December 30, 2023

GRAFFITI WARS

Despite being directed by George Lucas and starring Harrison Ford, American Graffiti was almost killed by Universal Studios. Instead, it turned into a smash hit and paved the way for Star Wars …

THE BEST OF THE WORST

It’s been a year of men, and women, behaving badly. But who was the vilest? From Elon Musk and Marjorie Taylor Greene to Donald Trump and Prince Harry, we hand out the Attention Whore of the Year Awards …

STAR POWER

Little is known about the Michelin Guide, besides the fact that it deals in stars. Adam Hay-Nicholls uncovers its nebulous criteria—and reveals its plans to branch out into hotels …

COUNTRY MATTERS

Taylor Swift! Beyoncé! Barbie! This was the year positive femininity took over the mainstream-entertainment world. But, says Lynn Q. Yu, in the suburban heartlands, angry country music was all the rage …

COSSACK AT THE PLAZA

Prince Obolensky of Russia was the toast of New York’s best dining rooms. Henry R. Schlesinger tells the story of the legendary host, who never went a week without appearing in the gossip columns …

NOISES OFF

Famously reclusive throughout his life, the composer Stephen Sondheim divulged all to his biographer, Meryle Secrest, from kinky sex and cocaine to his troubled relationship with his mother …

THE AGE OF REASON

Are Gen Z–ers too whiny? Are boomers too backward? We put the best of both generations head-to-head to see who comes out on top …

BUT, WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

Scotland’s Letterewe Estate is wild and beguiling … skiing before it was glamorous … the chef whose kitchen is the subway … the hotel remaking Paris’s Marais … how publishing became big business … a dispatch from Edwardian England … Noise-canceling earbuds that actually work!

Issue No. 233

The View from Here Growing up Greek in New York City was a double-edged sword—pride in one’s ancestry mixed with fear of the fez

By George Kalogerakis

Read On

In Search of Misspent Youth Hormones, horsepower, and hamburgers: the making of American Graffiti

By Sam Kashner

Read On

My Favorite Things The fashion-industry veteran and founder behind Vyrao’s healing fragrances spotlights her essentials, from playful accessories to her secret weapon for combating stress

By Yasmin Sewell

Shop

Photo: Suleika Mueller (Sewell)

Let It Snow

Whether you’re hitting the slopes in Gstaad or Jackson Hole, AIR SUPPLY has you covered with winter wonders for your most stylish ski—and après-ski—session yet

Shop

Illustration: René Vincent/Culture Club/Getty Images (skiers)

The Attention Whore of the Year Awards Harry? Donald? Elon? Meghan? Whom did you choose as the biggest swanker, windbag, and blatherskite of 2023?

By George Kalogerakis

Photo Illustration by Chop Choppish Shop

Read On

Making a Positive Out of a Negative Save your boxes of film negatives from near-certain destruction! The finest earbuds of the year! High-quality air filters at fire-sale prices! And more …

By Jonathan Margolis

Read On

Boomers vs. Gen Z–ers Did the baby-boomers have more style? Are Gen Z–ers less reprehensible? Find out in our battle of the generations!

Read On

SIP Ghia I’ve been an avid drinker of the non-alcoholic aperitif Ghia ever since writing about its launch for this very publication in 2020…

Read The Catch of a Lifetime From the writings of Norman Maclean and Annie Proulx to Ernest Hemingway…

Pamper Santa Maria Novella I know I’m a decent gift giver because people always tell me I’m a good gift giver. One of my guiding principles when deciding on…

READ Shakespeare’s First Folio Sure, you may have paperback editions of William Shakespeare’s plays, highlighted and dog-eared…

Wear With Nothing Underneath Your AIR MAIL style correspondents have been sourcing the best button-ups…

Shop La Maison de Commerce When it comes to the art of everyday living, some of us fare better than others…

SIP Ghia I’ve been an avid drinker of the non-alcoholic aperitif Ghia ever since writing about its launch for this very publication in 2020…

Read The Catch of a Lifetime From the writings of Norman Maclean and Annie Proulx to Ernest Hemingway…

Pamper Santa Maria Novella I know I’m a decent gift giver because people always tell me I’m a good gift giver. One of my guiding principles when deciding on…

READ Shakespeare’s First Folio Sure, you may have paperback editions of William Shakespeare’s plays, highlighted and dog-eared…

Wear With Nothing Underneath Your AIR MAIL style correspondents have been sourcing the best button-ups…

Shop La Maison de Commerce When it comes to the art of everyday living, some of us fare better than others…

The Great (Culture) War In 2023, while some cities celebrated femininity with Taylor Swift and Barbie, others pivoted toward angry country music. Do universal pop-culture trends even exist anymore?

By Lynn Q. Yu

Read On

Secrets of the Michelin Man The Michelin Guide will soon start judging the world’s hotels as well as its restaurants. But what will the guide’s shadowy inspectors be looking for?

By Adam Hay-Nicholls

Read On

The Prince of Parties The Russian émigré Prince Serge Obolensky bestrode New York’s nightlife like a colossus

By Henry R. Schlesinger

Read On

The Mystery of Sondheim Stephen Sondheim’s biographer looks back at the signs she missed when interviewing the legendary composer and lyricist

By Meryle Secrest

Read On

For the Ages Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger made 24 bold and imaginative films before falling out of favor. Now the duo that Martin Scorsese and Tilda Swinton credit as influences are getting their due

By Xan Brooks

Read On

Postcard New England The early days of skiing in the United States were wild and woolly, with rope tows, aristocratic instructors, and five-to-a-room boarding houses

By Eric Hanson

Read On

Could You Be an Attention Whore? On this week’s podcast, the keeper of our Attention-Whore Index reveals the worst of this year’s worst

Read On

A New Day in the Marais An alluring new hotel is only one of the reasons to revisit this storied neighborhood in Paris

By Alexander Lobrano

Read On

Juliet Nicolson On

The King Is Dead, Long Live the King!: Majesty, Mourning and Modernity in Edwardian Britain

by Martin Williams

Read On

Micah Cash On

Big Fiction: How Conglomeration Changed the Publishing Industry and American Literature

by Dan Sinykin

Read On

Dae Kim At just 29 years old, the Per Se alum is the head chef at Manhattan’s splashiest new fine-dining restaurant

By Jeanne Malle

Read On

On Top of the World A new coffee-table book offers a delightful guide to Alpine travel across France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, and Germany

14

A vintage ski poster of the Aosta Valley, in Italy.

The Bellevue des Alpes, in Kleine Scheidegg, Switzerland.

*Top,* the view from the Fuchsegg Eco Lodge, in Bregenzerwald, Austria; *above,* the spa at the Cōmodo, in Bad Gastein, Austria.

The Hotel Villa Honegg, in Ennetbürgen, Switzerland.

*Top,* the Hôtel Le Coucou, in Méribel, France; *above,* the view from the Pensiun Aldier, in Sent, Switzerland.

A vintage poster of Saint-Moritz, Switzerland, the birthplace of winter tourism.

Run by 84 Rooms, the 84 Club Chalet is located in the village of Rougemont, Switzerland.

The Icaro hotel, in the Dolomites’ Alpe di Siusi meadow, in Italy.

The Schloss Elmau Luxury Spa Retreat & Cultural Hideaway, in Krün, Germany.

*Top,* another view from the Fuchsegg Eco Lodge; *above,* the Peterhof chalets, in Zwischenwasser, Austria.

*Top,* the Hotel Gasthof Hirschen Schwarzenberg, in Schwarzenberg, Austria; *above,* Mariazell, Austria.

These Hills Are Made for Stalkin’ Visiting Scotland’s Letterewe Estate is like stepping back in time

By Rosalyn Wikeley

Read On

Is Edited By

Graydon Carter and Alessandra Stanley

Creative Director

Angela Panichi

Deputy Editors

Ashley Baker Ash Carter Chris Garrett Nathan King Julia Vitale

Chief Technology Officer

John Tornow

Editor at Large

George Pendle

Books Editor

Jim Kelly

Arts Intel Report Editor

Laura Jacobs

Senior Editors

Elena Clavarino Jensen Davis

Photo Director

Ann Schneider

Copy Editor

Adam Nadler

Research & Legal Editor

Matt Kapp

Production Editor

H. Scott Jolley

Associate Editors

Carolina de Armas Lucy Horowitz Clara Molot Paulina Prosnitz Jack Sullivan

Art Director

Paloma Huerre

Senior Photo Editor

Emine Gözde Sevim

Designer

Zoé Gillette

International Editor

Isabelle Harvie-Watt

London Editor

Bridget Arsenault

Communications Director

Harrison Vail

Columnists

Cazzie David Lisa Henricksson Walter Isaacson
Pico Iyer Rachel Johnson John Lahr
Jonathan Margolis Linda Wells James Wolcott

Writers at Large

Lili Anolik Johanna Berkman Joseph Bullmore Vassi Chamberlain William D. Cohan Rich Cohen Michael Hainey Stuart Heritage George Kalogerakis Sam Kashner James Kirchick Alexander Lobrano Alexandra Marshall Daphne Merkin Sam Wasson

Contributing Artists

Monica Ahanonu Barry Blitt André Carrilho Paul Davis David Downton Andrea Ferolla Josh Gosfield Cathy Graham Eric Hanson Angelica Hicks Pip Johnson Hilary Knight Danielle Kosann Michael Lindsay-Hogg Ross MacDonald Joe McKendry James McMullan Donald Robertson Charles Dare Scheips Grant Shaffer Ed Sorel Ralph Steadman

Contributing Photographers

Jonathan Becker Justin Bishop Alex Board James Emmerman Marcos Fecchino Daniel Paik Art Streiber Sharon Suh Justin Weiner

Architectural Consultant

Basil Walter

Head of Audience Development

Rachel LeSage

Audience Growth Manager

Merritt Johnson

Cartoon Editor

Bob Mankoff

Music Supervisor

Randall Poster

Technology

Brooks Oakley Justin Rubaloff Sade Singleton

Intern

Gasper Tringale-White

OUR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AND CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER ARE

Bill Keenan and Emily Davis

Air Supply General Manager and Brand Partnerships

Anjali Lewis

Advertising Director

Michael Pescuma

European Sales Director

Selim Mataraci

Financial & Business Operations

Marc Leyer

Account Manager

Dillon Freeman

Chief Strategy Adviser

Adam Mendelsohn

AIR SUPPLY

Chief Merchant

Jennifer Noyes

Shop Editor

Zoe Ruffner

E-Commerce Manager

Isaac Metlitsky

E-commerce Associate

Lilly Schoenbaum

In Memoriam

Peter Bogdanovich Duncan Hannah Douglas McGrath Richard David Story André Leon Talley

The View from Here Growing up Greek in New York City was a double-edged sword—pride in one’s ancestry mixed with fear of the fez

In Search of Misspent Youth Hormones, horsepower, and hamburgers: the making of American Graffiti

My Favorite Things The fashion-industry veteran and founder behind Vyrao’s healing fragrances spotlights her essentials, from playful accessories to her secret weapon for combating stress

Whether you’re hitting the slopes in Gstaad or Jackson Hole, AIR SUPPLY has you covered with winter wonders for your most stylish ski—and après-ski—session yet

The Attention Whore of the Year Awards Harry? Donald? Elon? Meghan? Whom did you choose as the biggest swanker, windbag, and blatherskite of 2023?

Making a Positive Out of a Negative Save your boxes of film negatives from near-certain destruction! The finest earbuds of the year! High-quality air filters at fire-sale prices! And more …

Boomers vs. Gen Z–ers Did the baby-boomers have more style? Are Gen Z–ers less reprehensible? Find out in our battle of the generations!

The Great (Culture) War In 2023, while some cities celebrated femininity with Taylor Swift and Barbie, others pivoted toward angry country music. Do universal pop-culture trends even exist anymore?

Secrets of the Michelin Man The Michelin Guide will soon start judging the world’s hotels as well as its restaurants. But what will the guide’s shadowy inspectors be looking for?

The Prince of Parties The Russian émigré Prince Serge Obolensky bestrode New York’s nightlife like a colossus

The Mystery of Sondheim Stephen Sondheim’s biographer looks back at the signs she missed when interviewing the legendary composer and lyricist

For the Ages Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger made 24 bold and imaginative films before falling out of favor. Now the duo that Martin Scorsese and Tilda Swinton credit as influences are getting their due

Postcard New England The early days of skiing in the United States were wild and woolly, with rope tows, aristocratic instructors, and five-to-a-room boarding houses

Could You Be an Attention Whore? On this week’s podcast, the keeper of our Attention-Whore Index reveals the worst of this year’s worst

A New Day in the Marais An alluring new hotel is only one of the reasons to revisit this storied neighborhood in Paris

Dae Kim At just 29 years old, the Per Se alum is the head chef at Manhattan’s splashiest new fine-dining restaurant

On Top of the World A new coffee-table book offers a delightful guide to Alpine travel across France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, and Germany

These Hills Are Made for Stalkin’ Visiting Scotland’s Letterewe Estate is like stepping back in time

Is Edited By

Creative Director

Deputy Editors

Chief Technology Officer

Editor at Large

Books Editor

Arts Intel Report Editor

Senior Editors

Photo Director

Copy Editor

Research & Legal Editor

Production Editor

Associate Editors

Art Director

Senior Photo Editor

Designer

International Editor

London Editor

Communications Director

Columnists

Writers at Large

Contributing Artists

Contributing Photographers

Architectural Consultant

Social Media Manager

Head of Audience Development

Audience Growth Manager

Cartoon Editor

Music Supervisor

Technology

Intern

OUR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AND CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER ARE

Air Supply General Manager and Brand Partnerships

Advertising Director

European Sales Director

Financial & Business Operations

Account Manager

Chief Strategy Adviser

Chief Merchant

Shop Editor

E-Commerce Manager

E-commerce Associate

In Memoriam