C California Style & Culture

Fall/Winter 2020

Cover

STAR POWER THE RISE OF KIKI LAYNE

A S TY

LE

URE C LT

NI

IF OR AL

PLUS PAUL FEIG / COOL JEWELS / DESERT DREAMING / C WEDDINGS

& CU

Gucci

Gucci

Prada

Prada

Prada

Prada

Bottega Veneta

Bottega Veneta

Christian Dior

S o u t h C o a S t P l a z a 714 . 5 4 9. 470 0

Christian Dior

Prada

Prada

Bulgari

Bulgari

Four Seasons Lanai

Four Seasons Lanai

Ben Bridge

Ben Bridge

Buccellati

Buccellati

A S U PE R I O R R EA L ESTATE E XPE RIE N C E

Mckown Weinstein

REX MCKOWN 949.689.5018 rex@mwaluxury.com DRE 01275953

MARCY WEINSTEIN 949.689.3550 marcy@mwaluxury.com DRE 01094198

Pelican Crest | Newport Coast | 6 Bed | 9 Bath | 11,605 sqft | $29,800,000 | 7PelicanVista.com

Mckown Weinstein

Compass is a licensed real estate broker (01991628) in the State of California and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only. Information is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, condition, sale, or withdraw without notice.

mwaluxury.com

64.

92.

C O

74.

84.

Fall/Winter 2020 138.

STATEMENTS Homegrown luxury brand Amiri sets up shop on Rodeo Drive........................................................... 37

N

Evan Funke’s second opening is a pandemic-friendly pizza and pasta joint............................. 42 Saint Laurent’s new board, inspired by the California surf...................................................................... 44

TOC

T

The design duo behind Nickey Kehoe spill their secrets in a debut book................................. 56 Sparkling diamonds in dark settings for winter nights................................................................................ 58

44.

E

FEATURES KiKi Layne is Hollywood’s one to watch........................................................................................................................................................................... 64 Why California’s creatives are making a dash for the desert............................................................................................................................ 74 Meet Paul Feig, the most stylish man in movie-making...................................................................................................................................... 84

N

Inside fashion designer Ambre Dahan’s chic home in the hills..................................................................................................................... 92

C WEDDINGS

T

Socially distanced nuptials and small but perfectly produced ceremonies........................................................................................ 99

DISCOVERIES Three back-to-nature rentals to nourish the soul..................................................................................................................................................... 133

S

133.

Six must-have beauty products for fall............................................................................................................................................................................... 138 Chrome Hearts’ Laurie Lynn Stark’s Golden State hot spots.......................................................................................................................... 140

58.

24

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

KIKI LAYNE: LEE MORGAN. DESERT PORTFOLIO: RAINER HOSCH. PAUL FEIG: KURT ISWARIENKO. AMBRE DAHAN: SAM FROST. SURFBOARD: LEE MORGAN. AMIRI STORE INTERIOR: LEE MORGAN. SEE SHOPPING GUIDE FOR DETAILS, P.139.

The fresh style trend for fall and winter that’s all frills.................................................................................. 46

37.

Jimmy Choo

Jimmy Choo

Jimmy Choo

D I G ITA L

C O N T E N T S

T H I S J U ST I N . . .

WHAT’S HOT ON MAGAZINEC.COM

EXCLUSIVE VIDEOS Cover star KiKi Layne on red carpets, front rows and her own personal style

FASHION NEWS The latest from our favorite homegrown labels and international brands

TOC KIKI LAYNE: HOLLYWOOD’S SHOOTING STAR

DECOR & DESIGN A look inside the most stylish homes in the state and the creatives behind them

PLUS TH E L ATEST

PROFI LES

28

TRAVE L

WE LLN ESS

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

KIKI LAYNE: LEE MORGAN. JIMMY CHOO/TIMBERLAND: COLE SPROUSE. MERRY JANE’S THE CBD SOLUTION: WELLNESS — HOW CANNABIS, CBD AND OTHER PLANT ALLIES CAN CHANGE YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE : JULIA STOTZ/ CHRONICLE BOOKS. POST RANCH INN: KODIAK GREENWOOD PHOTOGRAPHY. MATT BOMER: JOANNA PENSINGER.

FEATU R I NG

Valentino AW20/21

Beverly Hills, 324 North Rodeo Drive (310) 247-0103 South Coast Plaza, 3333 Bristol Street (714) 751-3300 San Francisco, 105 Grant Avenue (415) 772-9835 valentino.com

Valentino

Talents photographed by companions during worldwide lockdown measures.

#ValentinoEmpathy

JENNIFER SMITH

Founder, Editorial Director & CEO JENNY MURRAY

Editor & President Chief Content Officer ANDREW BARKER

|

Chief Creative Officer JAMES TIMMINS

Executive Creative & Fashion Director

ALISON EDMOND

Digital Content + Copy Editor

Senior Editors

Art Director

MARIE LOOK

MELISSA GOLDSTEIN

LISA LEWIS

KELSEY McKINNON

Beauty Director

Photo Editor

GINA TOLLESON

KELLY ATTERTON

LAUREN SCHUMACHER

Fashion Assistant

Digital Strategy + Social Media Director

Designer

GABE DOYNEL

JAKE HEDDAEUS

CHARLOTTE BRYANT

Masthead

Deputy Managing Editor ANUSH J. BENLIYAN

Contributing Editors Caroline Cagney, Elizabeth Khuri Chandler, Kendall Conrad, Danielle DiMeglio, Nandita Khanna, Amanda Millin, Stephanie Rafanelli, Rebecca Russell, Diane Dorrans Saeks, Andrea Stanford, Stephanie Steinman, Elizabeth Varnell Contributing Writers Catherine Bigelow, Christina Binkley, Samantha Brooks, Kerstin Czarra, Peter Davis, Helena de Bertodano, Marshall Heyman, David Hochman, Christine Lennon, Ira Madison III, Martha McCully, Jessica Ritz, S. Irene Virbila, Chris Wallace Contributing Photographers Guy Aroch, David Cameron, Mark Griffin Champion, Gia Coppola, Victor Demarchelier, Amanda Demme, Michelangelo Di Battista, Lisa Eisner, Douglas Friedman, Sam Frost, Adrian Gaut, Beau Grealy, Zoey Grossman, Kerry Hallihan, Pamela Hanson, Rainer Hosch, Kurt Iswarienko, Mona Kuhn, Kurt Markus, Blair Getz Mezibov, Lee Morgan, Ben Morris, Bella Newman, Carter Smith, Alistair Taylor-Young, Jan Welters

RENEE MARCELLO

Publisher

West Coast Sales Director

Contributing Special Projects Director

Information Technology Director

SARAH McCORMICK

CAMERON BIRD

SANDY HUBBARD

Sales Development Manager

Client Services + Production Director

Finance Assistant

ANNE MARIE PROVENZA

AMY LIPSON

LEE SULTAN

ANDY NELSON

Chief Financial Officer & Chief Operating Officer C PUBLISHING 2064 ALAMEDA PADRE SERRA, SUITE 120, SANTA BARBARA, CA 93103 T: 310-393-3800 SUBSCRIBE@MAGAZINEC.COM MAGAZINEC.COM SHOPSTUDIO-C.COM

Saint Laurent ©2020 South Coast Plaza

South Coast Plaza

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA’S ULTIMATE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE 250 EXTRAORDINARY BOUTIQUES AND CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED RESTAURANTS A. Lange & Söhne · Alexander McQueen · Balenciaga · Bottega Veneta · Brunello Cucinelli · Burberry Celine · Chanel · Chloé · Christian Louboutin · Dior · Dolce&Gabbana · Fendi · Gianvito Rossi · Givenchy Golden Goose · Gucci · Hermès · Isabel Marant · Louis Vuitton · Max Mara · Moncler · Monique Lhuillier · Moynat Oscar de la Renta · Prada · Roger Vivier · Rolex · Saint Laurent · Salvatore Ferragamo · Stella McCartney Tiffany & Co. · The Webster · Thom Browne · Vacheron Constantin · Valentino · Zimmermann partial listing

San Diego FWY (405) at Bristol St., Costa Mesa, CA SOUTHCOASTPLAZA.COM @SouthCoastPlaza #SCPStyle

F O U N D E R’S

L E T T E R

EDITORS’ PICKS This month’s wish list

JACQUES MARIE MAGE x NICK FOUQUET

I

P.C.H. sunglasses, $690, shopstudio-c.com.

n our current world of uncertainty and divisiveness, it’s imperative to find the commonality that brings us together and celebrate that. For those lucky to call this state home (and for those who admire it from afar), it’s a love of place — California, to be exact.

Sometimes it can be a tumultuous relationship, with natural disasters threatening at any moment, but we stay strong in our love of it. If anything can happen here (and boy, does it ever!), I would rather be part of the story than sitting on the sidelines.

Our editorial team certainly had one name in common when we sat down to ideate a cover subject who would perfectly embody our Fall/Winter issue: KiKi Layne. We wanted someone with elegance and strength, who could speak volumes with just a glance, who has been a role model during these turbulent times. With Layne’s Oscarworthy performance in If Beale Street Could Talk and her recent starring role in The Old Guard, along with turns in other forthcoming films (including this winter’s Coming 2 America, and Don’t Worry, Darling, Olivia Wilde’s latest directorial project), she is on her way to becoming one of the best-in-class actors to emerge on today’s scene.

This issue’s feature stories — which took us to locations such as Joshua Tree’s rugged and rustic terrain to highlight the creatives who call it home; the pristine gardens of Montecito, where we experienced Layne’s extraordinary presence; a fashion designer’s fabulous abode in the Los Angeles hills; and a cool pool, around which we captured famed filmmaker Paul Feig in this season’s suits — all reflect California’s multifaceted culturescape, a place where we can all find common ground.

CHANEL Embroidered sequin handbag, price upon request, Similar styles available at Chanel, Beverly Hills.

For more information, call 800-550-0005.

Founder’s Note BOTTEGA VENETA Sandals, $890, bottegaveneta.com.

STAR POWER URE C LT

32

& CU

@ccaliforniastyle

LE

Founder, Editorial Director and CEO

A S TY

JENNIFER SMITH

THE RISE OF KIKI LAYNE

IF OR NI

AL

PLUS PAUL FEIG / COOL JEWELS / DESERT DREAMING / C WEDDINGS

KIKI LAYNE. Photography by LEE MORGAN. Creative & Fashion Direction by ALISON EDMOND. Hair by ASHLEY CALDWELL at Texture Management using Curls Dynasty.

Makeup by FIONA STILES at A-Frame Agency using Pat McGrath Labs.

Manicure by THUY NGUYEN at A-Frame Agency using OPI. LAYNE wears BALENCIAGA and DEBORAH PAGANI.

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

ILLUSTRATION: DAVID DOWNTON. SEE SHOPPING GUIDE FOR DETAILS, P.139.

Fall/Winter 2020

ON THE COVER

Pomellato

C

P E O P L E

LEE MORGAN

RAINER HOSCH

For this issue, L.A.-based Brazilian lensman Lee Morgan photographed cover subject KiKi Layne in Montecito for “American Beauty,” p.64, as well as Mike Amiri at his new Rodeo Drive flagship for “Rock ‘n’ Rodeo,” p.37. His roster of clients includes Adidas, Yeezy, Rick Owens, Neiman Marcus and many more. MY C SPOTS • It’s incredible to wake up to the ocean at Dockweiler RV Park and sit by the fire pits on the beach at night • Pioneertown’s Pappy & Harriet’s for local music and their barbecue ribs • If you hike down Grassland Trail at Malibu Creek State Park, you will find a waterfall and a natural rock pool

A regular contributor to C, Austrian photographer Rainer Hosch spent several days on assignment in the desert capturing “Shifting Sands,” p.74. Hosch, who lives and works in L.A., has been commissioned by the likes of Vogue, T Magazine, Apple and Hulu. MY C SPOTS • L.A.’s Reclaimed Frame is the best framing shop for quality work for a fair price • Lockdown dinner kits personally delivered by chef Bernhard Mairinger (formerly of BierBeisl) • Bought our beloved monkey drawing by John Geary at C.Nichols Project, an eclectic art gallery run by the fab Christine Nichols

Contributors

SAMANTHA BROOKS Writer Samantha Brooks, who regularly reports on travel and home design, says some of her favorite projects have been penning a custom coffee-table book on the history of Fred Segal and contributing to the current edition of Louis Vuitton’s Los Angeles City Guide. MY C SPOTS • No matter how many times I’ve been, Santa Monica’s Box ’N Burn kicks my butt every time • I can’t get enough of the raspberry French yogurt from Bonjour Yogurt — and they now do home delivery • No one gives a facial like Venice’s Kát Rudu. Truly transformative

34

Seasoned television writer Ira Madison III interviewed KiKi Layne over Zoom for this issue’s cover story, “American Beauty,” p.64. Madison is the host of Crooked Media’s podcast Keep It, and has recently written for Netflix’s Daybreak and Q-Force, and for Quibi’s Nikki Fre$h. He also just sold a comedy pilot called Canceled to Warner Bros. MY C SPOTS • Otus Thai Kitchen & Coffee is one of the best breakfasts in L.A. and the roti is chef’s kiss • Hi Tops, a gay sports bar in West Hollywood, has one of my favorite cocktails: the Hot Rod, a spicy tequila drink • My fave pizza and casual dining spot is Starbelly in San Francisco’s Castro

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

MADISON III: MICHAEL ALLEN

IRA MADISON III

Interlude Home

BROAD STREET OYSTER CO.

MARINE LAYER

TERESSA FOGLIA

THE ALCOVE

WITTMORE

FRED SEGAL MALIBU

Malibu Village

SHOP MALIBU AT MALIBU VILLAGE

CROSS CROSS CREEK CREEK ROAD ROAD AT AT P.C.H. P.C.H. @ @ MALIBUVILLAGE MALIBUVILLAGE

MALIBUVILLAGE.COM MALIBUVILLAGE.COM

SURFING COWBOYS

The Alcove - Broad Street Oyster Co. - Catch Surf European Shoe Repair - Fred Segal Malibu - Higher Standards Levi’s - Malibu Eye Center - Marine Layer - Surfing Cowboys Teressa Foglia - Wittmore - Zadig & Voltaire - and more!

CATCH SURF

HIGHER STANDARDS

S T

MIKE AMIRI stands in the window of the new 2,200-square-foot, gallery-style AMIRI store on Rodeo Drive.

S

ST YL E

T K T K T K

A

SCENT

T E

A

M E

T

OF

WOMAN

A

N T

T

S

E

Statement Opener

M

N

ROCK ‘N’ RODEO CONTRIBUTORS KELLY ATTERTON ANUSH J. BENLIYAN ALISON EDMOND JAKE HEDDAEUS MARIE LOOK KELSEY McKINNON

T

How L.A.’s Mike Amiri opened a flagship on Rodeo Drive ... in the middle of a pandemic

ELIZABETH VARNELL

STYLE Written

37

DESIGN BEAUTY

by ANDREW CULTURE BARKER Photography by MARK CHAMPION Styling

by ALISON EDMOND

DINING

S 37

CMAGAZ I N E.COM

CREDITS GO HERE

PHOTOGRAPHY BY LEE MORGAN. GROOMING BY MICHELLE HARVEY AT OPUS BEAUTY USING ORIBE AND DRUNK ELEPHANT.

E

S T

Clockwise from far left: MIKE AMIRI on Rodeo Drive. Pairs of $1,390 AMIRI bandanna buckle boots sit on wood and marble plinths in the Beverly Hills store. The storefront.

A marble foosball table sits alongside PIERRE JEANNERET chairs.

A T E

E

A

mere six years after launching, L.A.-based luxury brand Amiri has opened a sleek boutique in Beverly Hills. Worn by stars such as Michael B. Jordan and Jay-Z, not to mention Gigi and Bella Hadid, the label’s signature MX1 denims, bandanna prints, handpainted jackets and Skel-Top sneakers now reside in a light-filled, 2,200-square-foot Rodeo Drive gallery-style space. “Traditionally, when you think of L.A., rock ‘n’ roll, youth culture, there’s a visual landscape people have,” says founder and creative director Mike Amiri. “That idea felt saturated, more like a cinematic portrayal than the actual environment.” Punctuated with Calacatta Viola marble and art by Wes Lang (a Boyle Heights native known for his Kanye West collabs), the store is a first step toward hitting the mark.

“To me, it’s more a feeling and a lifestyle than surfboards. There’s an airiness, lightness to the environment that feels open,” Amiri explains. That’s the local anything-can-happen mood the designer, who is also the line’s CEO, set about creating to house his men’s and women’s collections alongside perpetually sold-out sneakers, boots and accessories. (Renzo Rosso of OTB Holdings — parent of Diesel, Maison Margiela, Marni — also holds a minority stake in the brand.) Fall looks, inspired by a photo of a youthful

N T S

Turn

Keith Richards stepping off an airplane, and “the idea of a young rock star thrust into a world of travel,” include prints evocative of souvenir scarves from farflung locales and a small collaboration with French luxury house S.T. Dupont on silk shirts (the sort of thing Richards might wear). “It’s nice to have that dream again, the longing for travel,” Amiri adds.

Patterned designs and denim with the brand’s trademark embellishments — about 80 percent of the line is made in Downtown L.A. — are amplified by serene cream walls.

Pierre Jeanneret caned armchairs and other low-slung midcentury designs join custom marble tables (including a foosball one for $26,000). “I’ve always been a collector; it started with vintage T-shirts. That grew into old records, now it’s furniture,” Amiri confesses. “It started in Paris; after the shows, I would go to the flea markets.” The scale and proportion of the pieces fit the line’s aesthetic, honed by its purposeful scarcity. This, in addition to local production, proved crucial during the pandemic. “We don’t overproduce, so we didn’t have to pace down production,” he notes.

Looking ahead, Amiri sees room in his milieu for up-and-coming talent and predicts he’ll have new neighbors in the coming years.

“Now the luxury consumer is a lot younger, and the future of the street [Rodeo Drive] is going to feel younger,” he predicts. Book an appointment through rodeo@amiri.com. 461 N. Rodeo Dr., Beverly Hills; amiri.com. E.V.

BUY THE WAY Three more L.A. boutiques to know DRIES VAN NOTEN The debut U.S. outpost of the Belgian designer — a massive boutique slash gallery in L.A. — includes a shoppable archive. driesvannoten.com.

38

JENNIFER FISHER Stock up on fan-favorite hoops and custom charms at the CA-born, NY-based jewelry designer’s first L.A. shop. jenniferfisherjewelry.com.

PAUL SMITH The British label’s iconic pink Melrose Avenue landmark has an artful new sibling store in Downtown L.A. paulsmith.com. A.J.B.

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

AMIRI STORE EXTERIOR: ROBERTO GARCIA. AMIRI WALKING AND AMIRI STORE INTERIORS: LEE MORGAN. DRIES VAN NOTEN EXTERIOR: JIM MANGAN.

M

Cartier

S

The rooftop pool and lounge at THE BRITELY in West Hollywood will offer sweeping views of the city.

N EW S

S P L A S H

T A T E M E

T S

IF YOUR NAME’S ON THE LIST ...

The highly anticipated members-only social club The Britely will debut in December within the Pendry West Hollywood, featuring a vintage-meets-modern aesthetic by AD100 interior designer Martin Brudnizki. Look forward to taking advantage of good weather in the private garden outside the club’s entrance, or 10 floors above Sunset Boulevard at the rooftop swimming pool and lounge. Indoors, there’s more to revel in, including a music venue, a screening room, a state-of-the-art spa, a 24-hour gym and even

DIOR Fine Jewelry Tie & Dior earrings, price upon request.

DYE ANOTHER DAY Hypnotic tie-dye electrified Dior’s savoir faire this fall.

It even inspired Tie & Dior, the house’s new 100-plus-piece high jewelry collection.

The resulting earrings, rings, bracelets, necklaces and timepieces feature intensely hued sapphires, garnets, diamonds, tourmalines and rubies. 185 Post St. S.F., 415-3982204; 309 N. Rodeo Dr., Beverly Hills, 310-8594700; 3333 S. Bristol St., South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa, 714-5494700; dior.com. E.V.

40

bowling lanes. That’s to say nothing of the two restaurants by Michelin-starred chef Wolfgang Puck, which, along with three bars, will serve contemporary California-inspired menus. Add to all this The Britely’s plans for cultural programming, member retreats and curated activities throughout the city, and the club looks poised to deliver just the kind of community experience that discerning Angelenos crave. $2,800/annual membership for founding members. 8430 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood; thebritely.com. M.L.

HOME CHIC HOME

News 1

A TRISTAN KLISMOS sheepskin seat, $3,705, from INTERLUDE HOME.

Good things come to those who wait. After a four-year search, Interlude Home has opened its first showroom in West Hollywood.

Having years of experience in magazine publishing, creative director Wendy King Philips takes a fashion-inspired approach, offering bouclé teardrop daybeds, acrylic chairs with shearling upholstery and a healthy dose of neutral-hued pieces. 8900 Beverly Blvd., Ste. 106, West Hollywood, 310-804-9237; interludehome.com. J.H.

A FASHIONABLE LIFE Above, from left: RICHARD AVEDON with two Harper’s Bazaar editors at a 1948 DIOR show. Avedon in his studio with model VERUSCHKA in 1966.

In What Becomes a Legend Most (Harper, $35), photography critic Philip Gefter chronicles the life and legacy of the late Richard Avedon through exclusive interviews, archival research and 16 pages of photos. The new book — which explores what influence Avedon’s artist friends (including James Baldwin and Leonard Bernstein) had on his work — is the first definitive biography on the lauded 20th-century lensman. A.J.B.

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

BOOK JACKET: COURTESY OF HARPER COLLINS. AVEDON (FROM LEFT): HENRI CARTIER BRESSON/MAGNUM PHOTOS; BURT GLINN/MAGNUM PHOTOS.

N

Cartier

N EW S

S P L A S H

T A T E M E N T S

BRIGHT IDEAS It’s high time for a jewel-tone watch

THE SLICE IS RIGHT Chef Evan Funke — the lauded pasta master whose Felix Trattoria is still Venice’s toughest table to book — unveiled his latest passion project in late August: an alfresco Roman-style pizzeria called Fingers Crossed. Situated in a charming stone-floored piazza-like space in Hollywood, the new six-month residency (a partnership with Relevant Group) specializes in crispy, thin-crust pizzas prepared with überfresh ingredients from California farmers like Kong Thao. The menu also includes old-school Italian comforts, from Cetara anchovy and butter bruschetta to mezze rigatoni carbonara and Funke’s famous cacio e pepe, plus signature spritzes and Negronis that will help preserve the spirit of summer. A percentage of revenues will go to to various nonprofits and causes, including Black Lives Matter and the Independent Restaurant Coalition. 1607 N. Cahuenga Ave., L.A.; fingerscrossedhollywood.com. AJ.B. Clockwise: Burrata and squash blossom pizza. Chef EVAN FUNKE. The piazza-like dining area of FINGERS CROSSED.

1.

KATE MOSS wears Diamond Krush pieces from her MESSIKA collection.

A TOUCH OF MOSS

2.

News 2

3.

4.

1. HARRY WINSTON watch, price upon request.

2. IWC SCHAFFHAUSEN watch, $5,300.

3. BULGARI watch, $31,300.

4. VAN CLEEF & ARPELS watch, $128,000.

Kate Moss takes collaborations very seriously.

Her latest foray, Messika Paris by Kate Moss, is the British model’s first high jewelry collection, and, true to form, she turned up with a bauble box in hand at her first design meeting with Valérie Messika.

To design the nine-set collection comprising 100 original pieces, the two creatives shuttled between their respective Paris and London offices and Moss’ house, before crafting lariat necklaces, climbing asymmetrical earrings, angular threefinger rings and even a delicate headpiece, awash in diamonds, mother-of-pearl, malachite and turquoise, set in yellow or white gold. Each design’s inevitable insouciant twist is an ode to Moss’ unique mastery of high-low style. Westfield Century City, 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A., 310-772-0988; messika.com. E.V.

FINGERS CROSSED PIZZA: WONHO FRANK LEE. FINGERS CROSSED CHEF FUNKE AND INTERIOR: JOSH TELLES. SEE SHOPPING GUIDE FOR DETAILS, P.139.

S

BELLISSIMA! BELLISSIMA! Milanese jewelry house Pomellato is amplifying its most revered designs by swapping in rare diamonds and vibrant peridots, garnets and other gemstones. La Gioia di Pomellato, the house’s first high jewelry collection features an oval-shaped pink gold Iconica choker — an unabashedly minimalist shape — awash in a pavé of 1,706 white diamonds requiring over 226 hours to create. 214 N. Rodeo Dr., Beverly Hills, 310-550-5639; pomellato.com. E.V. POMELLATO La Gioia di Pomellato High Jewelry Collection Gourmette bracelets, from $38,280 each.

42

42

CMAGAZ I N E.COM

Cartier

S

ST YL E

T R E N D

T A T E M E N T S

SURFIN’ SAFARI Saint Laurent’s ode to California cool

YSL

SEE SHOPPING GUIDE FOR DETAILS, P.139.

SAINT LAURENT RIVE DROITE surfboard, $6,000, heart float, $105, and bath towel, $1,230, and HAVAIANAS x SAINT LAURENT flip-flops, $65.

Photography by LEE MORGAN Styling by ALISON EDMOND 44

Cartier

S

ST YL E

T R E N D

T MODEL: LEXI BHARDWAJI AT FREEDOM MODELS. HAIR AND MAKEUP: DEE DALY AT OPUS BEAUTY USING ORIBE AND CHANEL LES BEIGES. SEE SHOPPING GUIDE FOR DETAILS, P.139.

A T E M E N T S

FRILL SEEKERS Up the drama with poufs and ruffles

Ruffles

Clockwise from top left: BALMAIN blouse, price upon request, skirt, $5,130, CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN sandals, $675, and stylist’s own earrings (seen throughout). LOUIS VUITTON dress and skirt, prices upon request, and boots, $2,050. CELINE BY HEDI SLIMANE dress, price upon request.

VERA WANG dress, price upon request, and sandals, $1,250.

Photography by MARK GRIFFIN CHAMPION Styling by ALISON EDMOND 46

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

Minotti

WEST SEATING SYSTEM | RODOLFO DORDONI DESIGN LAWSON ARMCHAIRS | RODOLFO DORDONI DESIGN

LOS ANGELES

BY ECRÙ INC. SOLE DEALER OF MINOTTI S.P.A. FOR LOS ANGELES AND ORANGE COUNTY 8936 BEVERLY BLVD - LOS ANGELES - CA 90048 T. 310.278.6851 - INFO@MINOTTI-LA.COM WWW.MINOTTI-LA.COM DISCOVER MORE AT MINOTTI.COM/WEST

S

N EW S

S P L A S H

T A T E M E N T S

Clockwise from top left: SHARON STONE photographed by FIROOZ ZAHEDI in 1992. A series of Stone portraits from 2005.

CATE BLANCHETT on the cover of Look at Me. JANE FONDA in Beverly Hills in 2012.

CLOSE UP AND PERSONAL

News 3

In the early 1970s, Firooz Zahedi was just a novice with a 35 mm camera when a series of chance encounters led him to his professional destiny. First, he met Andy Warhol, who recruited him to take portraits for Interview magazine; then, soon after, he met Elizabeth Taylor, who lured him from Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles to be her personal photographer (the starlet became his lifelong friend). Zahedi, who was born in Iran and grew up in England, decided to settle down in California, and in the decades that followed, he established himself as one of Hollywood’s most acclaimed lensmen. In his new book, Look at Me (Pointed Leaf Press, $85), Zahedi reflects on his more than 40 years of work, from Uma Thurman’s famous Pulp Fiction movie poster to never-before-seen shots of such icons as Bette Midler, Meryl Streep, J. Lo, Diane Keaton, Cate Blanchett, Pierce Brosnan, Nicole Kidman and Debbie Harry — all accompanied by the artist’s firstperson anecdotes. “It took several years for me to accept the West Coast culture,” Zahedi reflects. “But now you’d have to drag me out of Southern California.” A.J.B. STUDY GROUP Oversize stud earrings are so on point

1.

2.

48

“It’s been my dream to deliver the #SturmGlow to Los Angeles,” shares German-born Dr. Barbara Sturm (whose other, smaller, outposts are in Düsseldorf and New York).

“L.A. is the most advanced beauty and wellness city in the world.” The new West Hollywood boutique and spa — a 1,900-square-foot space designed by Sturm’s brother, architect Tobias Freytag — reflects the cult brand’s minimalist aesthetic, replete with smooth concrete tables, a mirrored ceiling, two treatment rooms and two infrared saunas. Celebrity clients also include Cher, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova. 515 N. Almont Dr., West Hollywood, 310734-4080; drsturm.com. K.A.

From top: The new L.A. boutique and spa.

DR . BARBARA STURM Ski Essentials Kit, $180.

3.

4.

1. SAINT LAURENT

BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO square earrings, $595. 2. SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO round earrings, $595. 3. TAFFIN ear clips, price upon request. 4. VRAM stud earrings, price upon request.

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

LOOK AT ME BOOK COVER: FIROOZ ZAHEDI, © 2020 FIROOZ ZAHEDI; PUBLISHED BY POINTED LEAF PRESS, POINTEDLEAFPRESS.COM. STRUM RENDERINGS: TOBIAS FREYTAG. EARRINGS (4): PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARK GRIFFIN CHAMPION; STYLING BY JAKE HEDDAEUS. SEE SHOPPING GUIDE FOR DETAILS, P.139.

GLOW STATION

Scandia Home

Discover The Scandia Down Difference HEIRLOOM QUALITY DOWN COMFORTERS AND PILLOWS SCANDIA HOME JACKSON HOLE 165 Center Street 307.733.1038

EUROPEAN BED & BATH LINENS

SCANDIA HOME BEVERLY HILLS 332 North Beverly Drive 310.860.1486

scandiahome.com

SCANDIA HOME PALO ALTO Town & Country Village 650.326.8583

S

ST YL E

T R E N D

T A T E M E N T S

FRINGE BENEFITS

Fringe

Clockwise from top left: PRADA shirt, $920, skirt, $1,830, and tights, $495, and JIMMY CHOO boots, $1,350. BOTTEGA VENETA dress, $3,980, boots, $1,950, and clutch, $4,500.

GIORGIO ARMANI cape, price upon request, top, $8,095, pants, $2,195, and boots, $1,295, and IGUANA VINTAGE hoops, price upon request. SALVATORE FERRAGAMO dress, $4,200, and ROGER VIVIER boots, $3,350, and bag, $1,995.

Photography by MARK GRIFFIN CHAMPION Styling by ALISON EDMOND 50

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

MODEL: LEXI BHARDWAJI AT FREEDOM MODELS. HAIR AND MAKEUP: DEE DALY AT OPUS BEAUTY USING ORIBE AND CHANEL LES BEIGES. SEE SHOPPING GUIDE FOR DETAILS, P.139.

Take some tassels for a spin

Messika

S

ST YL E

R A D A R

T A T

TREASURE TROVE

E

Inspired by the SoCal coast, Cartier’s new San Diego store is a gem

M

N T S

From top: A salon inside CARTIER’s new San Diego boutique. The limestone facade echoes the warmth of the natural materials inside.

CARTIER [Sur]naturel diamond and platinum ring, price upon request.

Cartier

The VIP salon’s intricate mosaic riffs on the house’s panther motif

he sweeping curves and natural hues of California’s coastline inform the interiors of Cartier’s expansive new San Diego boutique. Inspired by the city’s cultural tapestry, from the colored tiles at Spanish Village Art Center to the crashing blue ocean waves below the Torrey Pines cliffs, the sundrenched, 4,348-square-foot space designed by Parisbased architecture firm Bidard & Raissi draws on the airy vastness of the region’s open spaces. Men’s and women’s watch and jewelry salons, and dedicated diamonds and VIPs salons are all tucked inside, each space defined by site-specific works as exacting as the storied house’s baubles and timepieces.

Beneath layers of meticulously cut golden paper, a similarly hued feline by the adept design trio Wanda Barcelona presides over the women’s salon. In the cat’s sights are pieces from the elegant Panthère de Cartier collection and a modern array of studs, beads and clous carrés that make up the house’s spiky Clash de Cartier rings, bracelets, earrings and necklaces. Nearby sits the Pasha, Cartier’s newest timepiece revival (see p.61). The cultish watch’s square filigree rail-track and four bold Arabic numerals are eye-catching inside its circular dial, as are the design’s interchangeable steel, yellow or pink gold straps that enable on-the-go adjustments. Initially designed for men in 1985, and then adopted by women, the Pasha is based on a historical model created in 1943 for the Pasha of Marrakech, a lover of fine watchmaking and a longtime client of Cartier.

The private VIP salon’s intricate mosaic created by Sika Viagbo of Paris’ Atelier Lilipkó also riffs on the house’s panther motif, rendering the prowling creature in a boldly colored mosaic reminiscent of Spanish villages. The men’s salon, stocked with water-resistant Pasha watches (as well as Cartier’s pantheon of tickers, including the Tank, Drive and Rotonde), is awash in the bold azure hues of the Pacific rendered in refined straw marquetry by Jallu Straw.

Exclusive to the new boutique are blue leather watch straps meant to complement select women’s and men’s Ballon Bleu, Santos de Cartier, and Pasha de Cartier watches. Strap linings reveal a bespoke image of the ubiquitous panther surrounded by the Spanish Colonial Revival architecture of Balboa Park. Fashion Valley Mall, 7007 Friars Rd., San Diego, 619-684-6951; cartier.com. •

Words by ELIZABETH VARNELL 52

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

CARTIER STORE: DANIEL HENNESSY (2). RING: MAXIME GOVET.

T

E

CRAFT. MAN. SHIP.

IWC

Portugieser Yacht Club Chronograph.

The filigree bezel and flat casing ring lend a touch

R E G I S T E R TO E X T E N D YO U R I N T E R N AT I O N A L

Ref. 3907: A spor ty, elegant design, rugged

of unmistakable elegance to the 44-millimetre case,

L I M IT E D WA R R A N T Y F R O M 2 TO 8 Y E A R S R E G I S T E R O N I WC .CO M/M Y I WC

construction, high-level water-resistance and

and the newly developed stainless-steel bracelet

an IWC-manufactured 89361 calibre with flyback

offers optimum comfort in wear. So, whether you

functionality: the new Portugieser Yacht Club

make your appearance aboard a yacht or on terra

Chronograph is a winner all the way down the line.

firma, you can be sure your nautically inspired

A totalizer at “12 o’clock” shows stopped hours and

sports watch knows absolutely no compromises.

minutes and is easy to read, even in a heavy swell.

IWC . ENGINEERING DRE AMS . SINCE 1868 .

IWC-manufactured 89361 calibre · Self-winding · 68-hour power reserve · Date display · Stopwatch function with hours, minutes and seconds · Hour and minute counters combined in a totalizer at 12 o’clock · Flyback function · Small hacking seconds · Screw-in crown · Sapphire glass · See-through sapphire-glass back · Water-resistant 6 bar · Diameter 44.6 mm

South Coast Plaza, 3333 Bristol Street, Costa Mesa, CA · IWC Schaffhausen, Switzerland · www.iwc.com

S

ST YL E

T R E N D

T A T E M E N T S

CHECK IT OUT It’s hip to be this square MODEL: JAE UNGER AT PHOTOGENICS MEDIA. HAIR AND MAKEUP: DEE DALY AT OPUS BEAUTY USING ORIBE AND CHANEL LES BEIGES. SEE SHOPPING GUIDE FOR DETAILS, P.139.

Plaid

Clockwise from top left: ETRO jacket, $1,740, and pants, $620, SANDRO shirt, $640, and OSCAR DE LA RENTA earrings, $200. MICHAEL KORS COLLECTION dress, $2,990, JIMMY CHOO boots, $1,350, and OSCAR DE LA RENTA earrings, $420. MIU MIU dress, $6,800, and shoes, $1,100, and OSCAR DE LA RENTA earrings, $420. SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO blouse, $1,790, skirt, $2,390, and boots, $1,995, and OSCAR DE LA RENTA earrings, $200.

Photography by MARK GRIFFIN CHAMPION Styling by ALISON EDMOND 54

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

Howard’s Appliances

DESIGN

S

R A D A R

T A T E M E N T S

Kehoe

A debut tome invites readers inside the richly layered world of one of L.A.’s most in-demand design firms

F

Clockwise from top: A NICKEY KEHOE-designed sunroom features a WOKA LAMPS VIENNA chandelier.

JENNIFER SHORTO’s Mini Cities wallpaper serves as a whimsical backdrop for two vintage French rattan beds. The duo’s debut book, Golden Light. TODD NICKEY and AMY KEHOE.

or Amy Kehoe and Todd Nickey, proprietors of the lauded L.A.-based design firm Nickey Kehoe, the title of their debut book, Golden Light: The Interior Design of Nickey Kehoe (Rizzoli New York, $55), could not have been more apropos. In one sense, “it’s about the way we follow the light throughout the day,” says Nickey, who, like Kehoe, resides on the east side of Los Angeles and commutes westward to the firm’s new studio beside their retail shop on the edge of Hancock Park. (Following the sun’s path also echoes the pair’s 2003 move from New York to California when they launched the firm in 2004.)

Fittingly, the book features 15 Los Angeles projects from east to west — starting with Nickey’s Pasadena home, traversing across Los Feliz and Beachwood Canyon to Italianate manses in Hancock Park, a Craftsman cottage in Venice, a former hunting lodge in the Santa Monica Mountains and finally a Rancho-Swedish abode in Toro Canyon. The cover image — the foyer of a storybook Normandy-meets-Tudor-style estate in Griffith Hills featuring original millwork and a modernist Jean de Merry pendant — perfectly encapsulates the character-

imbued world of Nickey Kehoe, where color and prints are expertly layered with the trappings of their cultured clients. And in this way, the idea of Golden Light speaks to the warm humbleness of their cultivated aesthetic. “Any time there is a bit of character, we want to work off of it and not take it away from it,” Kehoe says. “We are lucky Los Angeles has so much of it.”

These days, the pair (with a team of 14) employs a “divide and conquer” strategy for the 15 to 20 projects they have going at any given time. They relish collaborating, which they recently did for the renovation of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel’s historic lobby and forthcoming Nancy Silverton-helmed restaurant, along with a line of candles that debuted in September and a collection of wallpapers.

Two decades since they first met and their story began, the time felt right to take stock of the ideas that have brought them this far. As Kehoe explains, “We both were at a place where we were like, ‘Yeah, there is a body of work here. … We have put in a chapter in Los Angeles.’” •

PORTRAIT: AMY NEUNSINGER; INTERIORS: ROGER DAVIES

CHARACTER BUILDING

Words by KELSEY McKINNON 56

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

HH andcrafted ooking anges , S abinetry, F ine WW ood WW orking && A ppliances andcraftedCC ookingRR anges&&S uites S uites , teel S teelC C abinetry, F ine ood orking A ppliances

PA RR I SI S• •NN EE WWYY OO RR KK• • MM I AI A MM I I• • L O S SA A NN GG EL PA LO EE LS ES ww ww w.w.

LL eA te ar eA tleileir eP rP airsi.sc. om c om

L’Atelier

• • 1 18 8 0 0 07 9 72 9 23 5 35 0 50

S

ST YL E

J E W E L R Y

T A T E M E N T S

AFTER DARK From onyx and enamel to diamonds and pearls, smoky tones for winter nights

HARRY WINSTON TIMEPIECE: DENIS HAYOUN. VAN CLEEF BRACELET: BERTRAND MOULIN.

Jewelry

Edited by ALISON EDMOND 58

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

Clockwise from top: BULGARI bracelet, price upon request. BUCCELLATI cuff, $17,500. VAN CLEEF & ARPELS bracelet, price upon request. Opposite, from left: DAVID WEBB earrings, price upon request. HARRY WINSTON timepiece, price upon request.

Jewelry

CARTIER WATCH: MAXIME GOVET FOR CARTIER. SEE SHOPPING GUIDE FOR DETAILS, P.139.

S

60

J E W E L R Y

ST YL E

T

A

T

E

M

E

N

T

S

Jewelry

CARTIER Pasha de Cartier watch, price upon request. Opposite, clockwise from top: POMELLATO rings, $3,000-$5,050.

DAVID YURMAN earrings, price upon request. GRAFF brooch, price upon request.

Jewelry

Barefoot Dreams

FALL/WINTER 2020 The Airstream at KNOW WHERE RANCH, Pioneertown.

Well Opener WHY CALIFORNIA’S CREATIVES ARE MAKING A DASH FOR THE DESERT KIKI LAYNE: HOLLYWOOD’S SHOOTING STAR

PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAINER HOSCH

DAPPER DIRECTOR PAUL FEIG DOES HIS THING DESIGNER AMBRE DAHAN’S CHIC HAVEN IN THE HILLS California Style & Culture 63

AMERI CAN KiKi Layne has that

rare ability to nail anything she touches — be it an Oscarwinning drama, an all-action caper or a red carpet bestdressed list. Look out Hollywood, there’s a new star in town

Layne

BEAU TY

Words by IRA MADISON III Photography by LEE MORGAN Creative & Fashion Direction by ALISON EDMOND 64

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

Layne

4 MONCLER SIMONE ROCHA dress, $3,150, and gloves, price upon request. NAKARD earrings, $760.

65

Layne

BOTTEGA VENETA dress, $4,250. BEA BONGIASCA vine ring, $675, octagon ring, $1,500, and earrings, $1,450. GIANVITO ROSSI sandals, $815.

Opposite: LAVIE dress, $5,000. MELISSA KAYE needle earring (sold as a pair), $4,450, hoop earring (sold as a pair), $9,250, and ring, $8,350. KiKi’s own nose ring.

66

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

Layne

T

he first time I saw KiKi Layne’s beautiful Black face was in a screening room in West Hollywood. The now 28-yearold’s feature film debut was Barry Jenkins’ If Beale Street Could Talk (2018), an adaptation of the classic James Baldwin novel and Jenkins’ follow-up to his Oscar-winning Moonlight (2016). It was clear then — as it is now — that the Hollywood newcomer was poised to not only seize her moment, but grab it by the throat like she literally did opposite Charlize Theron in this past summer’s Netflix hit The Old Guard.

It’s a sunny day in L.A., but that isn’t from where Layne is video-chatting me. In the early days of the pandemic, she was quarantining alone in her North Hollywood home. After the pandemic dragged on and on, she retreated to the family’s home in Cincinnati. Even our Zoom interview — the actor in a regular degular setting, wearing a bright pink sweater, septum piercing and boldly patterned frontknotted headwrap — is a confirmation that KiKi Layne is something unexpected.

It’s why her collaboration with stylistsof-the-moment Wayman and Micah makes sense. They’ve been working with the talents everyone is talking about and whose style everyone is talking about: from Regina King to Robin Thede, Tessa Thompson to Julia Garner.

Layne, who has graced countless red carpets, front rows and talk show couches since her entree, describes meeting them, strutting into Soho House in a simple crop top, jeans and heels. But they saw “this 5-foot-10 supermodel walking into Soho, owning the place,” she recalls them saying.

Her Midwestern roots run deep. She studied theater in Chicago at DePaul University (just a few stops from me at Loyola UniversityChicago), and then moved to Los Angeles to take a stab at the “industry.” It’s safe to say that Layne’s rise since then has been meteoric, going from Beale Street to Native Son with a script from Pulitzer-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks (a dream for any Black theater student, for sure) to this past summer’s The Old Guard and now this winter’s Coming 2 America with comedy royalty Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall, plus the forthcoming Olivia Wilde-directed thriller Don’t Worry, Darling.

To star in one of the winter’s most talked about films and one of this past year’s most anticipated, all in the midst of a pandemic, is surreal to say the least. There was no traditional

“I’ve represented the strong Black woman in a way that I think goes beyond what has been the norm in Hollywood” K I K I L AY N E

press tour, no red carpets, and yet millions globally should now recognize Layne’s face, yes? Or rather, they might if everyone wasn’t donning masks to protect themselves from COVID-19. “I really don’t feel that I’m that recognizable,” Layne tells me. “It’s actually pretty rare that I’m recognized. I think I can still actually count on both hands the times where somebody just on the street has been like, ‘Hey, aren’t you …’ Things might be a little different now, but I haven’t experienced it just yet.”

Yes, the COVID of it all has to be taken into account. I want to know how she’s doing.

“Something I’ve been discovering is what does self-care and all of that look like,” Layne tells me. Overshadowing The Old Guard, of course, was the urgency felt from the protests that erupted across the globe in the wake of the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, and countless other Black lives lost due to the police violence. Layne has felt that urge to want to stay informed and involved, but this is scarcely a new wound for Black Americans, it’s merely another laceration on already weary skin. “I really checked in with myself and what it was doing to my spirit. And I’m like, I can’t keep absorbing all of this trauma.”

Layne was happy when the refrain of “Black joy” finally entered the conversation. She was happy to see people start talking about how “Black joy matters at this time too” and seeing other Black people urge one another to take

Layne

care of themselves, in lieu of being able to embrace and touch one another for comfort and healing, lest you put someone’s health at risk. “So even if that means just loving on my family, all of my nieces and nephews and brothers,” Layne says, explaining the impetus for her escape from Los Angeles to Cincinnati.

“I’m thankful that I can be more present with them. And then at the same time being that much more committed to the type of work that I’ve always been committed to wanting to do. Because what’s actually really dope about what’s going on right now, is that it’s given Black creators and artists, at least for myself, this extra shot of bravery to ask for the things that I really want. And to say things that maybe I would have been more hesitant to say. Like, ‘Oh, let me wait until I’m like really a superstar to make that type of request or to tell them that I actually would prefer it like this.’ And now, it’s like, ‘No, actually I can ask for that thing and say that thing right now; speak that truth right now and not have to be afraid of that.’”

If anything, she’s learned how to step into her power from working alongside some of the industry’s greatest talents. Whether it was assurance from Jenkins on the Beale Street set (“He sees where you’re at, he sees what you’re bringing, and he can be inspired in the moment.

Just encouraging me to trust myself,” she says.

“That was something that Barry had to say to me a couple of times, just like: ‘You’re here, you

FE NOEL pullover, $348, and dress, $1,098. BRONZE & WOOL earrings, $300. OMI WOODS ring, $99, and bracelet, $199.

68

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

Layne

Layne

got it. You’re doing the work. I’m happy that you’re here.’”) or acting opposite Regina King, who snapped up an Oscar for her role as Layne’s mother in Beale Street. “I remember looking at her and just receiving. I’m like, ‘Yo, Regina King.

First of all, you’re in a whole-ass movie with Regina King.’ At this point, I’m just in awe,” she says, describing working with King. She also admires how King has maintained her sense of self after decades in the industry. “She’s just so real and just so genuine. And I really think that that was something that God wanted me to be next to, to see someone who has been at it for as long as she has. But she’s still a real one, because there’s a lot of people losing themselves in this industry. And I feel like even more so now, with all the social media and Instagram flexing and all of that, you lose yourself. And I think I needed to see someone who knows what she’s

70

about and has been patient. You know what I’m saying? And has been doing the type of work, giving us the type of stories, even behind the lens that she’s been giving us. And now it’s paying off. She’s really seeing the fruits of all of these beautiful seeds that she’s planted.”

Patience is a necessity for a Black woman in an industry where, Layne says, “they’ll try to put you into a box, ASAP. Especially because I came out of Beale Street and then followed it up with Native Son. A lot of people were thinking like, ‘Oh, OK. So she does the Black adaptation. All of that. Blackity Black.’ And I’m Black, y’all, but I’m going to take that into any role, you know what I’m saying?” The stars quickly aligned again to give Layne a role that would break her out of that Black period drama box, while also allowing her to learn from Gina Prince-Bythewood, another Black

woman in the industry who knows a thing or two about working hard till it pays off. After her 2000 film debut Love & Basketball, she’s had to wait two decades to direct a big-budget action film like The Old Guard.

Learning from Black artists who’ve come before her has become a theme for Layne’s career, and she’s grateful to accept it, like in the instance of the (30-plus years later) Coming to America sequel. Layne recalls seeing the film when she was way too young, but it was her older brother’s favorite film, and so they watched it all the time, and she could quote it back and forth. “I don’t really think it’s hit me fully,” Layne says of the gravity of the moment. “Because I haven’t seen it. And I think it’s going to be a moment of when I actually see it. And I see myself in the film alongside Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Wesley

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

Layne

Snipes. … I truly feel like it hasn’t fully hit me yet that I am the Princess of Zamunda.”

She credits the comedy legends on the set, along with co-star Jermaine Fowler for “breaking [me] out of my box” and encouraging her to improv on set. “I play more of a straight-and-narrow character,” she says, but she at least got her feet wet in some of the comedy. And she gushed for a moment over the costumes by Ruth E. Carter, who won an Oscar for Black Panther. “I’m excited for little Black girls to see this representation of a princess and this representation of strength, which I think is something that has kind of been a through line in the projects that I’ve done, of representing the strong Black woman in a way that I think goes beyond what has been the norm in Hollywood.”

Still, whether she’s back home in Cincinnati

or even in the midst of Los Angeles, Layne considers herself super chill. “Give me some jeans and a cute top and some fire-ass sneakers,” Layne says. If there’s any flourish to her wardrobe that matches the Princess of Zamunda or her red carpet looks … it’s the shoes. “The shoes is where I get a little crazy.

I have such weird shoes — sparkly, bedazzled, weird color schemes. The shoes is where I get a little, I don’t know, creative, but other than that, I’m super chill.”

When this is all over, Layne hopes she’ll finally get the chance to settle in Los Angeles.

“It’s very strange thinking about it,” she says of her home in North Hollywood. “I got there and a few months in ended up, hallelujah, booking Beale Street, and then it just kind of kept rolling from there. I’ve never even shot anything in L.A. I have a friend who spent more time in my

apartment than I did!”

If there’s anything she misses about the city, what comes to mind are two of her favorite L.A. dining spots. “I’m not a vegan, but —” and I immediately knew she was talking about Gracias Madre, the West Hollywood plant-based Mexican restaurant.

And there’s Uovo, a pasta restaurant in Santa Monica she insists I try. “It’s so good. It’s ridiculous. And it’s not super bougie Italian restaurant prices. It’s actually respectable.

You’re not going to go in there and mess up your whole paycheck, but it’s so good. If you’ve never been, get you some Uovo.”

For the time being, Layne will do Hollywood from afar until she can return to the West Coast and resume her reign. After all, she’s learned a thing or two about when to be patient and when to pounce. X

DIOR dress, $17,000, and bustier, rings and sandals, prices upon request. KHIRY earrings, $495.

71

Layne

Makeup: PAT McGRATH LABS Skin Fetish: Sublime Perfection foundation in Medium Deep 27, $68, Skin Fetish: Sublime Perfection powder in Medium Deep 4 and Deep 5, $38 each, Mothership VI: Midnight Sun eye shadow palette, $125, and Lip Fetish balm in Flesh 3, $36. MAKEUP FOREVER Color Ink in White and Fresh Pink , $29 each.

Hair by ASHLEY CALDWELL at Texture Management using Curls Dynasty. Makeup by FIONA STILES at A-Frame Agency using Pat McGrath Labs. Manicure by THUY NGUYEN at A-Frame Agency using OPI.

SEE SHOPPING GUIDE FOR DETAILS, P.139.

Layne

CHRISTOPHER JOHN ROGERS blouse and trousers, prices upon request. ST. JOHN hoops, $195. STEADY ROCKS JEWELRY ring, $900.

Opposite: NONJA McKENZIE necklace, $1,875. LEAF Y slip dress, price upon request. STATE PROPERTY bangle, $8,680. DEBORAH PAGANI hoops, $3,650.

73

SHIFTING SANDS The high desert community has swelled during the pandemic.

Meet the band of creative minds bringing art and innovation to its rocky plains and starry skies

Desert

Words by ANDREW BARKER Photography by RAINER HOSCH 74

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

Desert

On Highway 62, just past the turn for Joshua Tree National Park as one drives east, lies THE STATION, a restored 1949 gas station converted into a store and events space that sells vintage souvenirs and other nostalgia.

75

A wagon in Pioneertown.

Opposite, clockwise from top left: THE RED DOG SALOON’s original sign. Big Josh figure at The Station.

A water tower in Pioneertown.

The scenic Pioneertown Road.

WINDMILL CITY SCREEN PRINTING’s latest work and its headquarters. JEFFERY BAKER at The Red Dog Saloon. The San Gorgonio Pass wind farms. ASHLEY BUSENIUS COY and GLEN COY, owners of Windmill City Screen Printing.

T

he dusky purple haze on the horizon, the night sky an explosion of shooting stars, the balancing boulders that wait 10,000 years to tumble, and the Joshua trees, all spiky limbs and stubby branches, a legion of headless green monsters.

There are many reasons to fall for this trippy, transcendental corner of the Mojave Desert. The evocatively named Yucca Valley, Pioneertown and Flamingo Heights have long been a refuge for bolters from the big smoke and musicians in search of a muse. Its quiet beauty and otherworldly energy is a giddy high for the lost and languorous.

But in the past few years, savvy entrepreneurs and sought-after artisans have settled in with the dreamers and drifters, snapping up second homes and opening small businesses on the stretch of Highway 62 connecting the windmills of Palm Springs with the military base at 29 Palms. Since the pandemic hit in March, the population has swelled as many of these weekenders have

76

Desert become primary residents. For these desert dwellers, the testing times have not only instilled an even greater desire for a life in the great outdoors, but also forced them to pivot their purposes, revealing some unexpected silver linings in the process.

Take Ben Adams, the former co-proprietor of Know Where Bar in Hollywood. With his business partners, Aric Christopher and Alex Mesa, he designed and developed Know Where Ranch, an events space and rental property in Pioneertown which echoed the same “personal, in your own home kind of feel,” according to Adams, as their sleek drinkery on Hollywood Boulevard.

Once COVID-19 hit and the mandatory closure orders were issued by the city, the trio couldn’t come to an agreement with their L.A. landlord on a renegotiated rent. So they gave up the lease but hung on to the 20-foot bar, intending only to store it at the ranch.

“We were super lucky. Our wood worker who built the bar seven years ago helped us break it apart and then rebuild it in the desert,” Adams says. It now stands proud in a wall-less barn,

illuminated by pink neon, the refracted shards of a disco ball and, once a month, a blinding full moon.

With its infinity pool, original 1950s Airstream and 3 acres, Know Where Ranch has hosted city escapees and wedding parties (see “Alternate Arrangements,” p.106) throughout the course of the pandemic, allowing Adams and his partners to look at other opportunities, including Joliet, a new restaurant and bar in the Free Market retail development opening this fall at Runway Playa Vista (as it happens, next to a beachinspired Studio C store from C Magazine).

Know Where Ranch is a slingshot away from Pioneertown proper, the storied spaghetti western film set, replete with a pseudo “bank” and “bath house,” opened in the 1940s to offer a more economical alternative to the faux frontier towns of the Hollywood Studios. Standing on a corner spot on Mane Street, the Red Dog Saloon had been variously used over 40 years as a film location, a hideout for Hell’s Angels and a fully functioning bar, but it had lain

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

Desert

Desert

Desert

The 20-foot bar at KNOW WHERE RANCH is the very same bar that previously stood at KNOW WHERE BAR on Los Angeles’ Hollywood Boulevard, which closed at the start of the pandemic.

MARISCAL CACTUS & SUCCULENTS in Desert Hot Springs. Opposite, clockwise from top left: Know Where Ranch’s vinyl collection and record player, and its entrance. Records and curios on sale at The Station.

An employee tends to plants at Mariscal Cactus & Succulents. Chef GRECIA PARRA’s scallop ceviche. A photogenic Joshua tree. A close-up of a colorful mural at Know Where Ranch. The Red Dog Saloon in Pioneertown. Parra prepares a dish of Michoacan origin.

pretty much dormant for 35 years until this past summer when Jeffery Baker and a group of friends (including the owners of the Pioneertown Motel) decided to revive it.

“The Red Dog has always been a part of the legend and the lore of Pioneertown since the community’s inception,” Baker says.

Indeed, its history is writ large in etchings and graffiti on the bar’s original wooden top, the preservation of which was a condition of the new lease. Serving beer, cocktails (both fresh and to-go options that are canned on-site), and an enviable selection of mezcals and whiskeys, it is an old-fashioned watering hole with a contemporary libations list (Baker et al. know their stuff, having spent decades at the forefront of events and hospitality, two sectors which have been hit the hardest this year).

“We are privileged to be the stewards of this chapter of its existence,” says the Indiana native, set to become a full-time desert resident. Of his new home, Baker says: “It’s a feeling. A return to a small community where people care and participate in what’s going on around them. The view also helps — it’s a front-row seat to the Milky Way.”

80

Desert “It’s a feeling.

A return to a small community where people care and participate” J E FFE RY BAKE R

For Cathedral City’s Ashley Busenius Coy and her partner Glen Coy, the pair behind Windmill City Screen Printing, the pandemic has had its ups and downs. They have spent the past six years supplying printed T-shirts, totes and bandannas, embroidered hats and towels, branded mugs and enamel pins to clients from salons to vegan restaurants, and fitness studios to breweries across the Coachella Valley, all the way to Los Angeles.

“The majority of our clients are small businesses and are the contributing factors to the desert’s culture, high and low,” Busenius Coy says with pride. But as the shelter-inplace order was imposed, the orders dried up. Spotting an opportunity, they made a quick shift to making masks. For eight weeks, they employed a dozen local seamstresses to create thousands of face coverings, providing the means to keep their business afloat. As San Bernardino County relaxed restrictions, regular orders have picked up and they expanded to a second premises in October.

Located in the heart of downtown Palm Springs, the shop is called Windmill City Super #1.

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

Desert

Desert

82

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

The Airstream at Know Where Ranch. Opposite, clockwise from top left: JOSHUA TREE COFFEE COMPANY headquarters. The brand’s owner and roastmaster ROYCE ROBERTSON. Coffee beans are roasted on-site. Know Where Ranch is filled with murals by PENELOPE MISA. The Station’s 1940s exterior.

Joshua Tree Coffee Company goods. Mariscal Cactus & Succulents. The Station coowner GLEN STEIGELMAN. LA COPINE restaurant in Flamingo Heights.

“March and April are two of our busiest months and most businesses came to a complete standstill. Business is now back to ‘normal,’ and sales have continued to increase year over year as we hire new staff,” Busenius Coy adds.

One of Windmill’s clients is The Station, a restored gas station bought by Joshua Tree transplants Glen Steigelman and his partner in life and love, Steve Halterman. It opened two years ago as a “part souvenir, part vintage and nostalgia, part record shop, as well as a place where you can buy a cute potted cactus and have a cold drink. … The whole store is basically a collection of items that we like or things made by the great artists and creative people we call friends,” Steigelman says. A must for visiting Instagrammers and a mainstay for repeat patrons, the 1949 modernist outpost is arguably Joshua Tree’s most photogenic site after the park itself.

“Because of the large roll-up service bay doors and the large outdoor covered patio,

Desert we are now able to have customers enjoy the space safely, masks totally required of course,” he says. When they are not in the shop or have closed it for intimate weddings or yoga classes, the pair have been remodeling their home in a boulder field on the fringes of the national park.

“At the very beginning, things were very uncertain, as I immediately received a wave of cancellations due to the fact that California was the first state to close things down,” says private chef and Joshua Tree resident Grecia Parra, who specializes in the cuisine of her mother’s native Michoacan province, with a touch of the Julia Child recipes she obsessed over while growing up in Southern California. “A ban on short-term rental properties severely impacted my clientele. As I settled into this new reality, I’ve been fortunate that much of my business, if not more, has bounced back much more quickly than anticipated,” she adds.

Parra relies on the Joshua Tree farmers market every Saturday for fresh fruit and

vegetables. Sourcing meat involves a drive “down the hill” through Morongo Valley to Whole Foods in Palm Desert, and for seafood it’s all the way to the Santa Monica fish market. “Although some procedures have changed [during the pandemic], the quality of the food I prepare has always remained the same,” Parra says.

With the uptick in local commerce and the influx of full-time residents, Parra is cautiously optimistic for the future: “I am taking things day by day. I hope our small desert community continues to thrive and, who knows, maybe a transition to a brick-and-mortar Mexican restaurant is in the cards,” she ponders.

Such exposure can have its downsides as Adams points out: “Because of COVID, so many people are exploring different areas of Cali. I hope it can keep its small-town charm going forward.”

But for small businesses on the bounceback, right now it’s probably the best kind of problem to have. X

83

Paul Feig

FENDI jacket, $2,190, and pants, price upon request. LORO PIANA tie, $195. JIMMY CHOO loafers, $750. TIFFANY & CO. signet ring, $425 (seen throughout). Stylist’s own vintage EMILIO PUCCI pocket square. Paul’s own bead bracelets, rings (on ring fingers), CARTIER Love bracelet, and PRADA glasses, all seen throughout, and Paul’s own white shirt and ROLEX GMT-Master II watch.

84

THE DIRECTOR’S NEW CLOTHES Paul Feig

With a walk-in closet housing a watch wardrobe and rows of custom-tailored threads, Paul Feig is hands down Tinseltown’s most stylish man. He takes the finest suits of the season for a spin in his backyard

Words by STEPHANIE RAFANELLI Photography by KURT ISWARIENKO Creative & Fashion Direction by ALISON EDMOND 85

P

aul Feig is just a regular guy, matter-of-factly improvising dialogue with a lemon squeezer on an everyday afternoon in his kitchen in Burbank. He’s dressed down in a double-breasted purple pinstripe suit and a magenta print Tom Ford tie, offset by a lime green pocket square, and there are enough obscure liquor bottles on the shelves behind him to out-mix the barman at Musso & Frank. The 58-year-old comedy writer and director gets very excited about cocktails (more on this in two shakes). The suit is from London’s gentleman outfitters Anderson & Sheppard, one of around 70 that he dons with sartorial precision even for the humble occasion of a Zoom chat.

Everything about Feig seems straight out of a film version of midcentury England, but for the dead giveaway of “a horrible Midwestern accent.” Firstly, he is the unofficial holder of the title of most formal man in Hollywood, frequently lamenting what he calls the “tyranny of the casual” reigning in L.A. “Guys my age are the worst perpetrators of it.

Aggressively casual,” he says, peering through his spectacles. “Am I supposed to think that you’re 16 years old? You can’t approach clothing as something you pull on so you don’t get arrested. ‘So I’m now not naked?’ I have very strong opinions on this, my friend.” He exists instead in a parallel Wellsian Hollywood era of martinis and cigars and suits on set, minus the machismo. He is wincingly modest; his manners are impeccable; no grammatical rule has ever been broken for expediency on his Twitter account; and although I have no way to verify this, I am certain that he always leaves the toilet seat down.

As the director of Bridesmaids (2011), The Heat (2013), Spy (2015) and Ghostbusters: Answer The Call (2016) — the latter two of which he also wrote and co-wrote, respectively — Feig is singular in Hollywood circles, known as a kind of dandy feminist Charlie to the kickass Angels of contemporary comedy. His high-grossing films have helped establish a solid platform for Groundlings alumni Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph et al, all worthy sororal rivals to Team Apatow (Rudd, Rogen, Segel). Judd Apatow produced Feig’s 1999 cult teen comedy Freaks and Geeks; the Emmy-winning one-season-wonder was named in Time magazine’s 100 Greatest Shows of All Time. Since then, Feig’s films

86

Paul Feig

“Guys my age are the worst perpetrators of dressing aggressively casual” PA U L F E I G

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

Paul Feig

have reversed gender polarities, subverting and satirizing the tropes of male-dominated genres, breezing through the Bechdel test. “I think it’s such an embarrassing indictment of Hollywood and how bad it had gotten as far as portrayals of women to think that we would be that groundbreaking just doing a fun story about a woman trying to save a friendship,” he says wryly of Bridesmaids, now a decade old.

Not only is he one of the most pro-female directors in Hollywood, he might also be the most fun. He is famed for valuing downtime, shooting only 10-hour days, and as a congenial host of martini-fueled soirees. “When you

compartmentalize life too much, you take all of the potential joy out of things,” he says.

“This isn’t math.”

This ethos came in handy during lockdown. Writing while wearing his New & Lingwood silk dressing gown, the rest of L.A. exponentially awash with sweatpants, Feig came up with the idea of hosting a moraleboosting daily cocktail show livestreamed on Instagram at 5 p.m., in which he also shouted out names of charities, urging viewers to donate as a “minuscule service” to help support front-line workers. Quarantine Cocktail Time ran for 100 days — and 100

different cocktails — straight. Harping back to his former days as a stand-up and the golden age of cabaret, he silly-danced to rumba king Xavier Cugat, applied “boozy math” to measures, improvised with his trusty lemon squeezer and monologued for up to 21 minutes at a time. “Once I’d done cocktail time, my writing day was over. Each night it was: ‘Oh God, it’s 6 o’clock, and I’m kind of buzzed.’ If I could wave a magic wand and get one ability from my youth back, it would be to not fall asleep after drinks.”

Over the summer, Laurie, his wife of 26 years who’s lovingly nicknamed Tipsy Faunt,

LOUIS VUITTON shirt and matching tie, $1,070. Paul’s own DAVID YURMAN cuff links and ROLEX Zenith watch.

87

Paul Feig

SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO dress, $10,500. VHERNIER earrings, $15,400.

Hair by SYLVIA WHEELER at Forward Artists using Bumble and Bumble. Makeup by KATE LEE at The Wall Group using Chanel. Manicure by MILLIE MACHADO. MAGAZ I N EC.COM

“The irony of all time is that my parents were Christian Scientists — drinking was completely taboo” PA U L F E I G

also emerged as a comedy talent. “She’s my litmus test. She’ll say, ‘I don’t get it,’ and I’ll go, ‘Oh shit.’ She’s annoyingly populist.” In her honor, he created The Squeaky Door, a mash-up of all her favorite drinks, named after the noise that heralded her kitchen entrance.

“Inventing new cocktails is my new favorite thing,” he says zealously. He’s even curated his own craft liquor alongside Minhas distillery in Wisconsin. “I wanted to create a good gateway gin so that when people say, ‘I don’t like gin,’ I could say, ‘OK, just try this.’ And then they say, ‘Oh, oh that, I like.’” He pauses. “I’m sort of the devil I think.” This diabolic elixir is called Artingstall’s Brilliant London Dry Gin, after his mother’s British maiden name, although she never ever touched a drop. “The irony of all time is that my parents were Christian Scientists — drinking was completely taboo in our house,” he explains.

Born in Mount Clemens, Mich., in 1962, Feig fell in love as a young child with the crystal decanters and cuff links of the old silver

Paul Feig

BRUNELLO CUCINELLI tuxedo jacket, $3,695, tuxedo shirt, $625, and bow tie, $275.

Opposite: HERMÈS jacket, sold as suit, $4,975, and shirt, $630. KINGSMAN pants, $540. JIMMY CHOO oxfords, $895. Stylist’s own pocket square. Paul’s own hat and staff.

89

screen while watching the likes of Howard Hawks’ Bringing Up Baby with his mom, a telephone operator. “I remember thinking that was how a successful adult dresses.” His father ran an army surplus store, but 8-yearold Feig had his sights loftily set on a Pierre Cardin three-piece suit at the local mall. “I grew out of it in three months, but those three months were fantastic, although I looked like a ventriloquist’s dummy.”

His future adult passions were further whipped up by his theatrical high-school drama teacher. “In my sophomore year, in comes this woman, this comrade, who was so kind of like [Robin Williams in] Dead Poets Society,” he says. “She would take us all back to either her apartment or somewhere she could get us all served. I was 15 years old and boozing it up with her every night.” At 19, by then a full-blown cinephile, he moved to L.A. to work as a tour guide at Universal Studio. “It was the greatest summer of my life. It blew my mind, because I was this kid from the Midwest suddenly in Hollywood. I would get so excited just seeing Johnny Carson’s parking space. I would say, ‘Johnny actually touches here, and he walks

“I live in complete terror of people going, ‘Get away from me.’ I need a martini to loosen me up” PA U L F E I G

Paul Feig

SEE SHOPPING GUIDE FOR DETAILS, P.139.

Paul Feig here, and he breathes the same air,’ and the people on the tour were like, ‘Yeah? So?’ I’ve never lost that excitement about Hollywood.”

Nor, he admits, the accompanying “feeling of being a fraud” for being there. “I’m still nervous around movie stars, when I go to parties,” he says. “That’s why I need a martini to loosen me up. I live my life in complete terror of people going, ‘Get away from me.’

And I’ve had it a few times.” One of those times was with Mick Jagger at an Oscars party.

“I probably would have been more welcome if I’d had a tray.” It doesn’t help that he’s been mistaken for staff before. “For the [2012] Oscars, for Bridesmaids, I wore a white tuxedo jacket,” he shares. “It looked great, but when I got to the Governors Ball, every waiter was in the exact same jacket. Everywhere I went, people were stopping me and saying, ‘Oh, could you get me a …’ I’d said, ‘I’m sorry, I just had a movie that was up for two Oscars.

But anyway, what would you like, sir?’” He can’t even converse with his hero Tom Ford,

despite being friendly with Ford’s partner, Richard Buckley. “I just run over to him and say, ‘Tom! I’m Paul Feig! I don’t want to take up your time, I just want to tell you what a huge fan I am.’ And then I run off. I just can’t be cool around him.”

Somehow this starry-eyedness has remained intact throughout a 35-year-long career. After starting off as a stand-up comic, then an actor (in Sabrina the Teenage Witch), Feig went on to direct some of the comedy greats of 21st-century television, from The Office to 30 Rock to Parks and Recreation. He has been hailed (a little too late) as a comedy sage for Freaks and Geeks, helping set the awkward tone of behavioral comedy over the next decade.

Feig famously got a sour taste of Trump’s new polarized America in March 2016, when he and his cast faced abuse and opprobrium for daring to reboot Ghostbusters with an all-female cast: It was as if he had personally trashed entertainment’s first amendment.

“But if getting yelled at on social media is going to stop us moving forward, then we might as well just give up as a society and go to sleep,” he says, now more sanguine.

The filmmaker is always busy, enthusiastically trying to drag Hollywood forward, gallantly flying the flag for womenkind in an impeccably cut suit. His company Feigco, a member of ReFrame which supports female filmmakers, operates inclusion riders and recently found funding for Nicole Riegel’s Rustbelt drama, Holler, about a young woman (Jessica Barden) who works at a scrap metal yard to pay for her education. Powderkeg, his new production company and digital platform, produced East of La Brea last year, a miniseries about the experience of Muslim women in L.A. Meanwhile, he’s to next direct Netflix’s The School for Good and Evil, a kind of revisionist fairy-tale series for girls. Apparently, it’s “Frozen meets Harry Potter meets The Princess Bride” — to the execs at least. •

GUCCI jacket, $3,800, pants, $1,250. VALENTINO shirt, $995. Paul’s own ROLEX Daytona watch.

Opposite: DOLCE & GABBANA coat, $2,495, blazer, $2645, and pants, $7 75. JIMMY CHOO loafers, $675. Paul’s own white shirt, CHARVET cravat and ROLEX Cosmograph Daytona watch.

91

MAISON MODERNE Dahan

Words by ELIZABETH VARNELL Photography by SAM FROST 92

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

Like her SPRWMN brand, designer Ambre Dahan’s Hollywood Hills home is sleek, chic and exquisitely well-dressed

Dahan

“L

ike everything I do, I did it all myself,” says Ambre Dahan, laughing ruefully as she describes her approach to modernizing her sprawling 1920s Hollywood Hills residence while preserving its intricate period craftsmanship. The Frenchborn, Los Angeles-based serial entrepreneur, who just opened a jewel-box Melrose Place boutique for her SPRWMN leather leggings and denim line, applies her head-on method to everything. From her Ambre Victoria fine jewelry line and her previous role as design director at Joe’s Jeans (founded by former husband Joe Dahan) to her work on the former website Walk In My Closet and her forthcoming small-batch organic compote line Farm Spoon, Dahan is a multifaceted creative who decorates as a hobby.

Inside the house built in 1929, which she shares with her 10- and 12-year-old daughters, Dahan saw possibilities where others, including her carpenters, prepped for teardowns. Her vision was to restore and repurpose the intricate, time-honored details that initially drew her to the property.

“The energy of the house is everything,” says Dahan, who discovered that it previously belonged to screenwriter Barbara Turner, actor Jennifer Jason Leigh’s mother. Once

From left: A DE SEDE leather sofa snakes through AMBRE DAHAN’s living room while ROBERT KUO vases and objets are lit by a rotating SERGE MOUILLE sconce and a JEAN DE MERRY Lumière chandelier. Multihyphenate creative Dahan dons SPRWMN leather leggings of her own design in her Hollywood Hills residence.

93

“I let go of owning things, but I do love objects” AM BRE DAHAN

Leigh (The Hateful Eight, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Single White Female, Georgia) and Dahan realized their children attend school together, the actor confided she’d been raised in the house, adding, “I’m so happy you bought it, I wanted it to be with a family.”

Dahan’s nuanced approach to design required expert help and she spent six months acting as a contractor with a team of artisans, plumbers and plasterers to peel back the layers of paint and expose the original architecture and woodwork. “I wanted to go back to the original. But I want to live in my time,” says Dahan, whose good instincts yielded a paneled library of handsanded raw wood walls that were formerly lacquered and so shiny that they looked orange. The result is a sunny, “original but modern” space for armfuls of architecture books, a Charlotte Perriand stool and an RH desk perched atop a rug from Christopher Farr. “This is how we often enter the house, through the library,” she adds.

Regular visits to flea markets in Paris (Saint-Ouen, Paul Bert Serpette), a staple of Dahan’s Gallic upbringing, fostered an early appreciation of objects. (Now she scours the Rose Bowl Flea Market, local estate sales and online auctions.) “Taste is a thing that you learn really young, and I got exposed from a young age,” the consummate designer says.

Dahan credits her father with her vignettebuilding proclivities, which she sees as the backbone for each of her disparate projects.

“My dad is gay, and he’s always had an amazing vision for how he puts objects together,” she

94

Dahan

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

Dahan

In the dining room, an HERVÉ VAN DER STRAETEN chandelier and white lacquered table mingle with reupholstered EERO SAARINEN chairs.

The portrait on the wall — Jeunes Bergers Peuls, 1972 — is by the late Malian photographer MALICK SIDIBÉ.

95

Dahan

A DAMIEN HIRST painting hangs above a wooden bench and opposite a staircase sanded back to expose its original raw wood.

96

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

Dahan

relates. Dahan clearly inherited his ability to rework appealing groupings of the objects she’s amassed, in both L.A. and abroad, during her 15 years in California.

“I’m so curious. I wish I was an architect and not a lawyer,” muses Dahan, who passed the bar in Paris before studying business, all at the urging of parents who felt she needed a practical education to accompany her keen design sensibility. Reworking the house gave her a new window into the design world. “I went to the marble yard myself, I wanted some bold choices. I wanted something a bit shocking,” she says. True to form, her kitchen’s Arabescato black-and-white marble countertops are intensified by floors newly painted in a checkerboard pattern. Upstairs the color is even more vibrant. “My bathroom is insane, I really wanted something purple,” Dahan says of the Calacatta Viola marble reflected in two Hubert Le Gall mirrors.

“I’m always moving things around,” confesses Dahan, who is fond of reworking favored pieces. Her living room includes a snaking De Sede brown leather sofa dyed black; elsewhere in the house, Eero Saarinen chairs are reupholstered in goldenrod-hued fabric, and a formerly red Robert Kuo side table is relacquered in black. Dahan credits her ex-husband with supporting her design impulses. “Joe and I are still friends and business partners. We have a really good creative process, and I can always exchange ideas with him,” she says. Dahan is equally enamored with new designers and works by old favorites. “I still have a million ideas to finish,” she says. The color and patina of some Kuo vases catch her eye and she contemplates bringing one to her new store. “I love Kuo, I would pick it again today,” she adds. •

From top: Dahan created a checkerboard pool deck with white paint. An RH desk and CHARLOTTE PERRIAND stool perched beside hand-sanded wooden shelves in the library.

HUBERT LE GALL mirrors and bold Calacatta Viola marble are illuminated by vintage brass lighting.

97

promo CALI FOR N IA CONCE PT STOR E BY C MAGA Z I N E

Opens This Winter in Playa Vista

Free Market, 12751 W. Millennium Dr., Ste. 180, Playa Vista, CA 90094; shopstudio-c.com

CHANGE OF PERSPECTIVE ideas for smaller WeddingsBigCover

celebrations and safer ceremonies

PLUS MONIQUE LHUILLIER / THE UNLIKELY FLORIST / MASTERING THE MINIMONY

Hotel Bel Air

AN ENCHANTING SETTING An exclusive paradise. A whisper of fountains.

The hidden grotto. The delicate scent of hibiscus.

Weddings at Hotel Bel-Air. Perfection just happens.

LOS ANGELES +1 310 472 1211 DORCHESTERCOLLECTION.COM #DCmoments HotelBelAirLA HotelBelAir HotelBelAir

109.

126.

118.

C

CAKE: COURTESY OF LORIA STERN. HENRY AND BOWERS: MEG SMITH. BERG AND SCHWARTZ-WRIGHT: VALORIE DARLING. ROBSON AND AVERY: JOSE VILLA. TIA ADEOLA RUNWAY: DAN AND CORINA LECCA. CONRAD BORA BORA NUI: ADAM BRUZZONE. PINK DRESS: STAS KOMAROVSKI.

122.

C WEDDINGS FALL/WINTER 2020 Monique Lhuillier expands her bridal empire with a luxe outpost in Orange County..................................................................................... 103 Five mechanical watches to delight modish grooms................................................................................................................................................................... 106

O

Strange times allow for untraditional wedding attire................................................................................................................................................................... 108 The ultimate playbook for pulling off an unforgettable California minimony........................................................................................................ 109 Plus, unwinding after it all on the shores of the exquisite new Conrad Bora Bora Nui.................................................................................... 116

Weddings TOC

103.

N T E

ON THE COVER

N

116.

CHANGE OF PERSPECTIVE Big ideas for smaller celebrations and safer ceremonies

PLUS MONIQUE LHUILLIER / THE UNLIKELY FLORIST / MASTERING THE MINIMONY

Model LICETT MORILLO wears RODARTE Spring 2021 RTW collection Photography by DARIA KOBAYASHI RITCH. Courtesy of Rodarte.

108.

A pair of recent business school grads transform the bride’s family home in Napa...................................................... 118

T

Two creatives conjure a backyard soiree with a storybook Hollywood ending................................................................... 122 A classy Pacific Palisades micro-fete complete with a baby grand, steaks and martinis............................................. 126

S 101

Esqueleto

W

A dress from the MONIQUE LHUILLIER Fall 2020 collection, $6,995.

E D D Weddings Opener

I BUSINESS IS BLOOMING

N

As Monique Lhuillier opens a store in Orange County, she talks 25 years as a designer, and bridal trends for smaller celebrations CONTRIBUTORS KELLY ATTERTON ANDREW BARKER ANUSH J. BENLIYAN SAMANTHA BROOKS DANIELLE DIMEGLIO ALISON EDMOND

STAS KOMAROVSKI

JAKE HEDDAEUS NANDITA KHANNA KELSEY McKINNON ELIZABETH VARNELL

STYLE

F

ashion designer Monique Lhuillier is looking forward to life after the pandemic. As California waits for opening hours and capacity restrictions to inch closer to their pre-COVID-19 levels, this fall she is pressing on with the opening of her third and largest boutique to date at Orange County’s South Coast Plaza. Having launched her eponymous label almost 25 years ago, her proudest moments include dressing Reese Witherspoon on her wedding day and Phoebe WallerBridge on her triumphant Emmys night last year. But Lhuillier’s design acumen extends far beyond evening and occasion dressing: She also has a shoes and accessories line; ongoing collaborations with Pottery Barn for home goods; a recently launched fragrance; and, coming soon, lingerie and leisurewear — all projects which stem from Lhuillier’s cultivated world of garden fantasy and feminine sophistication. Despite the colossal REGISTRY

DECOR

BEAUTY

DINING

G S 103

N EW S

W E

PINK DRESS: STAS KOMAROVSKI. BLACK DRESS: STAS KOMAROVSKI. WEDDING GOWN: JACK JEFFRIES FOR CHRISTIAN OTH STUDIO. JIMMY CHOO SHOES: RICHARD VALENCIA. SEE SHOPPING GUIDE FOR DETAILS, P.139.

S P L A S H

impact of the coronavirus on retail, weddings and nearly every other aspect of life, Lhuillier’s cautious optimism to grow her empire beyond its New York and Los Angeles stores at the most trying of times is an attitude we can describe as totally Californian. And we salute it.

D D I

How did you decide on the location?

South Coast Plaza is a premier destination for luxury brands.

The fact that they’re all in that same structure — it’s always been a fashion destination for a lot of people. Our biggest markets are New York and California. For us, it makes sense to have multiple stores here.

N G S

Describe the new store.

It is our largest flagship to date; everything is very luxurious, and the scale is quite grand. It’s the first time we’re going to have so many categories on display, everything from fragrance to ready-to-wear to bridal and accessories. It’s also our first time having ML, the contemporary line, available in store.

How has the pandemic affected your betrothed clients?

Brides have really been determined to still have this special day. They’re getting married in more intimate settings, but they’re still going to wear the dress of their dreams. One bride had the most beautiful wedding but in a backyard. We posted it on Instagram, and I think it was one of our highestengaged posts because it was real.

Turn

Which are your favorite bridal trends right now?

Very subtle prints. I have this floral print with butterflies and vines. People love that. They also love a sleeve. Whether it’s a billowy wedding sleeve or a long, fitted lace sleeve, my brides are really responding to that.

Clockwise from top: A strapless tulle look, $4,295, from the designer’s Fall 2020 collection. A wedding gown, $12,500, and overskirt, $6,600, from the Bridal Spring 2021 collection. A feather shift dress, $4,295, from the Fall 2020 collection.

Monique Lhuillier in the brand’s bridal salon.

How are you expanding beyond eveningwear and bridal?

We’re launching loungewear later this year. We’re going to have hoodies, joggers and T-shirts. In my Spring 2021 collection, it’s the first time I incorporated linen fabrics, and there’s soft Georgette.

What’s next?

A book next year for our 25th anniversary. So I’ve been going down memory lane and seeing my first collection and the beginnings until this point and all the highlights. J.H. TAKE A BOW Tie the knot with a new pair of heels

2.

1.

104

4.

1. ALEXANDRE BIRMAN sandals, $595. 2. GIUSEPPE ZANOTTI sandals, $795.

3. JIMMY CHOO sandals, $925. 4. STUART WEITZMAN sandals, $425.

3.

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

WHERE GREAT LOVE STORIES BEGIN

La Quinta

Imagine an enchanted desert oasis. Where vast green lawns, fragrant citrus trees, rose-colored mountains and grand Spanish villas all gather together for your perfect wedding day. Intimate and magnificent, nothing compares to the storied La Quinta Resort. Your story begins at laquintaresort.com.

N EW S

W

S P L A S H

E

SOMETHING BLUE

D

This winter, American jeweler Tiffany & Co. is recommitting to California. By reopening two of its 18 statewide boutiques (after relocating each, and expanding and redesigning the interiors), chief artistic officer Reed Krakoff proves every good relationship needs room to grow. In Costa Mesa, 12,000 square feet of cut glass, fluted wood and carved stone exclusively houses new T1 collection bangles and rings alongside a Blue Box Cafe, the first West Coast outpost for breakfast (also lunch and tea) at Tiffany’s. In Santa Clara, Extraordinary Tiffany high jewelry designs join registered diamonds, each with a fully traceable provenance, in the reworked 5,360-square-foot shop’s marble, glass and steel galleries. South Coast Plaza, 3333 Bristol St., Costa Mesa, 714-540-5330; Westfield Valley Fair, 2855 Stevens Creek Blvd., Santa Clara, 408243-7771; tiffany.com. E.V.

D I N G S

From top: A desertinspired bridal bouquet

by COUNTY LINE FLORALS. “Their taste was earthy and chill,” notes founder ABIGAIL SPENCER of the Pioneertown wedding.

ALTERNATE ARRANGEMENTS

TRÈS FEMME

Actor, writer and producer Abigail Spencer’s Los Angelesbased bespoke bouquet delivery service, County Line Florals, is now rolling up to area wedding receptions. Her 1965 hunter green VW van, affectionately called Betty, recently headed to Pioneertown’s Know Where Ranch (just outside Joshua Tree) for the alfresco wedding of chef Kara Elise and Caleb Campbell, a former NFL player turned podcaster, where guests made personal bouquets of pampas, snapdragons and quicksand roses, with Spencer’s “floristas” wrapping each one to create chic departure gifts. “Betty is just one piece of the puzzle,” says Spencer, whose team also crafts bridal bouquets (Elise held a golden mix of banksia, quicksand roses, bronze amaranthus, butterfly ranunculus and choco bear cymbidium orchids), bridesmaids’ nosegays and grooms’ boutonnieres.

“Ultimately, we’re telling the couple’s story through florals,” she adds. countylineflorals.com. E.V.

When planning her dream nuptials in the Hamptons 10 years ago, former Cosmopolitan fashion editor Rebecca Hessel Cohen created the perfect chiffon silhouettes for her bridal party. Fast-forward three years and her vision further manifested into lifestyle brand LoveShackFancy, with stores in New York, Texas, Florida and now, The Golden State.

This summer, the first West Coast location opened in Newport Beach’s Lido Marina Village. Its second outpost, a newly minted, cottage-like Melrose Place boutique, houses the brand’s debut wedding gown collection, featuring delicate floral embroidery, Victorian-style puffed sleeves, accordion ruffles and hand-dyed silk. 8473 Melrose Pl., L.A., 323-433-7733; loveshackfancy.com. D.D.

News 1

Below: The new TIFFANY & CO. boutique at Westfield Valley Fair in San Jose. Tiffany T T1 ring, $7,500.

LOVESHACKFANCY’s Fabia dress, $1,095.

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE Skeleton watches and tourbillons for true aficionados

1.

3.

2.

5.

4.

1. HERMÉS watch, $8,600. 2. HUBLOT watch, $39,900. 3. VACHERON CONSTANTIN watch, price upon request.

4. IWC SCHAFFHAUSEN, price upon request. 5. PANERAI watch, price upon request.

106

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

ON THE PLUS SIDE

COUNTY LINE FLORALS: PAPER ANTLER. TIFFANY RING: DAN WONDERLY. THE MAYBOURNE BEVERLY HILLS: DANIELLE HAMILTON. SEE SHOPPING GUIDE FOR DETAILS, P.139.

EVER AFTER

Anthropologie’s wedding branch, BHLDN, has unveiled its size-inclusive collection, BHLDN Plus, featuring more than 30 bridal gowns and 20 bridesmaid dresses in sizes 0 to 26W. Picture silhouettes by Hayley Paige, Watters, and Jenny Yoo, all crafted to flatter every waist and neckline. Bridesmaids can stun in BHLDN-designed slip dresses, off-the-shoulder maxis and more. Best of all?

Prices for plus sizes are not inflated, and the collection can be found online and in 10 BHLDN locations, including the Century City salon. 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., Ste. 2940, L.A., 323-347-5765; bhldn.com. D.D.

With a mission to promote diversity in the wedding industry, Oakland-based Lea Stafford — along with founding partners and fellow California planners/ designers Chanda Daniels and Erica Estrada — have launched the Ethos West Collective, a first-of-itskind resource and network of Black professionals in the refined wedding and events space. “It’s no secret that the industry ... lacks in terms of showcasing diverse talent,” Estrada says. “We are here to encourage each other to be proud of who we are alongside the work we create.” The international collective has 24 members and counting, among them nine California-based vendors.

“By creating a community within our industry that would highlight those I consider to be marginalized, my hope is to promote the much-needed push toward inclusivity,” Stafford says. ethoswestcollective.com.A.J.B.

WILLOWBY BY WATTERS Katara gown, $1,295, from the BHLDN Plus line.

COURTYARD IN SESSION The Maybourne Beverly Hills has reopened with a new name, a new look and a forthcoming refit to include a debut rooftop restaurant, a cigar bar and a host of chic suites. With views of the courtyard’s manicured gardens, The Terrace restaurant (open every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner) is as romantic as they come. Where could be better for popping the question? 225 N. Canon Dr., Beverly Hills, 310-860-7800; maybournebeverlyhills.com. A.B.

News 2

An autumnal tablescape by ERICA ESTRADA DESIGN of ETHOS WEST COLLECTIVE.

The Terrace restaurant at THE MAYBOURNE BEVERLY HILLS serves an all-day brunch on Sundays.

SWEET SPOT

LITTLE HOUSE CONFECTIONS’ two-tier carrot cake, from $72, will debut this winter.

The sugar-dusted, dairy-free olive oil cakes interior designer Liz Roth began baking last spring were simply part of a quarantine project benefiting the Covenant House of California. In a matter of weeks, however, the delectable “Bomb Ass Olive Oil Cake” became an Instagram sensation, going viral as celebrities and tastemakers sent and received the orange-infused treat.

Just as quickly, the business grew into a bakery called Little House Confections (which continues to donate a portion of profits to a different charity each month) with an outpost in West Hollywood and a temporary new home at Culver City’s Platform. The six-month pop-up serves the original cake in a variety of sizes (the 4-inch “smol” version can be a precious party favor) alongside multitiered editions in seasonal flavors like strawberry shortcake and pumpkin spice — perfect for intimate wedding celebrations. 8840 Washington Blvd., Ste. 110, Culver City; 8022 W. Third St., West Hollywood; littlehouseconfections.com. A.J.B.

HEADS, GIRLS Hairbands to crown a perfect day

ERDEM Beaded headband, $365

CHRISTOPHER KANE Crystal headband, $325

PRADA Embellished headband, $1,100

SIMONE ROCHA Mother of Pearl headband, $640

GUCCI Crystal headband, $1,100

107

108

A monochrome palette makes for a memorable ensemble

Getting married always calls for an unforgettable look, but for Fall 2020, it’s all about breaking the traditional rules

Catwalk

Gothic Splendor

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

GIRLS WILL BE BOYS: CHANEL: GORUNWAY. DOLCE & GABBANA: MONICA FEUDI. BRANDON MAXWELL: MONICA FEUDI. KHAITE: DAN LECCA. DIOR: FREDERIQUE DUMOULIN. CHIC MYSTIQUE: CAROLINA HERRERA: MONICA FEUDI. BROCK COLLECTION: DAN AND CORINA LECCA. TOM FORD: DAN AND CORINA LECCA. TIA ADEOLA: DAN AND CORINA LECCA. GOTHIC SPLENDOR: JASON WU: DAN AND CORINA LECCA. ALEXANDER MCQUEEN: IK ALDAMA. CAROLINA HERRERA: MONICA FEUDI.

D

DIOR

GIVENCHY

REBEL YELL

TIA ADEOLA

TOM FORD

KHAITE

DOLCE & GABBANA

D

GIAMBATTISTA VALLI

CAROLINA HERRERA

Chic Mystique

The coolest veils give a lift to any gown BROCK COLLECTION

BRANDON MAXWELL

A little androgyny lends attitude to that walk down the aisle

VALENTINO

RODARTE

SIMONE ROCHA

CHANEL

S

ALEXANDER M C QUEEN

CAROLINA HERRERA

I

JASON WU

GIVENCHY

W T R E N D

R U NWAY

E

N

G

Girls Will Be Boys

The FREDERICK LOEWE ESTATE in Palm Springs is covered in flora, with more than 100 olive trees and 33 palm trees, plus citrus trees, flowers and cacti.

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK Mastering the art of the California microwedding in four easy steps

T

he global pandemic left many couples in a quandary: postpone (or worse, cancel) the big day or forge ahead, navigating within a whole new set of parameters. Whether you call it a microwedding, a “minimony,” or a good old-fashioned elopement, the intimate ceremonies that have emerged in the midst of turmoil have reminded us of what’s most important — family, close friends and a couple’s commitment to one another. Those who have longed for smaller, more precious and less costly affairs, now have the freedom to design a modern celebration without feeling bogged down with traditions.

As the world returns to normal and a vaccine materializes — hopefully making preceremony rapid COVID-19 tests a thing of the past — big weddings will return too, but the microwedding has secured its status as a Plan A option.

FREDERICK LOEWE ESTATE: LAUREN SCOTTI PHOTOGRAPHER.

Micro Weddings

Words by KELSEY McKINNON 109

W E D D I N G S

C E R E M O NY

R E P O R T An intimate ceremony at DOS PUEBLOS ORCHID FARM in Goleta. Below: A bridal bouquet from an EMBARK EVENT DESIGN wedding.

VENUE Quickie city hall ceremonies have always been synonymous with microweddings. San Francisco City Hall’s gilded 24-karat dome puts a formal twist on the elopement with by-the-hour wedding packages. Another favorite is Santa Barbara’s mission-style courthouse, where couples can tie the knot in the gardens or handpainted mural room. Beyond the civil ceremony, the pandemic has transformed backyards into intimate wedding spaces.

For those lacking ample yard space, look to a local botanical garden: Filoli in Woodside (filoli.org), Dos Pueblos Orchid Farm in Goleta (dospueblosorchidfarm.com) and Ganna Walska’s Lotusland in Montecito (lotusland. org) are all available. Taking over a property is an option too: The Winston (thewinstonsolvang.com) and The Landsby (thelandsby.com) in Solvang both offer buyouts, as does the Frederick Loewe Estate (frederickloeweestate.com) in Palm Springs. In oceanside Carpinteria, Klentner Ranch (klentnerranch.com), which is also a working polo field, can arrange a “turnkey” elopement ceremony that includes everything from photography to florals and an officiant for events for up to 20 people. San Luis Obispo-based Embark Event Design (embarkeventdesign.com) offers a package at Hammersky Vineyards for up to 40 people, and another in partnership with the Santa Barbara Sailing Center, called the Nautical Elopement, which features a three-hour private reception cruise for two to 49 people.

Micro Weddings

A scaled-down wedding may be the perfect opportunity to flex your DIY muscle. The DTLA and San Francisco flower markets are always good scouring grounds, but for those who want to go straight to the source, couples can order farm-fresh roses from Grace Rose Farm (gracerosefarm.com), a picturesque 10-acre plot in Santa Ynez Valley. Pick from over 25,000 rose bushes — ranging from pure white Boleros to pastel Koko Lokos and Distant Drums to vibrant Darcey. The owners, a husband and wife, are even open to hosting small gatherings on the property.

As for actually putting the arrangement together? Online learning portal If I Made (ifimade.com) makes available a slew of wedding floristry courses from top vendors, including Studio Mondine and Sarah Winward. San Francisco’s Farmgirl Flowers (farmgirlflowers.com) has posted dozens of styling videos on YouTube during the pandemic, and Ricci Candé of Rust & Flourish (rustandflourish.com) offers virtual workshops and pickup or delivery from its Oakland studio.

Of course, bouquets and table flowers can be

110

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

CEREMONY: PINNEL PHOTOGRAPHY. BOUQUET: AMBER LYNN PHOTOGRAPHY, COURTESY OF EMBARK EVENT DESIGN.

FLOWERS

outsourced entirely. In L.A., Isa Isa (isafloral.com) can create an Elopement Bridal bouquet inspired by a bride’s style ($285) and also offers custom dry bouquet shipping within the U.S. Lana Elie’s S.F.-based Floom (floom.com), which also services L.A., has pre-assembled wedding bouquets and centerpieces.

For backyard ceremonies, think of making an investment in your landscaping by calling in a pro like Ground Studio (groundstudio.com) in St. Helena and Monterey, or Scott Shrader (shraderdesign.com), Inner Gardens (innergardens.com) and Hoffman and Ospina (hoffmanospina.com) in L.A. DECOR Microcelebrations encourage couples to approach their wedding table in a way that is closer to how they entertain at home. Casa de Perrin (casadeperrin.com) has a low minimum for those in the greater L.A. area, and Heather Taylor Home (heathertaylorhome.com) now offers linen rentals and tablescape styling. A smaller headcount also allows couples to more easily splurge on custom details — think napkin rings, monogrammed linens, party favors and items to keep your guests comfortable (parasols, umbrellas, shawls, flip-flops and the like). For curated welcome boxes, try Californiabased companies such as Gratitude Collaborative (gratitudecollaborative.com), Simone LeBlanc and newly launched Annie Clo (annieclo.com). Napa-based La Tavola (latavolalinen.com) and its sister company, BBJ Linen (bbjlinen.com), are now creating custom face masks to match a wedding color scheme. And for the getaway, Bonjour Fête (bonjourfete.com) in Pacific Palisades and Calabasas carries darling party decor, from balloons to confetti.

From top: The Blue Garden at LOTUSLAND in Montecito. A flower-pressed cake

by LORIA STERN. Newlyweds seal it with a kiss at Carpinteria’s KLENTNER RANCH. Cheese and charcuterie grazing cones by SLATE CATERING CO.

EXTERIOR: BOB CRAIG. CAKE: COURTESY OF LORIA STERN. COUPLE: WALLER WEDDINGS. GRAZING CONES: ALEXANDRA CHANDLER/SLATE CATERING.

Micro Weddings

MENU With the guest count slashed, the opportunity to do something truly special with the wedding meal is now a reality. A movable operation like S.F.’s Moonrise Standard (moonrisestandard.com) can easily throw a seven-course feast at the beach, and 100 percent of the proceeds goes toward feeding migrants at the border.

Ojai’s Thacher House cottage compound (thacherhouse .com) is available for wedding buyouts; most of the organic ingredients will have been grown on-site, and there is access to Thacher House’s heirloom linens, china, crystal and sterling flatware.

For those looking for more coronavirus-safe preparations (i.e. contactless delivery of individually

packaged everything), Heirloom LA’s (heirloomla. com) beloved single-portion lasagna cupcakes or Cake Monkey Bakery’s (cakemonkey.com) bite-size cakewiches have never seemed so apropos. Slate Catering Co. (slatecatering.com) in Santa Barbara has also condensed its “grazing style” tables into individual cones and boxes.For any couple up to decorating their own cake, Santa Barbara chef/baker Loria Stern (loriastern.com) proffers pressed flowers from her organic Montecito garden ($40/box). •

111

W

DECOR

S P O T L I G H T

E

D I N G S

Florist

WILD AT HEART The Unlikely Florist draws on his New Zealand roots to disrupt West Coast floral design

n a matter of weeks, Spencer Falls went from, say, executing an elaborate chuppah for a 300-person wedding to preparing an Australian proteaand-rosemary bouquet meant to withstand a five-and-a-half-hour drive up the coast to Big Sur for a couple’s elopement. “COVID has changed how we gather, for sure,” says Falls, owner of The Unlikely Florist, a Venice-based flower design studio and delivery service.

“But it doesn’t mean that people aren’t getting married — they are, it’s just a much smaller affair. We’re all figuring out how to adapt.”

If there’s one thing Falls is good at, it’s embracing life’s highs and lows. Raised on an orchard in New Zealand, he left home for California at age 17 to pursue his passion for snowboarding and later, an acting career. When he wasn’t getting the gigs he wanted, he began searching for a creative outlet. On a whim, he started selling handwrapped bouquets out of his 1980 VW van (lovingly named Untho) on Abbot Kinney, and the aha moment came quickly: “I was like, ‘Hey, I can actually make some money doing this,’” he says with a laugh.

In 2017, when a friend tipped him off to a vacant, 2,000-square-foot warehouse space in Venice, he realized The Unlikely Florist could have its very own HQ — and that he’d need to sell a lot more arrangements to cover Venice rent. Three years later, it serves as a raw space for Falls and his growing team to create and fulfill nationwide subscription orders and, when the time is right again, to host intimate open-air events.

No matter the project, Falls’ approach to floral design starts with the color palette. If a couple is craving silvery blues, he’ll suggest brunia; if it’s desert-y, he’ll steer them toward burgundy and blushes, like a deep red rose, or protea (one of his personal favorites). It’s helpful, too, that Falls’ aesthetic lends itself to heartier, drought-tolerant flowers like Australian banksia, eucalyptus and sage — and it’s the reason his arrangements last for weeks instead of days.

Falls acknowledges the flower industry

Words by NANDITA KHANNA 112

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

FALLS: COURTESY OF THE UNLIKELY FLORIST STUDIO.

I

D

From top: SPENCER FALLS sets up a hanging installation for an event in his Venice studio. The “Beauty” arrangement of protea, wax flowers, garden roses and orchids. THE UNLIKELY FLORIST’s VW Vanagon, Untho, parked on Abbot Kinney and stocked with locally grown flowers.

Opposite: Falls takes a break from arranging flowers at a New York City pop-up event.

SCENT “We created OF some unbelievable A things withWOMAN flowers”

FALLS: FANNY CHU PHOTOGRAPHY. ARRANGEMENT: THE UNLIKELY FLORIST STUDIO. VW VANAGON: FANNY CHU PHOTOGRAPHY.

S P E N C E R FA L L S

doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to sustainability, but that hasn’t stopped him from doing his part to manage his footprint. “I hate throwing away flowers,” says Falls, who works with local farmers like Peads & Barnetts and makes regular trips to the flower district downtown. So when his team wraps a big event or replenishes flowers for regular clients, they’ll bring the discarded flowers back to the studio where they’re strung up on the wall to dry.

As it turns out, dried flowers are a beautiful keepsake for wedding clients, too. He explains that once an arrangement is carefully dried, he’ll create a frame from reclaimed wood and set it in museum glass: “The idea that a bouquet designed for someone’s wedding day could become a family heirloom ... well, that’s pretty cool.”

So what’s next for Falls? A return to TV, for one. “That’s right, everything has come full circle, in a way,” he says. “I had this joke with friends that all this time I was just an actor, playing the role of a florist. But now I’m back on TV. I spent much of my time during quarantine filming a new show that’s going to air on HBO Max called Full Bloom. It was a tricky thing to execute, given what was happening around us, but I’m grateful I had the chance to be a part of it. We created some pretty unbelievable things with flowers. The experience not only changed what flowers that I like to work with, but it changed my perspective on flowers entirely.” theunlikelyflorist.com. •

Florist

113

B EAUT Y

W

T R E N D

E D D

N G S

GET THE GLOW How to look fresh and dewy on the big day Renée Loiz is the founder of Color May Vary, the newly launched guide to Black-owned beauty and wellness brands. She’s also a Los Angelesbased celebrity makeup artist with invaluable tips for wedding day makeup during these unpredictable times.

Loiz’s brides are known to have dewy, healthy-looking skin, and a fresh-faced look with smoky eyes, flushed cheeks, glossy nude lips, lots of mascara and a little glow on the cheekbones. She recommends getting products in advance and trying a few practice runs with your makeup artist via Zoom (and on your own) to be prepared for any wedding day situation.

From left: Makeup artist and COLOR MAY VARY founder RENÉE LOIZ at work. Loiz’s signature bridal look is streamlined and dewy. Top: A covetable beauty look from the CAROLINA HERRERA Fall 2020 Bridal show.

“Liquid and cream products leave a beautiful glow”

Beauty

Clockwise from top: UOMA BEAUTY Say What?! foundation, $30, uomabeauty.com.

TOWER 28 ShineOn Milky Lip Jelly, $14, tower28beauty.com.

FENTY BEAUTY Cheeks Out Freestyle cream blush, $20, fentybeauty.com.

PAT McGRATH LABS Skin Fetish Highlight + Balm Duo, $48, patmcgrath.com.

PAT McGRATH LABS FetishEyes mascara, $30, patmcgrath.com.

RENÉE LOIZ

“If there’s going to be tears, try lash extensions”

“Take care of your skin and define your eyes”

Words by KELLY ATTERTON 114

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

APPLYING MAKEUP: PHOTO BY DANA SABRE, MODEL: CHERIE LEENA DITCHAM. MODEL IN PINK DRESS: PHOTO BY HEATHER MOLINA, MODEL: EROMOMEN. MODEL IN WHITE DRESS: COURTESY OF CAROLINA HERRERA

I

Fairytale Weddings on a Legendary Beach.

Sun, sea, time and love come together to make your personal California wedding dream come true.

Hotel del Coronado

H OT E L D E L . CO M 8 0 0 - H OT E L D E L

W

T RAVE L

H O N E Y M O O N

E

Pullquote tktktk tktktk tktk tktk tktk pullquote tktk tk

D D I N G S

COUPLES RETREAT

Travel

At Conrad Bora Bora Nui, romance comes in the form of crystal-clear water and complete serenity

Clockwise from above: CONRAD BORA BORA NUI offers 114 villas and suites on the south shores of the island. The remote setting is ideal for swimming with rays, black-tip sharks and schools of fish. A handful of villas feature their own infinity-edge pool, and it’s the only resort in the region to offer two-story overwater bungalows.

Water hues range from baby turquoise to deep cerulean.

linens. However, for a truly romantic experience (the property continues to be popular with honeymooners), book a villa situated over your own infinity pool, complete with lagoon views, overwater hammocks and an abundance of privacy.

Should you choose to leave your room, Conrad Bora Bora Nui offers bikes for exploring its surrounds, Jet

Words by SAMANTHA BROOKS 116

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

CONRAD BORA BORA NUI: ADAM BRUZZONE (4)

I

t might happen when you’re on the private Motu Tapu island, having a dinner with your toes in the sand and your loved one beside you; or while you’re in warrior one pose at the Hina Spa’s lookout point, gazing at a sea that ranges in shades from azure to cerulean; or maybe as you look up from your book while lounging on an overwater hammock just outside your villa. It hits you: You’re in paradise.

Ever since it opened in 2017, Conrad Bora Bora Nui has been imparting for guests a modern French Polynesian experience that combines contemporary design (it’s the only property in the region to offer twostory overwater bungalows) with coveted traditions such as the traditional Ahi Ma’a meal, for which meat, seafood and vegetables are cooked for up to seven hours in an underground oven. The resort’s setting on the south shore of the island offers the perfect cove for its 114 villas and suites, which start at 1,087 square feet. All rooms feature a neutral palette of warm woods and crisp white

Skiing, kitesurfing and free diving. Directly off the resort’s beach, or while on a guided boat tour, guests can swim with rays, black-tip sharks and schools of tropical fish.

Romantic dining options abound, from private balcony dinners to canoe-delivered breakfast to the glass-bottomed bar where guests can view the abundant sea life.

Those who wish to venture beyond the resort will find solace in the Conrad’s own private island, Motu Tapu. With little more than sand and shore, the islet offers an intimate setting for weddings. Nearly any wish — from a Champagne-filled chef’s dinner to a private couple’s massage — can be fulfilled.

While the rest of Bora Bora is delightfully void of big shopping towns and anything too tourist-driven, a pilgrimage to the Robert Wan Pearl Museum on the nearby island of Papeete is worth it to learn about the pearl-farming process before you purchase your own at the resort’s on-property Robert Wan store. The property is best accessed by a direct flight from Los Angeles on Air Tahiti Nui to Papeete, followed by a 45-minute flight to Bora Bora. From $690/night. conradboraboranuiresort.com. X

VINEYARD VOWS California’s central wine region provides a bevy of unique settings for your dream winery-inspired wedding THE INN AT MATTEI’S TAVERN, LOS OLIVOS These 6.5 acres of private grounds, complete with old-growth palms and views into nearby vineyards, can host weddings of up to 80 people. The re-imagined 67-room resort (formerly a stagecoach stop during California’s gold rush and then a Prohibition-era speakeasy) will boast modern farmhouse design, courtesy of San Francisco-based interiors firm AvroKO, when it opens in late 2021. From $650/night; aubergeresorts.com.

Travel

From top: INN PARADISO can host elopements for up to 30 guests. The tuckedaway property features buildings created by master Californian craftsmen in the ’70s.

INN PARADISO, PASO ROBLES This photogenic property nestled on 2.75 acres features sculpture gardens, more than 30 exotic fruit trees and an orangerie greenhouse filled with citrus trees. Elsewhere, find luxury linens, original art, spa tubs, fireplaces and midcentury modern antiques. Accommodations for 16 guests are available on-site, with additional sleep space for 10 in the Vineyard View Dome house about 12 minutes away. Buyouts from $3,500/night; innparadiso.com.

HOTEL YNEZ, SOLVANG Extensive gardens, a pool, bonfire pits, a rustic outdoor pavilion and 22 rooms set on 2 acres combine to create a boutique setting within this newly opened resort.

Bolivian hammocks — each of which represents a month’s worth of skilled craftsmanship by women in a remote section of the Bolivian Amazon — are also scattered throughout the property. From $209/night; buyouts from $20,000; hotelynez.com.

117

Under the Moonlight Anne Robson and Tom Avery say “I do” in an intimate black-tie garden fete

Anne & Tom

Words by NANDITA KHANNA Photography by JOSE VILLA 118

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

Anne & Tom

TOM AVERY, wearing TOM FORD, and ANNE ROBSON, wearing OSCAR DE LA RENTA, are married at the Robsons’ Monte Sereno villa.

119

Opposite, clockwise from top left: Seasonal flowers including dahlias and ranunculus procured

by KATHLEEN DEERY DESIGN. The bride’s brother, Jack Robson, marries the couple.

The FLOUR & BLOOMS almond apricot and banana cake. LAURIE ARONS SPECIAL EVENTS helped ensure safe practices throughout the day. Anne left her hair down in loose waves and wore her mom’s HARRY WINSTON diamond stud earrings as her “something borrowed.”

Anne & Tom

Tom poses with his bride, who enlisted San Francisco-based wedding stylist CYNTHIA COOK BRIDES to help her find the perfect floral dress.

120

T

here wasn’t a doubt in Anne Robson’s mind that Napa would serve as the backdrop for her wedding to Tom Avery.

“My dad has a passion for wine and taught us about his favorite wineries over Sunday night dinners,” Anne says. The couple — who met in 2015 while working for her father’s company, Robson Homes — had planned the May nuptials to coincide with their USC Marshall School of Business graduation. “It felt like the perfect way to start our next chapter,” she explains.

Tom proposed in May 2018 outside of Gary Danko, their favorite San Francisco restaurant.

“I was totally taken by surprise,” Anne recalls.

They locked in Meadowood Napa Valley for the festivities, but after two date changes due to COVID-19 restrictions, the couple moved the venue to Anne’s family home in Monte Sereno.

They enlisted S.F. event planner Laurie Arons to transform the Robsons’ French provincial-inspired villa into a “beautiful outdoor restaurant.” She brought in Hensley Event Resources to create a custom structure atop the swimming pool to ensure all 30 guests were safely distanced from one another.

Anne walked down the aisle carrying a bouquet of lilies of the valley in an Oscar de la Renta gown. The ceremony was livestreamed, and guests who couldn’t attend were sent a gift box with a bottle of Blanc de Blancs and flutes, so they could toast the newlyweds from afar.

At dinner, a gospel choir surprised everyone with Coldplay’s “Hymn for the

Weekend,” the couple’s favorite song. “This year has been challenging,” Anne says. “But the chance to celebrate our love for one another, even with the setbacks, was more magical than we could have imagined.” X

Anne & Tom “The perfect

HAIR Traci Garrett • MAKEUP Tammy Pham • RING Steven Silver • SHOES Jimmy Choo • RENTALS Casa de Perrin, Theoni Collection, Urban Parlour, Hensley Event Resources • CATERING Paula LeDuc Fine Catering & Events • STATIONERY Lotus and Ash, Calligraphy Katrina • LANDSCAPING Carole Kraft-Edwards, Natural Gardens • ENTERTAINMENT Elan Artists

way to start our next chapter” ANNE ROBSON

121

Hitting the High Notes

Briana & Chris

Briana Henry and Kris Bowers orchestrate a fairy-tale backyard wedding

Words by CAROLINE CAGNEY Photography by MEG SMITH 122

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

Briana & Chris

Bride BRIANA HENRY wears a gown by SHONA JOY and CULT GAIA shoes.

Opposite: The bridal bouquet of peonies, coral ranunculus, sweet peas and dried pink bougainvillea

by CHARLOTTE & DAUGHTERS FLORAL DESIGN.

A

ctor Briana Henry realized she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Kris Bowers a year and a half into their relationship, while the two were on holiday in Big Sur. “We were walking to dinner through these redwood trees, and we both kind of looked at each other and said, ‘This would be such a beautiful place to get married,’” recalls Briana, who was initially matched with Kris on Bumble before meeting the composer and pianist in person at Cliff’s Edge in Silver Lake.

Eight months after their trip, at which time Kris was attending various industry events for the 2018 film Green Book — he composed the movie’s score and was the piano double for actor Mahershala Ali — he staged a proposal.

He asked Briana to accompany him to a function, but when they pulled up to a dark house — one that didn’t look quite like your average Hollywood venue — and walked in, Briana saw rose petals and pictures of her with Kris throughout the space. “He took my hand and led me out to the deck, where we could see the ocean, and dropped to one knee,” recounts Briana. “It was a pretty spectacular night.”

Over the next year, the couple planned a 75-person affair at the Santa Lucia Preserve in Carmel and charged Alison Events and Charlotte & Daughters Floral Design with bringing their redwood forest dream to life.

They set the date for June 6, 2020, which meant that when COVID-19 spread, they were

immediately forced to cancel their celebration and conceive a new plan. “We had to let go of what the day was going to be and accept that if we lived in the humility of our circumstances, we could still have a really beautiful moment in time with each other and our loved ones,” Briana says.

With that, the couple exchanged vows before 20 guests in Kris’ charming backyard in Beachwood Canyon, surrounded by potted geraniums, peach carnations and white statice.

Guests dined on pizza and fries from Nic’s on Beverly and Big Sugar Bakeshop’s vegan buttercream cupcakes. While it was not the dinner they once envisioned, there was a silver lining: “We got to spend some one-on-one time with our friends, which we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do if we had the original guest count,” Briana explains. Once everyone left, the couple shared a special moment under the moon, dancing to their wedding song, Billie Holiday’s rendition of “I’ll Be Seeing You.” “I had my head on his shoulder and I was thinking that I hope to remember that moment for the rest of my life,” Briana says. “It was something out of a little girl’s storybook, for sure.” X

Briana & Chris “I hope to remember that moment for the rest of my life” B R IANA H E N RY

124

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

Briana & Chris

The newlyweds. Clockwise from below: A special moment with Kris’ grandparents. Champagne bottles at the ready. Briana’s STONE & SEED ring. Kris and Briana exchange vows.

Opposite, from top: The bride did her own hair and makeup.

The couple saved the exquisite boutonnieres. “Right before I stepped out to walk down the aisle, my bridesmaids and I held hands, took a few deep breaths, and then walked into the backyard one by one,” says Briana. “It was an incredibly grounded exchange.”

RING Stone & Seed • FLOWERS Charlotte & Daughters Floral Design • CAKE Big Sugar Bakeshop • GROOM’S ATTIRE Givenchy, Alexander McQueen

125

Finding Mr.Wright Kate Berg and Mikey Schwartz-Wright make it official with a highly customized minimony in the Pacific Palisades

Kate & Mikey

The bride’s parents’ house sits on a quiet corner lot, though when it came time for photos, neighbors and passersby honked and waved to show their support. Opposite: Under the backyard chuppah, KATE BERG — wearing a BRANDON MAXWELL gown and GIGI BURRIS veil — and MIKEY SCHWARTZ-WRIGHT are married by the groom’s brother.

Words by KELSEY McKINNON Photography by VALORIE DARLING 126

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

Kate & Mikey

127

Kate & Mikey

“I

always wanted to get married in my parents’ backyard,” says Kate Berg, director of community at ByHeart, of her fall nuptials to Mikey SchwartzWright, an agent at United Talent Agency. “I didn’t think it would be an 11-person wedding … but I always knew it would be in the backyard.”

After meeting at the UCLA Lab Party in 2016, an event that Kate throws every year, Mikey popped the question last spring at a private garden in Beachwood Canyon.

Instead of waiting for the pandemic to blow over, the couple decided to forge ahead with a microsized fete amid the lush grounds of her childhood home in the Pacific Palisades.

Lanterns dangled from a giant jacaranda tree and a baby grand piano was brought onto the terrace. There, a farm table was lined with Kate’s grandmother’s crystal and centerpieces of purple flowering cabbage and chokes that

128

echoed the vibrant hydrangea in the chuppah.

The day of the wedding included a surf, a beach walk and a drink poolside at the Oceana hotel before Kate left to get ready at the house. During the ceremony, Mikey revealed an old issue of the Nataqua News that he had saved from the day he realized he wanted to marry Kate while on a trip to Lake Tahoe years before. After the ceremony, a decadent meal of steaks, martinis and custom ice cream sundaes ensued. “It was so nice to be so in the moment for the whole wedding,” remembers Kate, who says they are planning to have a larger party on their one-year anniversary.

“Looking back, I really can’t imagine doing it any other way.” X HAIR Jordan Seban • MAKEUP Geoffrey Rodriguez • PLANNER Jowy Productions • FLOWERS Megan Grey of Honey and Poppies • RENTALS Town & Country Event Rentals • GROOM’S ATTIRE Sid Mashburn • LIGHTING Daylight Event Lighting • VIDEOGRAPHY Shark Pig Weddings

For her “something borrowed,” Kate wears the same BRUNO MAGLI heels that her mother wore at her own wedding.

Opposite, clockwise from top left: The farm table set for the party of 11. The pianist played classics from Cole Porter, Miles Davis and Sinatra, but their first dance was to King Princess’ “1950.” The tablescape features flatware from the bride’s grandmother’s wedding.

Illustrator MAGGIE MULL designed the custom napkins.

The bride’s vintage 1930s ring is from NEIL LANE.

Kate & Mikey

SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO dress, $10,500. VHERNIER earrings, $15,400.

Hair by SYLVIA WHEELER at Forward Artists using Bumble and Bumble. Makeup by KATE LEE at The Wall Group using Chanel. Manicure by MILLIE MACHADO.

129

W

P H OTO

F I N I S H

E D D I N G

Clockwise from top left: SHASTA OLARTE wears a JACQUEMUS dress in front of the vintage TURO rental.

The newlyweds share a kiss on the SANTA MONICA PROPER HOTEL rooftop.

Shasta and JEN SCOBIE met through online dating.

At the CASA PERFECT ceremony, Jen wears a MR .START suit while Shasta wears a SOLACE LONDON jumpsuit. MOCIUN created Shasta’s engagement ring as well as Jen’s custom cuff links. The backyard at Casa Perfect. Shasta, in a TONI MATICEVSKI gown, and Jen pose inside the KELLY WEARSTLER-designed lobby at the Proper.

S

Casa Perfect

HOUSE RULES Jen Scobie and Shasta Olarte’s picture-perfect elopement

W

hen Jen Scobie and Shasta Olarte couldn’t have the over-the-top, fourday wedding in Brooklyn they’d been planning for one and a half years, the couple — who splits their time between Oakland and Nevada City, Calif. — decided to just elope in Los Angeles. After pulling some strings, they were able to arrange a last-minute ceremony at Casa Perfect in L.A., The Future Perfect’s architectural residence turned contemporary design showroom.

At the entrance of the 1971 Raul F. Garduno-designed Beverly Hills mansion, Jen and Shasta were married by their friend Amanda Luu of Studio Mondine amid Renko Floral

arrangements; their audience was just their photographer, Sarah Falugo, plus their friend, production assistant and witness Anita Yung. “We went for a really simple ceremony, incorporating words and wishes from our loved ones as well as the exchanging of vows,” Shasta says.

Despite the circumstances, the pair still managed to infuse the late summer day with an element of extravagance, turning their nuptials into a full-blown photoshoot with multiple outfit changes, a 1968 Mercedes-Benz 280SL and lodging at the Santa Monica Proper Hotel, where there were, of course, more swoon-worthy design moments perfect for photo ops. “‘Extra’ was the vibe of the original wedding,” Jen says. “And we certainly carried that to the elopement.” •

Words by ANUSH J. BENLIYAN Photography by SARAH FALUGO 130

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

High Camp

WILDLY BEAUTIFUL

highcampsupply.com

Get the ultimate insider’s guide to The Golden State Annual subscription for $19.95 SHOP.MAGAZINEC.COM

A S TY

LE

URE C LT

IF OR

NI

AL

CHRISTY TURLINGTON BURNS: PAMELA HANSON.

promo

& CU

D

The 750-acre HOLMAN RANCH in Carmel-by-the-Sea.

I S C O V

Travel Escapes

E R NATURAL SELECTIONS Far from urban centers, these carefully curated private homes away from home provide the perfect retreat

TRAVEL

WELLNESS

MY CALIFORNIA

I E S 133

D

T RAVE L

D I A R Y

I S C O V E R I E S

Travel Escapes

W

hether you’re still wary of staying at hotels or just looking to get a break from the bustle of the city, these stand-alone homes have all been lovingly created to host guests in out-of-the-way settings.

Be sure to pack light — a good book and a toothbrush are all you need for a weekend that will seem a world away.

The views from the plunge pool mesmerize until the stars appear

MORONGO VALLEY

Clockwise from top: The striking yellow doors of MERCHANT HOUSE HIGH DESERT. The deck and plunge pool. The house’s bright interior.

There’s no downtown, no pool parties, and the homes are decidedly more rustic than midcentury, but that’s exactly the point. Bypass the southeast turn for the 111 that leads to Palm Springs from the 10 in favor of the 62 and head north. Bohemian, undeveloped and quirky, this charming corner of the Mojave Desert is famed for the striking yucca that dominate its arid landscape, only competing with monolithic boulders and the occasional roadside artist cottage for your Instagram real estate.

Without an abundance of hotel options, your best bet for experiencing this Zen setting is posting up in one of the region’s carefully crafted homes for rent.

Here, interior designer Denise Portmans and her artist daughter Sara Marlowe Hall (who also co-own Santa Monica’s Merchant Modern design shop) have lovingly

restored this 1950s Spanish-style ranch house, complete with its original striking yellow doors. Now, the Merchant House High Desert features raw wood beams, cool concrete floors, and a neutral color palette that combines everything from Danish oddities to handmade, Japanese-inspired beds to vintage Moroccan accessories.

Words by SAMANTHA BROOKS 134

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

Outside, the views of the mountains from the deck and plunge pool mesmerize until the stars appear. From $395/ night. merchantmodern.com.

IDYLLWILD-PINE COVE Just south of Palm Springs, the mountaintop setting of Idyllwild feels a world away from the nearby desert.

Towering pines, rocky outcrops, snow-sprinkled cedars and charming cabins are the landmarks here, and days are spent mountain biking, rock climbing, hiking, photographing landscapes or simply cozying up in one of the area’s reclusive cabins.

Here, this three-bedroom house — dubbed Cabin in the Sky — from the owners of Silver Lake’s Mohawk General Store boutique features interiors with an eclectic history: Native American art decorates the walls and bookshelves, while Moroccan rugs adorn the floors. Plush leather sofas surround the fireplace for evenings spent listening to records (there’s quite a collection of classics) on the vintage Denon turntable, while a modern kitchen and bathrooms provide contemporary comforts. Use the wraparound deck to watch the sunset over the Strawberry Valley and Tahquitz Rock.

From $250/night. airbnb.com/ rooms/30273445.

Travel Escapes

Clockwise from top: Native American art hangs on the walls of the CABIN IN THE SKY. The views of Idyllwild from the cabin. The door of the two-bedroom cottage in Carmel Valley. The interior features a terra-cotta floor and wooden beams. The Holman Ranch olive trees date back to the 1920s.

PREVIOUS PAGE AND THIS PAGE: HOLMAN RANCH: SCOTT CAMPBELL (2)

CARMEL VALLEY Nestled on 750 acres filled with vineyards, rolling hills and nature trails, this two-bedroom cottage on the historic Holman Ranch estate feels like its own private resort. The traditional California ranch-style home with Spanish hacienda influences offers an ideal retreat for an intimate getaway spent exploring the property’s own gardens and grounds, which date back to 1928 and include a private winery and olive groves.

While the meandering property offers enough to entertain even stir-crazy travelers, those who do wish to venture beyond the gates will enjoy the neighboring wineries, as well as the stunning coastline of Carmel-bythe-Sea, just 20 minutes away. From $595/night. airbnb.com/rooms/37937895. •

135

D I S C O V E R I E S

THE CHANGING OF HIGH-END TRAVEL TravelFACEFuture From island buyouts to glacier hiking, a guide to going away safely during a pandemic

SEVEN-STAR GLAMPING An eight-hour drive from Los Angeles, Amangiri’s new tented Camp Sarika (from $3,500/night; aman.com) debuted

in July. Located within 600 acres, each of the 10 one- and two-bedroom, tented pavilions features a private plunge pool as well as interiors with walnut and leather furniture. Sarika also has its own spa, restaurant, pool and Jacuzzi. Unlike other tented accommodations in the U.S., Camp Sarika is open year-round, as its soft canvas tents, made from recycled plastic bottles, can handle up to 12 tons of snow.

THE ELEVATED ROAD TRIP As travelers are increasingly timid to fly, the rise in purchases of Mercedes Sprinter vans in the state of California has been 32 percent. Some have even taken to social media to brag about #vanlife. The vans have long been praised for their utilitarian versatility,

conducive to use on film sets or by nomadic surfers or mountain climbers.

However, new buyers are opting to hire third-party services (such as Oxnard’s Becker Automotive Design) to outfit the Sprinter vans with plush leather recliners, walnut-encased kitchenettes, sleeper beds and even washrooms.

PRIVATE HIGH LIFE When it comes to private aviation excursions, TCS World Travel (tcsworldtravel.com) has been leading the field since 1991. New offerings, created especially for 2020, include a 10-day journey through several U.S. National Parks (Jackson Hole, Yellowstone, Moab, Zion and the Grand Canyon) for activities such as hiking, horseback riding, rafting and canyoneering.

Words by SAMANTHA BROOKS Illustration by NEIL WEBB 136

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

CREDITS GO HERE

W

ith so much uncertainty in the air, it can be hard to plan your next weekend, let alone a vacation.

While COVID-19 has made people scared to leave their homes yet also sick with wanderlust, eventually a time will come when we all feel safe to spin the globe and find a bucket list destination of our dreams. Until then, while the world remains in flux, we’ve compiled a list of experiences for right now. Get ready to dust off that Rimowa.

Another recently unveiled adventure is Unchartered Hawaii, a 13-day itinerary to Kauai, Maui, Lanai and the Big Island to take in remote beaches and volcanoes.

Additional trips explore regions such as Mexico, Alaska and the Pacific coast of Canada. The company will soon add to its fleet the Airbus A321neo-LR, complete with a 52-seat configuration with lie-flat seats made from custom Italian leather. An 18-person staff and crew, including a physician, also travels with the group. Prices begin at $29,900 per person, double occupancy.

WELLNESS WITH ADDED SCIENCE With the increased attention that COVID-19 has brought to health, immunity and longevity, destination spas are attracting guests looking to elevate their wellness in their daily lives. At Cala-Vie (from $4,550 for three nights; cal-a -vie.com) in Vista, just east of Oceanside, the hikes, yoga, boxing and fitness classes come with supercharged immunity shots and lab testing that analyzes blood on a biochemical level to look for cardiovascular, metabolic, hormonal and nutritional markers. In Hawaii, the new resort from Larry Ellison and Dr. David Agus (Steve Jobs’ former physician), Sensei Lanai, A Four Seasons Resort (from $650/night; fourseasons.com) encompasses 25 acres in the hills of Lanai. Guests come to relax, recharge and also receive medical data-driven insights into their daily health practices.

THE GREAT UNKNOWN Ultima Thule Lodge (from $6,250 for a three-night package; ultimathulelodge .com) is nestled within the 13.2 millionacre Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, the largest in North America. The property is so remote, the only way to get there is on a puddle jumper, with the lodge sitting 100 miles from the nearest paved road. There one finds miles of blue glaciers, deep gorges and green tundra, as well as salmon fishing and unforged trails for hiking. Adventure company Within the Wild (from $6,115 for a three-night package; withinthewild.com) operates two luxury Alaskan ecolodges:

The 3,500-acre island’s five restaurants, 18-hole golf course and 14 boats are available for a single party Tutka Bay Lodge on Kachemak Bay, with its bird-watching, tide pools and culinary classes; and Winterlake Lodge, known for its rafting at locations so far-flung as to only be accessible by helicopter.

BOUTIQUE RESORT BUYOUTS If the private island of Laucala (laucala .com) weren’t isolated enough (the 3,500-acre retreat in Fiji boasts just 25 villas) the property has announced it is available for full buyouts, making its five restaurants, spa, 18-hole golf course, and 14 boats available for a single party.

Buyout rates for 10 one-bedroom villas with full use of the property start at $450,000 per week for up to 20 guests.

In Tanzania, the 13.5-acre private Thanda Island (thandaisland.com) is located 18 miles from shore, offering stargazing, night snorkeling and reef walks in the Shungimbili Island Marine Reserve. For exclusive use only, the five-suite villa and two beach chalets can accommodate up to 18 guests for $25,000 per night.

National Park complement activities like dogsledding, snowshoeing and skiing across 5,850 acres. For those into Colorado skiing, the lower-density towns like Crested Butte see massive amounts of snow and little human interference. At Eleven Experience’s Scarp Ridge Lodge (elevenexperience .com) — a former Croatian saloon with a Wild West facade — guests are led 10 miles west of Crested Butte to Irwin, which often sees twice as much snow at an average of 450 inches per year. Most terrain is only reachable by snowcat, allowing for great backcountry skiing.

Travel Future

UNDER-THE-RADAR MOUNTAINS While Aspen and other developed mountain towns may have had one of their busiest summers ever, come winter, crowded lodges and lift lines will not be top of the wish list. Instead, more undeveloped mountain towns are attracting visitors with their lowdensity mountain terrain and low-key sensibility. In Big Sky, Montana, the resort community of Moonlight Basin (moonlightbasin.com), has been attracting guests for its range of activities and lack of crowds. A Jack Nicklaus–signature golf course and proximity to Yellowstone

BILLIONAIRE-STYLE PRECAUTIONS Fischer Travel, which charges members $100,000 per year for its concierge services (with an annual renewal fee of $25,000), has been praised by members for knowing which hotels are taking coronavirus policies the most seriously, and staying on top of the ever-changing regulations and restrictions. While yachting seems like an ideal, coronavirus-friendly way to travel, finding crews who are able to stay coronavirus-free can be a challenge. Fischer was recently able to assist a client who was forced to decamp from his yacht after the vessel’s captain unexpectedly tested positive for COVID-19; the agency arranged a detailed land itinerary, including hotels, transfers, touring and dining reservations, all with less than 24 hours’ notice. Additionally, it found a rapid-turnaround COVID-19 test over a holiday weekend so that a different client could make it to Greece. X

137

D

B EAUT Y

R E P O R T

I

VANITY FLAIR

S

Six fall products that deliver results

C O V

1.

2.

E

I E S

BYREDO SPACE BLACK MASCARA

HERMÈS ROUGE HERMÈS LIMITED-EDITION LIPSTICKS

Created in collaboration with avant-garde makeup artist Isamaya Ffrench, this rosescented, long-wearing mascara works wonders for optimum root-to-tip coverage, volume and length. $45, byredo.com.

The French label’s latest lipstick curation offers a variation on the theme of pink: Rose Ombré, Rose Pommette and Rose Nuit — each packaged in a chic, refillable metal tube. $72 each, hermes.com.

3.

4.

Wellness

LYMA SUPPLEMENT STARTER KIT

IRENE FORTE PISTACHIO FACE MASK

Housed in a beautiful copper vessel, these supplements are comprised of nine peerreviewed ingredients, actively dosed to deliver clinically proven, life-enhancing results. $269/30-day supply, lyma.life.

This antioxidant-rich mask, loaded with ingredients like pistachio, pumpkin seed and avocado oils, helps to nourish and support the moisture barrier, leaving skin soft and supple. $142, shen-beauty.com.

5.

6.

AUGUSTINUS BADER THE CLEANSING BALM

U BEAUTY THE SUPER SMART HYDRATOR

The cult-status brand adds a nourishing balm cleanser to its rapidly growing stable of products. This vitamin-rich, silky-textured mixture won’t disrupt the skin barrier. $70, augustinusbader.com.

This “intuitive” cream hydrates only where skin needs it. The smart formulation senses and neutralizes free radicals and releases long-chain hyaluronic acid deep into the skin for ultimate hydration. $168, theubeauty.com.

ZEN MOMENT: KATE MARA Drawn to playing complex characters, actor Kate Mara is excited at the buzz around her latest project, Hulu’s A Teacher — a provocative limited series about an illicit affair between a young teacher and her male student. Mara describes shooting the series as magical. “My 3-month-old daughter was with me on set. I was in a bit of a daze.”

After production ended, the world changed, and Mara adjusted to the new normal. “I miss going to the park with our kids, meeting other families there, walking around the reservoir with my daughter. Now we walk our neighborhood and go to the park alone as a family so we can be safe.”

As for exercise? “I work out to recharge and stay centered,” Mara says. PreCOVID-19, she attended classes, but these days Mara streams strengthening and lengthening workouts

by Ballet Bodies, and Lekfit mini trampoline cardio classes.

“I listen to podcasts,” Mara shares. “I love The Breakdown With Shaun King, Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert and Sick Empire.

Recently I binge-watched Normal People on Hulu — I just love a love story.”

Words by KELLY ATTERTON 138

MAGAZ I N EC.COM

MARA: JOHN RUSSO

R

SHOPPING GUIDE

FRINGE BENEFITS

jewelry. Omi Woods The Toggle II bracelet with Cowrie pendant, $199, The Ile Ife ring in 10-karat gold, $475; omiwoods.com. p.70 Dior dress,

p.50 Prada black sleeveless shirt, $920, blue fringed skirt, $1,830, blue knit

$17,000, bustier, rings, sandals, all prices upon request, Dior, Beverly Hills,

tights, $495, select Prada stores; prada.com. Jimmy Choo black boots

310-859-4700; dior.com. Khiry nandi drops, $495, McMullen, Oakland,

with speckled heel, $1,350; jimmychoo.com. Iguana Vintage blue oversize

510-508-0773; khiry.com. p.72 Nonja McKenzie necklace, $1,875, and

Balenciaga brown technical spandex pagoda pleated dress, $5,900, black cotton

hoops, price upon request, Iguana Vintage, Hollywood. Bottega Veneta

Leafy slip dress, price upon request, Church Boutique, West Hollywood,

lace cuissardes, $2,450, Balenciaga, Beverly Hills, 310-854-0557. Deborah Pagani

fringe crisscross layered dress, $3,980, black leather lean boots, $1,950,

323-876-8887; churchboutique.com. State Property Hedin bangle, $8,680;

large black Caucciù hoop earrings with 18-karat yellow gold coil pill, $4,095;

black fringed leather clutch, $4,500; bottegaveneta.com. Giorgio Armani

thisisstateproperty.com. Deborah Pagani 18-karat yellow gold and black

deborahpagani.com.

black fringe cape, price upon request, black beaded top, $8,095, black velvet

Caucciù small coil hoops, $3,650; deborahpagani.com. p.73 Christopher

pants, $2,195, black boots, $1,295, similar styles available; armani.com.

John Rogers tuxedo ruffle blouse in cotton poplin, high-waisted trouser

Iguana Vintage violet hoop earrings, price upon request, Iguana Vintage,

in cotton twill, prices upon request; christopherjohnrogers.com. St. John

p.24 Lavie dress, $5,000; laviebyck.com. Melissa Kaye 18-karat yellow gold

Hollywood. Salvatore Ferragamo ribbon grosgrain dress, $4,200, Salvatore

hoop earrings, $195; stjohnknits.com. Steady Rocks Jewelry gold tone pyrite

large Lola needle earrings with neon yellow enamel and diamond tips,

Ferragamo, Beverly Hills; ferragamo.com. Roger Vivier black fringe boots,

embezzled ring, $900, Church Boutique, West Hollywood, 323- 876-8887;

$4,450, 18-karat yellow gold xl Cristina hoop earrings with neon orange

$3,350, yellow fringe bag, $1,995; rogervivier.com. Iguana Vintage yellow

churchboutique.com. Makeup: Pat McGrath Labs Skin Fetish: Sublime

enamel and diamonds, $9,250, 18-karat yellow gold Lola triple ring with

hoop earrings, price upon request, Iguana Vintage, Hollywood.

Perfection foundation in Medium Deep 27, $68, Skin Fetish: Sublime

ON OUR COVER

TABLE OF CONTENTS

neon yellow, orange and pink enamel and diamonds, $8,350, Elyse Walker,

Perfection powder in Medium Deep 4 and Deep 5, $38 each, Mothership VI:

Pacific Palisades, 310-230-8882; elysewalker.com. Fendi men’s yellow viscose

CHECK IT OUT

jacket with velvet detail, $2,190, men’s yellow viscose trouser with velvet

p.54 Etro women’s tartan wool tailored jacket, $1,740, tartan wool trousers,

patmcgrath.com. Makeup Forever Color Ink in White and Fresh Pink, $29

detail, price upon request; fendi.com. Loro Piana silk tie in Inca yellow,

$620, similar styles available, Etro boutiques; etro.com. Sandro plaid fringed

each; makeupforever.com.

$195, Loro Piana, Beverly Hills, 310-860-0765. Tiffany & Co. signet ring in

shirt, $640, Sandro, Beverly Hills, 310-281-0083; us.sandro-paris.com. Oscar

sterling silver, $425, Tiffany & Co., Beverly Hills, 310-657-0016; tiffany.com.

de la Renta resin painted stars earrings, $200, personalshopper@odlr.com.

THE DIRECTOR’S NEW CLOTHES

Jimmy Choo Foxley sugar velvet suede loafers, $750, select Jimmy Choo

Michael Kors Collection plaid fringed dress with leather straps, knit cowl,

p.84 Fendi men’s yellow viscose jacket with velvet detail, $2,190, men’s

stores; jimmychoo.com. Saint Laurent Rive Droite burnt wood surfboard,

$2,990; michaelkors.com. Jimmy Choo black boots with speckled heel,

yellow viscose trouser with velvet detail, price upon request; fendi.com.

$6,000, leopard bath towel, $1,230, leopard heart float, $105, Havaianas x

$1,350; jimmychoo.com. Oscar de la Renta pave ball hoop earring, $420,

Loro Piana silk tie in Inca yellow, $195, Loro Piana, Beverly Hills, 310-860-

Saint Laurent printed flip-flops, $65, Saint Laurent Rive Droite, Beverly Hills,

personalshopper@odlr.com. Miu Miu beaded and plaid long dress, $6,800,

0765. Tiffany & Co. signet ring in sterling silver, $425, Tiffany & Co., Beverly

310-271-4110; ysl.com. Bulgari Barocko high jewelry bracelet, white gold with

patchwork leather shoes, $1,100, select Miu Miu boutiques; miumiu.com.

Hills, 310-657-0016; tiffany.com. Jimmy Choo Foxley sugar velvet suede

onyx, akoya pearls and diamond, price upon request, Bulgari, Beverly Hills,

Oscar de la Renta pave ball hoop earring, $420, personalshopper@odlr.

loafers, $750, select Jimmy Choo stores; jimmychoo.com. p.86 Louis Vuitton

310-858-9216; bulgari.com.

com. Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello silk tartan Lavallière neck blouse,

men’s slim fit shirt with matching tie, approx price, $1,070, Louis Vuitton,

$1,790, wool tartan button skirt, $2,390, Alyah 110 over-the-knee boots,

Rodeo Drive, 310-859-0457; louisvuitton.com. p.88 Hermès single-breasted

$1,995, Saint Laurent, Beverly Hills, 310-271-4110; ysl.com. Oscar de la Renta

jacket with contrasted double front in charcoal wool flannel, sold as suit,

resin painted stars earrings, $200, personalshopper@odlr.com.

$4,975, large shirt with knotted collar in vanilla cotton poplin, $630, Hermès

FOUNDER’S LETTER p.32 Jacques Marie Mage & Nick Fouquet P.C.H. classic aviator sunglasses in green, $690; shopstudio-c.com. Chanel embroidered sequin handbag, price

Midnight Sun eye shadow palette, $125, and Lip Fetish balm in Flesh 3, $36;

stores nationwide, 1-800-441-4488; hermes.com. Kingsman Conrad slim-fit

upon request, similar styles available, Chanel, Beverly Hills, 800-550-0005.

AFTER DARK

Bottega Veneta sandals, $890; bottegaveneta.com.

p.58 Harry Winston Precious Cluster timepiece featuring diamonds set

brush-off leather Oxford shoes with star stud, $895, select Jimmy Choo

in platinum on satin strap, price upon request; harrywinston.com. David

stores; jimmychoo.com. p.89 Brunello Cucinelli velvet tuxedo jacket with

Webb earrings style “23648E-XYXKX” with carved rock crystal, brilliant-cut

shawl lapel, $3,695, tuxedo shirt, $625, satin bow tie, $275, Brunello Cucinelli,

p.42 Harry Winston Midnight Retrograde Second 39 mm timepiece featuring

diamonds, carved black onyx and 18-karat gold, price upon request, David

Beverly Hills, 310-724-8118. p.90 Dolce & Gabbana black corduroy coat,

diamonds set in 18-karat white gold, price upon request; harrywinston.com.

Webb, Beverly Hills, 310-858-8006; davidwebb.com. p.59 Bulgari Barocko

$2,495, black corduroy pants, $775, black velvet blazer, $2,645, select DG

IWC Schaffhausen Portofino Automatic 34 watch, $5,300; iwc.com. Bulgari

high jewelry bracelet, white gold with onyx, akoya pearls and diamond, price

stores; dolcegabbana.com. Jimmy Choo Marti velvet suede loafers, $675,

LVCEA skeleton watch in 18-karat rose gold case set with diamonds and red

upon request, Bulgari, Beverly Hills, 310-858-9216; bulgari.com. Buccellati

select Jimmy Choo stores; jimmychoo.com. p.91 Gucci blue-red-multicolor

alligator bracelet, $31,300, Bulgari, Beverly Hills, 310-858-9216; bulgari.com.

Macri classic cuff bracelet and 18-karat white gold set with round brilliant-

check jacket, $3,800, blue-red-multicolor check pants, $1,250, select Gucci

Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Arpels Pont des Amoureux Jour timepiece featuring

cut diamonds, $17,500, Buccellati, Beverly Hills, 310-276-7022; buccellati.

stores; gucci.com. Valentino Flowersity 1 printed poplin oversized shirt,

diamonds set in 18-karat rose gold, $128,000, Van Cleef & Arpels, Beverly Hills,

com. Van Cleef & Arpels Empreinte de Dédale bracelet from the Le Secret

$995, Valentino, South Coast Plaza, 714-751-3300; valentino.com.

310-276-1161; vancleefarpels.com.

collection featuring diamonds, sapphires and onyx set in 18-karat white

BRIGHT IDEAS

checked wool suit trousers, $540; mrporter.com. Jimmy Choo Falcon black

Shopping Guide gold, price upon request, Van Cleef & Arpels, Beverly Hills, 310-276-1161;

TAKE A BOW

vancleefarpels.com. p.60 Pomellato Nudo 18-karat rose gold and obsidian

p.104 Alexandre Birman Clarita 75 leather sandals, $595; alexandrebirman.

p.44 Saint Laurent Rive Droite burnt wood surfboard, $6,000, leopard bath

rings, $3,000-$5,050, Pomellato, Beverly Hills, 310-550-5639; pomellato.

com. Giuseppe Zanotti Chili Pepper white patent leather sandals with knot

towel, $1,230, leopard heart float, $105, Havaianas x Saint Laurent printed flip-

com. David Yurman Night Petals long pearl earrings in white gold with

detailing, $795; giuseppezanotti.com. Jimmy Choo Aveline 100 sandals with

flops, $65, Saint Laurent Rive Droite, Beverly Hills, 310-271-4110; ysl.com.

diamonds, price upon request, David Yurman, Beverly Hills; davidyurman.

asymmetric grosgrain mesh fascinator bows, $925; jimmychoo.com. Stuart

com. Graff Double Lovebird diamond brooch, price upon request; graff.com.

Weitzman Andria 100 sandals, $425; stuartweitzman.com.

SURFIN’ SAFARI

FRILL SEEKERS

p.61 Cartier Pasha de Cartier Skeleton watch, 41 mm, 18-karat white gold,

p.46 Balmain balloon sleeve shirt, price upon request, short draped ruffled

diamonds, interchangeable leather straps, price upon request, select Cartier

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE

taffeta skirt, $5,130; balmain.com. Christian Louboutin Just Nothing patent

stores nationwide, 1-800-227-8437; cartier.com.

p.106 Hermès Arceau Squelette watch with steel case and alligator straps,

leather and PVC mule in Bianco, $675, Christian Louboutin, West Hollywood,

$8,600, Hermès stores nationwide; hermes.com. Hublot Big Bang Unico

310-247-9300; christianlouboutin.com. Louis Vuitton bike leather dress,

AMERICAN BEAUTY

price upon request, skirt, price upon request, matador ankle boot, $2,050, at

p.64 4 Moncler Simone Rocha dress in nylon and tulle with flower print

Francisco, 415-981-2200; hublot.com. Vacheron Constantin Overseas

select Louis Vuitton stores; louisvuitton.com. Celine by Hedi Slimane all-over

and application, $3,150, gloves in tulle, price upon request; moncler.com.

Perpetual Calendar ultra-thin skeleton watch, price upon request,

embroidered long column dress with satin frills, price upon request, Celine,

Nakard black rhodium plated sterling silver party-length line earrings

Vacheron Constantin, Beverly Hills, 877-701-1755; vacheron-constantin.

Beverly Hills, 310-888-0120; celine.com. Vera Wang Seafoam handsculpted

with white zircon, $760; nakarmstrong.com. p.66 Bottega Veneta dress,

com. IWC Schaffhausen Portugieser tourbillon rétrograde chronograph

Italian tulle off-the-shoulder dress with leather strap and black wool sleeves

$4,250; bottegaveneta.com. Bea Bongiasca baby vine tendril ring, $675,

boutique edition watch, price upon request; iwc.com. Panerai Luminor

with varsity trim detail, price upon request, platform sandal with velcro straps,

double octagon tendril ring, $1,500, single curl vine earrings, $1,450;

tourbillon moon phases equation of time GMT – 50MM L’Astronomo

$1,250, Vera Wang, New York, 212-628-3400; farfetch.com.

brokenenglishjewelry.com. Gianvito Rossi Portofino nude sandals, $815;

watch, Panerai, 877-726-3724.

STUDY GROUP

gianvitorossi.com. p.67 Lavie dress, $5,000; laviebyck.com. Melissa Kaye

King gold blue watch, $39,900, Hublot, Beverly Hills, 310-550-0595, San

18-karat yellow gold large Lola needle earrings with neon yellow enamel and

HEADS, GIRLS

p.48 Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello heritage square earrings in brass and

diamond tips, $4,450, 18-karat yellow gold xl Cristina hoop earrings with

p.107 Christopher Kane bridal crystal cupchain headband, $325;

resin, $595, heritage round earrings in brass, black enamel and white glass pearl,

neon orange enamel and diamonds, $9,250, 18-karat yellow gold Lola triple

christopherkane.com. Erdem black grosgrain beaded headband, $365;

$595, Saint Laurent, Beverly Hills, 310-271-5051; ysl.com. Taffin button coral,

ring with neon yellow, orange and pink enamel and diamonds, $8,350, Elyse

erdem.com. Simone Rocha mother-of-pearl large daisy hairband, $640;

red ceramic and 18-karat rose gold ear clips, Taffin, New York, 212-421-6222.

Walker, Pacific Palisades, 310-230-8882; elysewalker.com. p.69 Fe Noel

bergdorfgoodman.com. Prada embellished satin headband, $1,100; prada.

VRAM nocturne studs in 18-karat white gold, price upon request, Maxfield, Los

Dancehall puff sleeve top, $348, Dancehall jersey knit dress, $1,098; fenoel.

com. Gucci hair accessory in metal with palladium finish and crystals,

Angeles, 310-274-8800.

com. Bronze & Wool handmade gold earrings, from $300; bronzeandwool.

$1,100; gucci.com.

C Magazine is published 8 times/year by C Publishing, LLC. Editorial office: 2064 Alameda Padre Serra, Ste. 120, Santa Barbara, CA 93103. Telephone: 310-393-3800. Fax: 310-393-3899. Email (editorial): edit@ magazinec.com. Subscriptions: Domestic rates are $19.95 for one year; orders outside U.S. and Canada, add $49 postage; rest of the world, add $69. Single copies and subscriptions: shop.magazinec.com.

Postmaster: Send address changes to C Magazine, P.O. Box 1339, Santa Monica, CA 90406.

139

D

MY

C A L I F O R N I A

I S C O V

Favorite takeout? Thai food.

I love a tom kha kai soup.

E

Favorite drink? A coconut martini.

R I E

Clockwise from top left: LAURIE LYNN STARK. CHURCH BOUTIQUE in West Hollywood. CHROME HEARTS sunglasses, $1,090, available at STUDIO C. NARS COSMETICS Orgasm blush, $30. Malibu’s Big Dume Beach.

THE BEVERLY HILLS HOTEL entrance.

LAURIE LYNN STARK The California-born photographer and Chrome Hearts creative shares her Golden State gems

My CA Favorite hotel?

The Beverly Hills Hotel, because it’s a classic.

Last show you saw?

The Weeknd.

Favorite drive? The drive to Las Flores in my ’56 Chevy.

Where did you grow up?

Malibu — moved there from the valley.

Where do you live? Between Malibu, New York and Paris.

Favorite beach? Big Dume for the views. I love to walk for miles and miles on Malibu’s beaches during low tide.

140

Favorite getaway?

Paris, because I have always wanted to live there.

What do you wear? I like Jesse Jo Stark’s Deadly Doll collection for casual, Vivienne Westwood when I want to do it up, and vintage Halston in the evening. I always wear a piece of my own design for superstitious reasons.

Favorite boutique? Church Boutique in West Hollywood, because you can buy a couch and some clothes at the same time.

Which beauty products do you rely on? Nars blush in Orgasm; red Chanel lipstick; Chrome Hearts perfume 22 and 33; Oribe haircare.

Favorite flowers? Peonies, dahlias and gardenias, because they are hard to grow, seasonal and delicate.

What book are you reading?

This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Let Love Rule by Lenny Kravitz.

Last TV show you binged?

Schitt’s Creek. •

BLUSH: COURTESY OF NARS COSMETICS. THE BEVERLY HILLS HOTEL: NIALL CLUTTON. INTERIOR: COURTESY OF CHURCH BOUTIQUE. BIG DUME BEACH: ANDREW BARKER.

S

Fashion Isalnd

NEIMAN MARCUS BLOOMINGDALE’S NORDSTROM MACY ’S AG ALICE + OLIVIA ANTHROPOLOGIE & CO. APPLE CHANEL FR AGR ANCE AND BE AUTÉ DRYBAR FIG & OLIVE FLEMING’S PRIME STE AKHOUSE & WINE BAR G A RYS H Y DE PA R K JE W ELERS LILLY PU LI T ZER T H E LOT LOU IS V U I T TON N ESPR ES SO PELOTON R EB EC CA TAY LOR RED O MEXICAN CUISINE RESTORATION HARDWARE ROLEX ST. JOHN SUITSUPPLY TESLA MOTORS TOMMY BAHAMA HOME T R A V I S M AT H E W T R U E F O O D K I T C H E N V I N C E V O L U S PA W A R B Y PA R K E R Z A D I G & V O LTA I R E P A R T I A L L I S T FASHIONISLAND.COM

@FASHIONISLAND

Copyright © 2020 Irvine Management Company. All Rights Reserved. Fashion Island and Discover Your Best Life are registered trademarks of Irvine Management Company.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Saint Laurent