence—
asking pointed and poignant questions about
whether, ultimately, her voice matters.

IN FASHION, AUTUMN signals new beginnings,
even or perhaps especially in our world of
delayed reopenings. We could imagine no better
cover subject for this month than Regina King,

16 VA N I T Y FA I R OCTOBER 2021



Contributors

Clockwise from
top left: Alexis
Cheung, Suleman
Anaya, Prince Gyasi,
Jesmyn Ward,
Nathan Klein, and
Britt Hennemuth.

Alexis CHEUNG Suleman ANAYA Prince GYASI K L E I N : M I C H A E L S I LV E R . GYA S I : DAV I D N A N A O P O K U A N S A H . WA R D : B E O W U L F S H E E H A N . C H E U N G : C O U R T E S Y
O F A L E X I S C H E U N G . H E N N E M U T H : M I C H A E L K R A M E R . A N AYA : G A B R I E L M O N R OY.
“IN THE DETAILS,” P. 88 “AROMATIC CONSTRUCTS,” P. 24 “COIN THE TERMS,” P. 26

While reporting on the handbag Perfume was at first a daunting topic Based in Accra, Ghana, Gyasi aims
makers of Hermès, Cheung gained for Anaya, who specializes in writing to bring audiences into his own reality
new appreciation for their craft. about architecture. But eventually through his work. “I wanted to
The commitment to each piece made he saw the craft in fragrance making. create something like a wonderland,
those fortunate enough to collect the It requires, he says,“as much like a dream,” says Gyasi of his vibrant
brand’s wares seem less like trophy precisely honed expertise as it does photograph for this issue. “If you
hunters and more like appreciators bold, fertile imagination.” look at it, you will think you are in
of “a true artisanal form.” a different world.”

Britt HENNEMUTH Nathan KLEIN Jesmyn WARD

“MAKING WAVES,” P. 22 “AFTER HOURS,” P. 52 “IN HER ELEMENT,” P. 40
“AFTER HOURS,” P. 52
Stylist Klein collaborated with Ward is a two-time National Book
“I love speaking to people who get to do photographer Tom Craig and the actors Award winner and author of five books,
what they love,” says senior West Coast featured in this issue’s portfolio to most recently Sing, Unburied, Sing,
editor Hennemuth, who contributed bring joy and effervescence to the set. and Navigate Your Stars. She profiled
to the style portfolio and oversees the “One of my favorite moments was this month’s cover star, actor and
Vanities interview each month. “It’s watching Sandra Oh blasting ‘Apesh*t,’ director Regina King, and found her
inspiring to hear an actor’s or musician’s by the Carters,” says Klein, “while quite to be “as engaging, frank, and funny
journey from a dream to their reality.” literally hanging from a chandelier.” in person as she is onscreen.”

18 VA N I T Y FA I R OCTOBER 2021

STOR E

Timeless prints from the world’s most iconic artists
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CAS GASI, IBIZA

VA N I T I E S

VANITAS VANITATUM

Everything’s
coming up

KAITLYN DEVER

H A I R , H O L LY M I L L S ; M A K E U P , TA M A H ; M A N I C U R E , A L E X J A C H N O . P R O D U C E D O N LO C AT I O N BY P R E I S S C R E AT I V E . F O R D E TA I L S , G O T O V F. C O M / C R E D I T S . PAGE 24

FRANK GEHRY
SCALES DOWN

PAGE 30

THE NAP DRESS
CREATOR SHARES

HER FAVES

PAGE 34

NYC’S BOOGIE
NIGHTS

Clothing by Fendi; earrings PHOTOGRAPHS BY M AT T H E W S P R O U T OCTOBER 2021 21
by Tiffany & Co.

Throughout: hair products by
Crown Affair; makeup
products by Surratt; nail
enamel by Chanel

Le Vernis. Styled by Rebecca
Ramsey. Photographed

at the Chateau Marmont.

VA N I T Y FA I R

VanViatineisti/eRsu/bOrpicenTikng Act

TAS T E MAK E R H AY N E S : E L L I O T T J E R O M E B R O W N J R . V I A DAV I D Z W I R N E R . A L B U M : R H Y M E S AY E R S E N T E R TA I N M E N T. G L I T C H : P E N G U I N R A N D O M H O U S E . Z I W E : S H O W T I M E . F O R D E TA I L S , G O T O V F. C O M / C R E D I T S .

Ebony L. Haynes, director of
52 Walker, a new kunsthalle-style

gallery under David Zwirner,
shares her culture fix.

Sweater and top 1. OPERATION: DOOMSDAY
by Saint Laurent by “The untimely passing of
Anthony Vaccarello;
MF DOOM [Daniel Dumile] last
pants by The Row; October was very sad for me.
earrings by Tiffany & Co. He was my favorite conceptual
artist, and I have been playing
Making WAVES this 1999 album—one of my
favorites—regularly ever since.”
From comedy to drama to musicals, KAITLYN DEVER has the range 2. GLITCH FEMINISM
“Conceived in 2013 and
Kaitlyn Dever has been stealing scenes since Love Island and Selling Sunset every night.” released in book form in 2020,
she was 12. From her powerful turn in Unbe- IN DEVER’S MIND, the movie is the perfect this manifesto by LEGACY
lievable to her comedic breakout in Booksmart, salve for an alienating age. “Making a movie
she’s cemented herself as remarkably versa- about feeling isolated felt even more impact- RUSSELL considers how bodies
tile. Her 2021 slate underlines this: After ful” during the pandemic, she says. “I have are viewed and where can we
opening the Toronto International Film Festi- always wanted to be a part of projects that find freedom in spaces that
val with Universal’s Dear Evan Hansen, she’ll really do start a conversation, and I believe ‘glitch.’ I’m most excited to see
dive into the opioid crisis for the Hulu limited that this film does that and more.” how future generations read this,
series Dopesick before filming her first rom- SHE ALSO STARS opposite Michael Keaton in and what considerations around
com opposite George Clooney and Julia Dopesick. Serious as that series is, working
Roberts. Not too shabby. with Keaton was another “dream come true. identity have changed.”
He did the Beetlejuice voice for a split sec- 3. ZIWE ON SHOWTIME
A SELF-PROCLAIMED Broadway “stan,” she’s ond, and I flipped.” “I love when Black women find a
always wanted to do a musical. Dever bond- HER DREAM DINNER PARTY would include platform for their voices and
ed with Amy Adams, who plays her mother Audrey Hepburn, Johnny Cash, Stevie Nicks, creative genius to be seen and
in Evan Hansen, over a mutual love for the and Willie Nelson. She’d like to play Amelia heard, and everyone should
band Bread and is hoping they’ll do karaoke Earhart. Her favorite cocktail is an extra- see and hear ZIWE. What else
together once they’re both back in L.A. dirty vodka martini. She wants to work with can I say; Ziwe for president.”
SHE SHARES a best friend with another Evan the Coen Brothers one day and would like
Hansen comrade, Ben Platt: Beanie Feldstein, to visit Montana on her next road trip. 1.
Dever’s Booksmart costar. “She was really THIS FALL, she will start work on Ticket to
excited we were going to be working togeth- Paradise in Australia. “I’m losing my mind,” 2.
er,” says Dever. She and Platt decided to be Dever admits. “Julia Roberts and George
roommates during the Evan Hansen shoot, Clooney are playing my parents.” She hasn’t 3.
where COVID-19 protocols meant splitting Zoomed them yet, because “the computer
their time fully between the film’s set thing might be too nerve-racking.”
and their shared rental. “We were watching
—Britt Hennemuth

22 VA N I T Y FA I R

@vanityfairlondon Agenda / October
1.
2.
6. 4.
8.
3.

Great ESCAPES

October comes alive with escapism in
the form of the month’s most covetable
pieces and sought-after locations

5. ■ Finer Things Lido Resort is hosting an
7. exclusive photo exhibition
OFF THE CUFF: Inspired by with the Biennale (6).
9. the theme of paradise, hotelexcelsiorvenezia.com
Chopard’s Red Carpet
Collection cuff bracelet (2) ■ Jet Set
comes inethicalFairmined-
certified white gold, GRAND REOPENING:
titanium and silver, set
with a rainbow of precious Grand Hotel Tremezzo (3)
gems. chopard.com has long epitomised Lake
MOTHER SHIP: Bremont’s Como luxury. Now, this
founding brothers Nick Art Nouveau palazzo has
and Giles English have reopened with a series of
named the Bremont SOLO glamorous new launches.
“Lady K” (1) after the boat grandhoteltremezzo.com
their father built for their
mother Karen. bremont.com SEEKING SERENITY:

■ On Beauty It doesn’t get much
more lovely than
FACE VALUE: ilapothecary’s truffle hunting around
Save-Face Serum (5) the magnificent COMO
combines anti-ageing and Castello Del Nero estate
hydrating ingredients, in Tuscany, Italy (4).
including hyaluronic acid comohotels.com
and ginseng stem cells.
ilapothecary.com FIRST RESORT:

■ Green Slate At One&Only Mandarina
(8), an incredible sense of
ONE FOR ALL: Wardrobe location fuses with the
rental platform HURR welcome familiarity of a
co-founder Victoria Prew home away from home.
has announced the brand’s oneandonlyresorts.com
first genderless collection BUBBLE UP: In the new
(7). hurrcollective.com double Jungle Bubble for
families at Anantara
■ Culture Trip Golden Triangle Elephant
Camp & Resort, Thailand
BIG PICTURE: The storied (9), guests can spend the
Hotel Excelsior Venice night observing rescued
elephants roaming
around. anantara.com

OCTOBER 2021 23

Vanities /Beauty

Aromatic CONSTRUCTS traverses his buildings. You witness
something permanent and solid but also
For Louis Vuitton’s latest suite of perfumes, architect unexpectedly moving. Few people
FRANK GEHRY gives shape to the ineffable By Suleman Anaya can build like that.” Cavallier Belletrud
should know, being a builder himself.
Ever since his limestone-and-titanium in many of his buildings: sweeping Great perfumers speak of their creations
Guggenheim Bilbao revolutionized overtures to optimism and fantasy that as constructions, olfactory bodies that
architecture a quarter century ago, wrap the viewer in a crescendo of are layered to evoke wonder through a
Frank Gehry has imbued concert halls, unexpected form. blend of intuition and craft.
museums, and towers from New York
to Seoul with flickering luminosity “Frank creates places that have a All this makes the latest Louis Vuitton
and irrepressible kinetic energy. The spirit and stir a variety of emotions in project a meeting of kindred minds.
architect’s fascination with the human anyone who enters them,” says Jacques Gehry and the master perfumer have
capacity to feel, whether through Cavallier Belletrud, a longtime Gehry collaborated on a suite of five women’s
music, art, or other pleasures, is evident fan and the nose of Louis Vuitton scents called Les Extraits. (The French
since 2012. “It’s in the way that light term for extract refers to the highest
available fragrance concentration.)
Les Extraits, a new Working from Los Angeles, Gehry
five-piece collection designed a sensuous glass bottle—his
by Louis Vuitton, first-ever perfume flacon—featuring
puts Frank Gehry’s an exuberant aluminum cap. Meanwhile,
eye for unexpected Cavallier Belletrud formulated the
curves on display. extracts at Les Fontaines Parfumées,
Vuitton’s scent think tank and nursery
in the French perfume capital of Grasse.

Gehry has designed an exquisite
container for the brand once before:
the mirage-like home of the Fondation
Louis Vuitton, in Paris. Cavallier
Belletrud visited the Bois de Boulogne
site before the building opened in 2014.
“Those curved glass shapes and the
technique he used to make them were
so exceptional. One day I will create
a perfume like this,” he recalls thinking.

Six years later, the two men found
themselves having long, transatlantic
Zoom calls, talking about how to
transmute everything they love about
life into their work. “I said to him,
‘You know, Frank, the best perfume in
the world is the wind.’ ” The Frenchman
was thinking of how air and light filter
through the billowing glass sheets at the
Fondation, an effect Gehry intended.

Gehry—whose creative passion
remains undiminished at 92—took on
the challenge with characteristic zest,
seeing it as a continuation of formal
experiments he began in the aughts and
took to new heights at the Fondation.
“When working with large panels of
glass, the normal thing would be to
avoid anything that would bend it,” he
explains, speaking cheerfully from
his sun-flooded Playa Vista studio. “But
if you’re able to purposely bend glass

24 VA N I T Y FA I R PHOTOGRAPH BY JOANNA McCLURE

Clockwise from top: Frank Gehry States of Undress
at his studio in Los Angeles;
his sketch of the sculptural Style-minded fragrances,
perfume bottle; the Fondation for day to nighty night
Louis Vuitton in Paris, with its
billowing glass walls. “Five drops of Chanel No. 5.” That was
Marilyn Monroe’s answer, in 1952, when
I L LU S T R AT I O N S BY LU CY T RU MAN . GE H RY : MA X FAR AG O / T RU N K ARC H I VE . F O N DAT I O N LO U I S V U I T TO N : M I C HAE L J ACO B S /AR T I N AL L O F U S / CO RBI S / GE T T Y I MAGE S . to its limit, you can change the character low-heat method to preserve its most
BURBERRY, CHLOÉ, GUCCI, MISS DIOR: JOSEPHINE SCHIELE; STYLING, KRIS JENSEN. SKETCH: COURTESY OF LOUIS VUITTON. ALL OTHERS: COURTESY OF THE of the building and get a feeling.” elusive aspects. Calabrian bergamot was asked what she wore to bed. “I didn’t
BR AN DS / WE B SI T E S . F O R D E TAI L S , G O TO VF. CO M / C RE D I T S. retooled for extra zest, while poppies want to say nude,” she demurred, “but
The same obstinate search for nuance and precious oudh made the journey
that produces Gehry’s gently dancing from Peru and Bangladesh, respectively. it’s the truth.” The actor was a noted
façades—where meticulous planning fan of the perfume, now celebrating its
masquerades as serendipity—informed “What’s novel in this collection is the
his bottle for Vuitton. Veering from the way we reworked the natural extract to centennial; subsequent faces have
symmetrical flacons used in the past, the create a heart,” says Cavallier Belletrud. included Catherine Deneuve, Nicole
architect wanted to add sharp edges that While the playfully named scents Kidman, and Marion Cotillard. This fall’s
offset his design’s obliquely feminine eschew the usual top- and base-note fashion-led scents have similar allure.
contours. His team went through dozens composition, each one delivers a radiant Jasmine and vanilla warm up the new
of prototypes and several hundred 3D punch that lingers. In Stellar Times, Mugler; Burberry Hero melds cedar and
models before settling on a final version. musky ambergris is entwined with a bergamot. Chloé veers sustainable with
(Gehry is famous for doing the same for leathery jolt; the floral intensity of the rose-tinged Eau de Parfum Naturelle,
his buildings; during a tour of his studio, 10,000 petals fills the air in Dancing Gucci’s latest is heady with gardenia,
he eagerly showed off models for a Blossom. The remaining scents run the and Miss Dior marries powdery florals and
raft of projects, from an arts center in sensory gamut, with hits of citrus and musky sandalwood. All have stars
Arles to fish lamps for a Gagosian show.) spice segueing into vanilla and woods. attached—but we dare not ask whether
they follow Monroe’s bedtime example.
The resulting vessel was difficult to For the cap, Gehry conceived what
realize, Gehry admits, but ever so worth is essentially an autonomous sculptural —Laura Regensdorf
it. “It’s a small move, a tiny little effort, object, reprising a signature motif: the
but it totally differentiates the result.” crinkled element, borne from accident. 1.
Flame-like, it renders the scents uplifting
Much like Gehry, Cavallier Belletrud’s even before the first whiff. Movement, 2.
work involves an abstract idea that must again, is present, as if the wind had
become reality. Beyond the selection of made a stray, wilting bloom awaken. 3.
materials, the perfumer’s artistry is 4.
to reveal the precise olfactory facets he “The crumpled form represents
envisions. For Les Extraits, he used happiness—that’s what I liked about it 5.
natural ingredients from all corners of and what perfume is about,” explains
the planet. Jasmine grandiflorum (“The Gehry, ever poetic. The expert alliance 1. Burberry Hero: Adam Driver.
Romanée Conti among jasmines,” the between Southern California and the (£76; Boots stores) 2. Dior Miss Dior:
perfumer says of the Grasse jewel) was French Riviera seems to confirm that Natalie Portman. (£118; dior.com/en_gb)
extracted using Cavallier Belletrud’s beauty lives in subtlety and surprise, 3. Gucci Flora Gorgeous Gardenia: Miley
in technical finesse suffused with je ne Cyrus. (£105; Selfridges stores) 4. Mugler
sais quoi. “The edges give the bottle Alien Goddess: Willow Smith. (£85; mugler
a gravitas of something new, then you .co.uk ) 5. Chloé Eau de Parfum Naturelle:
top it off with a feeling of joy.” n Lucy Boynton. (£103; selfridges.com)

OCTOBER 2021 25

Vanities /The Gallery

Coin THE TERMS

For this year’s fall runway, Prada’s first menswear collection from creative
collaborators Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons was in close conversation with the
womenswear they would show soon after—oversized coats, a deft layering of
clashing prints, bodysuits as underlayers, and the intellectualism characteristic

of the brand. But two accessories appeared identically on both runways:
brightly hued leather gloves with a built-in coin purse and similarly vivid bags.

Vibrant style, double the impact. —Daisy Shaw-Ellis

Prada Signaux bag, S T YL I N G, HA SS AN AL FAZ IZ I DD R I S S . M O D E L S , N U E R K I N O R TE Y AN D AL I Y U S SI F. FO R DE TAIL S , G O TO V F. CO M / C RE DI T S .
£2,100, and gloves,
26 VA N I T Y FA I R P H OTO G R A P H BY P R I N C E GYA S I £850 (prada.com/gb).
Clothing, boots, and

shoes by Prada.

OCTOBER 2021

VANITY FAIR PARTNERSHIP

Shan Shui restaurant But now there is even more reason to
head to this culinary hotspot, for Shan
JOIN the Club Shui is hosting a very special two-day
supper club called “Dream of
Inspired by the glamour of Shanghai” on October 2 and 9. For this
1920s Shanghai, Shan Shui in unique event, special guest chef Jason
Bicester Village presents a Li—renowned in the U.K. as an
very special Supper Club ambassador of Shanghainese food and
culture—will be bringing platefuls of
A T THE HEART of Bicester Chef Jason Li his signature sizzling delights to
Village, the luxury open-air Oxfordshire. Li is set to cook up a
shopping destination set in the and dumplings in bamboo baskets to storm, including three-day dry-aged
Oxfordshire countryside, stands a fresh, zingy salads and indulgent Cantonese roasted duck; Dream of
restaurant inspired by Shanghai in its stir-fried rice and noodle dishes. And Shanghai spring onion pancakes; and
1920s heyday. Drawing inspiration setting the scene perfectly is the the unmissable steamed autumn
from the glitzy restaurants, art and restaurant’s décor, which features Chinese mitten (hairy) crabs, which are
architecture of the age, Shan Shui blossom pink tones, atmospheric a delicacy at this time of year during
Restaurant has long been the hotspot lantern lighting and soothing muted the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival.
for discerning shoppers seeking the wood-panelled accents. It’s little
best of Halal Asian cuisine. surprise that Bicester Village shoppers An acclaimed chef, Li has worked at
flock here for a relaxing and delicious Hakkasan and other top-tier London
The buzzy kitchen follows time- dining experience. establishments, such as Min Jiang at
honoured recipes and works only with the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington
the freshest locally sourced ingredients. and The Dorchester on Park Lane. At
On the menu is a selection of Chinese present, he works in a five-star hotel by
culinary wonders that appear alongside day, but has created a host of under-
South East Asian favourites, from the-radar supper clubs by night—these
freshly steamed bite-sized Dim Sum are by invitation only and have drawn a
glitzy cult following.

The Dream of Shanghai Supper Club
will also be partnering with Zwilling
J. A. Henckels, which will showcase a
range of kitchen and dinnerware. Also
coming soon is the much-anticipated
Shan Shui opening in Heathrow
Terminal 2 in December 2021. A larger
scale version of the Bicester Village
outlet, the new 150-seater restaurant
will feature a retail space and a
breakfast bar, plus culinary favourites
and an extensive tea selection for the
perfect preflight pitstop.

To make a reservation, please visit
shanshuisupperclub.eventbrite.com

Vanities /Trending 3. TAKE A HIKE SANTA FE MODE RN: CO UR T E SY O F T HE PUBL IS HE R . M IU MIU , D IOR J AC K ET , CE LI NE , AN D F EN DI : J OS E PH INE
1. Coach x Schott NYC S C H I E L E ; S T YL I N G, K R I S J E N S E N . AL L O T H E R S : CO U R T E S Y O F T H E BR AN DS . F O R D E TAI L S , G O TO V F. CO M / C RE D I T S .
1. 2. coat, £1,875. (uk.coach.com)
2. Brother Vellies boots,
4. £578. (brothervellies.com)
5. 3. Fendi coat, £5,200.
(fendi.com/gb) 4. Miu Miu
6. jacket, £2,600. (miumiu
.com/gb) 5. Victoria
Earthen WEAR Beckham Beauty Cheeky
Posh cream blush stick, £34.
As the days shorten and nights grow (Available in October at
cool, embrace items that would be victoriabeckhambeauty
at home on brisk Southwest vistas: .com) 6. Roger Vivier
lush outerwear in sky blue and boots, £1,350. (similar styles
desert shades, sunset-hued blush, available at rogervivier.com/
boots made for walking gb-en/home/) 7. Giorgio
Armani Beauty Neo Nude
Melting Color Balm cream
blush, £32. (armanibeauty

7. .co.uk ) 8. Brunello
Cucinelli boots, £940.
(shop.brunellocucinelli.com/
en-gb/) 9. Celine by Hedi
Slimane coat, £7,900.
(celine.com/en-gb)
10. Dior Men jacket,
£2,107. (dior.com/en_gb)
11. Jimmy Choo boots,
£675. (jimmychoo.com/en/
home) 12. Jacquemus coat,
£2,675. (jacquemus.com)
13. Milk Makeup Bionic
blush, £21. (cultbeauty.co.uk)

8.

10.

9.

11.

Find tranquility in Santa Fe Modern: Contemporary 12. 13.
Design in the High Desert, written by Helen Thompson
and photographed by Casey Dunn, out in October OCTOBER 2021
from Monacelli.

28 VA N I T Y FA I R



Vanities /My Stuff 2.
3.
1.

4.

Day DREAMER

5. NELL DIAMOND, founder and CEO of D I A M O N D : DAV I D X P R U T T I N G / B FA . C O M . 2 : G R A P H I C A A R T I S / G E T T Y I M AG E S . 9 : C O U R T E S Y O F N E L L D I A M O N D. 10 : M A R A Z E / S H U T T E R S TO C K . A L L O T H E R S : C O U R T E S Y O F B R A N D S / W E B S I T E S .
9. Hill House Home, likes her heels
high, her pizza delivered, and a touch
of romance in absolutely everything

6. ■ Style File ■ At Home

7. BELOVED JEWELRY BRANDS: FLOWERS: Fresh seasonal
8. flowers in Paul Arnhold
Brent Neale (1). Alison Bud vases (3). DISHWARE:
10. 11. Lou. Anita Ko. Irene Laboratorio Paravicini
Neuwirth. EVERYDAY Play Plates (6). RECENT
30 VA N I T Y FA I R UNIFORM: Hill House Ellie ADDITION: Twin babies.
Nap Dress (4). I wear They, and their belong­
a Nap Dress every day. ings, have really taken
It carries me from 6 a.m. over the joint (9).
breakfast with my three
children, to work Zooms, FAVORITE STATIONERY:
to running errands
around the neighborhood, Smythson.
to dinner with friends.
It’s my version of jeans; it ■ For Pleasure
goes with everything.
GO-TO SHOE: Platform INSPIRED BY: Paintings
heels by Miu Miu (11). I like by Mary Cassatt (2).
really high heels, but only READING: White Teeth by
with a platform. It’s so Zadie Smith is my favorite
much more comfortable. book of all time. Queenie,
by Candice Carty­
■ On Beauty Williams, The Runaways,
by Fatima Bhutto.
SERUM: Isla Beauty Storm WATCHING: Arrested
Serum (5). DAILY MAKEUP: Development, again.
Nars Radiant Creamy The Real Housewives of
Concealer in Chantilly. Salt Lake City.
Stila Stay All Day Liquid
Liner. Sephora Pencil ■ The Menu
Eyeliner in Peacock
Blue. Benefit Benetint. TO-GO: Domino’s.
Saie Beauty Eyelash I order the handmade
Curler. Kosas Rosewater pan pizza with two
Lipstick (8). Urban ranch dipping sauces
Decay Glitter Eyeliner. and a lava cake (7).
BEFORE BED: Dr. Barbara
Sturm Rich Cream. INDULGENT DRINK:

Aperol spritz (10).

POWER SNACK:

Cheddar cheese.

OCTOBER 2021

The
CHYPRÉ
Fragrance Family

Vanities /Books Record-setters

Sight LINES In these new books, three
stars put their lives on paper.
Fresh photography
collections explore glamour,
fame, and quiet moments

Above: Though Slim Aarons described his photos PHOEBE ROBINSON P H O TO G R A P H Y B O O K S : C O U R T E S Y O F T H E A R T I S T S A N D P U B L I S H E R S . N OV E L S : C O U R T E S Y O F T H E P U B L I S H E R S . T U C C I : J U L I E E DWA R D S /A L A M Y. R O B I N S O N , J A M I E M C C A R T H Y ; C O E L , DAV E B E N E T T ; B O T H G E T T Y I M AG E S .
as “attractive people doing attractive things
in attractive places,” Slim Aarons: Style, out from Please Don’t Sit on My Bed in
Abrams, demonstrates that capturing this winsome Your Outside Clothes
jetset was an art.
Below: In Paul, an intimate, decades-long portrait Robinson’s third laugh-out-loud
project, photojournalist Harry Benson records the essay collection is the first from her
evolution of Paul McCartney (at right) from the “cute
Beatle” to a venerated solo musician and an earnest new imprint, Tiny Reparations.
family man. McCartney’s charisma is evident whether “We are more than trauma,” she
he’s focused at the piano or in a moment of repose.
says, “and I plan to be one
of many imprints to show that.”

Above: Nadine Ijewere’s debut STANLEY TUCCI
monograph, Our Own Selves (Prestel),
showcases editorial shoots and more Taste: My Life Through Food
personal portraits from Jamaica and
Lagos, featuring Ijewere’s signature The actor details his epicurean life
jewel-toned color palettes and striking, in this memoir with recipes from
often androgynous models: a
celebration of beauty in its full sweep. Gallery Books, not least a French
—Madison Reid delicacy shared with Meryl Streep.
Her reaction: “It does have a bit of
TO A PERSON A crop of immersive novels—set in churches, deserts,
and outer space—delves into the weirdness of being human the barnyard about it.” His:
“It looks like a fucking horse cock.”
THE MORNING STAR a new home-planet-seeking I LOVE YOU BUT I’VE
A Melancholia-esque star spaceship, tied together by a lost CHOSEN DARKNESS MICHAELA COEL
appears, ominously, in this Diogenes text. (Fourth Estate) Claire Vaye Watkins,
dark novel fit for fans and whose father was a Misfits: A Personal Manifesto
the Karl Ove Knausgaard– CROSSROADS member of the Manson
curious alike. (Translated by Martin Come for the Twitter Family, has written a beguiling, Coel’s affecting first book,
fire starter that is biting exploration of motherhood out from Holt, adds a new intro and
Aitken; Harvill Secker) Jonathan Franzen, stay (and personhood) that weaves
for the funny, sad, in rich biographical details epilogue to the text of her 2018
GO HOME, RICKY! unputdownable tapestry of a pastor and is set in the desert heat of MacTaggart Lecture, which
Debut novelist Gene and his family in the midst of myriad her California and Nevada
Kwak’s wrestling-centric crises—of conscience, religion, and hometowns. (riverrun) discusses racism in the film industry
satire unspools issues of otherwise. (Fourth Estate) and the assault that would inspire
race and masculinity (toxic THE BOOK OF FORM BEWILDERMENT I May Destroy You. —K.W.
and otherwise). (Overlook Press) AND EMPTINESS Richard Powers turns his
CLOUD Zen studies, environ- gaze to the stars in this
CUCKOO LAND mental catastrophe, devastating follow-up to
Anthony Doerr’s first and mental health are his Pulitzer Prize–winning
novel since All the Light intertwined in Ruth Ozeki’s story of The Overstory, as an astrobiologist
We Cannot See is a teen boy who hears voices, his mourns his wife’s recent death
packed with lush details and a hoarder mother, and a mysterious while raising his brilliant, troubled
gripping narrative, spanning from young performer. (Canongate Books) son. (William Heinemann)
15th-century Constantinople to —Keziah Weir

32 VA N I T Y F A I R OCTOBER 2021

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Vanities /Fairground

Cit1y2. LIGHTS 2.
1. “Social Works,”
V.F. joins Gagosian director Antwaun Sargent, Antwaun Sargent’s
designer and The Real Housewives first show as a Gagosian
director and curator,
of New York City star Leah McSweeney, features 12 Black artists
and theater owner Jordan Roth on their evening who engage their
communities through both
adventures as New York comes back to life art and social practice.
2. “These artists belong to
By Dan Adler and Chris Murphy communities,” Sargent says,
“and those communities
4. are showing up.” 3. An
attendee wears a Brandon
Blackwood bag.

1.
3.

5.

6. 4. Musical artist Teezo
Touchdown in front of Rick
Lowe’s Black Wall Street
Journey #5. 5. “I’m
excited about folks
immersing themselves,”
Sargent says. 6. Theaster
Gates, whose work is in
the show, with Thelma
Golden, director of the
Studio Museum in Harlem.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY LANDON NORDEMAN

“There is this counterculture that

is going on in New York.”

—LEAH McSWEENEY

7.
9.

8. 10. At this year’s
7. DD Fuego does relaunch of Springsteen
her makeup backstage on Broadway, theater
at Pieces during Pride. owner Jordan Roth
8. Leah McSweeney, wears Alexander
a star of The Real McQueen and his
Housewives of New York grandmother’s purse.
City, dances at the packed “Bruce is the person we
club. 9. At Village Cigars, need to bring us back
McSweeney picks up to life,” he says. 11. Roth
10. a Juul, later discarded. and his husband,
producer Richie
11. Jackson, greet their
seatmates, Secretary
of Transportation
Pete Buttigieg and his
husband, Chasten.

OCTOBER 2021 35

Vanities /Media Moves

Man of the TIMES Born in Wichita, Kansas, and
raised inside the Beltway, Merida cut
Hopes are high for Kevin Merida’s tenure as the head his teeth at The Milwaukee Journal
of California’s paper of record By Joe Pompeo and The Dallas Morning News before
landing at The Washington Post in 1993.
O stratosphere of the news business. He covered Congress and politics,
OF ALL THE major newspapers in Some might say he’s the L.A. Times’s worked as a features writer and colum-
America, or at least the ones that still last great hope, because if Merida nist, and then climbed the ladder in
exist, the Los Angeles Times has weath- can’t position the place for long-term various management roles. By 2013, he
ered more abuse than most. During success, who can? “I didn’t come was the Post’s managing editor for news
the dark early days of the print-media here because I don’t think we can have and features. He also became a key
apocalypse, the Chandler dynasty’s success,” Merida told me over Zoom player in the Post’s digital transforma-
pride and joy was brought to the brink a couple of weeks after he started. He tion, which took flight under Jeff Bezos.
by a revolving door of nightmare and his wife, the journalist Donna
bosses. (A former Times journalist once Britt, were in Maryland, packing up for In 2015, a dream job presented
described them to me as “an unbeliev- the move to L.A., where two of their itself. ESPN, part of the Walt Disney
able string of assholes.”) Hope was sons live. “Whatever happened before Company, was launching a website
restored with the arrival in 2018 of the was before, and now we have a chance called The Undefeated, which would
paper’s latest owner, the billionaire to start right now.” cover race and culture through the
doctor, bioscientist, and medical lens of sports. They wanted Merida
entrepreneur Patrick Soon-Shiong, to run it. Under his stewardship,
who now runs the Times with his wife, The Undefeated sizzled as a sort of
Michele Chan, and daughter, Nika cross-platform corporate start-up,
Soon-Shiong. But still, three years after
the Soon-Shiong family’s nearly
$500 million deal to acquire the Times,
it’s not entirely clear whether the
paper’s record looks brighter than its
tortured past.
Enter Kevin Merida, who succeeded
Norm Pearlstine as executive editor
in June, becoming the institution’s
ninth newsroom leader in 15 years. In
the blink of an eye, Merida, 64, went
from a relatively under-the-radar figure
to one of the most talked about news
executives around—a veteran Black
journalist who, on the heels of a long-
overdue reckoning around race, soared
into the still overwhelmingly white

36 VA N I T Y FA I R PHOTOGRAPH BY PHILIP CHEUNG

churning out podcasts, events, TV stepped down. However, by midspring to reinvent the L.A. Times, to make
specials, and a music collaboration with it was clear that Merida’s heart was it better. I would like to redefine what
Disney’s Hollywood Records. Merida in L.A. Disney chairman Bob Iger got a modern newspaper is.” Merida later
was elevated to a bigger role within on the phone with him to talk it all emailed to clarify, “We may be an
ESPN, where he had already taken on through. “I tried to retain him,” Iger underdog, based on perception. But
additional responsibilities, overseeing told me, “discussing his future, which our roster is loaded.” The roster is
investigative and long-form projects. was bright, and the future of his busi- thrilled to have him. “This is a time of
As The Undefeated grew, Merida began ness, but he seemed intent on returning tremendous excitement,” said one
reporting directly to network president to his newspaper roots and moving to journalist there.
Jimmy Pitaro, who told me Merida is a Los Angeles. I loved working with
“truly outstanding executive” and “cool Kevin, because he is smart, creative, Back in the good old days, long
under pressure.” As Merida kicked off and extremely thoughtful, and I was before the L.A. Times was decimated,
2021, he was riding high with a job that sorry to see him go.” Otis Chandler built it into a national
felt like the best he could ask for, plus an powerhouse. The Times has recaptured
array of exciting projects to look forward On paper, the L.A. Times arguably some of that mojo under the Soon-
to in the new year, including a book looked like the least enticing option. Shiongs, but Merida sounds like he’s
imprint, a record label, and a consumer Leadership turnover was notoriously more focused on expanding the
products line. But opportunity came high. Digital subscriptions were publication’s journalism rather than
knocking once again. lagging. The place was still reeling from worrying about whether it’s in the
complaints about the mistreatment same ballpark as The New York Times
Pearlstine, who turns 80 next year, of employees of color, as well as a and The Washington Post. “I want to get
had left the L.A. Times in December, workplace scandal that roiled its food into partnerships, and documentaries,
and Merida began hearing from some section. In February, The Wall Street and broaden the podcast slate, and
of his contacts there. Would he con- experiment in all of the forms you can
sider being their new executive editor? In the BLINK OF experiment with,” he said. Of course it
The casual outreach whet his appetite AN EYE, Merida doesn’t hurt that the Golden State is full
enough to take a call with HR, which of major stories from climate change
was followed by a series of Zooms went from a to the streaming wars. “You could argue
with the Soon-Shiong family. “I was relatively under- that California is a country unto itself.”
impressed they were all in it together,” the-radar figure
Merida said. Meanwhile, in January, to one of the MOST The thing that made Merida such
Marty Baron announced his retirement a compelling candidate, whether
from The Washington Post, bringing the TALKED ABOUT at the L.A. Times or The Washington Post
curtain down on a legendary eight-year or ESPN or anywhere else, was his
editorship. Merida started getting calls news executives varied set of qualifications. Decades of
from his Post buddies too. A lot of Post around. traditional mainstream journalism
folks loved the idea of Merida taking experience. Proven digital smarts. The
the helm, not only because of his vast Journal reported that a sale was being ability to thrive both in a start-up
experience, but because he would explored. The Soon-Shiong family environment and the bureaucratic
become the first Black executive editor immediately countered that they minefields of a major media company.
of the Post, which has wrestled with had no such intentions, but Times A Black journalist flourishing in an
diversity issues. The weird thing was, journalists worried that the rumors industry that has belatedly put a pre-
people in the newsroom got the sense would scare off top candidates like mium on diversity following decades of
publisher Fred Ryan wasn’t particularly Merida, who told me Patrick Soon- neglect. When you look out across
sold on the idea, even as former col- Shiong “gave me his assurance” that the landscape, there still aren’t a whole
leagues pushed Merida’s name. While he was committed. “I’m drawn to lot of Kevin Meridas at the very top.
the Soon-Shiongs were aggressively underdogs,” Merida said. “If you’re I asked Merida how he feels about that.
courting Merida, the outreach from his not leaning into challenges, what are “People are coming into the ranks
alma mater was surprisingly “passive,” the things that excite us and provide through digital media, and they’re
as one source put it at the time. us with sparkle? What is it that lets us running things, and they’re having
know we’re alive? We have a chance different kinds of leadership positions,”
Back at ESPN, Pitaro had conver- he said. “We need to develop those
sations with Merida about what it ranks to the point where they’re running
would take to keep him. At the same big companies. The Walt Disney
time, Merida was approached about Company, Netflix, The Washington Post,
the possibility of running ABC News, the L.A. Times, and other places. That
also owned by Disney, where network process is happening, but we have
president James Goldston had recently to accelerate it. That is the mission.” n

OCTOBER 2021 37

Vanities /National Politics

Bright Lights, BIG CITY glut of media coverage that focused on
Yang had a collateral benefit for Adams,
New York’s likely next mayor, Eric Adams, is already shielding him from sustained scrutiny
positioning himself as a Democrat of national importance— until the final weeks—even though he is
but first he has to succeed in City Hall By Chris Smith an eccentric personality whose fund-
raising practices had been investigated
I himself “the Biden of Brooklyn.” The multiple times when he was in New S U B WAY : M A R I O TA M A . A DA M S T H U M B S U P : J O S E P E R E Z / B A U E R - G R I F F I N . A DA M S S I G N S : J E E N A H M O O N . V O T I N G B O O T H : A N A D O LU AG E N C Y. V O T I N G S T I C K E R S : A N G E L A
president’s advisers welcomed Adams’s York’s state senate, before becoming WE I S S . ADAM S F L AGS : S P E N CE R P L AT T. ADAM S F I S T BU M P : J O H N L AM PAR S K I . M EGAP H O N E : A ARO NAMAT. S K YL I N E : ROY RO C H L I N . AL L : G E T T Y I MAG E S .
IT WAS PRIMARY night in New York City, embrace, but at least one sounded skep- Brooklyn borough president. Adams ran
with one of the weirdest Democratic tical about reading too much into the a savvy, disciplined campaign, relent-
mayoral contests in modern history hur- moment. “There’s no doubt crime is an lessly repeating that “public safety is
tling to a close, and at the (presumed) issue, but the administration and Demo- the prerequisite to prosperity.” As a
victory party for front-runner Eric crats are doing something about it while Black man who said he joined the police
Adams, one of those beautiful strange the Republicans are using it as a wedge department after being abused by cops
political mixes was assembling inside a issue,” says John Anzalone, Biden’s chief when he was a teenager, Adams prom-
Brooklyn nightclub: Orthodox Jews in pollster. “But whether it’s there a year ised voters the chance to have it both
long black coats next to young women from now? The economic recovery and ways: a mayor who could reduce crime
in low-cut dresses next to a Bronx job creation and health care are still and reform the NYPD at the same time.
Muslim political activist in a hijab next to really the most salient issues.”
shiny-suited real estate operators, all Adams’s win should settle any ques-
of them milling around under a giant It’s easy to understand why Adams tions about the primacy of older Black
disco ball. To one side of the dance floor would want to claim that his win carries middle-class voters in a Democratic
stood Evan Thies, a top Adams adviser, broader significance, especially when primary—that is, if anyone needed
predicting not simply a win for his client his final margin of victory turned out to more evidence after older Black middle-
but instant national influence. “Eric be less than 1 percent, despite the fact class South Carolina voters saved Joe
is going to be great for the DNC head- that he enjoyed the backing of some of Biden’s 2020 presidential bid. The cru-
ing into the midterms,” Thies says. the city’s most powerful unions and out- cial weakness for Garcia, who is white,
“Because him winning will provide pro- spent the second-place finisher—Kathryn and Maya Wiley, who is Black and who
tection against the Republican attacks Garcia, a neophyte candidate—by more finished third, was their inability to
saying Democrats want to defund than two to one. The larger meaning attract enough voters of color. Adams
the police, and because Eric is saying the of the New York contest, though, is far dominated in majority Black outer-
party should be listening to the voters more complicated, with at least one borough districts, and he also did well
who have sustained it—the working worrisome implication for Democrats. with Latino voters. And, like Biden,
class of every race and background.” Adams’s appeal was less racial than ide-
Every mayoral race has its peculiari- ological, selling himself as a pragmatic
Two days later Adams escalated the ties, and this one was odder than most. centrist, particularly in contrast to
declaration of his own importance: The year 2020 saw the city ravaged the super-progressive Wiley. “There are
“I am the face of the Democratic Party.” by the COVID pandemic and struck by about 18 cities in America—and when
Three weeks later—emerging from a vis- crackdowns on social justice protests in I say 18, I’m not talking about secondary
it to the White House, which had invited the wake of the killing of George Floyd. tertiary cities, I’m talking Houston, Dal-
Adams and other local leaders to discuss The lame-duck mayor, Bill de Blasio, las, Atlanta, D.C., Denver, Baltimore,
reducing gun violence—he nicknamed seemed unable or unwilling to keep the large cities—all now led by fairly mod-
NYPD from beating up demonstrators, erate Black mayors,” says Neal Kwatra,
and the notion of electing an ex-cop a Democratic strategist who ran a PAC
to succeed him appeared far-fetched. supporting Adams. “And in all of them
Then, over the winter, the pandemic we’ve seen the cohesion of Black voters
began to ebb while shootings and homi- in a way that we don’t with a lot of other
cides soared. Because the eight major voter cohorts. To me, that is the real
candidates running for mayor were
largely confined to Zoom appearances “I am the face of
well into the spring, Andrew Yang, the DEMOCRATIC
boosted by high name recognition from
his recent Democratic presidential run, PARTY.”
appeared to be leading the pack. The

38 VA N I T Y FA I R ILLUSTRATION BY Q U I N T O N M c M I L L A N

story here. In New York, Wiley did Then there’s the thoroughly New Michigan, and other states. But with the
really poorly among Black voters and York embarrassment that could have battle over who votes becoming as fierce
Eric did very well.” wider political ramifications. For as the elections themselves, the high-
decades the city’s Board of Elections profile screwup sure didn’t help the
The race did less, however, to resolve has been…what’s the word? Dysfunc- fight against disinformation. “It was a
the Democratic split over what to do tional? Incompetent? For this mayoral terrible thing for Democrats, who are
about the police. Both Adams and Gar- race, the board was implementing trying to show people they should have
cia favored gradually improving, not ranked-choice voting for the first time, faith in the system,” says Rebecca
radically restructuring, the NYPD, and and it did not go smoothly. The first Kirszner Katz, a progressive Democratic
together they attracted about 70 percent count it released included 135,000 phan- consultant who was a top adviser to
of the vote. Yet Wiley, who advocated tom votes, because polling machines de Blasio in 2013 and worked with Scott
cutting the department’s budget by in Queens had not been flushed after a Stringer, another mayoral candidate,
$1 billion, finished a strong third, just test run. The mistake was corrected by in 2021. “New York is playing into the
one point behind Garcia, despite start- the next day, though not before Donald hands of national Republicans.”
ing the race unknown to much of the Trump Jr. had gleefully exploited the
electorate and proving to be an awkward confusion, tweeting, “Let me get this The 2022 midterms are shaping
campaigner, because she ran well with straight? You can be off by 135,000 votes up to be extremely difficult for Demo-
younger lefty voters of all colors. “Dem- in a New York City mayoral primary crats, who need to hang on to suburban
ocrats are still clearly struggling about alone, but if someone loses the White swing voters as consumer prices rise
how to frame and project this issue,” House by less than 45,000 across mul- and Republicans stoke the culture war.
Kwatra says. “The circular firing squad tiple states in a presidential election Biden has been down this road before:
right now is focused on being angry at you can’t have any questions.” As a first-term vice president in 2010, he
the defund people, instead of recogniz- saw a Republican wave seize a majority
ing that there is a real constituency for Now, Junior is an idiot. And the botch in both houses of Congress. “I’m very
reform and for some kind of reallocation was minor compared with aggressive pessimistic,” says Cornell Belcher, a
of the historic roles that the cops have Republican legislative efforts to sup- strategist for both of Barack Obama’s
played around issues like mental health.” press voting rights in Texas, Georgia, presidential runs and a pollster for
Wiley’s mayoral bid. “We’re about to
have 2010 again. You can see the train
wreck coming. And it’s analogous to
the broader conversation about voting
rights: Republicans have stopped play-
ing by the rules, and Democrats for
some reason pretend it isn’t happening.”

Perhaps Adams uses his combina-
tion of middle-class, multiracial
electoral support and big-money back-
ing to reform not only the NYPD but
city schools and public housing—and in
the process becomes an example for
national Democrats looking to build a
coalition that can withstand the Repub-
lican assault on voting rights. “The
through line is economic, not racial,”
Thies says. “What Eric is saying is that
the party should be listening to the peo-
ple who have sustained it, not getting
lost in philosophical and ideological
debates. That is how he won in New
York. And that’s why we feel so strongly
this is something that national Demo-
crats should be paying attention to.” Or
maybe, like his City Hall predecessors
who have seen their national aspira-
tions shrivel, Adams discovers that
governing the five boroughs is a tough
enough job all by itself. n

OCTOBER 2021 39

 Photographs by

JAC K I E
NICKERSON

Styled by

NICOLE
CHAPOT EAU

regina

in her
element

WITH THE HARDER THEY
FALL AND BITTER ROOT
ON THE HORIZON,
THE BELOVED ACTOR,
DIRECTOR, AND
ST YLE ICON SOARS TO
NEW HEIGHTS

 By J E SMYN WAR D

40 VA N I T Y FA I R



confrontation, I demurred. Rebuttals

stuck like dry food in my throat. I wore

shame like a shirt. In my secret teen heart,

Shalika was everything I wanted to be.

Every time King is onscreen, she is real

and immediate. There has always been

an aspect of her characters I

I was a wanted for myself: Brenda’s
humor, Iesha’s bluntness
(Poetic Justice, 1993), Dana’s
offhand humor (Friday,

child the 1995), Margie’s passion (Ray,
2004), Sharon’s wisdom and
tenderness (If Beale Street
Could Talk, 2018), Angela’s

first time I saw self-assuredness (Watch- HAI R , L AR RY S I M S ; MAK E U P, PO R S C H E CO O P E R ; MAN I C URE , J O L E N E BRO D E U R ; TAILO R , HAS M IK KOU R I NIAN ; S E T D E S I G N , BE T T E ADAM S . P RO D U CE D O N LOCATI ON BY V I E W F IN DER S. FO R D ETAI L S, G O TO V F. COM / C RE D IT S .
men, 2019), King’s own poise
when she opened this year’s
Oscars broadcast—a role

she had only 24 hours to pre-

Regina King pare for. King embodies her
characters so fully, imbues
them with such power, that

it’s jarring to see her mate-

onscreen, rialize on my computer
screen, dressed casually.
She seems smaller in real
life, even in Zoom real life;

and she was something about the base-
ball cap she wears and the
shifty focus of Zoom (no one
knows where to look) gives

heraguarded,vulnerableair.

a child too: The first thing I noticed about her character, Brenda King has been involved in many semi-

Jenkins in 227, was that she looked like me. She wore her hair the nal Black projects in front of and behind

way I did: large bangs falling across her forehead, top pulled back the camera, all of which have informed

in a ponytail, hanging on the bottom, probably bumped with a my own life, and many of which were,

curling iron. Her smile almost too big for her face. Even though 227 like much Black American art, rooted in

(1985–1990) wasn’t my favorite show, I liked watching it, mostly reality. Such art helps us confront and ex-

for Brenda, who resonated with me in a way the children of The plore the realities of our existence; such

Cosby Show or Good Times didn’t. The Cosby kids were too inno- art helps us navigate it. Her newer work

cent, too precocious. The Good Times kids seemed kids in name seems to signal a flowering of experience

and body only; so much of their actions and reactions were adult beyond the real and into the surreal. An-

in orientation—too wise, too quick, too knowing. It is difficult to hit gela Abar in Watchmen is a superheroine.

the sweet spot of truth writing children—they are often too naive Erika Murphy’s world in The Leftovers is

and quirky, or too worldly. But through King, Brenda was the real one shot through with mysticism. This,

deal. She was frank and inappropriate and funny and oblivious too, is a necessity; venturing into the

and messy and naive. She was genuine. There was much about fantastic enables us to envision what our

her that I wanted for myself, most notably the ability to speak lives could be.

plainly from her perspective to adults, which was something I “We’re not a monolith. We are quirky

never saw in my world. people. We can be the athlete and the

The next time I saw King onscreen, in John Singleton’s Boyz n nerd; we can be the athlete or the nerd,”

the Hood (1991) she had grown up, and so had I. Shalika, Dough- King says, when I ask if these sorts of

boy’s outspoken friend, was my teenage opposite in almost every roles have been a conscious choice. “I

way: from her fashion, bold and confident, to her demeanor, just have a desire to tell stories that speak

brimming with agency. She took up space with her sharp mouth, to me, you know.” She continues, “Even

her cutting eyes. She was quick to go blow for blow in spats with if it’s a fantastical story. I still feel like

Doughboy, refusing to be demeaned or shamed. I envied her Clothing by the story has to have some bit of heart
power of assertion even as I hid in plain sight in classrooms, Valentino; earrings in it in order to draw people in and keep
under those childhood bangs. I lurked in libraries. In nearly every by Ana Khouri. people there.”

42 VA N I T Y FA I R

k Could Talk, a role for which King won both an Oscar and a Golden
Globe for best supporting actress. (Jenkins was also nominated
for adapting James Baldwin’s novel into the screenplay.)

King, said Jenkins, is “really intense about taking ownership
of the character, which, for me, is a terrific way for an actor to
be. I say often to the actors, ‘The character is yours now.’ Myself
or the screenwriter (if it isn’t me), once you’re cast, our shares
in the character are diminished and it’s up to you to decide the
degree to which you make them yours. Regina’s a ‘make them

mine’ kind of actor. Which I love.”

He recounted a scene in which her character, Sharon Rivers,

KING REALIZED EARLY in her career that and Mrs. Hunt, played by Aunjanue Ellis, forget to take their

she didn’t land the part if she didn’t feel coats amid the momentum of acting out the scene.

for it, innately. “Somewhere around in “Without prompting, Regina improvs two of my favorite lines

between Boyz n the Hood and Poetic Jus- in the entire film: ‘Get yo’ shit! Take yo’ shit with you.’ Teyonah

tice, having gone on a few auditions, a Parris then follows Regina’s lead and takes the coats from the

light bulb came on in my head and I was couch, tosses them rudely out the front door. It’s an electric

like, You know what? If it doesn’t speak moment that occurs only because Regina has taken full pos-

to me on the page, if I’m not feeling that session of the character. She’s wonderful!”

connection to it, I’m not going to audi- Jenkins added that King was ceaselessly on set (sometimes

tion,” she says. “It’s not fair to myself. giving him the Dodgers World Series score—“she’s a sports nut”).

It’s wasting the casting agent’s time, the Later, he realized she was “drinking everything in” because she

producer’s time—and wasting my time, would go from that job into directing One Night in Miami….

to be quite frank.” King wants her proj- On either side of the camera, King keeps her audience by dint

ects to have heart, and later I think that of not only talent and hard work but by what King says are “culti-

her early TV work probably taught her to vating relationships that are going to be lifelong...15, 20, 30 years

value those moments of connection. Her old.” (Though she demurs on whom those relationships are with:

favorite scene from 227, she recalls, “was “They wouldn’t be long or strong if I talked about them publicly.”)

an episode where Brenda has a moment “Everyone in my tribe doesn’t have the same skin color, but

with her dad. She is crying and he is very everyone in my tribe definitely has the same sensibility,” she says.

tender with her, and wipes the streaked “So I’ve fostered really amazing relationships that run the gamut,

makeup she isn’t supposed to have on that are not just all Black people, that are not just all women. It’s

from her face. I don’t really remember the totality of it all that has me where I sit right now.”

what it was about, but I know it was a Damon Lindelof, who worked with King on The Leftovers

moment that we rarely saw on TV.” and Watchmen, for which King won an Emmy, appreciates her

Now, as a director—for her feature belief in mutual respect. The film industry, he insists, can be

debut last year, One Night in Miami…, a predatory place for actors, especially in TV. She seeks trust

she earned a Golden Globe best director and true “partnerships,” as Lindelof says, which for him was

initially jarring and ulti-

mately refreshing.

BARRY JENKINS RECALLS HOW KING IMPROVISED “It’s basically like, ‘Hey,
I’m sitting in this office

TWO OF HIS FAVORITE LINES. “IT’S AN ELECTRIC with you because I’m open
MOMENT THAT OCCURS ONLY BECAUSE to the idea of essentially
spending a year of my

REGINA HAS TAKEN FULL POSSESSION life playing this part—but
OF THE CHARACTER.” I don’t know you. So let’s
get to know one another.’ ”
Her partnerships, he says,

“become friendships, alli-

ances, or whatever. But it’s

nomination as well as one from the Direc- like she’s an equal partner. And you kind of know that if you’re

tors Guild—King applies the same getting into business with her.”

philosophy. “As the director, you’re Stars from across her decades-long career come forth to

dedicating even more time of your life, affirm. Renée Zellweger, who met King “100 years ago as

and you’re involved with every aspect of big-movie neophytes” when they did Jerry Maguire, says she

the filmmaking process, so you need to remembers thinking, “There’s a lot to learn from this rock star,

believe in what you’re doing.” and a friendship to treasure.” She’s admired her ever since—

“Regina is full of life,” says Barry Jen- “genius, courage, beauty, kindness, grit.”

kins, who directed her in If Beale Street Sandra Bullock, who starred with King in Miss Congeniality 2

OCTOBER 2021 43

(a film Bullock immediately calls “a stink- “It won’t be like One Night in Miami….” She pauses, and I hear

er”), says that their connection was im- tears in her voice. “We never got the opportunity to see our film

mediate, and necessary. “Even in the bad with an audience. I’m grateful to be healthy. I’m grateful that

films, you still need to be in sync, you still all of our crew and cast are healthy. We got to be in so many dif-

need to have a partnership where you’re ferent festivals…but we didn’t get a chance to share that, except

supporting each other.” through this,” she says, indicating the virtual realm. “That was

“With Regina, there’s just a weight of disappointing. But everything is for a reason. I try not to ques-

knowledge she brings,” says Bullock. “I tion God’s will.”

learned pretty quickly, you just, when “If you are a true film lover, there’s nothing like the theater

Regina is in the room, you let Regina have experience,” she continues. “The postmortem is such a pre-

the room. Everyone’s gonna benefit from cious thing for filmmakers. When I say filmmakers, I’m talking

it, even me.” Bullock says she and King about everyone involved with a film or part of making it. That’s

are similar in that they take

their work “insanely” seri-

ously—not themselves, but “WHEN REGINA IS IN THE ROOM, YOU LET REGINA
what they do.

And, she adds, “we don’t HAVE THE ROOM,” SAYS SANDRA BULLOCK.
take it for granted, and I “EVERYONE’S GONNA BENEFIT FROM IT.”
think a lot of that comes

from being a female. We’ve

always had to be scrappy

and put your head down and

do the work and be grateful for what you special, to have that experience together. So it was tough for

have. As a Black woman, she’s had to do all of us. And when I say all of us, I mean all. of. us.”

that a thousand times more.” The ensemble of The Harder They Fall is quite a lineup on both

As pay and gender equity have sides of the camera: Jonathan Majors as Nat Love, Idris Elba as

become more common industry con- Rufus Buck, Zazie Beetz as Stagecoach Mary, LaKeith Stanfield

versations, King expanded her ideas. as Cherokee Bill. Jay-Z, Lawrence Bender, and James Lassiter

“I have to be completely honest, I never producing. Boaz Yakin as Samuel’s cowriter. In the snippets you

paid attention to the pay difference until can see from the trailer, Black actors swagger, bejeweled, suited,

some years ago, when the conversa- and tough, through Samuel’s vision of the American West. It is

tions became very public,” she says. “I dust-wreathed and red-rocked, sere and beautiful, flecked with

was embarrassed that I hadn’t thought snow. Cherokee Bill, Rufus Buck, Stagecoach Mary, and Bass

about it before. I was just happy that Reeves are historical Black figures, but the music is as modern

I was making a career out of being an art- and propulsive as the action, wherein these same Black out-

ist. I truly didn’t think outside that. I am laws, some born into slavery, others not, exercise agency in

so glad that women stood up and were every frame. They shoot, ride, quip, joke, and punch their way

vocal. That changed things for me.” through a landscape that was fueled by an American dream that

depended on their erasure and silence.

The older people in my family—my mother, father, and

grandparents—love Westerns. I’ve never been able to watch

them. They are always obscured by those enslaved men and

l women, those murdered Indigenous men and women, clus-
tered just off the edge of the screen: invisible and present
ghosts. For a time, every day I visited my mother’s house, she
was watching the Western channel. They remind her of when
she was a child, she told me once, because growing up in rural
Mississippi, with access to at most two television channels,
all she saw were Westerns. When I relate this story to King,
about how so many older Black people I know love watching
Westerns, she tells me, “Westerns were a definite nap. I just

remember that I knew I was going to lay on the couch and fall

asleep. Which is great. I mean, I was cool with it. I’m born and

LATER THIS YEAR, King is back in front of bred in L.A., so it’d be a hot Sunday, and the air conditioner

the camera as “Treacherous” Trudy in was not going to be on. Hopefully a cross breeze would happen.

Jeymes Samuel’s The Harder They Fall, So it’d be a definite nap, where you’d wake up and you’d be

which is set in the American West in the Clothing by sweating because the sofa made you hot,” she says, laughing.
late 1800s. Though the feature will stream Gucci; rings by “That’s my relationship to Westerns.”
on Netflix, it will—COVID allowing—pre- Ana Khouri
miere to a live audience. (left hand) and Samuel changed that. He and King’s agent, Lorrie Bartlett,
Cartier. ICM’s head of talent, had been talking about the film for some

44 VA N I T Y FA I R OCTOBER 2021





Bodysuit by
Alix NYC; skirt

by Celine by
Hedi Slimane;

sandals by
Giuseppe
Zanotti; earrings
by Ana Khouri;
bracelet by
Cartier High

Jewelry.

OCTOBER 2021 47