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Vanity Fair

The Life & Work of the Late Herb Ritts

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art, Books

The Life & Work of the Late Herb Ritts
Madonna, Julia Roberts, Michele Pfeiffer, Kim Basinger, Richard Gere, Cindy Crawford – all of them owe their fame in some measure to the late Herb Ritts, the renowned photographer whose portraits for the likes of Vanity Fair, Vogue and various fashion houses in the '80s and '90s helped turn many of his subjects into icons. A new book by Charles Churchward, Herb Ritts: The Golden Hour, is a lavish scrapbook / oral history looking at both Ritts' life, legacy and work. Along with some of the well known celebrity and supermodel poses the book's 200 images include intimate portraits, images of extravagant Hollywood parties, travels to exotic locales, and other unforgettable moments from an extraordinary career, many from Ritts' personal archive and previously unpublished. Richard Gere provides an introduction and there are scores of interviews from Ritts' friends including Annie Leibovitz, Elton John, kd lang, Helena Christensen, L'Wren Scott and more.


Tags: books, celebrity, Cindy Crawford, coffee table books, Elton John, fashion, Helena Christensen, Herb Ritts, Hollywood, Julia Roberts, Madonna, photographer, photography, Richard Gere, supermodels, Vanity Fair

A Look Inside Ralph Lauren's Billion-Dollar Garage

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Wealth


We've written before about the automotive treasures in Ralph Lauren's car collection; now Vanity Fair has gotten an inside look at the lavish garage / gallery the designer recently built near his posh Westchester, NY estate to house them. Lauren transformed a former car dealership's storage facility into a shrine to the best in automotive design, with rooms dedicated to famous marques; the Ferrari room is pictured above, with a rare 1958 Testa Rossa taking center stage. The 60-plus ultra-valuable vehicles are all kept registered and ready to drive anytime the designer feels like going for a spin.

The eye-popping collection includes a 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic worth an estimated $40 million alone – the world's most expensive car – a 1934 Bugatti Type 59 Grand Prix, a 1938 Alfa Romeo Mille Miglia roadster, the world's only 1930 Mercedes-Benz SSK "Count Trossi" roadster, a 1957 Jaguar XKSS, a McLaren F1, a 1929 "Blower" Bentley, a Ferrari 250 GT, and the only Lamborghini Reventon Roadster in the U.S. All have been maintained carefully since new, or restored to perfection – and "sometimes beyond perfection," the magazine notes, as some have been painted in colors that the billionaire decided were better than the originals.



Tags: Alfa Romeo, Bugatti, car collection, classic cars, designer, Ferrari, Ferrari 250 GT, Jaguar, Lamborghini, McLaren F1, Mercedes-Benz, Ralph Lauren, Vanity Fair, wealth, Westchester, worlds most expensive

Vanity Fair's SunHee Grinnell's Ten Favorite Essential Items on Display at The Surrey

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Luxury Shopping

Vanity Fair's Beauty Director SunHee Grinnell has selected her top 10 favorite essential Upper East Side items.
Vanity Fair's Beauty Director SunHee Grinnell personally curated The Surrey hotel's latest "Top 10 New York" collection, which is now on display at the boutique hotel on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

Grinnell's top ten favorite essential Upper East Side items are displayed inside a Jimmie Martin graffitied armoire in the hotel's lobby. After viewing a sneak peak at some of Vanity Fair's insider's preferred Upper East Side retail offerings, guests of The Surrey may venture a just few blocks to purchase their favorite items in the armoire from the boutiques – or may purchase them directly through the concierge.

SunHee's curated collection for The Surrey's "Top 10 New York" features:

Chanel's stud embroidered flap bag
Yves Saint Laurent's Bell De Jour wallet in turquoise
Dior's Red Silhouette belt
Jimmy Choo's JAVA peep toe ankle boot with handcrafted leather 'ricamo' embroidery in black
Gucci's Guilty Eau de Toilette
Tom Ford's Whitey B5 sunglasses
Valentino's black bow leather gloves
Barneys New York's Simon Doonan Witticism stationary
Pucci's Foulard scarf
Michael Kors' Allover Glitz Watch in black.


Tags: awards-main, barneys new york, Chanel, Gucci, Jimmy Choo, luxist-awards, Pucci, SunHee Grinnell, The Surrey, The Surrey Hotel, Vanity Fair

Continue reading “Vanity Fair's SunHee Grinnell's Ten Favorite Essential Items on Display at The Surrey”

Bid to Attend The Vanity Fair Party in Cannes

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Charity



Charitybuzz auctions all kinds of goods, none of them are the random thingamabobs you're used to bidding for on eBay: one of Lady Gaga's autographed pianos, seven days in a spa in the Maldives, or tennis lessons from John McEnroe, for instance. That's the "buzz" part; the charity comes in the fact that portions of every auction go to help... well, a given charity.

One of the auctions nearing its end is for tickets to two parties during the Cannes Film Festival: the Vanity Fair soiree hosted by magazine editor Graydon Carter and Gucci's Frida Giannini to honor Martin Scorsese, and The Weinstein Company party to fete the festival entrant Blue Valentine. At the time of writing the bidding was up to just $3,750. If you're going to be in Cannes anyway and you're free those nights, you'll be hard pressed to find a better use for a few grand. The auction benefits the Center for the Advancement of Women, but hurry – the auction ends tomorrow.

Source

Tags: auction, cannes, cannes film festival, charitybuzz, the weinstein company, vanity fair

Vanity Fair's Proust Questionnaires Compiled in New Book

by Lisa Palladino (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Books

<I>Vanity Fair</I>'s Proust Questionnaires Compiled in New Book
Sometimes I find it challenging to get through an issue of Vanity Fair, with its overuse of the word "legendary" and its snobbiness. But I enjoy the back-page Proust Questionnaire, and VF is guessing the rest of the world does too. It just released a compilation of the monthly magazine's department -- which has been in VF since 1993 -- in a hardcover book, Vanity Fair's Proust Questionnaire: 101 Luminaries Ponder Love, Death, Happiness, and the Meaning of Life (Rodale Books, October 2009).

Edited by VF editor Graydon Carter with illustrations by Risko, who illustrates the department each issue, the 224-page book sells for $23.99.

Read Carter's take on his new book, and learn that neither Proust nor VF invented the questionnaire, in VF's November 2009 issue's Society section. And be sure to take the questionnaire yourself.


Tags: book, books, Graydon Carter, GraydonCarter, Proust, Risko, Vanity Fair, VanityFair

Francis Bacon Connection Bounced from Vanity Fair's New Establishment

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

damien hirst Last year, Vanity Fair's "New Establishment" list was hefty with art market players. This year, the magazine noted that the Wall Street folks and "big media" got their asses handed to them ... but a quick look shows that the arts got slammed, as well.

In 2008, the entire Francis Bacon supply chain showed up on the list. Bacon-inspired Damien Hirst (shown at right) filled the production link, with dealer Larry Gagosian moving Hirst's product and Roman Abramovich buying up not the Bacon-inspired but the works of the master himself. And, they wound up in some hefty positions. Hirst hit #31, with Gagosian close behind at #38. Of course, deep pockets win, which is how ol' Roman pierced the top 10 (at #8).

This year? Well, the Francis Bacon supply chain didn't fair as well. Abramovich was ignored completely, along with Gagosian. Hirst was tossed into the "Pit Stop," where he's joined by shark-loving hedge fund manager and art collector Steve Cohen, who sacrificed $750 million of his own wealth to the financial crisis.

While Cohen keeps the comings and goings of SAC Capital Advisors under wraps, we do know that Hirst had to layoff 20 employees. There's a silver lining, though. With Hirst having to do more of his own work, we probably won't have to see as much of it.




Tags: art, art collector, art market, ArtCollector, artist, ArtMarket, damien hirst, DamienHirst, entertainment-awards, francis bacon, FrancisBacon, larry gagosian, LarryGagosian, roman abramovich, RomanAbramovich, steve cohen, SteveCohen, vanity fair, VanityFair

Mick Jagger's Daughter Stars in Sexy New Ad Campaign

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel


Last summer we reported that Mick Jagger's beautiful daughter Georgia May Jagger was embarking on a modeling career, following in the fashionable footsteps of the rocker's other daughters, Jade and Elizabeth. Now the 17-year-old Georgia May, whose mother is Texan stunner Jerry Hall, has landed a sexy ad campaign for Hudson Jeans (above) evoking Brigitte Bardot. Georgia May, who has one year of school left and lives with her mother in London, tells the October issue of Vanity Fair that modeling is just a temporary gig for her while she tries to break into art, design and photography. With her genes that shouldn't be too hard. As for her sexy poses, she tells the mag that daddy Mick "doesn't hate it at all."


Tags: ad campaigns, AdCampaigns, celebrity, Georgia May Jagger, GeorgiaMayJagger, Hudson Jeans, HudsonJeans, jeans, Jerry Hall, JerryHall, Mick Jagger, MickJagger, model, Rolling Stones, RollingStones, Vanity Fair, VanityFair

The International Best-Dressed List Goes Democratic

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Celebrity Shopping, Men's Style

For the first time ever, Vanity Fair is inviting civilians to nominate their favorite candidates for the International Best-Dressed List. Since its launch by fashion queen Eleanor Lambert in 1940, the List has been determined by an anonymous committee of tastemakers and a roster of influential voters (including yours truly for a few of the more recent years). Socialites and stars vie for a coveted position on the List.

Vanity Fair took over the list (and the voting process) in 2003 following Lambert's death. For 2009, the polling's going democratic in a "spirit of Obama-era transparency." You can vote for candidates for both best-dressed women and men on the magazine's website - Carla Bruni (right), Lydia Hearst, David Beckham and Kanye West among them - or write in your own choices. Winners will be announced in the mag's September issue.


Tags: Best-Dressed, Carla Bruni, CarlaBruni, clebrity, David Beckham, DavidBeckham, International Best-Dressed List, InternationalBest-dressedList, Kanye West, KanyeWest, Lydia Hearst, LydiaHearst, magazine, Vanity Fair, VanityFair

Vanity Fair's Sexy Heirs & Heiresses

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wealth


The June issue of Vanity Fair takes a look at 38 young, sexy heirs and heiresses around the world and tries to convince us that they're "making privilege count." The story, titled Fortune's Children, notes that "At a moment when the economy is teetering and populism is all the rage, today's gilded youth have got their work cut out for them, and they know it. Whether it's expanding the family business or striking out independently, launching a career in the arts or plunging into philanthropy, the 38 heirs and heiresses to fabled names and consequential fortunes in this portfolio seem determined to make a contribution to society at large while carving out identities of their own." Pictured above are Joséphine and Alexandre De La Baume, the half-Swiss, half-French - and more than likely halfwit but more than halfway attractive - children of Baron and Baronne de La Baume, of investment banking fame.


Tags: heiress, socialite, Vanity Fair, VanityFair

The Classicist: Cannes Gives Up on Glam

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Yachts & Sailing, Events, The Classicist, Wealth


Sad but true: the recession has hit the upcoming Cannes Film Festival in the South of France next month, an international symbol of glamorous excess. Cutbacks are being made everywhere, from ritzy parties to the type of food being served, the AFP tells us. For starters, Vanity Fair has canceled its annual star-studded party, the social highlight of the festival, while the VIP nightclub Jimmy'z lost two key sponsors, Fendi and Swarovski, and Louis Vuitton said it would skip AmFar's big-ticket AIDS charity fundraiser.

"We're experiencing an unprecedented world crisis and it's also affecting the Riviera and Cannes," says Michel Chevillon, head of Cannes' hotel association. "Companies are sending fewer people, for shorter periods." 70% of the area's hotels have frozen their room rates compared to last year, and many are taking bookings for less than the full 12-day period, something normally unheard of at festival time, Chevillon tells the AFP.

Overall attendance at the festival is expected to be down for the first time in decades. "People are afraid it will hurt their image to be seen in a place associated with wealth," Cannes deputy mayor David Lissnard tells the AFP. Yacht charters are also suffering, as brokers struggle to find clients in Cannes' port, where all 60 berths for megayachts were booked up in anticipation. "There's a lot less demand this year for yacht rentals and a lot of pressure on prices," says broker Valerie Ruiz, who rents out yachts up to 200-ft. for the festival.

Gallery: Cannes Film Festival



Tags: Cannes, Cannes Film Festival, CannesFilmFestival, celebrity, entertainment, Fendi, festivals, France, Hollywood, hotel, LOreal, Louis Vuitton, LouisVuitton, movies, Riviera, South of France, SouthOfFrance, Swarovski, Vanity Fair, VanityFair, yacht

Continue reading “The Classicist: Cannes Gives Up on Glam”

Index of Happiness Tote

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Handbags

Index of Happiness Tote
This is the Index of Happiness Tote, designed by artist Donald Baechler and accessory designers Richard Lambertson and John Truex.

The tote, available only to American Express cardmembers (call 1-866-558-3072), takes a classic Lambertson Truex design and adds original artwork, one of this season's most delightful and exciting accessory trends.

This artwork from Donald Baechler goes to benefit the art of others; 15% of the purchase price of each bag will be donated to the Whitney Museum of American Art's Photography Program, Collection, and Special Exhibitions.

The bag is suede, trimmed in Italian leather, and accented with plaids that complement Baechler's work. The inside of the bag features a blue leather patch signed by all three design contributors personally, as well as additional artwork by Baechler. The bag can be yours for an even $1,000.

Source

Tags: Donald Baechler, DonaldBaechler, handbags, John Truex, purses, Richard Lambertson, tote, totes, vanity fair

100 Years of Vanity Fair Portraits

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Books

Graydon Carter and the editors of Vanity Fair have just published a book of photographs spanning 100 years of the magazine: Vanity Fair: The Portraits, A Century of Iconic Images (Abrams, $65). At 348 pages, the book contains over 100 color and 200 black-and-white photos of personalities ranging from Picasso, Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn to Julia Roberts, Giorgio Armani and Brad Pitt, by the world's most famous photographers. An accompanying exhibition will open at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on Oct. 26 and will run through the 1st of March.


Tags: Celebrities, Giorgio Armani, GiorgioArmani, Graydon Carter, GraydonCarter, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, LosAngelesCountyMuseumOfArt, Magazines, Photography, Vanity Fair, VanityFair

The Classicist: The Great Damien Hirst Debate

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art, The Classicist, Wealth


On the eve of a major auction of his work at Sotheby's in London, Damien Hirst's manager says the controversial Brit artist has become a billionaire - while one of the world's foremost art critics says he's little more than a no-talent huckster. Hirst's business manager Frank Dunphy says he is now the "biggest dollar earner in the history of art" with a net worth of $1 billion, which would make him one of the richest men in the UK, the London Times reports.

Dunphy says that in addition to his art, Hirst has invested heavily in real estate, and now has so many properties he's lost track of the exact number, which he estimates at between 30 and 40. These include a $5 million country house in Gloucester and a couple of Georgian houses in London's chic Mayfair district. If accurate, the $1 billion figure means Hirst's wealth has been vastly underestimated to date. The London Sunday Times 2008 Rich List calculated his fortune at only $350 million.

The Sotheby's sale today is expected to bring in at least $120 million. And like Picasso, Hirst says his signature alone is now worth a lot of money. "Someone in a gallery in New York told me the other day that my signature is worth $350," he tells the London Evening Standard. "It's actually something they can define. That means if I sign a check in a restaurant and it's for $250 the check is actually worth more than the bill comes to. On that level, yeah, maybe I am in the same position as Picasso. If you believe all that shit."

One person who emphatically does not believe "all that shit" is world-renowned art critic Robert Hughes. He has labeled Hirst's work "absurd" and "tacky commodities" in a new art world documentary airing in the UK later this month, the London Telegraph reports. Hughes singled out Hirst's famed shark in formaldehyde, entitled The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, for particular criticism, calling it "the world's most overrated marine organism."

As we reported earlier this month, Hirst himself has said he's sick of some of the work he's become rich and famous for and plans to pursue other artistic avenues. In any case, Hirst has at least garnered the admiration of Vanity Fair which ranks him at No. 31 on their new list of the world's most powerful and influential people, putting him ahead of moguls like Sumner Redstone.


Tags: Billionaire, British artists, BritishArtists, Damien Hirst, DamienHirst, London, Picasso, Robert Hughes, RobertHughes, Sothebys, Vanity Fair, VanityFair

Abramovich Climbs Vanity Fair's Most Powerful List

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wealth

Free-spending Russian billionaire and Luxist mascot Roman Abramovich has soared to No. 8 on this year's Vanity Fair 100, aka the magazine's annual "New Establishment" list of the world's most powerful and influential people. That's a big jump for the oligarch, who only ranked 20th on last year's list.

Aside from his impressive art and real estate acquisitions, VF notes that Abramovich is also getting more involved in Russian politics. Although he resigned a regional governorship in July, Abramovich plans to run for an even higher profile political post next month.

Elsewhere on the just-released list, Abramovich's pal Vladimir Putin has captured this year's No. 1 spot, while power couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are ranked at an eye-opening No. 9, ahead of Michael Bloomberg and Steven Spielberg. Check out the complete list here.

Source

Tags: Angelina Jolie, AngelinaJolie, Brad Pitt, BradPitt, roman abramovich, RomanAbramovich, Russian billionaires, RussianBillionaires, Vanity Fair, VanityFair, Vladimir Putin, VladimirPutin

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