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CONTENTS NOV.–DEC. 2023 VOL.47 NO.6

FEATURES 30

MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM’S NEW DAY

On the eve of the publication of Day, Michael Cunningham’s new novel, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author discusses literature, social media 66 catfishing, and men in high heels.

By Faran Krentcil 54

A sunset view from the Ty Warner Mansion in Los Cabo, Mexico.

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ALL THAT JAZZ

As the creative director and resident musical mastermind of the red-hot Jazz Club at the Aman New York hotel, Brian Newman has revitalized New York nightlife.

By Ted Hildner

THE MARVELOUS MISS MELLO

Bergdorf Goodman’s Dawn Mello was a soothsayer of style talent, helping to catapult the careers of Michael Kors, Tom Ford, and Donna Karan. Avenue finds out what made the fashion director such an enduring and influential legend.

By George Hahn

BOULEVARD OF JEWELS

Fifth Avenue has been transformed into a glittering promenade of high-end jewelry.

From Chanel to the new Tiffany mega-store and Chopard’s flagship boutique in the Crown Building, the street is a shopper’s delight for covetable, collectible gems.

By Virginia Moura

COURTESY OF LAS VENTANAS AL PARAÍSO, A ROSEWOOD RESORT

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A luxe terrace at the Mandarin Oriental Residences, Fifth Avenue.

SPIRITED AWAY

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Elegant cocktail bars have replaced noisy nightclubs as Manhattan’s new hot spots.

Pull up to the bar and find out why. BY NANCY KANE 18

I SHOP, THEREFORE I EAT

STEP UP, STEP UP

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COMMUNITY’S CENTER

Natalie Ball’s debut at the Whitney—which is also her first museum solo show in New York—reframes Indigenous art and culture.

Department store restaurants are New York’s newest fancy-food craze.

Our restaurant writer digs in.

BY GEORGE HAHN

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BY ANNABEL KEENAN

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D&D DIRECTORY A guide to New York’s eminent design hub.

Above: Coconut shrimp at the Tommy Bahama Restaurant.

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BY PETER DAVIS AND TED HILDNER

102

VIVA LA VILLA

BY JOSHUA GLASS

BY ZACH WEISS

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Q&AVE

ELOISE 2.0

High-end hotel brands are bringing five-star, whiteglove service to Manhattan’s residential real estate market.

The ever-opinionated author and public speaker Fran Lebowitz recently returned to the stage for a one-woman show in Brooklyn. She chats about fame, New York nostalgia, and why you should never call her in an emergency.

BY BETH LANDMAN

BY PETER DAVIS

THE CITY 92

DISCO INFERNO

The son of a loan shark and mafia associate, club proprietor Howard Stein was equally loved and hated by New York’s nightlife demimonde.

Through the haze of smoke, cocaine, and strobe lights, Avenue uncovers the real Stein.

PIKO PARADISE

Why the Mauna Lani is Hawaii’s Big Kahuna.

MAVERICK MEN

The guys who are going full-throttle and changing the game in jewelry, dentistry and cosmetic surgery.

Are the remote, rustic hills of Umbria in central Italy the next big travel destination?

One writer checks into a private villa at Tenuta di Murlo to find out. BY PETER DAVIS

SOUTHERN CHARMS

From Art Basel Miami Beach to New Wave Art Wknd, these fairs and events offer the best opportunity for snowbirds and locals alike to discover the newest and most coveted artwork by industry leaders and rising stars.

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BY PETER DAVIS

BY ANNABEL KEENAN

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BAJA AVENTURA Secretive speakeasies, death-defying ATVs in the desert, and an explosive private fireworks show—how a romantic couple’s trip to Baja took a surprisingly adventurous turn.

A glorious ode to the Museum at FIT’s fabulous shoe collection. BY ARIA DARCELLA 34

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COVER:

Illustration by Cecilia Carlstedt

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JOURNEYS

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ew York, the most iconic and exciting of metropolises, is all about the creative and innovative people who live here. In this issue, we check in with many of the city’s icons, from Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Michael Cunningham—who discusses his new book, Day—to the ultimate New Yorker, Fran Lebowitz, star of Martin Scorsese’s Pretend It’s a City. Lebowitz opines on technophobia, why Manhattan was so fun in the ’70s, and being stalked by young fans on the street. “New York changes by the day,” the author, who still rides the subway, tells Avenue. “In a six-month period [it] changes. One of the reasons people who like cities like cities is because they change.”

One fascinating agent of change is jazz maestro Brian Newman, who has transformed nightlife in Midtown with his residency at the Jazz Club in the über-exclusive Aman New York hotel. Newman brings both an old-school sophistication and downtown-meetsuptown vibe to the joint, which has been packed with PYTs since he joined as creative director and in-house musical mastermind. No stranger to the spotlight, Newman has performed and collaborated with superstar Lady Gaga since they met at a bar downtown years ago. She is also the godmother of his young daughter, Sistilia. Like his pal Gaga, Newman’s signature style of tailored suits and lacquered, sky-high pompadour is as show-stopping as his music. “When I moved to New York, I knew I wanted custom bespoke suiting, but couldn’t afford it,” he says. “When I started making money, I started buying one or two suits a year. Now I have a closet full.”

Speaking of style, we highlight another trend: the emergence of elegant cocktail bars, where guests get dolled up and sip fancy drinks in beautiful rooms, like the recently opened lounge Arora on Park Avenue (conveniently just steps from the Avenue office).

With custom millwork wood walls and leather banquettes, it’s the type of place that Frank Sinatra would feel at home. So, live like Ol’ Blue Eyes and slide up to the bar.

See you around town,

Like and follow us at @AVENUEinsider

PETER DAVIS

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Editor-in-Chief 10

WILLIAM JESS LAIRD

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Editor’s Letter

ON CUE The pool table at the chic NoHo bar, Jac’s on Bond.

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The noble pursuit of real estate.

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Peter Davis CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Natalie D. Kaczinski

George Hahn (The Marvelous Miss Mello, page 60) is a New York-based writer, podcast host, and occasional actor, whose work has appeared in Air Mail. Among his stories for this issue is an oral history of Dawn Mello, the former fashion director and vice president of Bergdorf Goodman. “Hers was a name I’d heard and read since I moved to New York in 1994,” says Hahn. “How she guided Bergdorf Goodman into the luxury fashion retail icon it continues to be and the way she Auntie Mame’d a roster of young designers from obscurity into major importance is legendary.”

FASHION AND FEATURES EDITOR

Aria Darcella DEPUTY PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Mickey McCranor CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

George Hahn FASHION EDITOR

Nolan Meader PRODUCTION DIRECTOR

Zachary Weiss (Disco Inferno, page 102) is a Manhattan-based writer, editor, and brand consultant whose work has appeared in Vogue, Ralph Lauren’s RL Mag, and YOLO Journal, among other publications.

For this issue he tackled our Notorious New Yorker, Howard Stein. “Howard was a relentless mover and shaker, but I found a great firsthand account of Cornelia Guest’s rock debut that I couldn’t love more,” he says.

Virginia Moura (Boulevard of Jewels, page 66) is a designer and illustrator currently based in Philadelphia. She has worked in the design industry for over a decade, amassing clients like Revlon, Samsung, and Google, among others.

Moura finds inspiration in the diversity of New York and its various personalities, which she incorporated into her work for this issue. “I enjoy observing the details and nuances of each person, such as their clothing choices and how they coordinate their jewelry,” she says. “It was a delightful experience to explore these characters and settings, showcasing what makes them special and unique.”

12

Jessica Lee COPY CHIEF

Danielle Whalen CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Joshua David Stein, Constance C.R. White, Judd Tully, Todd Plummer, Mike Albo, Tom Shone CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Jai Lennard, Nick Mele, Sophie Elgort, Richard Kern, Landon Nordeman, Johnny Miller, Martin Vallin © 2023 by Cohen Media Publications LLC

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Lulu Larkin is Avenue’s assistant publisher, but over the course of her time at the magazine has dipped her toes into the editorial side as well, frequently researching and writing stories. A graduate of Trinity College, where she focused on urban studies and architecture, Larkin has a passion for interior design and travel. “Aside from getting to know the team and working closely with [publisher] Julie Dannenberg, my favorite part about working at Avenue is learning how a magazine is made behind the scenes,” she says of her time here.

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ARORA BOREALIS The glittering new lounge Arora on Park Avenue.

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Spirited Away Elegant cocktail venues have replaced noisy nightclubs as Manhattan’s new hot spots.

Nancy Kane goes on a bar crawl to learn more.

N

ew York City has had a long and storied love affair with cocktail culture. The father of our country gathered his troops to celebrate the victory over the British at Fraunces Tavern, which still operates today. Everyone has heard of McSorley’s Old Ale House. Opened in 1854, it only began admitting women in 1970 (and didn’t have a women’s restroom until 1986). And then there’s the famous (but sadly now closed) speakeasy Chumley’s—where the term “86’d” was coined. With two entrances, cops on the payroll would warn of a raid by calling the bartenders and telling them to “Eighty-six your customers”— sending them out the 86 Bedford Street entrance.

Post-prohibition saw a booming cocktail scene—P.J. Clarke’s and the 21 Club were places to be seen while washing down olives and mixed nuts with an old-fashioned or a Manhattan. As the city changes, so do New Yorkers’ tastes in

watering holes. The post-pandemic era has ushered in less of a club scene of the late ’70s to ’90s, but rather a more intimate atmosphere. Welcome to the new era of cocktail-lounge culture.

Arora Swanky Arora has gained a loyal following in the under a year it’s been open. Upper East Side residents come for the live jazz on the weekend and take advantage of the back room for private parties. The cocktail lounge features 10 variations on an old-fashioned. The Oaxacan is made with tequila and agave, while the Opulent features Rémy Martin XO and chocolate. The Arora’s bar menu presents cocktails as collections, allowing guests to choose from a variety of libations. Try the Sinatra from the whiskey/scotch/bourbon collection, or the Van Gogh, which is in the gin/ vodka collection, and also includes absinthe.

“Personally, I love old Victorian architecture, so, when it was time to design the space, we wanted all walls and surfaces to be covered in millwork,” says Rahul Arora, chairperson and CEO of Arora Estates. “The bar itself is clad in natural stone with leather texture, all in a matte finish.”

Whether you are popping in for an after-work cocktail or a late-evening nightcap, the Arora is classic Manhattan, straight up.

JOHN MUGGENBORG

Arora: 505 Park Avenue, 917-565-9388, thearora.com

COCKTAIL CULTURE An expertly crafted drink at Arora.

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ON THE AVE.

Jac’s on Bond In a restored 1830’s town house in NoHo, the former site of the hipster eatery the Smile, Jac’s on Bond welcomes a clientele that Carlos Quirarte, partner in Authentic Hospitality, calls “a true representation of the city.”

“We’re not private-club guys—it’s more of a place that can become your clubhouse,” he clarifies. Jac’s opened during New York Fashion Week last February with a party for the brand Rodarte. Pretty young things love the Caprese Martini (made with olive oil, tomato, balsamic vinegar, and basil-infused Grey Goose vodka) which tastes kind of like a salad. The B.B.O.F. stands for “Banana Bread Old-Fashioned,” but to insiders its letters represent a state of inebriation (“Big Ball of F*cked-Upness”). Authentic Hospitality, the guys behind the Freehand hotel’s Georgia Room and Pebble Bar (which counts Mark Ronson and Pete Davidson among its investors) created three distinct spaces within Jac’s: an upstairs parlor room, a living room, and a subterranean party room. Jac’s is a place where Quirarte wants New Yorkers to get together. “I love to hear people say, ‘We met at Jac’s.’”

Romeo’s “We are surrounded by the greatest collection of cocktail bars—the best of the best and I wanted to do something different,” says Evan Hawkins, co-owner of Romeo’s, which just opened in the East Village. Romeo’s eschews the decades-old man cave vibe of many bars (Edison lightbulbs, brick walls) for what Hawkins calls “loud, bright, and slightly eccentric—like my brain in a cocktail bar.” The design features French-window seating, stucco peach banquettes, and dueling movie projectors showing kung fu films. This spirit of custom creativity extends to the cocktail menu, divided into three sections: “Fizzy Bubbles,” which includes a coconut whiskey ginger served directly from a nitrous tap, utilizing a creamer disk to achieve the perfect density; a pistachio mai thai qualifies as a “Smasher;” and Romeo’s gin martini and chocolate Negroni are filed under “Boozers.”

“We want the space to be unpretentious and fun—we are cultivating a great energy here,” promises Hawkins.

Romeo's: 118 Saint Marks Place, romeosnyc.com 16

ACING THE BAR From top: the counters at Jac’s on Bond and the Irish Exit.

JAC’S ON BOND: WILLIAM JESS LAIRD; THE IRISH EXIT: NICHOLAS RUIZ

Jac’s on Bond: 26 Bond Street, 646-370-1446, jacsonbond.com

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“WE’RE NOT PRIVATE-CLUB GUYS—IT’S MORE OF A PLACE THAT CAN BECOME YOUR CLUBHOUSE.”

DAWEN HUANG

—CARLOS QUIRARTE OF JAC’S ON BOND

Martiny’s Caviar bumps, Japanese river crabs, shio kombu? We must be at Martiny’s—where you will find a martini on the menu, since it’s cofounder Takuma Watanabe’s favorite cocktail.

It also pays homage to Philip Martiny, a French-American sculptor whose studio used to occupy the space that opened in spring of 2022 in an original 1800’s carriage house. “Modern Japanese elements are worked in throughout the space to honor my influences from training in bars across Japan,” notes Watanabe. The food includes Wagyu tartare with parmigiano, XO sauce, and Hokkaido uni served on top of a mochi rice risotto ball made with brown butter and nori, paired with a tea ceremony: bourbon, matcha, cacao, and coconut water. “At Martiny’s, every detail matters. From the way the menu is laid

out, to the warm or cool towel upon arrival at the bar, depending on the season,” he says.

DRINK UP The mood at Martiny’s is akin to a private members’ club.

Martiny's: 121 East 17th Street, martinys.com

The Irish Exit The Irish Exit may be the term for dipping out of a bar without saying goodbye, but at managing partner Jack McGarry’s new place, which opened in September, it’s more like an Irish entrance. “It was designed for locals and passengers on the go—arriving and departing via Amtrak, LIRR, and the MTA. The bar is the centerpiece for Moynihan Food Hall,” he explains. Located on Eighth Avenue across from Penn Station and Madison Square Garden, the Irish Exit offers classic Irish staples such as Guinness, Irish “cawfees,” Irish chips, sausage rolls, deviled eggs, and shepherd’s pie, along with clever cocktails

with transport-themed names, like the Pullman Sleeper (their version of a Manhattan, made with herbal liqueur) or Train of Thought (a twist on a Negroni with coffee in it). “It’s a uniquely authentic, fresh, and contemporary take on the Irish pub, with the warmth and hospitality, without veering into plastic paddy land,” says McGarry. “For too long, Irish pubs in America have pandered to a stereotypical reflection, or lowest common denominator, of what a true Irish pub can represent.”

The Irish Exit: Moynihan Train Hall, 421 Eighth Ave, irishexit.com NOVEMBER—DECEMBER 2023 | AVENUE MAGAZINE

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ON THE AVE.

I Shop, Therefore I Eat

Department store restaurants are New York’s newest fancy-food craze. George Hahn digs in.

JAPANESE GASTRO GEMS Torched Wagyu and ikura at Hōseki, which means “jewel” in Japanese.

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COURTESY OF HŌSEKI

M

y sister and her husband we re v i s i t i ng t he c i t y recently, staying at the venerable Essex House.

Assembly had begun on the day they left, making their hotel and Central Park South a chaotic mess of black SUVs, Secret Service, and extra security.

After I put them into an Uber to LaGuardia, I strolled in the direction of Fifth Avenue, feeling a little peckish.

I could have sated myself at the Viand Coffee Shop, an old favorite at East 61st and Madison.

But as I stood on the corner of East 58th and Fifth, admiring a handsome Prada jacket in the window of Bergdorf Goodman’s Men’s Store, I decided to eat away my feelings with some decadence.

Dining in a retail store conjures a definite “ladies who lunch” kind of scene, which is not me at all. But lunch inside an actual men’s store didn’t seem like it would threaten my delicate masculine insecurities too badly. And then it occurred to me that this would be one of a few recent dining experiences inside a retail store for me, as if there was some unintentional, recurring theme happening with my lunch habits. Going to a restaurant or bar inside a department store isn’t something that would generally occur to me, but it just so happens that I’ve had some great experiences as of late.

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COURTESY OF HŌSEKI

CHEF’S TABLE The counter at Hōseki, which serves sushi omakase-style.

Hōseki at Saks Fifth Avenue One such quiet, civilized, windowless escape hidden inside a retail setting is a tiny sushi surprise called Hōseki, located in the basement level of Saks Fifth Avenue known as the Vault, where the jewelry lives. I’d been very curious since it opened this past June, and I finally got around to trying it.

Created during the pandemic by restaurateur Maxwell Weiss and his business partner, Chef Daniel Kim, Hōseki is an intimate and chic six-seat bar, discreetly shrouded behind a curtain that feels like a mini VIP situation. Along with light beverages and a nice selection of teas, food service is a 12-course lunch of omakase sushi, selected and prepared by the chef. (“Omakase” literally means “I leave it up to you,” i.e., the chef.)

Hōseki does four seatings from noon to 4 PM, Wednesday to Saturday. At my seating, there

Created during the pandemic by restaurateur Maxwell Weiss and his business partner, Chef Daniel Kim, Hōseki is an intimate and chic six-seat bar, discreetly shrouded behind a curtain that feels like a mini VIP situation.

was one couple that seemed like they were on a business lunch, keeping to themselves at one end of the bar. There were also two women, one on either side of me, each dining alone. The woman at my left had her service dog with her, a very handsome and well-behaved rottweiler named Loki, who was fantastic company. We had a lovely conversation as we watched our chef, a highly skilled young woman named Morgan, expertly prepare our courses.

I wish I could remember what each sushi course was, but I was too busy enjoying each one, watching Chef Morgan cut the fish and manipulate the sticky rice and other accoutrements for the next course, and chatting with my fellow diners. I can tell you this: I’ve eaten a lot of very good sushi in my years, but I’ve never enjoyed it this fresh.

Each bite melted in my mouth. It was wonderful.

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ON THE AVE.

DO GOOD-ING Goodman’s Bar at Bergdorf Goodman’s Men’s Store.

This was my first time eating omakase sushi, and it was nice to surrender to the experience and let a skilled chef do the driving.

Though the chef designs the meal, concessions are made for anyone with allergies or dietary restrictions. For instance, one of my dining mates had a gluten allergy, which Chef Morgan happily accommodated. Not a meat eater? Not a problem. The Wagyu beef can be substituted for something else.

Whether shopping or not, Hōseki offered something unique: a beautifully prepared 12-course sushi lunch in an hour... in a department store.

Goodman’s Bar On the second floor of the Bergdorf Goodman Men’s Store, discreetly nestled among the pricey, tailored suits of Tom Ford, Zegna, Giorgio Armani, and Ralph Lauren, sits Goodman’s Bar, a handsome and intimate drinking and dining affair right on the rotunda.

With two afternoon customers already seated at the bar, I took a quiet table in one of the banquettes that flank the bar. This place is instantly comfortable and cozy, with warm lighting and a pleasant, unobtrusive soundtrack that wouldn’t distract from conversation. The guy two tables to my 20

right was also dining solo, lost in a book. The windowless setting of Goodman’s Bar has that casino effect, totally insulating you from the outside world, which can be a nice break.

Along with a select list of signature cocktails and wines, the all-day brasserie menu offers a dozen or so comforts, including caviar, oysters, a seasonal soup, a couple of robust salads, Parker House rolls, a chicken melt, beef tartare, and a gnocchi dish. I opted for the lobster roll, which ended up being one of the best lobster rolls

I’ve ever had, accompanied by their thoroughly delicious house-made potato chips. I punctuated my lunch with a perfect café Americano.

Whether you’re eating your feelings, fueling up for an afternoon shopping splurge, having a quiet business lunch, or sipping a discreet cocktail with a mistress, Goodman’s Bar is a rather civilized oasis, tucked among some of the most beautiful men’s clothing in the world. Win-win. It’s a terrific spot.

Goodman’s Bar: Bergdorf Goodman’s Men’s Store, 755 Fifth Ave, 212-339-3016, bergdorfgoodman.com

YVONNE TNT/BFA.COM

Hōseki at Saks Fifth Avenue: 611 Fifth Avenue, hosekinyc.com

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'SWCN *QWUKPI 1RRQTVWPKV[ #NN KPHQTOCVKQP HWTPKUJGF TGICTFKPI RTQRGTV[ HQT UCNG QT TGPV QT TGICTFKPI ƂPCPEKPI KU HTQO UQWTEGU FGGOGF reliable, but Corcoran makes no warranty or representation as to the accuracy thereof. All property information is presented subject to errors, omissions, price changes, changed property conditions, and withdrawal of the property from the market, without notice. #NN FKOGPUKQPU RTQXKFGF CTG CRRTQZKOCVG 6Q QDVCKP GZCEV FKOGPUKQPU %QTEQTCP CFXKUGU [QW VQ JKTG C SWCNKƂGF CTEJKVGEV QT GPIKPGGT

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10/25/23 11:03 AM

MIDTOWN TROPICALE Tommy Bahama sells tropical shirts, drinks, and delicious islandinfluenced food on Fifth Avenue.

I was caught off guard with a well-deserved snob slap, as my face made it obvious that the Tommy Bahama Restaurant was not what I was expecting.

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Tommy Bahama Restaurant I consider my friend Chuck Pollard to be one of the most stylish and tasteful men I’ve met in nearly 30 years in New York City. Spending time with him is always a bonus. When he recently suggested that we have lunch at the restaurant inside the Tommy Bahama store on Fifth Avenue, I thought he was kidding. A chic lunch inside the New York flagship of the OG of untucked tropical island culture seemed like quite the disconnect on the island of Manhattan. But onward we went in our very tucked-in tailored kits.

As I stepped up to the second floor of the Tommy Bahama New York flagship at 551 Fifth Avenue, my friend Chuck laughed as he saw my jaw drop a little. I was caught off guard with

a well-deserved snob slap, as my face made it obvious that the Tommy Bahama Restaurant was not what I was expecting. Like my other retail dining experiences, this, too, was an oasis, but one bathed in light, as it occupied a windowed corner. You almost feel pleasantly transported to some place in the Florida Keys.

As we were escorted to our table, I surveyed the room and noticed a well-heeled business lunch crowd that looked as if it were part of the same secret society as Chuck. Everyone got the same intel that this was a smart spot for lunch.

The menu had an impressive selection of fish dishes one might hope for in your better East Coast restaurants. I went with seared ahi tuna, which was everything I wanted it to be.

Among the several things I learned about yet another delightful dining encounter within the walls of a clothing store, at the top of the list is to never second-guess my friend Chuck. The Tommy Bahama Restaurant was a great call.

The Tommy Bahama experience was yet another unexpected, pleasant surprise on what seems like my unofficial retail store restaurant tour. While retailers struggle with ways to get more customers through their doors, perhaps undeniable destination eateries are part of a winning formula. I’ll return to the places I just wrote about and, when I do, there’s a much higher likelihood that I’ll do some shopping while I’m in the building.

Tommy Bahama: 551 Fifth Ave, 212-537-0960, tommybahama.com

COURTESY OF TOMMY BAHAMA

ON THE AVE.

AVENUE MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER—DECEMBER 2023

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Explore more

thrills

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MCCARTHY/DAILY EXPRESS/HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES

GREAT HEIGHTS Singer Marsha Hunt kicks up her heels in 1969. Facing page: platform sandals by the American brand Pelican Footwear, circa 1971-74.

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COURTESY THE MUSEUM AT THE FASHION INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

I STEP UP, STEP UP

t’s the everyday objects that make us who we are—and that have the most possibility to be extraordinary. This was effectively the concept behind the Museum at FIT’s show, “Shoes: Anatomy, Identity, Magic,” which ran in 2022. We believe heels make us sexier, sneakers make us better athletes, and brand names give the world a quick read on our taste.

“Researchers have found that many people really believe the right pair of shoes can change your life, that shoes can be like magic,” says Dr. Valerie Steele, the museum’s director. In her own research, she’s found that out of all types of fashion, shoes make people feel the most welcome, regardless of their age or size. “I interviewed all these women and they all talked about how shoe shopping was the highest form of shopping. If shopping for a bathing suit was the most demoralizing and depressing, shopping for shoes was the most fun.”

The idea for the show was born when Taschen, the publisher, approached the museum to do a book on its vast shoe collection. Now, a year later, said book has finally arrived. Shoes A–Z. The Collection of The Museum at FIT features more than more than 450 shoes. The tome first explores footwear through some of the world’s most famous designers (hence the “A to Z”), before presenting a linear history.

“There’s a fascination with shoes which seems to go beyond fascination with most other kinds of clothing,” says Steele. “We’ve got 50,000 garments and accessories in the museum, but people are always most excited when we go, ‘There’s 5,000 pairs of shoes.’”—ARIA DARCELLA Shoes A–Z. The Collection of The Museum at FIT, by Valerie Steele and Colleen Hill (Taschen), is available now.

NOVEMBER—DECEMBER 2023 | AVENUE MAGAZINE

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THROUGH LINES In the postwar era and the 1950s, women found a renewed enthusiasm for fashion, from their shoes to their stockings. Facing page: a pair of Versace boots from 1992 puts a different spin on the same aesthetic.

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CULTURE

AVENUE MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER—DECEMBER 2023

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COURTESY THE MUSEUM AT THE FASHION INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

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“Researchers have found that many people really believe the right pair of shoes can change your life, that shoes can be like magic.”

—Dr. Valerie Steele, Director, The Museum at FIT

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COURTESY THE MUSEUM AT THE FASHION INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

MASTER MINDS Clockwise from left: Manolo Blahnik pumps from 1977; the “Nova” shoe, designed

by Zaha Hadid for United Nude in 2013; and Noritaka Tatehana heelless ankle boots from 2014.

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THE GRAND MASTER Salvatore Ferragamo inspecting custom lasts made for his celebrity clients like Ava Gardner, Lauren Bacall, and Sophia Loren in 1955.

ARCHIVIO FOTO LOCCHI FIRENZE

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DAYDREAMER Author Michael Cunningham has just released his new novel, Day.

Michael Cunningham’s New Day On the eve of the publication of Day, Michael Cunningham’s new novel, Faran Krentcil checks in on the Pulitzer Prize-winning author to discuss literature, social media catfishing, and men in high heels.

RICHARD PHIBBS

Illustration by Fernando Axelrud

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he author Michael Cunningham has a Pulitzer Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and one piece of creative advice: For best results, take the stairs.

“Climbing stairs in the morning is like taking a little laser beam up to a spaceship,” says the Ohio native, who moved to New York in the 1980s and never looked back, except in his prose. (An early short story, “White Angel,” takes place in Cleveland and focuses on a “criminally advanced” nine-year-old boy who takes LSD with his morning orange juice.)

Today, Cunningham ascends six flights in his West Village walk-up before sitting down to write on a steady diet of K-cup coffee and homemade turkey sandwiches with ingredients he bags himself at Whole Foods. “I’m pretty simple about that stuff,” he says, “especially when I’m working.”

But the writer’s food can be basic because the writing fare is not.

Beginning in 1984, Cunningham has produced seven novels, including the critically acclaimed blockbuster The Hours, along with two screenplays, a New Yorker tote bag full of short stories, and—in 2020—the catalog for the Costume Institute’s annual Met Gala exhibition. He currently teaches at Yale University while continuing to write fiction. His work is described by leading critics as “an extraordinary carrying on of a true greatness” (Kirkus Reviews) and “a thing of such beauty and surprise” (the New York Times) but pretty soon, you’ll be able to describe it as “the new book I just got,” because Cunningham’s latest novel, Day (Random House), hits shelves this November.

Day clocks in at 288 pages and features five main characters—six if you count the hunky Instagram catfish invented by one of the protagonists to cause thematically charged chaos. It begins in 2019 and ends in 2021, making it one of the first, and most eagerly anticipated, entrants into the emerging category of Covid-era fiction.

(Alas, Grey’s Anatomy is not included in this prestigious scope, though, frankly, it should be.)

“I know words are my job, but sometimes it’s quite hard to describe a book I’m writing, or have just written,” Cunningham tells me from his rickety New York studio. “It’s a perfectly understandable question: ‘What’s your book about,’ you know? But then I hear myself delivering a synopsis, and I think, ‘Well, that sounds kind of stupid!’ I mean, imagine trying to talk about your favorite book to somebody who doesn’t know anything about it. Like, let’s pick an example.”

We settle on Moby Dick, then giggle for a second.

“Okay,” he grins. “If you’re trying to describe Moby Dick, you have to be, like, ‘Well, it’s about a whale, but it’s not really about the whale. It’s about obsession, but also, really, it’s about fear of becoming what you hate… It’s a story that’s in conversation with Jonah and the whale, but it’s also the opposite of Jonah and the whale. You get it?’ And, of course, nobody gets it!”

To be fair, Day is a little easier to “get.” There are no whales, just a misaligned married couple in Brooklyn, their two watchful children, a bewitching adult sibling named Robbie, and Robbie’s social media account of a hot guy who doesn’t exist. “I’m very big into Instagram,” Cunningham admits, “but I’m more of a browser. I search for artists or places and see what comes up. Personally, I don’t actually post much.” Cunningham’s sole account (very public, and in his own name) is mostly full of sunny blue cloudscapes that he snaps himself on an iPhone; his posts even served as an inspiration for the novel’s cover.

It’s a cool piece of metadata for book nerds, but the niftier thing about Cunningham’s new plot point—the idea of creating a virtual avatar, who in some ways feels more real than anyone you know, including yourself—is that, in a very “real” way, that’s what Cunningham has been doing for years, albeit with words instead of thirsttrap pics. Cunningham has never been female, NOVEMBER—DECEMBER 2023 | AVENUE MAGAZINE

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SCREEN SIRENS Nicole Kidman and Miranda Richardson in the 2002 film adaptation of The Hours.

“As a writer, you have to claim the right to imagine your way into lives that are different from you.”

—Michael Cunningham

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yet his best-known protagonists are all forceful heroines. His novel The Snow Queen centers around a terminally ill woman who sells vintage designer clothing; his story Flesh and Blood follows two Greek-Italian sisters bent on upending the other’s idea of fulfillment; and his best-known work, The Hours, follows the inner monologues of not one but three 40-something women at the crossroads of their identities.

But Day comes on the heels of a new kind of cultural upheaval, one where books can be “cancelled”—or even literally cancelled before printing—if their viewpoints are deemed violations of others’ actual selves. On the whole, this is great and long overdue, since it allows writers from marginalized identities to claim their own lived expertise and, if they choose, turn it into riveting content. But there has been much hand-wringing (and, for sure, much keyboard slamming) from some established authors. The bombast at some Thanksgiving tables takes the stance that George R.R. Martin did not live in Westeros. Should Game of Thrones only be told by some writer in another dimension who powers their laptop with dragon fire?

“That’s a bad take,” Cunningham says. “It’s just needlessly dramatic and wrong. Look, if, as artists, we’re only allowed to write about our own experience, we are headed toward some sort of vulcanized literature in which every novel, and every story, is coming out as an oral history instead of a work of fiction. It’s a relatively small

kingdom we can inhabit that way. And I think, as a writer, you have to claim the right to imagine your way into lives that are different from you.

“At the same time,” he continues, “I do have limits that I impose on myself. I wouldn’t really write anything from the point of view of a person of color, because I just feel like that experience is too far from mine. But women?

Sure. Younger people, older people? Sure. I feel like one of the points of fiction is that it takes both the writer and then the reader into other worlds.

Other lives… Like, I don’t think you’d have to be a Viking in Greenland to write about being a Viking in Greenland, for instance. Especially once you’ve done rigorous research. But I don’t see how you could write convincingly about an emotion you never felt.”

(Now seems like a good time to reveal that Cunningham will turn 71 on November 6, which makes him a Scorpio—and, therefore, statistically likely to have, indeed, felt every emotion, ever.)

When Cunningham embarks on his book tour this winter, he’ll do it in his usual uniform: old jeans from Levi’s, a Hamro hand-knit sweater, and—the surprise—a pair of pre-scuffed Golden Goose sneakers. “Contrary to popular belief, my students [at Yale] did not inspire me!” he says, laughing. “Look, I am a relatively sturdy guy with large-ish, delicate feet. I just can’t wear most shoes for very long. Somehow, I got my hands on a pair of Golden Goose sneakers a few years ago, and I am obsessed with them. They are currently lying, abandoned, just behind me on the floor. But those fuckers are expensive, so I buy them really sparingly. Like, it’s $500 for a pair of sneakers!”

Cunningham is equally agog at the shoes on Selling Sunset, which he and his husband, Kenny, enjoy because it is equal parts batshit and beauty. “I have to say, I just adore Christine,” he says, naming the reality show’s über-glossy villainess. “She’s the glue that holds everyone together. She seems like an avatar herself, in a way… and her clothes! All the clothes on that show! Oh my god, they’re amazing! They’re like, I don’t know, if a parade float became a person!”

Mr. Cunningham does not mean that pejoratively. In fact, unlike many who assume another persona for artistic or Netflix success, he has some literal experience walking in someone else’s shoes.

“I was in Provincetown many years ago,” he says. “There was a hurricane on the way, and everyone said that the town was really about to blow… Almost all the stores in town were closed and boarded up, but the one place open was a drag shop, and right there in front was a pair of very high heels that fit me! I promptly took them to the proprietor, and he said, ‘Can I wrap them up for you?’ And I said, ‘No, I’m going to wear them right out of here.’ Well. That was… not wise. The immediate image is like Eva Marie Saint skittering across Mount Rushmore’s foreheads in North by Northwest. And that’s when I came to understand that high heels are not a game; they require serious dedication and practice. Walking in them was like having my toes jammed into steel caps with every step. And I came to better appreciate what my sisters have to go through. The pain,” he confirms, “is real.”

ENTERTAINMENT PICTURES/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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10/23/23 10:23 AM

The Condominium is not owned, developed, or sold by Major Food Groups or its affiliates (“MFG”). This condominium is being developed by 710 Edge Property, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Developer”), which has a limited right to use the trademarked names and logos of Terra, One Thousand Group and which uses the Villa marks under a license from MFG, which has not confirmed the accuracy of any of the statements or representations made about the project by the Developer. Any and all statements, disclosures and/or representations shall be deemed made by Developer you agree to look solely to Developer with respect to any and all matters relating to the marketing and/or development of the Condominium and with respect to the sales of units in the Condominium. Oral representations cannot be relied upon as correctly stating the representations of the developer. For correct representations, make reference to this brochure and to the documents required by section 718.503, Florida statutes, to be furnished by a developer to a buyer or lessee. These materials are not intended to be an offer to sell, or solicitation to buy a unit in the condominium. Such an offering shall only be made pursuant to the prospectus (offering circular) for the condominium and no statements should be relied upon unless made in the prospectus or in the applicable purchase agreement. In no event shall any solicitation, offer or sale of a unit in the condominium be made in, or to residents of, any state or country in which such activity would be unlawful. All images and designs depicted herein are artist’s conceptual renderings, which are based upon preliminary development plans, and are subject to change without notice in the manner provided in the offering documents. All such materials are not to scale and are shown solely for illustrative purposes. Renderings depict proposed views, which are not identical from each residence. No guarantees or representations whatsoever are made that existing or future views of the project and surrounding areas depicted by artist’s conceptual renderings or otherwise described herein, will be provided or, if provided, will be as depicted or described herein. Any view from a residence or from other portions of the property may in the future be limited or eliminated by future development or forces of nature and the developer in no manner guarantees the continuing existence of any view. Furnishings are only included if and to the extent provided in your purchase agreement. The project graphics, renderings and text provided herein are copyrighted works owned by the Developer. All rights reserved. WARNING: THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF REAL ESTATE HAS NOT INSPECTED, EXAMINED, OR QUALIFIED THIS OFFERING.

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a major food group residential experience

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Community’s Center

COURTESY NATALIE BALL AND HALF GALLERY

Bang Bang, 2019, a mix of elk hide, rabbit fur, hawk claw, oil stick, acrylic, charcoal, cotton, and pine.

Natalie Ball’s debut at the Whitney—which is also her first museum solo show in New York— reframes Indigenous art and culture, writes Annabel Keenan

N

atalie Ball began her year on a high. In January, she was named a United States Artists Fellow for the prestigious award’s 2023 cohort. Since then, her momentum has continued; she co-curated a group show of contemporary Indigenous artists at James Fuentes in New York, and her own work has been on view in institutions nationwide, including the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and the Portland Art Museum in Ball’s home state of Oregon. In recent months, the artist has been busy working towards her first-ever New York museum solo show at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Opening November 17, “Natalie Ball: bilwi naats Ga’niipci” explores and recontextualizes understandings of Indigenous life.

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HEADSHOT: SAM GEHRKE PHOTOGRAPHY; ARTWORK: COURTESY NATALIE BALL

The artist Natalie Ball.

Bilwi naats Ga’niipci translates to “We smell like the outside.” The phrase relates to Ball’s experiences growing up in Black and Indigenous communities. In the exhibition, the artist reflects on her ancestry and traditions while also considering the present and future of her cultures. “I am challenging mainstream ideas of Indigeneity with my personal, community, and our Nation’s history,” Ball tells Avenue. Her aim is “to disrupt the definition of ‘Indian’ and uncover the complexities of Native American lives for a better understanding of ourselves, the Nation, and our shared experiences and histories.”

The show includes new mixed-media textiles, wall pieces, and assemblage sculptures made from a range of items, such as 19th-century newspaper, animal hides, and used clothing. The exhibition features what Ball calls “power objects,” made with “materials that come from the outside, from inside the home, and from my communities, both urban and rural.” The artist explains, “These are deconstructed and remade to offer new meaning through narrative, gesture, humor, and–for the first time at the Whitney–my tribal language: maqlaqsyals (‘language of the people’).”

The Whitney’s associate curator, Jennie Goldstein, echoes the importance of this moment. “Some visitors will be learning about Ball and her work for the first time,” she says. “I hope visitors take away from the exhibition a feeling of Ball’s deep relationship with materials. Every object she selects carries with it something of where it’s been: the scents of the Klamath Tribes’ land and water, the memories of someone who wore a garment in ceremony.”

“Bilwi naats Ga’niipci” comes after Ball took a year-and-a-half hiatus from the studio to focus on her work as an elected official on the Klamath Tribes’ Tribal Council, a position she was voted into in 2022. In addition to this role and her group

Toes Out, 2021, mixed media of Converse shoes, spur, elk hide, textiles, leather, and wood.

“I am challenging mainstream ideas of Indigeneity with my personal, community, and our Nation’s history.”

—Natalie Ball

exhibitions across the U.S., Ball and Forge Project cofounder Zach Feuer co-curated “Young Elder,” an exhibition of contemporary Indigenous artists at James Fuentes. Featuring Andrea Carlson (Grand Portage Ojibwe), Sonya Kelliher-Combs (Alaska Native), Tyrrell Tapaha (Diné), and Nico Williams (Aamjiwnaang First Nation), the show explored how Indigenous materials and traditions are referenced and transformed in contemporary art.

When curating the exhibition, Ball considered her own archive of artists whose work has inspired her over the years. “Co-curating ‘Young Elder’ was my opportunity to pull from this archive and bring forward artists who are making exciting work and are specifically tied to their communities and contributing to their living cultures,” says Ball. “These artists are culture carriers, and I believe they are important in framing how we understand Indigenous art.”

The same can be said about Ball herself. As an artist, curator, and community leader, she carries not only her Black, Modoc, and Klamath Tribes cultures, but she also holds space to honor other Indigenous pasts and presents. Through this work, Ball opens pathways for her communities and invites others to build their own new Native futures.

“Natalie Ball: bilwi naats Ga’niipci” is on view November 17, 2023– February 2024 at the Whitney Museum of American Art. NOVEMBER—DECEMBER 2023 | AVENUE MAGAZINE

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Southern Charms From Art Basel Miami Beach to New Wave Art Wknd, these fairs and events offer the best opportunity for snowbirds and locals alike to discover the newest and most coveted artwork by industry leaders and rising stars.

BY ANNABEL KEENAN

Jia Sung’s 2021 tapestry, Apocalypse Hymn.

NEW WAVE ART WKND December 1–3 Palm Beach and West Palm Beach

Above: Jultagi, 2023, an archival pigment print on Canson Rag by Emanual Hahn. Right: Manuela Gonzalez’s Nido de Abeja, 2023, an acrylic on mixed fabrics.

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noncommercial New Wave Art Wknd is returning to the Palm Beach and West Palm Beach area with a roster of exhibitions and programming at various locations across the two communities that take on critical issues in contemporary art and society. Centered on the theme of “The Freedom of Expression,” this year’s event showcases thoughtprovoking panels and roundtable discussions intended to inspire conversations on diversity, immigration, and inclusivity, as well as rights and equality for marginalized and underrepresented groups, including women, LGBTQ+, and BIPOC. Public programs will feature industry leaders such as For Freedoms cofounder, Michelle Woo; artists Russell Craig and Nekisha Durrett; and New Wave partners, including Rohi’s Readery founder, Pranati “Pranoo” Kumar. In addition to public events, New Wave Art Wknd also features a Patron Program, which includes tours and visits to exhibitions, private collections, and artist studios, as well as unique dining experiences. The Patron Program is a fundraiser for New Wave’s artist residency and robust year-round programming. The residency offers underrepresented artists the opportunity to live and work in West Palm Beach for six to eight weeks with an unrestricted grant of $5,000.

This year, Emanuel Hahn will be the artist-inresidence during New Wave Art Wknd. A rising star in photography, Hahn is both a commercial and documentary photographer interested in identity, diasporic experiences, and the question of belonging. www.newwave.art

JIA SUNG: NEW WAVE; EMANUAL HAHN: NEW WAVE; MANUELA GONZALEZ: NEW WAVE

← Celebrating its sixth anniversary, the

AVENUE MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER–DECEMBER 2023

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Colorful works on display at last year’s Art Basel Miami Beach.

ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH

COURTESY OF ART BASEL

December 6–10 Miami Beach Convention Center, 1901 Convention Center Drive ↑ The U.S. edition of the global art fair leader, Art Basel Miami Beach, is the highlight of the winter fair season, attracting collectors, dealers, and artists from across the world. Showcasing works by the most coveted figures in modern and contemporary art, exhibitors include rising galleries and storied bluechip dealers. The 2023 fair features 277 international exhibitors and marks the 21st anniversary of Art Basel Miami Beach. Highlights of the Galleries Sector, the main section of the fair, include Schoelkopf Gallery’s group presentation with artists such as renowned modern painter Milton Avery; Marianne Boesky Gallery’s garden-themed group presentation; and Tina Kim Gallery’s selection of works highlighting its diverse, international roster. Included in Tina Kim Gallery’s booth are leading names in contemporary art, including Ghada Amer, Mire Lee, Tania Pérez Córdova, and Suki Seokyeong Kang, all of whom have had recent acclaimed solo exhibitions. In addition to the Galleries Sector, the fair features several special sectors: Nova, where new works by up to three artists are presented by young galleries, including Gypsum Gallery showcasing Basim Magdy; Positions, for young galleries, such as 56 Henry and Galatea who are staging solo booths of emerging artists Cynthia Talmadge and Allan Weber, respectively; Survey, which features historically important artistic practices; and Meridians, where exhibitors have the chance to showcase largescale, immersive, and ambitious works that push the boundaries of the traditional fair format. Beyond the convention center halls, Art Basel has partnered with local institutions and private collections to host programming across the city and engage the local community. artbasel.com/miami-beach

NOVEMBER–DECEMBER 2023 | AVENUE MAGAZINE

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Two works by Erick Antonio Benitez. Right: Cerberus (Hikuri’s origin story), acrylic, airbrush, charcoal, leather, and sand spray on canvas, 2023. Below: Wait (til I get my money), acrylic, airbrush, iPhone, the artist’s credit card, metal charm, artificial plants, and a plastic ball on canvas, 2023.

UNTITLED ART December 5–10 Ocean Drive & 12th Street, Miami Beach

Art features contemporary artists ranging from rising stars to mid- and late-career industry staples. Embracing the natural beauty of South Florida, the fair has a vibrant atmosphere with outdoor lounges and large windows overlooking the ocean, making it a favorite for northern visitors and exhibitors craving the sunny weather. This year’s edition is the fair’s largest, most diverse and international presentation yet, featuring 163 exhibitors showcasing work by nearly 600 artists from 39 countries.

Known for its curatorial vision, the fair has chosen to highlight accessibility, inclusivity, and diversity for the 2023 program, centering on the themes of “Gender Equality in the Arts” and “Curating in the Digital Age.” Reflecting the former, 60 percent of all artists on view, and 35 percent of exhibitors, identify as female or nonbinary. Highlights include Praise Shadows Art Gallery’s presentation of multidisciplinary artist Joiri Minaya, and Alicia Reyes McNamara’s sensual paintings on view with Niru Ratnam.

The fair is also supporting women and diverse voices through its programming and is exhibiting an impressive selection of Latin American artists, including Juan Arango Palacios, whose vibrant drawings exploring the queer experience will be on view alongside Erick Antonio Benitez’s mixed-media paintings with Selenas Mountain.

On the digital front, Untitled Art considers how curatorial practices evolve in the rapidly changing digital space. The fair will host programs to explore innovations in digital art and curating as technology continues to progress, and has again partnered with Vortic to create virtual extensions of the booths. untitledartfairs.com 38

ERICK ANTONIO: UNTITLED ART FAIRS

↑ Located in a sprawling tent on Miami Beach, Untitled

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Polina Berlin Gallery presents There Should Be a German Word For: by Carrie Rudd, a 2023 oil on canvas.

Rahn Marion with two of his oil-on-panel paintings, The Fool and Little Big Fires, both 2021.

NEW ART DEALERS ALLIANCE (NADA) MIAMI

NADA EXTERIOR ENTRANCE: IMAGES FROM CULTURAL COUNSEL + ATMOSPHERE IMAGES FROM CULTURAL COUNSEL

December 5–9 Ice Palace Studios, 1400 North Miami Avenue

Above: Dutes Miller and Stan Shellabarger perform Untitled (Crochet). Right: attendees enter the gates of the 2022 NADA event.

← Showcasing small and midsize galleries, art spaces, and nonprofits, New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) Miami is returning for its 21st edition. Known to feature creative risk-takers, the fair brings together an avant-garde group of emerging and mid-career artists.

This year’s edition features nearly 140 exhibitors from across the globe, 34 of which are promising newcomers participating for the first time, including Polina Berlin Gallery, which is celebrating its premier in any art fair.

The gallery is presenting a duo booth of Carrie Rudd and Tamo Jugeli, both in-demand, young artists who have been making waves with their paintings that blur the boundaries of abstraction. Another highlight is Hannah Traore Gallery, also a first-time participant at NADA that is exhibiting vibrant figural paintings by Demit Omphroy and stunning photographs by Camila Falquez that expand on her interest in celebrating activists and community leaders. Returning to the fair is Olympia, which this year brings new paintings by Heather Benjamin that feature the artist’s characteristic hyper-feminine, sometimes suggestive, and highly detailed imagery. In addition to the gallery presentations, NADA features panels, performances, artist talks, and workshops with industry leaders that engage with social issues and dive deeper into the field of contemporary art. Embracing the warm South Florida climate, visitors are invited to relax on hammocks and lounge chairs that fill the yard outside the fair, creating a welcoming social environment that offers a break from the commercial endeavors of Miami Art Week. newartdealers.org

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NEW YORK, NY

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ALL THAT JAZZ AS THE CREATIVE DIRECTOR AND RESIDENT MUSICAL MASTERMIND OF THE RED-HOT JAZZ CLUB AT THE AMAN NEW YORK HOTEL, BRIAN NEWMAN HAS REVITALIZED NEW YORK NIGHTLIFE. TED HILDNER TUNES IN.

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BRIAN FRIEDMAN

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gnore all ardent proclamations of what the “cool” neighborhoods in Manhattan are. Because in a basement in Midtown—an area currently known for oozing corporate conformity—sits the Jazz Club, a joint bursting with the forgotten glamour of the rollicking music venues and sexy speakeasies that once dotted the streets of the city. It’s the most exciting room in town, owed all to one man’s vision.

Brian Newman is creative director, musical master, and arguably the biggest draw at the Jazz Club, which opened last year at the Aman New York hotel. Moody, sophisticated, and architecturally designed for unrivaled acoustics, the space has revitalized New York nightlife, staging incredible shows and musical performances you won’t find anywhere else.

Newman, who’s worked on albums that were nominated for numerous Grammy Awards, is no stranger to the city’s music scene. Over the past 25 years, he’s bartended and performed his way through nightclubs, louche lounges, and dive bars. And, after a long and passionate journey, his persistence and dynamic talent have made him a legendary trumpet god and bandleader, playing with the best musicians all over the globe. “Duane Park was my first residency in New York,” Newman recalls. “I started with one burlesque dancer and a trio. Back then I’d get a couple of showgirls and burlesque dancers in my old ’79 Riviera, and we’d drive around town exploring all the hot spots that the blogs and the Times were talking about.” Well before she was a superstar, Lady Gaga threw Friday night parties at the old St. Jerome’s on the Lower East Side where Newman tended bar. Since then, the two remained close friends; Gaga is his young daughter Sistilia’s godmother. He’s arranged and played on two of her albums and is the bandleader for her Jazz & Piano show at the Park MGM’s Park Theater in Las Vegas.

Like his friend Gaga, Newman has become famous for his showstopping signature style. A little bit rockabilly, and always formal, he favors sharp, tailored suits. With his pompadour hairstyle and vintage Caddy, it’s obvious he’s having as much fun playing the part as we are watching. “I always knew that looking good and being kind and humble was a part of the whole package,” he says.

Growing up in Cleveland, with dreams of becoming a famous musician, Newman started creating his image in middle school. He shopped at JCPenney to look his best at school gigs. He’s since had a sartorial glow up. “When I moved to New York, I knew I wanted custom bespoke suiting, and now I only go to the best: Craig Robinson, in Williamsburg. Craig is an insane tailor and a real artist. I remember when he started doing suits for Interpol back in the day. I wanted to buy stuff from him but couldn’t afford it. When I started making money, I started buying one or two suits a year.

Now I have a closet full.”

With all his talent, Newman is aware that luck played a big part in his ascent to center stage. In 2005, he answered an ad on Craigslist to play with a burlesque troupe and met Angie Pontani, an award-winning burlesque dancer who is now his wife and cre-

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THE MUSIC MAN Brian Newman on stage.

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rush like taking a ride on the Cyclone.”

Newman and Pontani got married on February 16, 2013, at Brooklyn’s Grand Prospect Hall, a restored opera house, in front of 350 friends and family. She wore a glass-beaded, floor-length Elie Saab gown, similar to the dress Grace Kelly donned when she married the Prince of Monaco. Ever-dapper, Newman sported a custom-made bone-colored jacket with black pants, a nod to Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca. “Fun fact,” Pontani adds with a laugh, “I fell in our first dance because someone stepped on my gown.”

Newman recently wrapped his annual Las Vegas late-night residency at the MGM’s NoMad Library, a retro, Louis Prima-style show. Gaga is a frequent attendee, and Usher and Cher have both been spotted in the audience as well. “We play these late-night

HERE HE BLOWS Newman is a trumpetplaying dynamo.

JOSH CHEUSE; BRIAN FRIEDMAN

ative partner. “We played at the New York Burlesque Festival,” he says. “I was a side man in another band and admired her from the beginning. First, she’s smoking hot and super talented, but also her business acumen. I loved her as a performer, producer, and businessperson. She’s still head and shoulders above anyone else, and she’s taken my career to another level. I’m so proud to be married to her.” Today, she’s running the New York Burlesque Festival, which is in its 22nd year. On top of all that, “Angie’s a hell of a cook,” he adds proudly. When asked about their relationship, Pontani admits, “Of course, there are challenges when you work with your partner. We always laugh that even the shows where maybe we had been getting on each other’s nerves that day are the best. It’s such a high whenever we are onstage together. It’s an adrenaline AVENUE MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER—DECEMBER 2023

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shows after their shows, with showgirls and burlesque comedy. Angie performs, and we have special guest singers—everybody from Ashanti to local acts and musicians that come through town with their bands.” It’s that type of talent and entertainment that Newman currently brings to his New York shows as well. “It’s kind of like uptown with a downtown vibe. We’ve created a place where musicians can hang out and be themselves,” he says. Newman loves playing the songs that people know, especially from traditional rock acts. “I like making them our own. I love doing the Police; Chris Botti’s Sting music is some of my favorite stuff. I also love Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, and 58

Willie Nelson. Their songs are part of the American lexicon. When I think of the Great American Songbook, Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Jimmy Van Heusen are among the obvious names, but I feel that others like Kurt Cobain should be there, too. These guys wrote songs that are part of America, so that’s what I want to play.”

Regardless of what night you go, you’re in for a musical extravaganza, but Friday nights at the Jazz Club are always unique. Newman and his band are often joined by special all-star singers and dancers. “We have a lot of beautiful dancers that are part of that New York dance scene, and after our band plays, we have the DJs; incredible

downtown DJs and others from all over the world.”

As for the future, Newman reports that his team has been shooting a lot of behind-thescenes footage for a possible documentary. The focus is on him, Angie, and their daughter, Sistilia.

“It’s an autobiographical approach about our musical family and how we work,” Newman says.

“Sistilia is a great kid and a big part of what we do, and we want to share it. Until then, I’ll be here making the crowd move and dance and make sure that this club is popping every night!”

BRIAN FRIEDMAN

THE GIG LIFE Newman performing with his band.

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WELL BEFORE SHE WAS A SUPERSTAR, L ADY GAGA THREW FRIDAY NIGHT PARTIES AT THE OLD ST. JEROME’S ON THE LOWER EAST SIDE WHERE NEWMAN TENDED BAR. SINCE THEN, THE TWO REMAINED CLOSE FRIENDS; GAGA IS HIS YOUNG DAUGHTER SISTILIA’S GODMOTHER.

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The Marvelous Miss Mello Bergdorf Goodman’s Dawn Mello was a soothsayer of style talent, helping to catapult the careers of Michael Kors, Tom Ford, and Donna Karan. George Hahn finds out what made the fashion director such an enduring and influential legend.

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ven before it opened its current Beaux-Arts location at 754 Fifth Avenue nearly a century ago, Bergdorf Goodman represented the standard of New York luxury retail. It was the store for the highest-quality clothes and accessories for the most discerning women and, eventually, men.

But by the mid-1970s, a few years after the founder’s son Andrew Goodman sold the store to the company that would eventually become Neiman Marcus, the Bergdorf Goodman image had become a bit stuffy and conservative, ripe for a modern shake-up. In 1975, CEO Ira Neimark made an inspired move that would ultimately elevate and sustain Bergdorf Goodman’s status as the apex of luxury fashion retail: he hired Dawn Mello.

Raised in Lynn, Massachusetts, Mello graduated from Boston’s Modern School of Fashion and Design in 1951. That same year, she started her career in New York as an assistant at B. Altman and Company, where she worked until she was hired as director of creative merchandising at the May Department Stores Company, eventually becoming vice president. Neimark brought her back to B. Altman for a year, before ultimately recruiting her as fashion director and vice president at Bergdorf Goodman.

Tasked with reviving the store and the Bergdorf brand, Mello (“Miss Mello,” as she was known to people in the industry) got to work right away. It was as if she’d opened the windows to let in some much-needed fresh air, which she did.

There was a younger generation of fashion-for-

ward shoppers who were drawn to new ideas, and Mello was paying attention.

“She was current. She had an uncanny eye. If she asked you to take a look at something, a new designer’s sketches or portfolio, that’s what you did,” remembered Joe Cicio, a longtime friend and former top retail executive.

Along with her proven powers of creating a more exciting and engaging retail experience, including the addition of escalators in the store, Mello demonstrated an uncanny eye for talent and a supernatural savvy for the current moment and where things were headed. In a 1994 interview at the Fashion Institute of Technology, she compared the store to a magazine and her role to an “editor-in-chief.” She believed that the success of Bergdorf Goodman relied on the creative people within it, asserting that her job was “to develop the talents of those people along the way... that’s pretty much it.” Mello thought of Bergdorf’s as “a sexy store, a store that’s hot... a store with a buzz... that’s full of surprises... the unexpected.” Because she reimagined it that way.

In John A. Tiffany’s 2019 book Dawn: The Career of the Legendary Fashion Retailer Dawn Mello (Pointed Leaf Press), Cicio recalled asking Neimark how the turnaround of Bergdorf Goodman was so successful. Neimark’s answer was, “I had Dawn Mello. She was the aesthetic conscience of our store that transcended every area, from merchandising to presentation.”

The “editor-in-chief ” not only invigorated the shopping experience, but also brought some of the most important and exciting European designers to Bergdorf ’s, like Fendi, Azzedine Alaïa, Gianfranco Ferré, Krizia, Jean Paul Gaultier, Christian Lacroix, and Giorgio Armani.

As for the American designers, it would be an understatement to say Mello launched and nurtured the careers of some of our best.

“If it weren’t for Dawn, I wouldn’t be Donna Karan,” said the designer who introduced her eponymous solo collection at Bergdorf Goodman in 1985. “Dawn was the person who helped give me the strength to start Donna Karan.”

TONY PALMIERI/WWD/PENSKE MEDIA VIA GETTY IMAGES

“If it weren’t for Dawn, I wouldn’t be Donna Karan.

In my generation, Dawn created Bergdorf Goodman.”

—Donna Karan

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BLONDE AMBITION Bergdorf Goodman fashion director Dawn Mello on the street in Manhattan.

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VIKRAM VALLURI/BFA.COM

DESIGNER’S DARLING Above: Michael Kors with Mello, who helped launch his career. Facing page: Gianfranco Ferré shows her his fall 1982 ready-to-wear collection.

Lela Rose asserted, “When I was starting out, Dawn Mello was the creative stamp of Bergdorf Goodman.”

Mello’s work also burnished and elevated the profile of more established American designers, like Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein.

In Tiffany’s book Dawn, Ralph Lauren recalled, “Dawn Mello was one of those really important influencers in American retail. I knew her before she went to Bergdorf’s. But once she got there, she transformed it into the destination for the fashionable.”

“Dawn was crucial in pushing the envelope for luxury brands at Bergdorf Goodman,” Calvin Klein shared. “Dawn made Bergdorf Goodman an exciting place to shop and be. She revitalized its business model and paved the way for so many American designers.”

“In my generation, Dawn created Bergdorf Goodman,” said Karan.

Arguably the most famous designer discovered by Mello was Michael Kors. The story of how Mello found Michael is fashion industry legend.

It was 1981, and Kors was working at Lothar’s, a high-end French sportswear brand right a cross the street from Bergdorf ’s. By then, Kors was also designing clothes for the store. He recently shared the story on the podcast How I Built This with Guy Raz:

“I was physically in the [Lothar’s] window on 57th Street and Fifth Avenue. I think I had pins in my mouth and I was dressing a mannequin.

And this very, very stylish woman walked into the store, and she said, ‘These clothes that are in the window... Who designs these clothes?’ And I looked at her and I said, ‘I do.’ And she said, ‘But you’re doing the windows.’ And I said, ‘Well, I do the windows and I design the clothes and I’m on the selling floor.’ And she introduced herself and she said, ‘My name is Dawn Mello.’ And, at the time, I think she was the fashion director at Bergdorf Goodman. ‘If you ever have a collection on your own, give me a call, I’d love to see it.’ And I literally went home that night and I started sketching my first collection.”

After pulling together a collection to show Mello, Kors called her and set up a meeting with her and a team of buyers at Bergdorf Goodman.

“I think I was literally at the third piece.

And everyone in the room looked at me and said, ‘Could you leave the room for a minute?’ I thought, ‘Okay, this is over.’ So, I left the room and about two minutes later, Dawn Mello said, ‘We really think the clothes are terrific. And we think they’re perfect for Bergdorf Goodman. And we want to be the only store in New York to carry the collection for at least a year. And we’d like you to come back to us and tell us, is there anything NOVEMBER—DECEMBER 2023 | AVENUE MAGAZINE

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STORIED ENTRANCE The Bergdorf Goodman store on Fifth Avenue.

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you need from us.’ And I, of course, had no idea how I was gonna do any of this.”

After consulting with a veteran designer who knew how this worked, Kors called Mello and told her what he’d need. “She listened very carefully, and she said, ‘We’re good with all of that. If you stick with us, we’ll stick with you.’ Wow. And the next thing I knew, I had people sewing in my apartment on Seventh Avenue and 23rd Street.”

Michael Kors was 21 years old.

In 1989, when Mello was president of Bergdorf Goodman, she was presented with the opportunity to reinvigorate another legacy label: Gucci. At the time, Gucci was a mess. Cheapened merchandise, too many items, too many stores, a plague of knockoffs, and a lack of a central, focused vision were crippling a cobwebbed brand. Over the next five years, Mello assembled a smart and capable team to right the ship and completely revitalize the iconic Italian house. True to form, she embraced a more contemporary and daring aesthetic that redefined not just Gucci but luxury fashion altogether.

“I think Dawn never got enough credit for being the person who completely reinvented Gucci,” stated Fern Mallis, former executive director of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and creator of New York Fashion Week.

“Before Dawn, it was just a leather goods, lug-

gage, and some expensive accessory company.

She cleaned out all the knock-off, street-selling, tacky, Gucci-branded products, and she hired a designer that wasn’t very well-known: Tom Ford to create women’s ready-to-wear.”

Tom Ford started with women’s ready-towear, continued with men’s, then ended up taking the role of creative director at Gucci after Mello returned to New York to resume her role as president of Bergdorf Goodman in 1994.

“She was ahead of her time in so many ways,” said Ford in John Tiffany’s book. “She changed my life by hiring me at Gucci, and there are many designers working today who owe her a great debt.”

Garren, a famed hairstylist who’d known Mello for over four decades, first met her when he worked at the Suga salon at Bergdorf Goodman in the mid1970s. “She was really a businesswoman. So well-respected. She never talked down to people. She was never pompous. No one was beneath her,” he said.

Mello’s eye for talent wasn’t limited to just designers. John Barrett, who had worked for Frédéric Fekkai at Bergdorf ’s before Fekkai decamped to Chanel, was given the opportunity of a lifetime when Mello offered him an eponymous new salon on the store’s ninth floor—the former location of Andrew Goodman’s penthouse apartment. “Not only did she discover me, but

CHRISTOPHER PAYNE

“Dawn never got enough credit for being the person who completely reinvented Gucci. Before Dawn, it was just a leather goods, luggage, and some expensive accessory company. She cleaned out all the knockoff, street-selling, tacky, Gucci-branded products, and she hired a designer that wasn’t very wellknown: Tom Ford to create women’s ready-to-wear.”

—Fern Mallis

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“One of the great lessons I learned from Dawn is never to hire anyone you wouldn’t want to have dinner with.”

—Tom Ford

MADISON VOELKEL/BFA.COM; CARLY STONE/BFA.COM

BG’S BEST Current Bergdorf Goodman fashion director Linda Fargo, above, and the late, great hair stylist John Barrett, right.

she also made sure that my business was so well supported,” Barrett said. “She was wicked. I cut her hair once, and she said to me, ‘You’d better stay out of the way of Frédéric Fekkai.’”

Another star to rise from Mello’s discovery is Linda Fargo, the current fashion and creative director of Bergdorf Goodman. Fargo had this to say in Dawn: “It’s a fact... I simply owe my career at Bergdorf ’s to Dawn. She took a cold call from a stranger, and invited me in, based on what?

Her bankable instincts! Dawn embodied a kind of elegance and grace that only a woman could

possess—that was utterly instructive for a young creative woman breaking out.”

One of the many things that set Mello apart from more egocentric brand leaders was her utter disinterest in the spotlight. People often describe insider creatives by referring to them like “a musician’s musician,” “a photographer’s photographer,” or “a painter’s painter.” Mello was a creative director’s creative director. Outside of fashion insider circles, she wasn’t wildly famous.

She wasn’t even mildly famous. Even the young Michael Kors, who was selling his own designs across the street from Bergdorf Goodman, didn’t know who she was. For Mello, it never seemed about attention or fame. It was about the work.

And in the wake of that work... the legacy.

“One of the great lessons I learned from Dawn is never to hire anyone you wouldn’t want to have dinner with,” Tom Ford recalls.

And among the many things she gave Michael Kors, he also remembers, “I think the greatest thing I learned from Dawn and her team, and the Bergdorf customers who expect the best, was to aim high. Don’t settle.”

Whether it was for Bergdorf Goodman or Gucci or B. Altman or the May Company, Mello didn’t settle. She built a legacy of seeking only the very best—the very best for the company and the very best for the company’s customers.

That’s the legacy of a retail legend. That’s the legacy of Dawn Mello.

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Tiffany & Co. brooch in platinum and 18k yellow gold with diamonds and hand-carved carnelians.

Price available upon request; tiffany.com

BOULEVARD OF JEWELS

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Chanel “Tweed Lion” ring in 18k yellow gold with diamonds, rubies, yellow sapphires, and garnets. Price available upon request; chanel.com

Breguet “Charleston” watch in 18k yellow gold, with 139 diamonds and a mother-of-pearl watch face. $66,600; breguet.com

FIFTH AVENUE HAS BEEN TRANSFORMED INTO A PROMENADE OF HIGH-END JEWELRY. FROM CARTIER TO THE NEW TIFFANY MEGA-STORE TO THE UNVEILING OF CHOPARD’S FLAGSHIP BOUTIQUE, NOT TO MENTION BULGARI, CHANEL, AND WEMPE, THE STREET IS A SHOPPER’S DELIGHT FOR THE MOST COVETABLE, COLLECTIBLE GEMS IN NEW YORK. NOVEMBER—DECEMBER 2023 | AVENUE MAGAZINE

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Tiffany & Co. 18k white gold tanzanite ring with diamonds. Price available upon request; tiffany.com

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Bulgari “Serpenti Tubogas” watch. $46,800; bulgari.com

Chanel “Tweed Contrasté” diamond ring in 18k yellow gold and platinum, with diamonds, malachite, and cultured pearls. Price available upon request; chanel.com

Chanel “Tweed Graphique” necklace in 18k white gold with diamonds and onyx.

Price available upon request; chanel.com

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Cartier “Tressage” ring in 950/1,000 platinum, with metaquartzites and diamonds. $43,800; cartier.com

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Wempe “Spotlight” earring in 18k white gold with diamonds. $30,675; wempe.com

Wempe bracelet in 18k white gold with diamonds. $58,475; wempe.com

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A suite of jewelry from Chopard’s haute “Red Carpet” collection.

Prices available upon request; chopard.com

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COURTESY OF LAS VENTANAS AL PARAÍSO, A ROSEWOOD RESORT

THE MAIN EVENT Poolside dining and sunbathing are de rigueur at Las Ventanas al Paraíso, a Rosewood resort.

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BAJA AVENTURA Secretive speakeasies, death-defying ATVs in the desert, and an explosive private fireworks show—how Peter Davis’s romantic couple’s trip to Mexico took a thrilling turn

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GRAND ENTRANCES Pulling up to Las Ventanas al Paraíso, a Rosewood resort and a villa with a view.

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t’s fall in New York, and Manhattan is a messy monsoon of torrential rain. Madison Avenue has become the Hudson River.

It’s the ideal time for a quick escape—a long weekend of sun, salsa, and spicy margaritas on the Baja California peninsula, to be precise.

Baja is to LAwhat Florida is to NYC: a twoand-a-half-hour plane ride to an easy beach getaway. Las Ventanas al Paraíso, a Rosewood resort, is only a 20-minute drive from the airport, but without directions you would have no clue it’s even there. There is no sign outside. The driveway up to the nondescript security booth is unimpressive—another way to throw people off track.

Las Ventanas, like Greta Garbo, wants to be left alone.

No wonder the resort is a favorite with Jennifer Lopez, George Clooney, and Angelina Jolie.

When my fiancé, Ted, and I pull up to the open-air lobby of the resort, its exterior entirely white, it’s like entering a billionaire buddy’s mega-mansion. There is no front desk. Instead, we are met by a line-up of uniformed staff led by Waldo, a handsome man with a big smile sporting a white shirt embroidered with an Incan design.

Waldo gives us a quick rundown of the property, as we are handed cold towels and spritzy citrus drinks. Next, we are introduced to Juan, our private butler who, like all the staff, seems to have a perma-smile. Juan arranges for our bags to be brought to our villa where he will check us in.

Home while at Las Ventanas is villa number six. The ginormous front door, paned with colorful stained-glass squares, feels like a Mexican Mondrian painting. Inside, a glass wall overlooks an infinity pool and the bright white sand and azure blue water of the Sea of Cortez. The main bedroom occupies a corner with floor-to-ceiling windows and the same pretty-as-a-postcard view.

Under an ornate scalloped headboard inlayed with small stones, the staff has embroidered our initials in sky blue onto crisp white pillowcases.

The bathroom across the hall is the same size as the bedroom. A marble tub is framed by a tree sculpture, each branch holding a colored vessel where a votive candle can be lit. There are two large sinks, an indoor rain shower with a view of the sea, and an enclosed stone terrace engulfed in flora with a lounge chair and outdoor shower.

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CASTLE IN THE SAND The villas at Las Ventanas al Paraíso are all beachfront.

L AS VENTANAS, LIKE GRETA GARBO, WANTS TO BE LEFT ALONE. NO WONDER THE RESORT IS A FAVORITE WITH JENNIFER LOPEZ, GEORGE CLOONEY, AND ANGELINA JOLIE.

On the other side of the villa is a guest bedroom and the living and dining areas. A major spread has been laid out on the kitchen counter, a welcome feast of tuna ceviche, guacamole, homemade tortilla chips, and fresh juices. Instead of a minibar there is a well-stocked, fully functioning chef’s kitchen. Too bad we don’t have any pals down in Cabo—the villa could easily host a fabulous dinner party.

We step outside and, just beyond the deck, firepit, pool, and Jacuzzi, “WELCOME PETER & TED” has been etched in huge letters on the beach.

That night we have dinner at Alebrije, the resort’s culinary homage to Oaxaca, Mexico’s gastronomical capital famed for its moles. We sit under a circular thatched roof by one of the eight lagoon-like pools that weave through the property. Dishes are served family style and begin with our waiter smashing up guacamole in a basalt rock pestle at our table. The extensive menu is an authentic, historical journey through Mexican cuisine, with local family recipes culled from the staff. We munch on hamachi ceviche with pumpkin flower, a trio of tacos (shrimp, suckling pig,

beef tenderloin), the free-range chicken with coloradito mole, and the molcajete (rib-eye, lobster, chistorra sausage, cheese) served in a volcanic stone bowl with various spices and sauces. For dessert a baked Alaska is torched tableside using tequila. ¡Caliente!

The next day we explore the arid Los Cabos desert on a tricked-out tandem ATV. I let Ted take the wheel as my license expired pre-Covid and I prefer to be chauffeured everywhere anyway. We are fetched at the hotel by Wild Canyon Adventures and slip on Mad Max-looking helmets and balaclavas (it gets super dusty flying around the canyons). With our tattooed guide, Miguel, we race through trails and over a steep canyon on a suspension bridge, the longest wooden hanging bridge in North America. An hour later, we end up at El Tule beach, snap some pics with the crashing waves behind us, and then head back to the hotel—it’s lunchtime and we are famished. We meet a young chef in the lush, fragrant herb garden which is centered around an altar with grinning Día de los Muertos skeleton figurines and offerings NOVEMBER—DECEMBER 2023 | AVENUE MAGAZINE

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CUSTOMIZED COCONUTS Tropical drinks at Las Ventanas arrive with a personalized touch.

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to the gods of food, like avocados and chiles. Our cook demonstrates his culinary prowess, grilling up octopus and chicken while a woman expertly cooks fresh tortillas—something she has been doing for decades.

That night we horseback ride on the beach.

After the speed rush of the ATV, trotting slowly on the sand is a bit boring, so after an hour we amble back to get ready for dinner at Arbol, the resort’s Indian-Asian fusion eatery. To get to our table, we walk over a footbridge, as it’s literally in the middle of an oval pool. Birdcage lanterns glow from branches overhead. Under a blanket of stars, the cavern-like restaurant is truly magical and the booths in the water are definitely the unofficial VIP section. A waiter explains that the curries, wok dishes, and seafood raw bar are influenced by India and the Far East but prepared

by Chef Anand (who is from Mumbai) with locally sourced ingredients and made with a Mexican

touch. We try the spicy tuna tartare, the tandoori lobster, and stir-fried Wagyu beef. For dessert, we order the banana and tapioca brûlée and an Indian dish called jalebi, a funnel cake-type treat of piping spirals of fermented batter soaked in warm sugar syrup that’s often served at weddings and street festivals.

High on sugar, we walk nearby to La Botica (“drugstore” in Spanish), the hotel’s 1920s-style speakeasy piano bar. We are given a special code which we punch into a vintage cash register, causing a secret door to open. As we enter, the back of the illuminated bar suddenly vanishes. The wall of booze bottles is replaced by glass apothecary canisters filled with medicinal herbs. It’s a gimmicky stunt as prohibition is long gone, but the effect is fun and every time someone enters the nightclub, guests fire up their iPhones and film the sliding walls of the bar. We grab a table by the stage and order fruit mocktails and a plate of corn palomitas dusted with chili powder. The dim, sexy lighting and dark wood-paneled walls feel like a members’ club in Manhattan, not a resort in Mexico. Normally Rosalía de Cuba, La Botica’s first artist-in-residence, performs, but, in a twist of fate, she was actually in New York doing shows at the Carlyle. Instead, an old-school Cuban band plays Latin music and raucous renditions of everything from Whitney Houston to the Talking Heads. The crowd grows by the hour, and everyone dances and sings along, creating a party vibe.

The next morning, after breakfast at the Sea Grill, we decide to brave life outside Las Ventanas and hire a water taxi to El Arco de Cabo San Lucas, also known as Land’s End, where the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific Ocean. We inform Juan, our butler, of our plans and he asks why we would want to ever leave the resort. After a 25-minute cab ride, we arrive at Cabo San Lucas’s busy port.

I immediately see Juan’s point. The streets are lined with grungy gift shops, dubious pharmacies offering cheap generic Viagra, and a Señor Frog’s all-you-can-drink mega-bar teaming with tourists in tacky tank tops. We get mobbed by men at the pier, offering a water taxi to the iconic arch for $20. We reluctantly hand over two $10 bills to a guy with a cigarette dangling from his lips. He leads us to his boat, and we motor through the crowded port out to sea. In between deep pulls of his Marlboro, our “captain” points out a sea lion chasing a catamaran loaded with drunk college kids. En route to El Arco, we stop at Pelican Beach, which is packed with people and, of course, pelicans. A rowdy group of five local women in wet bathing suits and floppy hats jump on our boat.

We are now eight passengers, so we all change seats, not wanting the dinky boat to capsize. We pass by Divorce Beach, named because its jagged rocks and crashing waves recall a feuding couple.

Ironically, Divorce Beach (where swimming is

PETER DAVIS

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LET THEM ENTERTAIN YOU From top: an al fresco feast and the resort’s speakeasy, La Botica.

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a no-go due to riptides), is accessible through a gap in the rocks from Playa del Amor, or “Lover’s Beach,” on the bay side—a great spot for swimming and snorkeling. Within a few minutes we reach El Arco. We take turns as the boat wobbles in the rough sea snapping pics with the iconic arc perfectly centered in the background. “Wanna jump in for a swim?” the captain asks with a mischievous chuckle as one of the women almost falls into the sea. I breathe a sigh of relief as we pull into the port. The chaotic scene in town (in which guys in backwards baseball caps aggressively offered us Molly) seems somehow less dangerous than the boat trip.

Back at the hotel, Ted hits the spa, which has a menu of services based on the four elements and inspired by the ancient healers of Baja who tapped 80

PETER DAVIS

BAJA BANG From top: a private fireworks show and a bed strewn with rose petals by the staff.

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MEXICAN MANSE The magnificent Ty Warner Mansion, which can be rented for $35,000 a night.

the powers of earth, air, fire, and water for rejuvenation. He opts for a detoxifying body polish in a private bungalow with a terrace, involving pitaya flowers followed by a 90-minute massage. While Ted is busy beautifying himself, I swing by the hotel shop and lust over a $1,000 Nick Fouquet straw hat that the hipster milliner designed exclusively for the resort. Nearby, a kid’s store is stocked with Beanie Babies. Remember when people traded and sold the pellet-filled plushies like rare coins? Las Ventanas is operated by Rosewood but owned by Ty Warner, the billionaire creator of these stuffed animals. Next door to our villa is the 28,000-square-foot “Ty Warner Mansion” which opened in 2016 and boasts interiors by Robert Couturier, a sunken in-pool living room, and an arcade game room for $35,000 a night. I

wonder if the Apple+ movie The Beanie Bubble, in which Zach Galifianakis plays Warner as an obsessive, plastic surgery-obsessed mogul, is blocked from streaming services at the resort.

Back at our villa, a staff member is staging what looks like a small gala on the beach in front of our infinity pool. I shower and get dressed for dinner. Outside, a million and one votive candles have been placed everywhere, with a path of lights leading to a formal table where a straw chandelier has been rigged to hang above our heads. It’s like a romance movie where I always wondered who in their right mind would light dozens of candles everywhere and not panic about setting the house on fire. Like everything at Las Ventanas, the multi-course dinner (steak, lobster, caviar) is way, way over-the-top. But not

even the fanciest meal can top the finale. A waiter casually strolls over and places a square white box with a big gold ribbon in front of Ted. He opens the box and inside is a blinking contraption that looks like it could set off a nuclear bomb. “Press the red button,” the waiter instructs and after Ted does, the night sky above the Sea of Cortez is lit up with exploding fireworks like the Fourth of July. We are left speechless.

In the bedroom, rose petals have been strewn everywhere, including the bed with a huge red heart and our initials. While this wasn’t our honeymoon, Las Ventanas al Paraíso just upped the game for when we do eventually plan the trip. On the plane ride home, I tell Ted that maybe we should just skip a honeymoon altogether, order pizza, and watch The Beanie Bubble in bed instead.

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VIVA LA

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LA VILLA Are the remote, rustic hills of Umbria in central Italy the next big travel destination? Peter Davis checks into a private villa at Tenuta di Murlo to find out.

THE HILLS ARE ALIVE An infinity pool at Villa Penna overlooks a lush valley at Tenuta di Murlo.

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“W GREENEST ACRES The 11th-century Castiglione Ugolino has 10 bedrooms, landscaped gardens, and an 80-seat church.

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here the heck is Umbria? Sounds like a drab paint color,” my BFF Steven snips when I brag about my upcoming trip to the under-theradar region in central Italy. I groan, then explain that Umbria is like Tuscany’s reclusive, yet very fancy cousin.

Recently the two neighboring regions in Italy— both just a car drive from Florence and Rome— have become luxury vacation rivals. Naturally, they share lots in common: sensational scenery (rolling hills, cypress trees, olive groves), storybook medieval towns, and incredible food. But, unlike the tourist-trodden Tuscan terrain, Umbria— known as Italy’s “Green Heart”—remains untouched and itching to be discovered.

It’s 7 AM and, after a bumpy eight-hour flight from JFK to Rome, my fiancé, Ted, and I are downing cappuccinos and devouring panino di prosciutto cotto e formaggio sandwiches from an Autogrill where we stop to gas up. “These are just as good, if not better, than Sant Ambroeus on Madison Avenue,” Ted exclaims between bites with a tad too much cheery enthusiasm after a red eye. We speed (like everyone else in Italy) down the autostrada from Fiumicino airport towards the Tiber river valley. Our destination: Tenuta di Murlo, a five-star collection of private villas hidden in a lush valley surrounded by an ancient forest.

Ted likes to zip-line, skydive, and bungee jump, and has trouble sitting still for more than five minutes. He asks me what is on the agenda when we get to our remote villa. I politely suggest he pop a chill pill. This trip is all about embracing the ethos of slow travel: the lost art of doing nothing and taking everything in. For just over two hours we

IMAGES COURTESY OF TENUTA DI MURLO

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FAMILY STYLE Owner Carlotta Carabba Tettamanti designed the villa’s chic interiors herself.

IMAGES COURTESY OF TENUTA DI MURLO

UMBRIA—KNOWN AS ITALY ’S “GREEN HEART ”— REMAINS UNTOUCHED AND ITCHING TO BE DISCOVERED.

motor past postcard-pretty mountains, medieval chapels where Romeo and Juliet would feel at home, and charmingly dilapidated farmhouses.

“I can’t wait to unplug,” I mention teasingly, sensing that Ted was going to ask if there was an Italian action park where we are going.

Located 20 minutes north of Perugia, the Umbrian capital founded by Etruscans, Tenuta di Murlo is a rambling estate owned and run by a stylish couple, Carlotta Carabba Tettamanti and her husband, Alessio. The sprawling 18,000-plus acre property (Manhattan is roughly 14,500 acres, to give some perspective) features lakes, waterfalls, rivers, and endless hiking trails. It’s also dotted with over 80 dormant “ruins” (chapels, castles, farmhouses, stone mills) and has been in the family for over 700 years. Carlotta and Alessio, a lawyer in Rome, live in a castle on the estate with their five small children, all of whom were baptized in the property’s private church. “It’s

like our chic Italian friends loaned us their villa for the week,” I tell Ted as we pull up to the main building which has five guest rooms fronting a 60-foot pool and a restaurant called Il Caldaro.

We link up with Carlotta, who is movie-star pretty and dressed in white skinny jeans, boots, and a striped fisherman sweater. We pile into her jeep and, as we venture up a rocky dirt road, she explains that over the past decade, the family has restored nine abandoned buildings into über-luxe villas that can be rented for a week or the whole summer. “We are transforming two more buildings at the moment,” she adds as she slows the four-wheeler to let a herd of hairy wild boar cross.

We pass a large stone farmhouse and Carlotta mentions it is being renovated to host experiences like cooking classes, wine tastings, and trufflehunting excursions. There will also be a shop selling products from the farm, like wine, olive oil, honey, jams, handmade pastas, and fresh herbs from the NOVEMBER—DECEMBER 2023 | AVENUE MAGAZINE

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WE REACH VILL A MOLINELL A, A TWO-BEDROOM RETREAT IN THE VAULT OF A RESTORED 13TH-CENTURY WATER MILL. MOLINELL A, NESTLED BY A STREAM, HAS A POOL, AN OUTDOOR HOT TUB, A VIEW OF THE 11TH-CENTURY MURLO CASTLE, AND THE REGION ’S “CURTAIN OF HILLS.”

garden. A terrace off the farmhouse will be used for cocktails and socializing.

“I think you’ll be happy here,” Carlotta says with a smile as we reach Villa Molinella, a two-bedroom retreat in the vault of a restored 13th-century water mill. Molinella, nestled by a stream, has a pool, an outdoor hot tub, a view of the 11th-century Murlo Castle, and the region’s “curtain of hills.”

Carlotta handled all the interior design herself. Her vibe is Bohemia luxuria—soft natural tones and warm honey walls; timber beams and patchworked stone walls; terracotta floors; wicker chairs; jewel-toned carpets from Morocco; and eclectic art and antiques the family has collected around the world. With the flick of a switch, a glass door opens in the living room floor to an underground Jacuzzi—a James-Bond-meetsHugh-Hefner-like grotto fed with water from the outside which used to power the mill.

Under a dramatic vaulted ceiling upstairs, our bedroom has an oversized bed with a paisley print fabric headboard. French doors open to a terrace that leads down to the pool. The bathroom, the size of a studio apartment in Manhattan, has a rain shower, marble floors, and an enormous tub.

To really make guests feel like they are in their own country estate, a private chef will come to the villa and cook whenever they want. In the kitchen, a wooden box filled with local cheeses, milk, snacks, and chocolate has already been delivered and seems to get magically replenished daily.

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IMAGES COURTESY OF TENUTA DI MURLO

FABULOUSLY AL FRESCO A lunch spread at Tenuta di Murlo where private chefs will cook up an Italian feast at your villa.

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IMAGES COURTESY OF TENUTA DI MURLO

PRISTINE PISCINA All the villas at Tenuta di Murlo have private pools.

to the heated pool, then to the bubbling underground Jacuzzi—my definition of slow travel. But Ted is already antsy, so the next day at 8 AM we drive down the dirt road to the main house and have a perfect breakfast of juices, freshly baked bread, and jams with cured meats and cheese.

“I’m in a religious pilgrimage type of mood,” I announce after finishing my espresso. Umbria has a few medieval towns with epic cathedrals worth visiting: Gubbio, Orvieto, Spello, and Todi, to name a few. But we decide to drive to Assisi, which is just 40 minutes from Tenuta di Murlo and the birthplace of Saint Francis, the founder of the Franciscan order of monks, one of the oldest Catholic orders. Perched high in the hills, the main event at Assisi is the Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, the mother church of the Roman Catholic Order of Friars Minor Conventual.

The magnificent white church andmonastery, commanding an enormous courtyard, is one of the most important places of Christian pilgrimage in Italy. Throngs of tourists wait in

line to visit Saint Francis’s crypt. By an arched entryway there is a huddle of friars in brown habits, ropes tied around their waists with three knots, symbolizing the three Franciscan vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

Unlike the patron saint of Italy, who was inspired to imitate Christ and lead a life of poverty, I like to shop. After a semi-grueling hike (Assisi is all uphill) to Rocca Maggiore, a gargantuan medieval castle at the top, I drag Ted back down to the town center where a small cooperative shop does Assisi embroidery techniques from the 13th century—a unique counted thread embroidery where the motifs are outlined in a double running stitch, leaving the interior void.

I score a set of 12 pale blue napkins with a bee motif and then next door hire an embroiderer to stitch up bucket hats for everyone in our family with their names in Italian. The hats, with bold cursive red stitching, have a Wes Anderson feel.

I leave wearing one that says “Teodoro” and Ted sports a blue lid that reads “Pietro.”

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That night we check out Il Caldaro, housed in an old farmhouse, for dinner. Dimly lit inside, with brown leather armchairs and copper-top tables, it feels like an Italian members’ club. We dine al fresco under a blanket of stars, our table bordered by rows of fragrant rosemary bushes that perfume the crisp night air. Umbrian cuisine is carnivore heaven, known for pork, specifically porchetta, a salty roast. The chefs at Il Caldaro cook with all fresh produce and ingredients from the estate’s farm, run by Gianni, the head gardener with thick white hair who always seems to have a mischievous grin. The eggs are from Murlo’s chickens; the fresh cheeses are made with goat milk from the property’s herd; the wine and olive oil are produced on-site; and the vegetables and fruit were picked that morning. Feeling adventurous, I order the uovo cremoso—a deliciously creamy egg with pecorino cheese foam and truffle—while Ted leans traditional with beef tartare served with Taggiasca olives, crunchy bread, mustard, and a honey sauce sourced from beehives Gianni tends to just up the road.

For the pasta course, we share the popular “Carbonara 2.0” spaghettone (simple, yet perfect) and the robust homemade tagliatelle with white beef ragu. Post-pasta, I feel pigged-out, much like our wild boar pals. But I can’t say no to grilled lamb with roasted potatoes and a plate of tender, juicy suckling pig which is both soft and crunchy and arrives with apple, salty caramel, and onions. After the last bite of panna cotta with tonka bean, passion fruit, coconut, and piña colada ice cream, I declare: “I can’t move.”

The next morning, we play with bees. It’s drizzling, so truffle hunting in the forest is not an option. We meet Gianni and gear up in bright yellow hazmat-like suits, rubber gloves, and mesh masks. Gianni, a veritable bee-whisperer, 88

IMAGES COURTESY OF TENUTA DI MURLO

CRÈME DE LA CRÈME A cream-based dish at Il Caldaro, the estate’s acclaimed restaurant.

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PURPLE REIGN The 80-seat church at Castiglione Ugolino, with 13th-century frescoes that were restored by Alessio and Carlotta Carabba Tettamanti.

IMAGES COURTESY OF TENUTA DI MURLO

GIANNI, A VERITABLE BEE-WHISPERER, EXPL AINS THROUGH A TR ANSL ATOR HOW THE ESTATE PRODUCES ITS OWN HONEY, FL AVORED BY THE VARIOUS FLOWERS GROWING AROUND THE BARN. HIS DEEP VOICE SPEAKING R APID ITALIAN MAKES THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE JUST THAT MUCH MORE EXOTIC. explains through a translator how the estate produces its own honey, flavored by the various flowers growing around the barn. His deep voice speaking rapid Italian makes the whole experience just that much more exotic. He opens and closes wood and wire slides laden with buzzing bees, pointing out the queen, who is larger than the rest. We go inside a small building that is Gianni’s bee laboratory with funnels and metal machines that separate pollen and honey and wax. He pours a shot glass of the sweet nectar, which we down in a few gulps. Gianni says honey is an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antibacterial agent. He enjoys a cup of the sticky stuff every day.

On our final day, we have breakfast delivered to our villa—which Tenuta di Murlo will do for any meal, offering a private chef to come to our kitchen and whip up an Italian feast with just a

phone call. After a final dip in the Jacuzzi, we meet Carlotta, who takes us to Castiglione Ugolino, an 11th-century castle with an 80-seat church, an infinity pool, and 10 bedrooms. The castle, with landscaped gardens, vaulted ceilings, travertine marble stairs, and restored 13th-century frescoes, looks over acres of olive groves and endless hills and valleys. “We’ve hosted weddings and some great parties here,” Carlotta says.

Afterwards, we drive to Perugia, built as a fortified medieval village, and surrounded by imposing defense walls. Perugia is a major cultural center, known for the Academy of Fine Arts Pietro Vannucci, which was founded in 1573 and is considered one of the best schools in Italy. Art is everywhere, from the monumental Fontana Maggiore in the center of Piazza IV Novembre to the nearby Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria, housed in the Palazzo dei Priori, which is a must

if only to see the famous polyptych by Piero della Francesca. Perugia is also called the “City of Chocolate” and we buy enough chocolate bars to open our own Willy Wonka factory.

That night we get dressed up for our farewell dinner at Il Caldaro of handmade gnocchi with guanciale and roast pork loin with pears and pecorino cheese. Around midnight, we slip into our enormous bed and sample the chocolate haul from the day while trying to follow an Italian soap opera on TV. We wake up at 6 AM to head to the airport. I roll over and Ted tells me my face is smeared with chocolate. Nibs of cocoa are everywhere, under the sheets, on the pillowcases.

I panic that the maids will be upset that I’ve left a chocolate mess. “How sloppy and American,” they will probably groan. But then I calm down and realize my chocolate disaster is simply a parting souvenir of the perfect Umbrian holiday.

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JOURNEYS

Piko Paradise

The Mauna Lani is Hawaii’s Big Kahuna

BY JOSHUA GLASS

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here’s a reason why locals call the island of Hawaii “The Big Island”— it’s vast, mighty, and awe-inspiring.

Five climate systems exist on Earth, and four of them thrive on the northern Hawaiian island, where various snowcapped, active volcanic ranges climax amongst acres of lush jungle, beachy shorelines, and arid desertscapes. It’s a natural harmony best appreciated beneath the endless sun at the Mauna Lani hotel with a mai tai at your side.

The Auberge-owned hotel sits on 3,200 acres of ancient Kalāhuipua‘a land on the island’s western coast, encircled by royal fishponds and natural lava plains. The Big Island’s five great mountains— many of them the tallest in the world from the

ocean floor—form an infinite circle known as piko (meaning “where life begins”), which carries the Native Hawaiian peoples’ eternal spirits and is echoed throughout the halls of Mauna Lani.

The Mauna Lani is pure opulence on the beach, with luxuriously crisp guest rooms and private villas replete with organic materials, warm hardwoods, private plunge pools, and white-glove concierge service. There’s a collection of beachside pools with al fresco dining; glamping-sized woodenslit cabanas and sun-soaked hālau daybeds; and two life-changing spas, one on-site and another in a country club-style villa surrounded by tennis and pickleball courts. Architect firm Hart Howerton, whose properties span the Four Seasons in Santa Fe to Costa Smeralda in Sardinia, renovated the

COURTESY MAUNA LANI, AUBERGE RESORTS COLLECTION

SURFER’S PARADISE A line of boards waiting to catch waves by the beach at Mauna Lani on Hawaii’s “Big Island.”

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THE HOTEL SITS ON 3,200 ACRES OF

ANCIENT KALĀHUIPUA‘A LAND ON THE ISLAND’S WESTERN COAST, ENCIRCLED BY ROYAL

FISHPONDS AND NATURAL LAVA PLAINS.

COURTESY MAUNA LANI, AUBERGE RESORTS COLLECTION

ALOHA AMBIENCE From top: A tranquil pool at the Mauna Lani; a freestanding tub in one of the resort’s opulent suites.

iconic property, which originally opened in the early ’80s, and designer Meyer Davis is responsible for its naturalistic decor.

Mauna Lani is rich with the culture of the island’s people. You feel it during the sunrise canoe ceremony—paddling out to sea at 6:30 AM to proclaim appreciation to the world—and at the Eva Parker Woods Cottage, a recreation of the land’s former owner’s guesthouse, which serves as a mini-museum for local artisans. Food, one of the most powerful cultural mediums, is bountiful at Mauna Lani. There are five beach-facing eateries, and just this Labor Day weekend the resort hosted its first Culinary Classic, featuring star chefs like Blue Ribbon’s Bruce and Eric Bromberg; Andrew Zimmern; Jonathan Waxman; and more in a three-day festival celebrating Hawaii’s unique agricultural heritage. But CanoeHouse is easily Mauna Lani’s—and perhaps the island’s—most delicious place to dine. The indoor-outdoor restaurant sits beneath heavy timber beams and features three-sided foldaway openings that retract for the perfect ocean view. It marries Japanese dishes with native ingredients and flavors for a sensorial experience. On the menu are favorites like pull-apart shokupan, poke-style kampachi sashimi, and Wagyu tataki topped with roasted jalapeño ponzu, and the chef ’s tasting menu is a must.

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ELOISE 2.0 HIGH-END HOTEL BRANDS ARE BRINGING FIVE-STAR, WHITE-GLOVE SERVICE TO MANHATTAN’S RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE MARKET. BETH LANDMAN CHECKS IN.

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MANDARIN: DBOX FOR SHVO

THE

CITY

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THE CITY “THERE IS NO BETTER LUXURY THAN LIVING IN A HOTEL.” –MICHAEL SHVO

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e all look forward to vacations— being surrounded by smiling staff eager to attend to our wishes; enjoying beds that are made in the morning and turned down at night; and having fitness options, spa services, and fabulous meals just an elevator ride away. That lifestyle has now become an everyday experience for those moving into the latest group of high-end residences, which are affiliated with some of the most esteemed hotel brands in the world.

“There is no better luxury than living in a hotel,” declares developer Michael Shvo, the force behind the Aman New York and the Mandarin Oriental residences (two of the biggest projects in the category).

Susan de França, president and CEO of Douglas Elliman Development Marketing, finds that the new, glamorous residences have many loyalists.

“People get seduced by a brand during a vacation, feeling pampered and special, and that has created a lot of brand enthusiasts, like [for] Aman.”

Name recognition is good for investors. “There is an aspirational component to saying you live in a place with the amenities of a world-renowned brand, and that has extended into a lifestyle environment,” adds de França. “It will always attract some segment of the market that appreciates the name.”

And these properties are raising building service to the level of the highest-end hotels. “We all know people like great location, design, and view, but the bar continues to be raised,” de França states. “And hospitality brands have become the cherry on top of these fabulous offerings.”

A sense of belonging to something special and the privileges that come with that are other motivators, as those who live under the umbrella of a top hotel can often get VIP status at their other properties, including preferred rates, upgrades, and priority reservations. “You become a member of the brand,” de França concludes.

Not all hotel residences have an extended network—the Waldorf Astoria, being market-

ed by Douglas Elliman, is so iconic that it stands on its own. The hotel has played host to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction each year, and to such past guests as Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, and U.S. presidents from Hoover to Obama. Ownership, then, implies an elevated status.

At some hotels, like the Ritz-Carlton New York, NoMad, apartments can be put into a pool to be booked by guests, which is appealing to investors. “You are able to leverage ownership and have your assets work for you,” explains Erin Boisson Aries, a Douglas Elliman global advisor.

The units are fully furnished, managed, and maintained by the hotel. When guests come, owners simply lock their belongings in a private closet.

There are also residences, including Fasano and Maison Hudson, designed for long-term stays (from one month to a year), rather than full-fledged purchases. “There was always a need for short-term housing solutions, but condos

and co-ops required at least a one-year lease,” notes Boisson Aries. “It was an arduous process, going through a rigorous board application and purchasing furniture. Post-pandemic, people who moved out of the city wanted to maintain a foothold but didn’t need a primary property in New York, so we found an incredible desire for more pied-à-terre, short-term opportunities.”

The Mandarin Oriental brand is strong enough that developers were able to open residences without even having a hotel on the property, so owners don’t have to deal with the presence of short-term guests. According to Shvo, “High-networth individuals want the lifestyle, and this is across from the Peninsula and St. Regis, and three blocks from Central Park. But it doesn’t have the transiency of a hotel.” What it does have, he adds, is all hotel services—down to the robes, flowers, and chocolates on the pillow. “You don’t even have to bring your toothbrush.”

THE WALDORF ASTORIA RESIDENCES NEW YORK

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THE WALDORF ASTORIA RESIDENCES NEW YORK: 305 PARK AVENUE NUMBER OF UNITS: 75 condos between the 19th and 52nd floors PRICE: Starting at $1.825 million ARCHITECT: Restored by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill AMENITIES: 25-meter skylight indoor pool (residents only), a spa and fitness center, and a concierge closet in each apartment RESTAURANT: Private chefs for in-house catering

THE WALDORF ASTORIA RESIDENCES NEW YORK

MANDARIN ORIENTAL RESIDENCES, FIFTH AVENUE: 685 FIFTH AVENUE NUMBER OF UNITS: 65 fully furnished turnkey suites with Frette bedding and Georg Jensen silver ARCHITECT: Marin Architects AMENITIES: Fitness center with a yoga studio, full-service spa with a hair salon, concierge service, and rooftop pool with private cabanas RESTAURANT: Private rooftop Daniel Boulud restaurant

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PRICE: $2.5 million to $6 million

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THE CITY

MAISON HUDSON: 401 WEST STREET NUMBER OF UNITS: 10 apartments with anywhere from one to three bedrooms PRICE: $32,500 to $150,000 per month ARCHITECT: Thomas Juul-Hansen AMENITIES: Full-service spa, fitness center, private panoramic rooftop, and a 24-hour Clefs d’Or concierge who will stock your kitchen and walk your dog RESTAURANT: Sébastien Sanjou, who has two Michelin-starred restaurants in France, will open the restaurant in January 2024

MAISON HUDSON

AMAN NEW YORK: 730 FIFTH AVNUE NUMBER OF UNITS: 22 large units from the 15th to 30th floors PRICE: Starting at $5.9 million ARCHITECT: Jean-Michel Gathy AMENITIES: Personal butlers, complimentary house car, spa, fitness center, yoga and pilates studio, pool, and a cigar lounge

MAISON: SILVERSHADOW STUDIOS; AMAN: ROBERT RIEGER

RESTAURANT: Two hotel restaurants

AMAN NEW YORK

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FASANO FIFTH AVENUE

FASANO FIFTH AVENUE: 815 FIFTH AVENUE NUMBER OF UNITS: 11 suites, including four duplexes with three bedrooms and three-and-a-half baths each PRICE: $38,000 to $140,000 per month, with a minimum 30-day stay ARCHITECT: Thierry Despont AMENITIES: Clubhouse, spa, gym, sauna, terrace, and 24-hour room service. Staff will transform and customize spaces, like converting a bedroom into a baby’s room or an office RESTAURANT: Chic, intimate, Mediterranean dining room

FASANO FIFTH AVENUE

THE RITZ-CARLTON RESIDENCES, NOMAD: 25 WEST 28TH STREET NUMBER OF UNITS: 16 penthouses on floors 40 to 43.

Designed as pied-à-terre, they can be occupied by owners for up to 120 days per year, but not for more than 29 consecutive days PRICE: $4 million to $8.8 million ARCHITECT: Rafael Viñoly AMENITIES: Rooftop bar and terrace, club lounge, and spa RESTAURANT: Three José Andrés restaurants

FASANO AND RITZ-CARLTON: RINZE VAN BRUG FOR DOUGLAS ELLIMAN

THE RITZ-CARLTON RESIDENCES, NOMAD

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THE CITY THOSE WHO LIVE UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF A TOP HOTEL CAN OFTEN GET VIP STATUS AT THEIR OTHER PROPERTIES, INCLUDING PREFERRED RATES, UPGRADES, AND PRIORITY RESERVATIONS.

ONE11 RESIDENCES AT THOMPSON CENTRAL PARK

ONE11 RESIDENCES AT THOMPSON CENTRAL PARK: 111 WEST 56TH STREET NUMBER OF UNITS: 99 units, many with sweeping views of Central Park, from the 34th to 42nd floors PRICE: $1.25 million to $4.25 million ARCHITECT: Thomas Juul-Hansen AMENITIES: Members’ lounge, fitness center, concierge services, and a cocktail bar EVAN JOSEPH

RESTAURANT: Three hotel restaurants

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MAVERICK MEN

NINA CHOI

THE GUYS WHO ARE GOING FULL THROTTLE AND CHANGING THE GAME IN JEWELRY, DENTISTRY, AND COSMETIC SURGERY

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THE CITY ONE RECENT COLLECTION WITH A BIRKIN BAG-LIKE WAITING LIST OF YOUNG CUSTOMERS IS THE “ICE CUBE” JEWELRY—A MORE URBAN DESIGN WITH SQUARE FACETS THAT REFLECT LIGHT.

SITTING PRETTY The sleek waiting room at Dr. Frank's new uptown office.

EDUARDO AGUIRRE

JEAN-BAPTISTE MAILLARD Seemingly overnight Fifth Avenue has become Manhattan’s sparkling new Jewelry Boulevard, with luxury brands moving in fast on the covetable terrain. Leading the brigade is Chopard, the familyowned Swiss high-end watch and fine jewelry company, which the Scheufele family took over in 1963. “We were looking for a new location in New York right before Covid happened,” says Jean-Baptiste Maillard, the dapper CEO of Chopard USA who is based in Miami but constantly jetting around the globe. “When we heard about the opportunity in the Crown Building, the Scheufele family flew over. Then Covid happened, and the family still decided to move forward. That was the promise from Chopard to New York during difficult times.”

Sharing the Crown Building with the Aman New York hotel and private club, Maillard sees Fifth Avenue as the ideal location. “We have many visitors that we would not have had on Madison Avenue,” he says. “Locals consider the corner of 57th Street and Fifth as the most prestigious in the city. New York has an energy that is incomparable to anywhere else on the continent.”

Maillard reports that Chopard is on a journey to sustainable luxury, using recycled steel and ethically sourced gold in watches and jewelry.

“That really appeals to the younger generation,” he adds. One recent collection with a Birkin bag-like waiting list of young customers is the “Ice Cube” jewelry—a more urban design with square facets that reflect light.

The jewelry house has boutiques all over the globe, but Maillard says New Yorkers stand apart. “We are a family-owned and operated business and are very close to our clients.

New York clients are fast and decisive. They are educated. They know what they want,” he says, adding enthusiastically: “Once a New Yorker, always a New Yorker.” —peter davis

A TRUE GEM Above: the stylish Jean-Baptiste Maillard, CEO of Chopard USA. Facing page: the boutique in all its sparkling glory.

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Dr. Hector Sarmiento was destined to be a doctor. Growing up in Los Angeles, his brother and grandfather were dentists. “I knew I was going to do this,” he says. “What I didn’t know is that I was going to dedicate the rest of my life only to surgery.” Dr. Sarmiento, who is only 38 and practices on the Upper East Side, is no ordinary dentist, filling cavities and recommending regular flossing. At the cutting edge of oral surgery and gum disease, he uses methods like stem-cell technology (for bone and gum grafts), 3D printing, and computer-guided surgeries—not only improving patient’s teeth, but their overall health.

“Computer-guided surgery is used when doing dental implants,” he explains. “Instead of doing things freehand, we plan the whole surgery on the computer and then we 3D print a surgical guide that tells us where to drill. That way we have less margin of error.” No one knows more than Dr. Sarmiento that a healthy mouth means a healthy body. “We treat people who are in a delicate state that’s associated with their gums,” he continues, his voice calm and soothing. “We know that Alzheimer’s is linked to gum disease.

Erectile dysfunction, cardiovascular, and blood pressure problems are linked to gum disease.

We help treat all of this to make patients better.”

Dr. Sarmiento lives in Greenwich, CT, with his wife and three small children and teaches clinical surgery every Tuesday at his alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania. “I’m super passionate about it,” he says of teaching. “A true professor is someone who wants you to grow and be better than them. I always tell this to my residents. That’s what I’m trying to project. I’m trying to make people better so our profession can stay healthy.”

A leader in his field, Dr. Sarmiento is almost impossible to reach on the phone. He performs surgery nearly every day of the week. He has also written numerous articles and textbooks on his surgical techniques. “I wish I had more time to golf or something,” he laments with a chuckle. The ever-busy doctor is also in high demand as a guest speaker all over the globe. “I lecture in almost every country,” he says. “I usually do that on Friday evenings and I’m back Monday working.”

Any free time is spent playing with his kids in the yard in Greenwich. “The only passion I have outside the office I dedicate to my family. My eldest is five and I have twin girls who are turning four.”

For most people, oral surgery can be scary. But Dr. Sarmiento’s cool bedside manner means no horror stories. His practice is popular with movie stars and former U.S. presidents (he won’t name 100

names). “People come in so nervous,” he admits.

“We have a lot of phobic patients. That’s one of the most important parts of our field—the way we guide them through the procedure to make sure they are comfortable.” Is it more nerve-racking to treat an Oscar winner? “I never get starstruck,” he says. “To me, it’s a human being. It’s work and we want to do the right thing for everybody.” —PD

THE SURGEON OF THE PERFECT SMILE At only 38, Dr. Hector Sarmiento is a global leader in the ever-evolving field of dental surgery.

COURTESY OF DR. HECTOR SARMIENTO

DR. HECTOR SARMIENTO

FOR MOST PEOPLE, ORAL SURGERY CAN BE SCARY. BUT DR. SARMIENTO’S COOL BEDSIDE MANNER MEANS NO HORROR STORIES.

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THE CITY

MICHAEL BENABIB

DR. DOUGLAS STEINBRECH

NYC-based plastic surgeon Dr. Douglas Steinbrech (or “Dr. Doug” to friends) is revolutionizing the male beauty industry. Faster than you can say Botox three times, Dr. Steinbrech has become the go-to cosmetic surgeon sought after by men all over the globe. Around 2014, the doctor started to notice societal shifts in the way men were handling aging and their appearance. He became determined to expand the limited number of aesthetic procedures available to men and created new techniques for the male face and body that had once been reserved to meet the demands of a female patient-dominated industry.

As Hollywood pumps out superheroes with square-jawed alpha males and the “Instagram Effect” pressures men to post selfies looking great, regular Joes are now obsessed with how they appear on both an iPhone screen and a Zoom call. “Before, the only time guys would take off their shirts was when they were playing shirts versus skins,” Dr. Steinbrech says. “But because of role models like Tom Brady, guys were getting fitter, showing off more, and becoming much more comfortable and prouder of it.”

These days, procedures like abdominal sculpting and bicep implants are now common among Dr. Steinbrech’s two most prominent client types: C-suiters and “Biggest Winners” (a playful twist on the reality show, The Biggest Loser).

The C-suiter wants to feel young, look vibrant, and retain his dominance over the younger set.

He’s probably had a neck lift, tightened up around the eyes, and some laser treatments. He may have had rhinoplasty and injectables. Think of it as the studly swan trend. All these pricey procedures are in the hopes of keeping up with the younger set in the office, on the beach, and on dating apps.

“There are a lot of young pups he’s got to stay competitive with,” says Dr. Steinbrech.

But the “Biggest Winners” are the clients Dr. Steinbrech is most proud of—those who have overcome major hurdles in weight loss for a complete body transformation. Whether a result of the new Ozempic craze or countless hours in the gym, massive weight loss patients require a completely different set of procedures that Dr. Steinbrech has become renowned for. “It’s not uncommon to see patients who have lost 100 pounds. They’re super appreciative because they worked so hard, and they are happy that someone else can help finish the job. We’ll do torso tucks, body banking, and implants. We’ll trim off excess skin all the way around and can even do chest lifts. Those are my favorite patients.”

It’s no longer hush-hush or taboo that men have joined the race to look younger. They are setting aside the keys to that new Ferrari during bonus season on Wall Street and instead investing heavily in the surgical fountain of youth. “When it comes to today’s man,” Dr. Steinbrech concludes, “they know what they want. They treat me like a business consultant. They come ready to put their trust in me to do for them what I need to do.” —TED HILDNER

THE ARCHITECT OF MALE BEAUTY Dr. Douglas Steinbrech is revolutionizing plastic surgery for men.

THESE DAYS, PROCEDURES LIKE ABDOMINAL SCULPTING AND BICEP IMPLANTS ARE NOW COMMON AMONG DR. STEINBRECH’S TWO MOST PROMINENT CLIENT TYPES: C-SUITERS AND “BIGGEST WINNERS.”

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NOTORIOUS NEW YORKERS

The son of a loan shark and mafia associate, club proprietor Howard Stein was equally loved and hated by New York’s nightlife demimonde. Through the haze of smoke, cocaine, and strobe lights, Zachary Weiss uncovers the real Stein

CITY SLICKER Howard Stein outside the Academy of Music, his first venue, on East 14th Street.

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uilding a reputation in New York’s nightlife scene can be somewhat of a fool’s errand.

Not because of the sleepless nights or the shaky financial grounds upon which all latenight hangouts inevitably stand, but for the singular reason that any new boîte or watering hole will always live in the shadow of Studio 54.

The discotheque founded by Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell was open for just three years between 1977 and 1980 until it was shuttered after a spell of tax evasion, and yet it remains an albatross for those who have deigned to try their hand at playing club king. This included Howard Stein, a fixture on the ’80s disco scene who first burst into the nightlife lexicon when he debuted Xenon, a challenger to Studio 54, with then business partner Peppo Vanini, a Swiss restaurateur who died in 2012, but, in 2018, was accused posthumously of raping a stylist, Phillip Bloch, in the late ’70s.

As fate would have it, Stein and Vanini first

crossed paths at Studio and, in a delightfully playful jab of sorts, their new club was named after the chemical element 54. It sat just a few blocks south of Studio 54 at 124 West 43rd Street and, like Studio 54, Xenon was housed in a large theater, once known as Henry Miller’s Theater and later the Avon-at-the-Hudson porn house, until Stein and Vanini took hold. However, the crowd at Xenon was markedly different than those who could weasel past Studio’s infamously strict velvet ropes. The Xenon scene was more fashion, and less Hollywood, according to former mainstays.

“Xenon was the only nightclub [in New York City] popular enough to compete with Studio 54,” photographer Bill Bernstein remarked in Night Dancin’ by Vita Miezitis. “It was popular with the straighter, white, upwardly mobile crowd.”

The crowd permitted inside was often at the discretion of Stein, who was known to stand at the door alongside his wife at the time, Tawn Christian, “weeding out the detested middle class from the very rich and the colorful poor,” according to a 1980 New York magazine profile. One January 1983 account from inside Xenon recalls Cornelia

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DISCO INFERNO

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BOLD AND SILVER Half-naked disco denizens at Xenon, Stein’s mega-club on East 43rd Street.

Guest’s attempt at an onstage turn from debutante to rock star at an after-party for the Gold and Silver Ball. She sang (backed by a faux band), danced, drank, and smoked until 3 AM. After-hours habitués were in no short supply in Stein’s Rolodex. Prior to Xenon, Stein spent his early years in Manhattan as a party promoter, music manager, and proprietor of Howard Stein’s Academy of Music, which opened in 1971 on East 14th Street (and later became another nightlife mainstay, the Palladium). Here Stein could be found holding court in a suit and tie, catering to the likes of Bob Dylan, Roxy Music, Black Sabbath, and Lou Reed, whose December 21, 1973, show at the venue was released as the Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal live album. In 1973, Stein threw a notorious Halloween party at the Waldorf Astoria, headlined by the New York Dolls, where scantily clad socialites shimmied alongside mummies and mustachioed men dressed as nuns. In 1975, Stein joined Diana Ross as her date for a headlining performance at the opening of the Westchester Theater, a bacchanal he helped to plan.

And though he always remained polished, Stein was a night wolf in sheep’s clothing. “Howard Stein is a New Yorker,” Anthony Haden-Guest surmised in his nightlife anthology, The Last Party: Studio 54, Disco, and the Culture of the Night. “A springy, dapper man, his black hair slick as polish on a balding pate, he has a bright grin but can switch from charm to chill in a nanosecond.” He couldn’t stay away for long following the closure of Xenon in 1984 as nightlife’s center of gravity shifted away from Midtown. In 1987 came Au Bar, a subterranean hot spot that Stein referred to as “a quiet, safe refuge from the jungle” inspired by English members’ clubs. The reviews were mixed, and he often found himself in the crosshairs of Page Six gossip columnist Richard Johnson, who relentlessly barbed Stein in his column with the seemingly unrelated detail that Stein’s father, Charles “Ruby” Stein, a loan shark and Colombo crime family associate and pal of Anthony “Fat Tony” Salerno, was rubbed-out by the Westies and his headless body was found floating in Jamaica Bay. “[Au Bar] is located in the basement of an

SCANTILY CLAD SOCIALITES SHIMMIED ALONGSIDE MUMMIES AND MUSTACHIOED MEN DRESSED AS NUNS. office building on East 58th Street,” one biting account by journalist Patricia Morrisroe read following its opening. “There’s no name outside.

Just the usual status symbols: two power-hungry doormen, six yards of rope, and a desperate crowd. Inside, it’s very English with mix-andmatch sconces, imported wainscoting, leather books, and antique table coverings that are falling apart after three months of drinks and dinners.

For now, [Stein] is enjoying life at the top, waving at the middle-aged men with their gold Rolexes, their skin gleaming with après-tan cream. The women, their faces very pale—who wants to ruin the cosmetic work?—blow kisses at him and say he looks wonderful.”

Though people declined at the door would skulk away with disgruntled accounts, the guest list remained as strong as ever, with the Kennedy clan frequenting the uptown basement, namely John F. Kennedy Jr., who was known to affec-

tionately refer to Stein and Vanini as his “disco daddies.” “John-John was special,” Stein said of JFK Jr. in a 1989 profile of the political heir where he, in turn, referred to himself as John’s “Disco Uncle.” “He was less a disco baby. He was shier, ingenuous. He didn’t leverage his name off the way kids of the famous do in my world. He had star quality. So, every time he was there, he got his picture in the papers. It took a scandal for the other Kennedy kids to be photographed.”

Au Bar enjoyed a nearly 20-year run that ebbed and flowed across generations, with other Stein ventures along the way: Prima Donna, System, Rock Lounge, and Gertrude’s, which was later reimagined by Stein’s daughter as Brown’s, to name a few. Stein died at age 62 in 2007 after battling kidney cancer. These days they all serve as revered reference points for the bullish nightlife figures of today and tomorrow, driven by the mystique of Howard Stein.

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Q & AVE

FRAN LEBOWITZ The ever-opinionated author and public speaker recently returned to the stage for a one-woman show in Brooklyn. Prior to that, she spoke to Peter Davis about fame, New York nostalgia, and why you should never call her in an emergency.

I do not own anything you could read a book on other than a book. I don’t own a computer. I don’t own a cell phone. I don’t have a Wi-Fi connection in my apartment. I know that people especially read newspapers and magazines on the phone. I wouldn’t say that I’m generally the most optimistic person on the planet Earth, but I take the subway a lot. Most everyone on the subway is on their phone. But when you do see people reading books on the subway, they are almost all in their 20s. And that is a very hopeful sign.

It must be hard not to have an iPhone and Wi-Fi. I’m not a Luddite, but I have no interest in machines, period. I never had a typewriter.

I don’t know how to type. There’s no connection between me and any machine on the planet. When they first invented the [home] computer, it was called a word processor. It was quite a bit before the internet. A friend of mine, a screenwriter, got one and said, “You have to come look at this thing. It’s fantastic.” I thought this was just a very fast typewriter. I don’t know how to type and I don’t need something this fast.

I am such a slow writer. I could write in my own blood without hurting myself.

How do your friends feel about that?

They always say things like, “I can’t reach you.” I think, “So what?” Who am I? I have no skills. If you have a big problem, don’t call me anyway. I can’t help you. I’m not a doctor.

I cannot fix anything in an emergency. So, it doesn’t really matter whether people can reach me or not.

Did you watch Pretend It’s a City, the Netflix series that you and Martin Scorsese did?

I didn’t watch it on Netflix because you need a Wi-Fi connection. But, of course, I saw what we were making. I saw it 1,000 times in Marty’s screening room because he changes things every two minutes. I believed that I saw the final thing everyone else saw, but the cinematographer told me, “You didn’t because it wasn’t color corrected,” or something. So, apparently, I didn’t see it color corrected, but I can remember what color things were.

It was so popular with young people. You must get stopped everywhere.

Always kids have come up to me on the street, even before Netflix. I always thought that had to do with the fact that New York in the ’70s has achieved this kind of permanent glamor, like Paris in the ’20s.

And because I was there, I always thought that was the reason. But because of not having Netflix, I was unaware of how big it was. There’s no comparison to the number of people that come up to me since Netflix.

It’s a billion times more.

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Do you get annoyed by it?

It doesn’t bother me. There’s a lot of people who say they hate it. Most people I think probably are lying. I mean, people say a lot worse things to me than “I love you.” I always think, “Really, you hate people saying, ‘I loved your movie’ or ‘I loved your book’?”

Sometimes some of it seems kind of nutty.

Like if I am racing down the stairs of the subway, that’s not the time to ask me for a selfie because obviously I’m trying to get a train.

New York seemed more fun in the ’70s.

I thought about this a lot, trying to think, “Was it more fun?” Truthfully, I was in my 20s in the ’70s. It was definitely more fun to be in your 20s. When you’re in your 20s is when you should have fun. What [young people] see now is stuff on the internet, which is a very flattening medium. Lots of times kids will say, “How can all these people know each other?” I think because these worlds were very small then. That’s what they don’t understand—the New York art world fit in one restaurant in the ’70s.

You knew everyone. Now, because of the internet, people see everything, but they don’t go anywhere.

Has New York changed?

New York changes by the day, it always has.

People say, “When will things go back to the way it was before Covid?” Never. Covid was like three and a half years ago when it started. New York would not be the same in any three-anda-half-year period. In a six-month period New York changes. One of the reasons people who like cities like cities is because they change.

Do you go out to eat a lot?

I go out to eat all the time. I would never say [where]. My favorite restaurants are crowded enough. I go to [them] all the time because I hate to cook. I’m a horrible cook.

Without question, the worst food in New York City is in my apartment.

BRIGITTE LACOMBE

Do you read books on paper or a Kindle?

AVENUE MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER—DECEMBER 2023

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