February 4, 2023 – Air Mail

Armie of One

In his first interview since accusations of violence, rape, and cannibalism destroyed his acting career, Armie Hammer speaks out …

French Exit

From the Élysée Palace, Alexandra Marshall charts the public disappearance of First Lady Brigitte Macron, who once fascinated the French but, thanks to a media misstep, appears to have lost her luster …

Art Fief

From Hong Kong, Alexandra Bregman pulls back the veil on Rosalie Wong, the mysterious art dealer, and paramour, to China’s billionaire elite …

On the Runway

From Paris, David Downton illustrates the latest haute couture looks, from Schiaparelli’s wild-animal heads to Viktor & Rolf’s upside-down ball gowns …

Reeling with Emotions

From the studio, Dan Fox explains why filmmakers love directing movies about tortured artists …

Gut Instinct

From AIR MAIL’s Beauty and Wellness Lab, Linda Wells finds that the key to good skin is in our microbiome—something the Amish have known all along …

BUT, WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

Elin Hilderbrand’s novels live in her Notes app … the forgotten queen of Jazz Age Montmartre … the store for New York’s It Girls … Is Charleston home to the best small restaurant in America? … James Bond and the Beatles rule the British psyche … the petty and profound cruelties of James Ellroy … a new podcast from the creator of The Orgasm Cult … Will Randy Andy oust Wince Harry from atop this week’s Attention-Whore Index?

Issue No. 186

The View from Here Why we chose to publish yet another story about Armie Hammer

By Graydon Carter and Alessandra Stanley

Read On

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Armie Hammer Breaks His Silence

Two years after some of the most shocking allegations of the #MeToo era lit up the Internet and destroyed his career, the actor has finally decided to tell his side of the story

Read On

Gaffe Factory A badly managed media tour on the eve of a national meltdown has the world wondering: Has Brigitte Macron lost her touch?

By Alexandra Marshall

Read On

To Catch a Klimt Two long-hidden, hugely expensive, and very rare paintings by Gustav Klimt have suddenly popped up in Asia. Who’s the elusive art adviser behind them?

By Alexandra Bregman

Read On

Valentine’s Day Heart-Stoppers

As February 14 fast approaches, present your loved ones with a handpicked token of affection. Here, 30 sweet treats to have and to hold this month—and in aeternum

Shop

Photo: Ray Jones/Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock (De Carlo)

My Favorite Things Landscape designer Grace Fuller Marroquin, who collaborated with The Row on a collection of handcrafted ceramic planters, shares her most prized picks, from a gardening hat to rose-scented soap

By Grace Fuller Marroquin

Shop

Photo: Heidi Harf (Fuller Marroquin)

Eye of the Beholder What do the contents of your stomach have to do with the appearance of your skin? Plenty, it turns out. When it comes to the fascinating eco-system of the gut microbiome, our science-loving beauty columnist can’t help but talk dirty

By Linda Wells

Read On

The Attention-Whore Index As Harry’s revelations abate, will Prince Andrew keep the No. 1 ranking in the family? Or will some other new swankpot claim the win? You decide!

Read On

A World All Its Own In Paris, the rarefied universe of haute couture brings out the very best

Written and Illustrated by

David Downton

4

Chanel’s *jeunes filles,* by Virginie Viard.

Le Club Couture, by Pierpaolo Piccioli for Valentino.

At Dior, Maria Grazia Chiuri paid tribute to Josephine Baker.

Read On

Dine Straker’s In West London, there is really only one new restaurant that everyone is talking about. It’s Straker’s, people, and if you plan to visit…

Dine Langosteria Saint-Moritz If you’ve visited Milan, you’ve probably stopped by at least one of three locations of Langosteria…

Pamper Costa Brazil Since launching four years ago, Costa Brazil—the sustainable beauty brand founded by Francisco Costa, the former creative director…

Watch Happy Valley: Season Three The BBC One crime drama Happy Valley has been much discussed in the U.K. since its first season aired…

Listen Nastaran Tavakoli-Far Nastaran Tavakoli-Far made a name for herself in 2020 with her podcast The Orgasm Cult. In it, she unabashedly investigates…

Look Bodyscapes The juxtaposing curation of Alex Moore’s Polaroids in his latest photography book, Bodyscapes, can feel like a puzzle…

Dine Straker’s In West London, there is really only one new restaurant that everyone is talking about. It’s Straker’s, people, and if you plan to visit…

Dine Langosteria Saint-Moritz If you’ve visited Milan, you’ve probably stopped by at least one of three locations of Langosteria…

Pamper Costa Brazil Since launching four years ago, Costa Brazil—the sustainable beauty brand founded by Francisco Costa, the former creative director…

Watch Happy Valley: Season Three The BBC One crime drama Happy Valley has been much discussed in the U.K. since its first season aired…

Listen Nastaran Tavakoli-Far Nastaran Tavakoli-Far made a name for herself in 2020 with her podcast The Orgasm Cult. In it, she unabashedly investigates…

Look Bodyscapes The juxtaposing curation of Alex Moore’s Polaroids in his latest photography book, Bodyscapes, can feel like a puzzle…

Sick or Genius? Directors can’t stop making movies about tortured artists

By Dan Fox

Read On

Just like Home, only Better Is Chez Nous, in Charleston, the best small restaurant in America?

By Alan Richman

Read On

The Story Behind the Armie Hammer Story Author James Kirchick takes listeners inside his reporting, and what it was like to speak with the actor

Read On

Musical Chairs Thierry Barbier-Mueller’s collection of more than 650 chairs, by designers including Ron Arad and André Dubreuil, is celebrated in a dazzling coffee-table book

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Chairs from Thierry Barbier-Mueller’s collection, including, clockwise from left, the *Thing 10,* in solid birch wood, designed by Richard Hutten; the *Bessie Smith,* in metal, by Robert Wilson; and the *Klassenraumstuhl,* in black- and red-lacquered wood, by Stefan Wewerka.

The *Poodle Chair,* in synthetic fur and wood, designed by Van Eijk & Van der Lubbe.

The *Zig Zag* chair, in burned and lacquered wood (right), designed by Maarten Baas, and the *Redesigned ZigZag,* in wood, by Alessandro Mendini.

The *Post-Steltman* chair, in colored acrylic glass, by Alessandro Guerriero.

A selection of Barbier-Mueller’s chairs, including the *Wiggle Side Chair,* in corrugated cardboard (left, rear) designed by Frank Gehry; the *Feijão* chair, in pink *peroba,* *imbuia,* and cinnamon wood (center), by Rodrigo Simão; and the *Little H* chair, in birch wood (right), by Caroline Schlyter.

The *Optimist’s Chair,* in lacquered wood, by Malcolm Temple.

The *Eckstuhl* chair, in wood, by Wewerka.

The *Brick Chair,* made from old building sets for children, by Pepe Heykoop.

Clockwise from left: the *Cross Check Chair,* in laminated birch, by Gehry; the *Bamboo Chair,* in herbicide bamboo, by Tejo Remy and René Veenhuizen; and the *Chair of the Rings,* in beechwood, by Martino Gamper.

The *Victorian Chair,* made from park railings, coal hole, and plumbing components, designed by Tom Dixon.

“We could talk about this all night or you could leave.”

An Embarrassment of Riches An infusion of fashion and design is shaking up Antwerp’s old-world sensibility. There’s never been a better time to visit

By Marcia DeSanctis

Read On

For the largest-ever exhibition of Johannes Vermeer’s work, the Rijksmuseum, in Amsterdam, is putting 28 of his 37 paintings on display, including Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window (1657–58).

Chasing Vermeer

In the winter of 1675, in the Dutch city of Delft, the painter Johannes Vermeer died, stressed and penniless. Only 43, he left behind a wife, 11 children, and two failing side businesses—as an art dealer and an innkeeper. In the decades before Vermeer’s death, the people of Delft had suffered plague, war, economic collapse, and the accidental ignition of some 40 tons of gunpowder stored in a former convent. The blast leveled a quarter of the city and killed hundreds, including Vermeer’s colleague Carel Fabritius, who painted The Goldfinch. READ ON

Read On

Discover

All Roads Lead to Claudia Cardinale

Sixty years ago, Claudia Cardinale delivered what arguably ranks among the greatest back-to-back performances in movie history when she starred in two masterpieces of Italian cinema, Federico Fellini’s 8½ and Luchino Visconti’s The Leopard. The films premiered within months of each other in 1963, with Fellini winning an Academy Award for best foreign-language film and Visconti winning the Palme d’Or. But perhaps even more impressive is that Cardinale, who was just 25 at the time, shot both films concurrently, toggling not just between two sets but between two auteurs and their entirely different visions for her. READ ON

Claudia Cardinale in 1964, a year after she starred in both Federico Fellini’s 8½ and Luchino Visconti’s The Leopard. Read On

Lucky Jewel Olive Woodward, Lola Dement Myers, and Shay Gallagher, the trio behind the art collective Lucky Jewel, have opened a store on the Lower East Side

By Nicolaia Rips

Read On

Paul Franz On

Love Me Fierce in Danger: The Life of James Ellroy

by Steven Powell

Read On

Bruce Handy On

Love and Let Die: James Bond, The Beatles, and the British Psyche

by John Higgs

Read On

Ada “Bricktop” Smith The forgotten queen of Jazz Age Montmartre

By Patrick Monahan

Read On

Elin Hilderbrand

The novelist answers 43 of life’s most pressing questions

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

Books Editor

Jim Kelly

Arts Intel Report Editor

Laura Jacobs

Senior Editor

Elena Clavarino

Editor at Large

George Pendle

Photo Director

Ann Schneider

Copy Editor

Adam Nadler

Research & Legal Editor

Matt Kapp

Production Editor

H. Scott Jolley

Associate Editors

Jensen Davis Carolina de Armas Clara Molot Paulina Prosnitz Elinor Schneider

Art Director

Paloma Huerre

International Editor

Isabelle Harvie-Watt

London Editor

Bridget Arsenault

Columnists

Cazzie David Emma Freud 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

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

Cartoon Editor

Bob Mankoff

Music Supervisor

Randall Poster

Photo Editor

Emine Gozde Sevim

Designer

Zoé Gillette

Technology

Brooks Oakley Justin Rubaloff Sade Singleton

Interns

Kendra Huber Gasper Tringale-White

OUR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AND CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER ARE

Bill Keenan and Emily Davis

Shop General Manager and Brand Partnerships

Anjali Lewis

Advertising Director

Michael Pescuma

European Sales Director

Selim Mataraci

Integrated Marketing Producer

Alex Dickerson

Financial & Business Operations

Marc Leyer

Account Manager

Dillon Freeman

Chief Strategy Adviser

Adam Mendelsohn

AIR SUPPLY

Merchant

Jennifer Noyes

Editor

Zoe Ruffner

E-Commerce Manager

Isaac Metlitsky

E-Commerce Associates

Coco Paul-Henriot Roxy Solis

In Memoriam

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

The View from Here Why we chose to publish yet another story about Armie Hammer

Two years after some of the most shocking allegations of the #MeToo era lit up the Internet and destroyed his career, the actor has finally decided to tell his side of the story

Gaffe Factory A badly managed media tour on the eve of a national meltdown has the world wondering: Has Brigitte Macron lost her touch?

To Catch a Klimt Two long-hidden, hugely expensive, and very rare paintings by Gustav Klimt have suddenly popped up in Asia. Who’s the elusive art adviser behind them?

As February 14 fast approaches, present your loved ones with a handpicked token of affection. Here, 30 sweet treats to have and to hold this month—and in aeternum

My Favorite Things Landscape designer Grace Fuller Marroquin, who collaborated with The Row on a collection of handcrafted ceramic planters, shares her most prized picks, from a gardening hat to rose-scented soap

Eye of the Beholder What do the contents of your stomach have to do with the appearance of your skin? Plenty, it turns out. When it comes to the fascinating eco-system of the gut microbiome, our science-loving beauty columnist can’t help but talk dirty

The Attention-Whore Index As Harry’s revelations abate, will Prince Andrew keep the No. 1 ranking in the family? Or will some other new swankpot claim the win? You decide!

A World All Its Own In Paris, the rarefied universe of haute couture brings out the very best

Sick or Genius? Directors can’t stop making movies about tortured artists

Just like Home, only Better Is Chez Nous, in Charleston, the best small restaurant in America?

The Story Behind the Armie Hammer Story Author James Kirchick takes listeners inside his reporting, and what it was like to speak with the actor

Musical Chairs Thierry Barbier-Mueller’s collection of more than 650 chairs, by designers including Ron Arad and André Dubreuil, is celebrated in a dazzling coffee-table book

An Embarrassment of Riches An infusion of fashion and design is shaking up Antwerp’s old-world sensibility. There’s never been a better time to visit

Paris

London

New York

London

Online

Little lionheart: Richard Coeur de Lion, which returned to the Royal Opera of Versailles in 2019 for the first time since the French Revolution, is available for streaming …

Lucky Jewel Olive Woodward, Lola Dement Myers, and Shay Gallagher, the trio behind the art collective Lucky Jewel, have opened a store on the Lower East Side

Ada “Bricktop” Smith The forgotten queen of Jazz Age Montmartre

The novelist answers 43 of life’s most pressing questions

Is Edited By

Creative Director

Deputy Editors

Chief Technology Officer

Books Editor

Arts Intel Report Editor

Senior Editor

Editor at Large

Photo Director

Copy Editor

Research & Legal Editor

Production Editor

Associate Editors

Art Director

International Editor

London Editor

Columnists

Writers at Large

Contributing Artists

Contributing Photographers

Architectural Consultant

Head of Audience Development

Social Media Manager

Cartoon Editor

Music Supervisor

Photo Editor

Designer

Technology

Interns

OUR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AND CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER ARE

Shop General Manager and Brand Partnerships

Advertising Director

European Sales Director

Integrated Marketing Producer

Financial & Business Operations

Account Manager

Chief Strategy Adviser

Merchant

Editor

E-Commerce Manager

E-Commerce Associates

In Memoriam