May 13, 2023 – Air Mail

LEAVING IN STYLE

From Palm Beach, Bridget Foley interviews Tom Ford about his fashion fights and his obsession with death, as he steps down from his eponymous label …

RUNNING FOR HIS LIFE

From Sudan, Peter Mennin recalls being caught in Khartoum as the civil war erupted, and escaping the country by the skin of his teeth …

INVESTOR RELATIONS

From Wall Street, William D. Cohan explores the irregular friendship between Goldman Sachs C.E.O. David Solomon and the property developer Mike Meldman, creator of havens for the hyper-rich …

A KINGDOM DIVIDED

From England, Hilary Rose charts the inexorable rise of Kate, Princess of Wales, and the endless fall of Harry, Prince of Wails …

THE PLAY’S THE THING

From London, John Lahr exhilarates in the new Sam Mendes–directed play, The Motive and the Cue, which sees Richard Burton battling Sir John Gielgud for the soul of Hamlet …

PIPE DREAM

From the Baltic Sea, Matthew Campbell reports on a group of journalists who claim they solved the mystery of the Nord Stream pipeline bombing …

CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF BEACH BALLS

From the French Riviera, Alexander Lobrano reveals how the descendants of pastis king Paul Ricard want to transform the idyllic Île de Bendor into a high-end resort …

BUT, WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

Graydon Carter and Nathan King recall photographer Rodney Smith’s theory of everything … the extraordinary satirist Bruce McCall, remembered … Simon Sebag Montefiore’s latest is history at its most engaging … Jury Duty is reality TV at its most bonkers … White Men Can’t Jump gets a remake … this month’s best mystery books … The humble nightgown is back! … the North Fork gives the Hamptons a run for its food … European royalty battles for your vote in the Attention-Whore Index!

Issue No. 200

The View from Here Out of Africa: How I escaped from war-torn Khartoum

By Peter Mennin

Read On

Ford Tough After 35 years in fashion and beauty, Tom Ford sold his company—and in his first post-exit interview, he says he won’t be looking back

By Bridget Foley

Read On

Harry and Kate Go to a Coronation One smiles and dazzles, and the other grimaces and bolts. Who’s the new star of the Firm?

By Hilary Rose

Read On

The Judgment of David Solomon The Goldman Sachs C.E.O.’s friendship with the controversial property developer Mike Meldman raises questions about his commitment to separating business from pleasure

By William D. Cohan

Photo Illustration by Chop Choppish Shop

Read On

Guest of Honor

When packing your bags for a stay at a friend’s, forget not a carefully chosen token of gratitude for your dear host. Rest assured: these thoughtful gifts guarantee you will be nothing short of a gold-medal guest

Shop

Photo: Henry Clarke/Condé Nast/Shutterstock (table setting in St. Tropez)

My Favorite Things Known for her richly layered spaces, Sophie Ashby is heralded as one of London’s rising interior designers. Here, she shares her favorite finds for the home and beyond

By Sophie Ashby

Shop

Photo: Kensington Leverne (Ashby)

“They put hot pepper in the bird feeder to keep squirrels away, but it attracted these dorks.”

No-Fly Zone A humanitarian insect repellent! Our favorite earbuds yet! The fountain of youth turns out to be a very expensive laser! And more …

By Jonathan Margolis

Read On

The Attention-Whore Index Kings face off! But can they beat the Queen of Pop for your attention? You decide! Plus: strange news from around the world!

Read On

“Well, I guess it’s not the Lost City after all. He asked if I was the FedEx guy.”

Seven Scandis in a Dinghy A network of Nordic journalists expose Russian “ghost ships” plotting sabotage on the Baltic Sea—and make a podcast about it

By Matthew Campbell

Read On

Read Study: Volume Three The fashion-industry veteran Christopher Niquet launched Study last July. Before striking out on his own, Niquet was a writer for…

Look Haute Bohemians: Greece Photographer Miguel Flores-Vianna has a knack for finding his way into the most beautiful houses in the world…

Watch Fat Ham The fact that this play won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Drama—despite having never been staged—tells you just about all you need to know…

Swim Chloé x Eres Let’s get something out of the way now: yes, it’s a lot for a bathing suit. But after years, perhaps even decades, of market research…

Sparkle YSL Mother’s Day may be seconds away, but now, those who have failed to prepare have a surefire path to redemption: Saint Laurent…

WATCH Tartuffe Molière is sometimes referred to as the Shakespeare of France, but the 17th-century playwright has enough of an English-language following…

Read Study: Volume Three The fashion-industry veteran Christopher Niquet launched Study last July. Before striking out on his own, Niquet was a writer for…

Look Haute Bohemians: Greece Photographer Miguel Flores-Vianna has a knack for finding his way into the most beautiful houses in the world…

Watch Fat Ham The fact that this play won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Drama—despite having never been staged—tells you just about all you need to know…

Swim Chloé x Eres Let’s get something out of the way now: yes, it’s a lot for a bathing suit. But after years, perhaps even decades, of market research…

Sparkle YSL Mother’s Day may be seconds away, but now, those who have failed to prepare have a surefire path to redemption: Saint Laurent…

WATCH Tartuffe Molière is sometimes referred to as the Shakespeare of France, but the 17th-century playwright has enough of an English-language following…

In the Rehearsal Room A new play about Richard Burton and Sir John Gielgud offers a rare glimpse into the behind-the-scenes politics of the theater

By John Lahr

Photo Illustration by Chop Choppish Shop

Read On

Revolution on the Riviera The descendants of pastis king Paul Ricard are turning their private island into a five-star hotel

By Alexander Lobrano

Read On

Sweetest Dreams Pandemic pajamas are so last season—now the once humble nightgown is back in a big way

By Daisy Dawnay

Read On

Food Fight! The restaurants on Long Island’s North Fork are so good, they’re taking a bite out of the Hamptons

By Alan Richman

Read On

All in the Family The Romanovs author Simon Sebag Montefiore discusses his latest book, a sprawling “family history” of humanity from the Stone Age to the drone age

By Jim Kelly

Read On

“Goldilocks tried the third chair and it was juuust right.”

Is This the French Riviera’s New Fantasy Island? On this week’s podcast, Alexander Lobrano reports on what could be the next getaway for the .1 percent

Read On

The Van Gogh Museum’s latest exhibition focuses on works the artist made in the last 10 weeks of his life. The paintings on view include The Church at Auvers, 1890.

Vincent van Gogh arrived in the village of Auvers-sur-Oise, a famous artists’ colony just northwest of Paris, on May 20, 1890. Exactly 70 days later he was dead, succumbing to the after-effects of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. During this final period of 10 weeks, after leaving behind the emotional and physical trauma of his time in Arles, nearly 500 miles to the south, Van Gogh worked furiously, producing more than 70 paintings in a glorious coda to his troubled, eventful career. READ ON

Read On

Discover

Rodney Smith’s Leap of Faith A new book of nearly 200 images, many never before published, chronicles the photographer’s trajectory from a student of theology at Yale to one of the great artists of our time

By Graydon Carter with Nathan King

Photographs by Rodney Smith

12

*Alan Leaping from 515 Madison Avenue, New York, New York,* photographed by Rodney Smith in 1999.

*Caroline at the Top of Circular Staircase, Charleston, South Carolina,* 2000.

*Question Mark Picture, Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania,* 1997.

*Three Men with Shears, No. 1, Reims, France,* 1997.

*Angel Oak No. 2, John’s Island, South Carolina,* 1977.

*Couple Kissing, London, England,* 2006.

*Shirley Seated in Grandstand, Long Island, New York,* 1995.

*Don Jumping over Hay Roll No. 1, Monkton, Maryland,* 1999.

*Rolling Hills from Above, Dominican Republic,* 2010.

*Edythe and Andrew Kissing on Top of Taxis, New York, New York,* 2008.

*Skyline, Hudson River, New York,* 1995.

Sinqua Walls For the remake of White Men Can’t Jump, the actor takes on Wesley Snipes’s classic role

By Bridget Arsenault

Read On

Reality TV Gets a Makeover The new series Jury Duty, from veteran Office writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, blurs the line between documentary, sitcom, and Truman Show–esque drama

By Julian von Nehammer

Read On

Abhrajyoti Chakraborty On

Red Memory: The Afterlives of China’s Cultural Revolution

by Tania Branigan

Read On

Joanne Kaufman On

To Anyone Who Ever Asks: The Life, Music, and Mystery of Connie Converse

by Howard Fishman

Read On

Murder, They Wrote

by Lisa Henricksson

Read On

“Things have finally turned around. I feel like I’m in a really good place.”

Bruce McCall With his deadpan surrealism, superior wit, and perfect timing, the satirical artist and writer left an indelible mark on everything he touched, from National Lampoon to The New Yorker and Vanity Fair

By Bruce Handy

Read On

Alex Israel The painter and sculptor, whose latest show is on in Rome, reveals his travel routine and what’s inside his carry-on

Read On

At London’s Natural History Museum, a cathedral of exotic carcasses enthralls tourists, toddlers, and illustrators alike. If you stay until closing time, the crowds disperse and you can enjoy these dangling, dusty hulks in all their silent majesty. (Ruby Wright’s first picture book, *Animal Crackers,* is out now.)

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 Editor

Elena Clavarino

Junior Editor

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 Clara Molot Paulina Prosnitz

Art Director

Paloma Huerre

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

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 Gözde Sevim

Designer

Zoé Gillette

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 Associates

Coco Paul-Henriot Roxy Solis

In Memoriam

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

The View from Here Out of Africa: How I escaped from war-torn Khartoum

Ford Tough After 35 years in fashion and beauty, Tom Ford sold his company—and in his first post-exit interview, he says he won’t be looking back

Harry and Kate Go to a Coronation One smiles and dazzles, and the other grimaces and bolts. Who’s the new star of the Firm?

The Judgment of David Solomon The Goldman Sachs C.E.O.’s friendship with the controversial property developer Mike Meldman raises questions about his commitment to separating business from pleasure

When packing your bags for a stay at a friend’s, forget not a carefully chosen token of gratitude for your dear host. Rest assured: these thoughtful gifts guarantee you will be nothing short of a gold-medal guest

My Favorite Things Known for her richly layered spaces, Sophie Ashby is heralded as one of London’s rising interior designers. Here, she shares her favorite finds for the home and beyond

No-Fly Zone A humanitarian insect repellent! Our favorite earbuds yet! The fountain of youth turns out to be a very expensive laser! And more …

The Attention-Whore Index Kings face off! But can they beat the Queen of Pop for your attention? You decide! Plus: strange news from around the world!

Seven Scandis in a Dinghy A network of Nordic journalists expose Russian “ghost ships” plotting sabotage on the Baltic Sea—and make a podcast about it

In the Rehearsal Room A new play about Richard Burton and Sir John Gielgud offers a rare glimpse into the behind-the-scenes politics of the theater

Revolution on the Riviera The descendants of pastis king Paul Ricard are turning their private island into a five-star hotel

Sweetest Dreams Pandemic pajamas are so last season—now the once humble nightgown is back in a big way

Food Fight! The restaurants on Long Island’s North Fork are so good, they’re taking a bite out of the Hamptons

All in the Family The Romanovs author Simon Sebag Montefiore discusses his latest book, a sprawling “family history” of humanity from the Stone Age to the drone age

Is This the French Riviera’s New Fantasy Island? On this week’s podcast, Alexander Lobrano reports on what could be the next getaway for the .1 percent

Miami

New York

Rome

Hong Kong

Chicago

Rodney Smith’s Leap of Faith A new book of nearly 200 images, many never before published, chronicles the photographer’s trajectory from a student of theology at Yale to one of the great artists of our time

Sinqua Walls For the remake of White Men Can’t Jump, the actor takes on Wesley Snipes’s classic role

Reality TV Gets a Makeover The new series Jury Duty, from veteran Office writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, blurs the line between documentary, sitcom, and Truman Show–esque drama

Bruce McCall With his deadpan surrealism, superior wit, and perfect timing, the satirical artist and writer left an indelible mark on everything he touched, from National Lampoon to The New Yorker and Vanity Fair

Alex Israel The painter and sculptor, whose latest show is on in Rome, reveals his travel routine and what’s inside his carry-on

Is Edited By

Creative Director

Deputy Editors

Chief Technology Officer

Editor at Large

Books Editor

Arts Intel Report Editor

Senior Editor

Junior Editor

Photo Director

Copy Editor

Research & Legal Editor

Production Editor

Associate Editors

Art Director

International Editor

London Editor

Communications Director

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

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 Associates

In Memoriam