PLUS Todd Snyder, Kelly Slater, and introducing Rélyk
Wild Thing
Lucas Bravo’s New Adventure
S:13.5"
Time Will Tell
WATCHES that stand the test
Tag Heuer
Carrera Chronograph watch, $6,550, tagheuer.com
Founder’s Letter
Reinventing yourself and resisting being pigeonholed into someone else’s idea of you is always something to strive for. Our cover star, actor Lucas Bravo, came on the scene as the heartthrob chef in the Netflix show Emily in Paris, but he refuses to be defined by that singular role. He has gone on to star opposite George Clooney, Julia Roberts, and Lesley Manville in big-screen roles and is about to shoot a new take on Dangerous Liaisons with Diane Kruger. We shook things up and took him into California’s great outdoors wearing this season’s durable looks in some hilly terrain, and he loved every second and said the shoot was the most him of any he’s done. Unexpected but undeniably authentic is always an editorial win.
Lauded for his work in womenswear with Brock Collection, Kris Brock is no stranger to impeccable tailoring and craftmanship. He is pivoting into menswear with co–creative director Skyler Stone, and the influences of California skate, surf, and motocross culture translates into their new brand, Rélyk.
Always riding the next wave, pardon the pun, surf legend Kelly Slater puts his heart and soul into things that matter to both him and the greater good. As a new book celebrates his epic career, we continue to be fascinated by his devotion to leaving this place better than he found it.
And at the end of the day, isn’t that the point? Do good, surprise the hell out of people, and have fun while doing it.
Harry Winston
Ocean Tourbillon watch, price upon request, harrywinston.com
A. Lange & Sohne
Perpetual Calendar watch, price upon request, alange-soehne.com
Van Cleef & Arpels
Midnight in Paris watch, $88,500, vancleefarpels.com
Bulgari
Octo Roma watch, price upon request, bulgari.com . — R.R.
Jennifer Smith Founder, Editorial Director and CEO
Mary Inacio is a Los Angeles–based stylist. Her work has been featured in publications including The New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter, Grazia, Vogue, AD, and Playboy, among others. She also works with celebrities by getting them ready for red-carpet events. Her clients include Elsie Fisher, Luke Kirby, Luke Mitchell, and Bo Burnham. For this issue, she styled actor Lucas Bravo’s looks for our cover and “Into the Wild,” p. 36.
C
People
Jack Waterlot
French lensman Jack Waterlot shot our cover and feature on Lucas Bravo, “Into the Wild,” p. 36. Jack has been taking photographs since he was a teenager in Paris. In his early 20s he moved to Topanga Canyon before heading to the East Coast, where he began to shoot some of the world’s most iconic faces in fashion, music, and film for global brands and publications, including Tom Ford, Roberto Cavalli, Vogue, W, and Numéro
Brad Torchia
The photographer for “Style Reinvented,” p. 50, Brad Torchia is an artist whose work confirms a simple truth: There is power in beauty, and there is beauty in everything. Based in L.A., Brad channels the transcendent qualities of the sun and ocean as he aims to transcend genre in favor of emotion, connection, and a cinematic alchemy of color and luminosity. His clients include Apple, Condé Nast Traveler, and The New York Times
Max Berlinger
Longtime C Magazine contributor Max
Berlinger is a New York City resident and a freelance writer who covers fashion, design, and lifestyle for publications including The New York Times, GQ, Los Angeles Times, Men’s Health, and Departures. Max penned much of our style news in this issue — including a report on Thom Sweeney’s new gentlemen’s club, p. 32 — as well as “Todd Snyder Goes West,” p. 34.
120, SANTA BARBARA, CA 93103
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Photography by JACK WATERLOT. Styling by MARY INACIO. Grooming by JAMIE TAYLOR at A-Frame Agency.
LUCAS BRAVO wears POLO RALPH LAUREN x NAIOMI GLASSES.
Mary Inacio
Dancing Scenes
Los Angeles–based Matthew Brookes finds the emotion in his subjects before he photographs them. EXPRESSION OF FREEDOM: THROUGH THE FREEDOM OF DANCE (Damiani, $55) took 10 years of traversing the globe, capturing bodies in motion in Paris, Milan, London, Tokyo, South Africa, New York, Brazil, and Los Angeles. Acclaimed professionals share the pages with street performers, from today’s premier kabuki performers in Japan to nonbinary ballet dancer Maxfield Haynes in the Hotel Chelsea in New York to South African Zulu warrior dancers in striking full costume. The book’s proceeds will go to Lift, a New York charity that teaches dance to children in underserved areas. damianibooks.com. K.C.
Caffè Culture
GIORGIO ARMANI celebrated his 90th birthday at work, so it comes as no surprise that he also took the reins — in collaboration with his team of architects — to rework his latest eponymous boutique in Costa Mesa. The 5,400-sq.-ft. shop contains five separate spaces for men and women, fine jewelry, made-to-measure, beauty, and Armani Casa furniture. Wallpaper from the interiors line as well as angular Barbican armchairs and lush carpets are reflected and refracted by mirrors and glass shelves. Additionally, the adjacent Armani/Caffè coffee bar is opening with a menu for breakfast and lunch that includes croissants filled with tomato and provolone alongside buffalo caprese and baby spinach salads as well as delectable savoiardi tiramisu for dessert. 3333 Bristol St., South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa, 714-546-9377; armani.com. E.V.
Design Classic
GIVENCHY is putting down roots on Rodeo Drive inside a Frank Lloyd Wright building designed the same year Hubert de Givenchy opened his eponymous house in Paris. The nearly 8,000-sq.-ft. space, the line’s first West Coast flagship, was designed for multiple shops. Now that the French house has taken over, its collections will have separate entrances and spaces. Menswear — including suits, shirts, and two styles of vulcanized boots created with Oregon-based Bogs (see p. 41) — are on one side, with women’s
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ready-to-wear, shoes, and bags on the other. Soon to come are a VIP salon and an experiential area. Archival tiger-print fabric from the founder’s home covers stairs and upholstery, and Givenchy tapped Victor Fuentes and Flora Chou, whose firms worked on Wright’s San Francisco commercial building, to restore the space. Original diamond-scored concrete floors in Wright’s signature red are back, and the architect’s preferred greenery is replanted outside while the house flag flies from a restored spire. 332 N. Rodeo Dr., Beverly Hills, 213-277-2991; givenchy.com. E.V.
Set on 19 pristine Pacific shoreline acres of the stunning Marina Dunes Preserve in Monterey, THE SANCTUARY BEACH RESORT has unveiled 60 reimagined rooms and suites set within its charming beachfront cottages. Designed with a coastal cabin aesthetic by architecture and interiors
Marin serves up coastal cuisine that celebrates the region’s agricultural abundance. And for an ideal way to begin or end your day, visit the property’s new Renewal Studio & Spa. 3295 Dunes Dr., Marina; thesanctuarybeachresort.com. D.N.
Fast Fashion
Post Wimbledon and the Olympic Games, the worlds of sports and style are overlapping, and DIOR has tapped F1’s GOAT, Lewis Hamilton, for a winter capsule. The focus is cold-weather sports like skiing and snowboarding, with drool-worthy outerwear plus Diorbranded skis, gloves, goggles, and a snowboard. Lewis, who often wears Dior designs custom-made by men’s creative director Kim Jones, will be an ambassador for the label. Pieces are made in Paris, Japan, and Africa, tapping the craftsmanship traditions so close to Hamilton’s heart. “Focusing on conscious choices and pushing boundaries with each piece, while merging my roots in Africa — drawing from their fabrics and believing in natural materials as well as vibrant colors and powerful energy — has been so inspiring,” he says. dior.com M.B.
Jeff Scult’s ONE GOLDEN THREAD line of regenerative clothes is now in a Venice flagship he devised with Juan Pablo Heredia of Mexico City’s Traum bespoke tearoom. Inside are Scult’s made-in-L.A. designs, including resort shorts, five-pocket pants with ankle zippers, and bicep-hugging Tree shirts made from his exclusive blend of ethically sourced long-staple cotton and regenerative beech tree fibers. Heredia’s handcrafted EKAM Atelier jewelry is also on hand. Breathwork classes, yoga, and evening performances set in The Oasis, a backyard zen garden, are in the works, and the outdoor space is a calming spot to sip Traum’s Chinese old grove teas. Shoppers are offered the restorative drinks, alongside a golden thread blessing, as part of the brand’s commitment to relaxation and building community. 1216 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice; onegoldenthread.com. E.V.
in
Zulu
Hour
IWC PORTUGIESER AUTOMATIC.
Portugieser Automatic 42, Ref. IW501705
Conceived 85 years ago as an instrument watch with marine chronometer precision, the Portugieser has evolved into a timeless yet dynamic paragon of understated elegance. A slimmer case now makes the Portugieser Automatic 42 even more refined, while double-box glass sapphire crystals showcase the IWC-manufactured 52011 caliber with a power reserve of 7 days and the elaborately crafted dial in a new color called Dune. IWC. ENGINEERING BEYOND TIME.
IWC BOUTIQUE · SOUTH COAST PLAZA
Toughing It Out
At 127 years old, the Seattle outdoors brand FILSON started by outfitting prospectors looking for gold on the Yukon Trail. That’s a far cry from hipsterville — or Silver Lake, where the label is opening its first shop in Los Angeles along Sunset. Regardless, Filson is beloved by explorers and urbanites alike, including a cadre of A-listers like Jeremy Allen White and Jake Gyllenhaal, attracted by its utilitarian outerwear and accessories. The shop will be nestled along Sunset Row, a stretch of architecturally charming buildings, with Alfred’s Coffee and All Day Baby a stone’s throw away. It will incorporate some of that rugged Pacific Northwest look into its design, including pine, exposed brick, and dark steel, all of which evoke a pioneering spirit. 3210 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood; filson.com. M.B.
Well Played
Athleticism, competition, and play loom large in SFMOMA’s most expansive subject exhibition yet, GET IN THE GAME, with more than 200 artworks and objects inspired by athletes, gear, and major moments in sports. Both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat get plenty of play in the show, which covers over 15,000 square feet. Yves Béhar’s Fuseproject designed the show, which features pieces by more than 70 artists, including Matthew Barney, Paul Pfeiffer, Joan Semmel, Catherine Opie, Derek Fordjour, Tabitha Soren, Hank Willis Thomas, and Rosalyn Drexler. Also on view are innovations such as Michael Johnson’s custom gold running spikes, plus interactive works, including Maurizio Cattelan’s 22-person interactive foosball table. 151 Third St., S.F., 415-357-4000; sfmoma.org. E.V.
TInside Outside
here are few better qualified to design — and then write about — traditional California homes than one of the state’s most respected contemporary architects, Erik Evens. His first monograph, SHAPING THE WORLD AS A HOME: THE HOUSES AND GARDENS OF ERIK EVENS (Rizzoli, $60), is a blueprint for his success. The Los Angeles native and principal of an eponymous studio within the L.A.based KAA Design Group is renowned for his attention to detail and his breadth of project styles. Including a ranch house surrounded by oak trees in Montecito, a Spanish Colonial Revival estate in Malibu with ocean views, and a sprawling classical compound inspired by American rural architecture, the book showcases five incredible projects that flexed Evens’ inimitable talents for imagining — and occasionally reimagining — the way we live. Richly
Nice Shades!
illustrated, and with a foreword by award-wining architect Marc Appleton, the 240-page tome also lays out Evens’ design philosophies — or “values” — as with the section titled Place, where he explains, “Houses should look like they belong where they are,” or Proportion, where he shares, “Everything in a building should be properly related to everything else in the building.” Filled with plenty of inspiration and Evens’ insights, this is one coffee table book you’ll crack the spine on. rizzoliusa.com. D.N.
The open spaces and serenity of Joshua Tree inspired JACQUES MARIE MAGE’s new gallery in Costa Mesa, where limited-edition eyewear, jewelry, leather goods, and curated artifacts are housed inside a boutique influenced by both Californian and Japanese modernism. Floors stocked with made-in-Japan shades are covered in Navajo rugs. An indoor desert garden with native-to-the-Mojave plants and succulents joins a collection of Marietta P. Juanico’s Acoma pottery and paintings by L.A. artists Connor Tingley and Matt McCormick. Paris-based design firm Hervet Manufacturier created the shop’s futurist frames include two Western-inflected designs, the sculptural Sterett and rectangular Belvedere, with embellishments inspired by frontier silversmithing and bronco temple decorations with turquoise inlays. 3333 Bristol St., South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa, 714-670-5889; jacquesmariemage.com. E.V.
Continental Craft
It’s no secret that 7 For All Mankind cofounder Jerome Dahan is something of a denim Svengali. He’s back at it with his new collection, THE SEVEN CONTINENTS. The elevated designs, which launch in October, will be crafted in Los Angeles from proprietary textiles woven at the best textile mills in Japan — where making denim is considered an art form — and finished with Italian hardware. “I missed the process of working with a community of friends in both Japan and Los Angeles,” Dahan says. “The Seven Continents is about a community of people working together to offer a collection without compromise — it is the opposite of fast fashion. Every detail is carefully considered. I am so proud of the craftsmanship that we literally turn some of the jeans inside out when previewing the collection so the workmanship may be appreciated.” thesevencontinents.com.
M.B.
Ever wonder why there’s always a line outside Silver Lake’s CAMEL CAFÉ? It’s the Seoul import’s signature coffee, an iced flat white with a little milk at the bottom, followed by two shots of espresso and a svelte layer of lightly sweetened cream. Do not mix: You’ll want to taste all the layers together. “People come back just for that and don’t want to order anything else,” says owner-manager Joshua Park. He and his wife, Alice Kim, partnered to open the first Camel outside Korea. They even have the recipe for the original Tigre, a special madeleine pastry made with hazelnuts and chocolate beloved by Korean coffee fanciers. That and croissants and other pastries come from their Silver Lake neighbor Clark Street Bakery. Camel roasts its own beans, so the coffee is always fresh, and you can grab a bag on your way out. 4459 W. Sunset Blvd., L.A., 213-434-1997; @camelcoffee_us. S.I.V.
01. Filson Tin Cloth Short Lined Cruiser jacket, $350. 02. Erik Evens’ new book features homes in Montecito (top) and Malibu. 03. Denim maven Jerome Dahan launches The Seven Continents. 04. Hank Willis Thomas, Guernica, 2016. 05. Don’t miss the coffee at Camel Café on Sunset. 06. Jacques Marie Mage limited-edition Ritz sunglasses, $895.
Laurent Perrier
Cuvée Rosé is crafted from the best Pinot Noir grapes, slowly macerated after the harvest before aging for a minimum of five years in our cellars.
Forever Young
As it reincarnates the dead and reverses the aging process, who wins in Hollywood ’ s embrace of AI?
Words by STEVE SANDERS
by TYLER SPANGLER
In his latest film, Here, Tom Hanks, reunited with Forrest Gump director Robert Zemeckis, graces the screen with a head of bushy black hair and the youthful lilt to his voice not seen or heard since Bosom Buddies, the 1980s sitcom that launched his double-Oscar-winning career. A Lazarus-like James Dean, dead nearly 70 years, can now read your kids a bedtime story. And any YouTube influencer with a few minutes to spare can create a digital clone to record ads in their absence or to chat with their followers when they are indisposed.
Less than a year after Hollywood writers and actors ended their strikes with landmark agreements that, they declared, secured “unprecedented provisions to protect members from the threat of artificial intelligence,” the technology is blazing through the industry with alarming speed. It is “de-aging” stars like Hanks; resurrecting long-dead icons including Dean, Burt Reynolds, and Laurence Olivier; and, critics argue, stealing jobs from Hollywood, where unemployment is on the rise.
Last year’s historic strikes — it was the first time both actors and writers walked out since 1960 — marked the beginning rather than the end of the issues they will have to contend with as AI radiates across Hollywood. In July, SAGAFTRA, the actors’ union that led last year’s strike over TV and streaming contracts, went on strike again, this time over how AI is being used to potentially replace video game actors.
AI voice models ingest millions of hours of human-generated audio to create lifelike voices that can recite any script they are given, fanning fears that thousands of humans could be replaced by machines that are cheap and that don’t grow fatigued or complain. The work stoppage affects more than 160,000 video game and voice actors, bringing to a halt a variety of new titles and those already in development.
“We’re just warming up right now,” said Tom Friedlander, the founder of the National Association of Voice Actors, a group that lobbies for the voice actors who, as a group, are mostly nonunion and thus not protected by any rights SAG might win. “We don’t even know what game we’re playing yet because it keeps changing. But we are trying to make sure that we are a part of this new technology that’s being built literally on the backs of our voices and on our biometric data. Right now, it’s just about protecting the ability to have this career even exist
in a couple of years.” The most high-profile flashpoint came in May, when San Francisco–based OpenAI unveiled a voice assistant that sounded eerily similar to Scarlett Johanssen. The actor, who days before had turned down a personal offer from OpenAI’s billionaire chief Sam Altman to be the voice for the tool, sent a legal letter demanding answers. OpenAI denied it had used her voice but abruptly killed that version of its assistant.
Countless additional conflicts could be in the offing. The deals reached last year with the writers and actors unions covered just two contracts of nearly 700 that govern how studios use AI and compensate workers.
There is still some way to go, however, before AI tools become true stand-ins for humans.
In November 2022, OpenAI launched the AI era as we know it when it unveiled ChatGPT, its powerful chatbot capable of passing the bar exam, writing sequel scripts to blockbuster movies, and telling jokes. A sense of doom swiftly descended, as people feared this powerful new technology would wipe out entire industries. Hollywood is perhaps the most visceral embodiment of that angst, but it also represents opportunity.
Eleven Labs, a San Francisco audio cloning company, last month signed deals with the estates of Dean, Reynolds, and Olivier to allow the use of their voices for a “reader app” that recites audio books. Such deals offer novel revenue streams for any number of Hollywood stars — dead or alive — and their families. Liza Minnelli, the daughter of Judy Garland, who is also included in the Eleven Labs deal, said, “Our family believes that this will bring new fans to Mama and be exciting to those who already cherish the unparalleled legacy that Mama gave and continues to give to the world.”
Such tools are not useful just for stars. Eleven Labs requires as little as one minute of audio to create an instant clone, or 30 minutes for a professional-grade replica capable of imitating the style and intonations of an actual human. Startups like HeyGen in San Francisco and Hour One in Tel Aviv, Israel, can create video clones with as little as one minute of recorded video. They are part of a wave of cloning start-ups offering some version of the same pitch: AI allows anyone to “scale” themselves with digital clones capable of standing in for them and getting paid for work they do not want or have time to do.
There is still some way to go, however, before AI tools become true stand-ins for humans. In July, Meta shelved a line of celebrity chatbots, including the likes of Tom Brady and Snoop Dogg, after users ignored them entirely.
Snoop’s bot, for example, garnered just 15,000 followers before Meta pulled the plug, compared with the 89 million the actual Snoop has accumulated. Meta sheepishly said it had taken “a lot of learnings” from the failed and very expensive experiment: The company paid millions to the stars to license their likenesses.
Creating digital copies of stars is unlikely to be the “killer app” of AI. A more likely outcome is that it opens new possibilities that are impossible today. “We talk about impossible jobs: things humans just couldn’t do,” Friedlander said. “Take the Olympic recap. You could get a personalized recap from Al Michaels, but there are 7 million different combinations of recaps that you could get, depending on your interests. Al Michaels couldn’t do that as a human.”
Amid the strikes and unrest, the central question is simple: Will AI take more opportunity than it creates? Consider Hanks. In Here, director Robert Zemeckis charts the life of a single family over decades. Without AI to de-age Hanks, a younger actor might have won a job to play him in his teenage years, or an older one might have been able to play him near the end of life. Instead, multiple jobs went to one of the wealthiest actors in Hollywood.
Rather like Forrest Gump and his box of chocolates, the majority of Hollywood still doesn’t know what it’s gonna get from AI. •
Illustration
Via head-to-toe cerulean and azure accessories, make your attire Yves Klein approved
gucci.com
Edited by REBECCA RUSSELL
Gucci Necklace, $1,700,
Burberry Gloves, $650, burberry.com
Amiri Jacket, $1,690, amiri.com
Brunello Cucinelli Pants, $1,350, brunellocucinelli.com
Givenchy Wallet, $350, givenchy.com
Le Père Sweater, $275, lepere.com
Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello Slippers, $1,430, ysl.com
Hermès Scarf, $1,000, hermes.com
Giorgio Armani Bag, $845, giorgioarmani.com
Tiki With a Twist
It turns out a crazy-fun tiki bar is just what Anaheim needed. Owners Ying Chang and Robert Adamson put in years of research and thought before launching STRONG WATER. It’s not exactly tiki classic, which may be why it caught the attention of the James Beard Awards this year and was a semifinalist for outstanding beverage program. Adamson dubs the salvaged and recycled decor “shipwreck.” As for the drinks, bring ’em on: The 50-strong list is half subtly tweaked classic tiki and half the owners’ original cocktails, like the Zombie King, a blend of several rums with lime, pineapple, and both black walnut and angostura bitters. The place also serves a short menu of Asian-tilted food. 270 S. Clementine Blvd., Anaheim; strongwateranaheim.com. S.I.V.
San Fran Sandos
Watch for the flotilla of marigold yellow umbrellas along Lincoln Boulevard. That’s TARTINE VENICE, the latest SoCal bakery and café from the famed San Francisco bakery. Take a seat outside on the broad, breezy sidewalk terrace for coffee and morning pastries and especially toast with butter and jam. A small breakfast menu is served all day, but the best bets are the tartines (toast with topping) and sandwiches that showcase Tartine’s coveted breads. A smoked salmon version with cream cheese gets a punch from preserved lemon. Turkey club or tuna sandwiches come on the hearty housemade multigrain loaf. And a double smashburger of grass-fed beef stands out with celery remoulade on a sweet potato bun. Don’t leave without taking home a sourdough loaf. 2903 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica; tartinebakery.com/los-angeles/venice. S.I.V.
Open Doors in the Hi-Desert
As temperatures cool in the high desert this fall, artists in the cities surrounding Joshua Tree National Park are again opening more than 130 studios across three weekends for the area’s sprawling HWY 62 OPEN STU -
DIO ART TOURS (Oct. 5–6, 12–13, 19–20). Recurring for over 20 years, and now including evening events paired with live music from local bands and musicians, the free and open-to-all gathering gives collectors and first-timers a look
Style Station
British tailoring brand THOM SWEENEY has already established itself a reliable go-to for sharp-looking leading men like Glen Powell. Now the brand is making more permanent inroads into Tinseltown with a new gentlemen’s club in West Hollywood. The space offers the brand’s signature staples, including merino knits, double-breasted topcoats, and fully bespoke suiting by appointment only. The stylish den was designed by Billy Cotton in an environment laid out to evoke Hollywood’s Golden Age, with dark wooden walls, plush velvet curtains, streamlined furniture in the midcentury modern style from the buzzy nearby gallery Leclaireur, shiny metal clothing racks, and an invitingly elegant bar. The final flourish, however, just be the impressive speaker system designed by Jonathan Weiss. It’s less a store and more your local speakeasy. 8401 Melrose Pl., 2nd fl., West Hollywood, thomsweeney.com. M.B.
at local artists’ new work in an array of media. Creatives in Morongo Valley, Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree, Landers, Pioneertown, Twentynine Palms, and Wonder Valley are all included, and a curated selection of pieces on view at the new Hi-Desert Artists Center in Yucca Valley (through Oct. 27) offers a preview of sorts. There’s a catalog to help plan tour stops, or use the organization’s app to navigate among studios where works can be acquired directly from artists and makers. hwy62arttours.org. E.V.
You Better Work
Pharrell Williams’ fall collection for LOUIS VUITTON — an evocative ode to the Western frontier filled with ranch hands in LV monogrammed togs topped with five-gallon cowboy hats — couldn’t be more Californian. The latest offering is a recently released workwearinspired capsule filled with stunningly crafted, utilitarian ready-to-wear and accessories. Highlights include a riveted bag with multiple outer pockets made from a rich, pliable leather; suits decorated with western-style appliqués and rough-and-tumble barn coats; and a series of Timberland boots that add a touch of Williams’ streetwear bent to the cowhand-worthy designs. “You never really get to see what some of the original cowboys looked like,” Williams says. “They looked like us. They looked like me.” louisvuitton.com. M.B.
The unmistakable Automobili Lamborghini hexagon is debuting across swim shorts, polo shirts, and towels as part of a new collaboration between the auto manufacturer and resortwear line ORLEBAR BROWN. In addition to jacquard-patterned Bulldog shorts, the beach-ready capsule includes silk resort shirts, linen trousers, and a logo-printed rash guard. Given both lines’ proclivity for bold colors and patterns in addition to precision engineering and tailoring, the collection is rife with blues, oranges, and red, but also more subtle shades of black, and green. Dual-branded matte black or gold side fasteners and drawcord ends subtly herald the new partnership, slated to grow over the next two summers. 9525 Brighton Way, Beverly Hills, 1016 Coast Village Rd., Montecito Country Mart; lamborghinistore.com; orlebarbrown.com. E.V.
A. Lange & Söhne · Alexander McQueen · Amiri · Audemars Piguet · Balenciaga · Balmain · Berluti · Bottega Veneta · Breitling Brunello Cucinelli · Burberry · Cartier · Celine · Chopard · Christian Louboutin · Courrèges · Dior Men · Dolce&Gabbana · Fendi Ferragamo · Gentle Monster · Giorgio Armani · Givenchy · Golden Goose · Gucci · Hermès · Hublot · IWC · Jacques Marie Mage Jaeger-LeCoultre · Jil Sander · Lanvin · Loro Piana · Louis Vuitton Men’s · Maison Margiela · Marni · Missoni · Moncler · Omega Palm Angels · Panerai · Porsche Design · Prada · Ralph Lauren · Roger Dubuis · Rolex|Tourneau Bucherer · Saint Laurent The Webster · Thom Browne · Tiffany & Co. · Tudor Tourneau · Vacheron Constantin · Valentino · Versace · Zegna
Todd Snyder hails from Iowa and built his career in New York City, but California has a special place in his heart. The veteran menswear designer traveled frequently to San Francisco when he worked for the Gap and Old Navy, and he fondly recalls spending time in Los Angeles scouring the city for vintage finds on research trips for Ralph Lauren (he dubs L.A. the “epicenter of American vintage”). Snyder has memories of visiting the warehouse that belonged to American Rag Cie, the longtime vintage destination on La Brea, and cherry-picking through its assortment — from Oxford shirts to jeans — before they made it to the sales floor.
“California is breathtaking,” Snyder says. “Going to San Francisco for work has everything: these amazing vineyards, the beautiful coastline, forests, skiing just two hours away in Lake Tahoe. It’s an incredible city with some of the best food. It’s pretty special. I definitely fell in love with it.”
For his own eponymous line, launched in 2011, Snyder has been doubling down on the West Coast by using Malibu, Palm Springs, and Big Sur as backdrops for his seasonal campaigns and tapping Hollywood heavyweights like Matt Bomer and Sterling K. Brown as models.
Now he is opening shops here at a healthy clip. This year has been especially busy: Following flagships at L.A.’s outdoor mall The Grove (which had a section devoted to suits and event dressing with its own on-site tailor for alterations) and in San Francisco’s Hayes Valley, he’s opening a smattering of new retail locations. There’s the charming bungalow on Abbot Kinney in Venice as well as locations at Marin Country Mart and in San Jose. Snyder likens these moves to what he did in New York, opening a 5,000-square-foot flagship on Madison Square Park before launching the smaller, folksier neighborhood-oriented shops, like the outpost in Tribeca, housed in the former J.Crew Liquor Shop space. In a full-circle moment, Snyder first tapped that storefront when he worked at the brand in the early aughts.
“Venice is like our Liquor Store,” says Snyder,
Todd Snyder Goes West
Why the designer has California on his mind
Words by MAX BERLINGER
who also notes that his company uses sales data as a guide toward areas where an in-person shop would be most fruitful. “It’s smaller, a little more vibey, a little less stuffy, a little more casual.” As for Marin Country Mart, Snyder remembered that many of the Gap CEOs lived nearby and thought it would be the perfect complement to the city location. Each shop offers its own specific slice of the Todd Snyder assortment — less tailoring in casual Venice Beach, say, and more transitional layers to accommodate San Francisco’s notoriously fickle microclimates — to help entice the local clientele. “It has been a dream come true,” he says. “Some days I have to pinch myself.”
Todd Snyder
It all comes at a critical juncture for the brand. Earlier this year, Snyder made a splashy return to the runway after sitting out a handful of seasons because of the pandemic. He did so with fanfare at the famed menswear trade show Pitti Immagine Uomo in Florence in January. While there, he also debuted a first look at his designs for Woolrich Black Label, an American outdoors brand operated out of Italy. He serves as creative director, designing rustic utility garments with a greater edge than his own brand. “We wanted to flex a little bit,” he says. He also wanted to remind his customers what he was capable of. “The consumer, and the way they see the product, they want to be inspired. If you walk into a car dealership, you may get the sedan, but you want to look at the sports car or the G Wagon. There’s the aspirational piece that every consumer wants.”
To that point, the designer also introduced the Todd Snyder Collection over the summer, a small higher-end collection of tailoring and sportswear featuring Japanese selvedge denim, cashmere polos, and gabardine jackets. “We wanted to make something that was luxury but not at a crazy price point, in limited runs,” he explains. “We’re working with the best mills in Italy, and we’re making really special things.”
He tested a classic workwear chore coat crafted from 100 percent cashmere in a run of 50. At $1,800, they flew out the door — much to his surprise. “We thought, ‘Oh my God, this is
» When I’m designing, I’m wondering how I can inspire a guy to change. «
TODD SNYDER
incredible.’ So it’s about making sure we have the pinnacle of product, something for our customer to aspire to.”
During his career — which spans jobs at Ralph Lauren, Old Navy, and at the Gap and J.Crew, where he worked with legendary merchant Mickey Drexler — Snyder honed his talents and instincts for years before launching his own label (he is famously responsible for J.Crew’s Ludlow suit, a slim style that is still a bestseller today). The big lesson from these years of experiences, he says, is simple: Make excellent products and marry them to evocative storytelling.
He likes the way actors can help bring a certain dynamism to the photo shoots — in fact, he considers Paul Newman, who could look as stylish in a tuxedo on a red carpet as he did in jeans and a T-shirt in a race car, as one of his most enduring muses. “Not only do [Matt and Sterling] look incredible in the clothes, but they also bring such a spirit to the collection,” he says. “It helps complete the story. The way they’d move, or the way they’d make their face or brow look, brings things to life,” he says. “It was pretty cool.”
Indeed, the storytelling starts at the very beginning of Snyder’s design process. Each season he creates what he calls “characters” to design for, and thinks about not just the clothes but the whole lifestyle — what his job is, what car he drives, what his house looks like, what music he listens to, what movies he likes — and allows the clothing to spring forth from there.
Because of this grounded approach, Snyder’s clothes are both classic and versatile. It’s why you can easily imagine them on a variety of California archetypes: the sun-kissed Venice Beach surfer, a laid-back tech exec, a suave movie star, or his wheeler-dealer agent. “When I’m designing, I’m wondering how I can inspire a guy to change,” Snyder says. Indeed, his greatest strength may be that his clothing doesn’t feel like capital-F fashion, but more real, more everyday. It’s clothing to live one’s life in. “For a lot of guys, even if you like fashion, it can be daunting. We try to interpret it for our guy. We want to decode what’s going on in fashion and make it approachable so our guy feels comfortable.” toddsnyder.com. •
Todd Snyder and his recently opened locations in Marin County Mart (top) and on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice, which join flagships at The Grove, L.A., and Hayes Valley, San Francisco.
After four seasons playing Netflix’s favorite French heartthrob, Lucas Bravo is ready to go against type
Words by ROB HASKELL
After the hit first season of Emily in Paris, when Lucas Bravo found himself clamoring to play anything but the role of sexy Parisian neighbor that made him a famous heartthrob, his manager offered this advice: Give people time to enjoy their first impression of you before you smash it to bits.
On the eve of season four, as the Emily press push takes over Los Angeles for a week in the dog days of August, Bravo certainly does not look like an actor pandering to his audience. He arrived in the city a few days early and has taken a room at the Hotel Cara, a sleek oasis in a gritty Hollywood no man’s land just west of Thai Town and south of Griffith Park. Over the weekend, he will decamp to the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills for official duties and for a version of L.A. that doesn’t exactly excite his imagination.
“I’m kind of owning the city before the city owns me,” he says. Bravo’s hair is long and messy, his cheek is heavy with stubble — in short, there is little imprint of the clean and coiffed Gabriel, a chef, in his current
Photography by JACK WATERLOT
Styling by MARY INACIO
Into the Wild
POLO RALPH LAUREN jacket, $498, and pants, $248. GRENSON BRADY boots, $495. T-shirt, stylist’s own. Ring (worn throughout), stylist’s own.
presentation. As if to prove the point, Bravo does something flagrantly un-French: He orders an omelet for breakfast.
“It felt very ironic for me to have a breakthrough with a boy-next-door role,” he says of his character, the periodic love interest of Lily Collins’ Emily. “He’s supposed to be confident and sexy and everything that I’m not. I never had game. I’d never want to get into someone’s bubble if I’m not invited in.” Although the French love to hate Emily in Paris for its prettily wrapped chocolate box of French stereotypes, Bravo has always identified with the fish-out-ofwater story that is at the show’s core.
Born in Nice, Bravo spent his childhood bouncing around to accommodate the career of his professional soccer player father — to Lyon, Marseille, and Paris, then to Parma, Italy, and back to the South of France. “I always had a distance,” he recalls. “I remember my friends would have a collection of their class photos, the same people every year. I didn’t have that. I always felt out of place, but that’s how I started to — as a defense mechanism — analyze dynamics and patterns of people in order to fit in quickly, to not be the new guy as fast as possible. The South of France is very warm. People are very accessible, and it’s easy to make friends. Paris, where I finished high school, was kind of a slap in the face. I arrived with that energy of the south and was confronted with walls. So I knew what the show was going for.”
At 18, and not with any great conviction, Bravo enrolled in law school in France. But during a break in his first year, a friend invited him to Los Angeles. What was supposed to be a two-week vacation lasted five years. In L.A. they were received by the son of Pitof, the French director best known for his 2004 flop Catwoman. While Pitof was in China looking to redeem his career, his son and his friends took over a house on Laurel Avenue in West Hollywood. “I had been very protected by my family for many years,” Bravo says, “and all of a sudden I had all this freedom. For me it was the beginning of life.”
When Bravo told his parents he intended to leave law school in order to act, they were mystified. Although his grandmother would occasionally send over a couple of hundred euros, he was always on the financial brink. He remembers asking a different friend every day for a dollar so he could go to Taco Bell and order the 99-cent cheesy double beef burrito, his daily meal. “Acting was the only thing that vibrated in my soul,” he says. “Even though I was broke, everything felt possible. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced that feeling again.”
While Bravo’s big break, on Emily, didn’t come until he turned 30, he does not look at the first decade of his acting career with self-pity. He recalls the “double humiliation” of going to parties, explaining he was an actor, and, in the next breath, saying no, his interlocutor probably had not seen him in anything because he hadn’t been in anything. “But,” he says, “I think that calling yourself a struggling actor is a good way to stay one for a long time. Being an actor can’t be defined by success or celebrity. If it vibrates within you, if it’s a need, if discovering who a character is helps you to discover who you are, if it’s therapeutic, then it’s worth it. I think we’re all hurt or traumatized and are looking for answers within acting, or maybe for a massive amount of love within a short amount of time. For actors there’s always a void to fill. Today we’re being sold the idea that we can have everything all at once, so we feel like choosing is renouncing an infinity of other possibilities. But it’s when you choose, when you commit, when you engage, that life starts happening.”
» Acting was the only thing that vibrated in my soul. Even though I was broke, everything felt possible. «
Feature - Bravo
LUCAS BRAVO
Top: AMIRI sweater, $1,090, and shirt, $990. POLO RALPH LAUREN pants, $248. IWC watch, $17,400.
Bottom: GIORGIO ARMANI cardigan, $3,995, and pants, $3,395. GRENSON BRADY boots, $600. HARRY WINSTON watch, price upon request. Opposite: BRUNELLO CUCINELLI coat, $13,500. HARRY WINSTON watch, price upon request.
» It’s when you choose, when you commit, when you engage, that life starts happening. «
LUCAS BRAVO
PHIPPS jacket, $525, and shirt, $435. LORO
PIANA leggings, $2,050. GIVENCHY x BOGS boots, $675. Shorts, stylist’s own. Opposite: POLO RALPH LAUREN x NAIOMI GLASSES coat, $2,498. Bandanna, stylist’s own.
This year, Bravo finally dared to disrupt the safe and comfortable persona that Emily has lent him. He has recently wrapped on a French-language prequel to Dangerous Liaisons opposite Diane Kruger. In September he stars as a fashion photographer at the center of a summer night of sex and violence in the dark comedy The Balconettes. Later in the fall, he plays a jewel thief in Mélanie Laurent’s Freedom After four seasons of Emily , with its brand of no-hair-out-of-place physical perfection, Bravo relished the naturalism of Laurent’s directing and her celebration of the “gestures of life,” those small and inelegant movements that real people make and that don’t usually make their way to the screen.
“In season four of Emily, within the script of being the sexy neighbor, I tried everywhere there was space to take out the sexiness and the Frenchness and everything they wanted me to be. Life is imperfect, with mistakes and clumsiness. I infused a lot of that energy into season four, and
» To stay sane in the industry you need to turn it off, which isn’t easy when you’re with someone else in the industry. «
LUCAS BRAVO
I kind of made it my favorite season. It’s funny — at the end Lily was like, ‘I don’t know what happened this season, but I loved what you did with our couple.’ That felt great.”
Feature - Bravo
It has been nearly two decades since Bravo felt like an outsider in Paris. He is a resident of the 11th arrondissement and a passionate proponent of life in neighborhoods without all the flashy tourist attractions. “I grew up near the Arc de Triomphe, in the core of what Paris represents to the rest of the world,” he says. “The 11th is perfect because it feels like a village. Things need to be tiny: your interaction with your coffee place, your vinyl store. It took me decades to find it, but there are parts of Paris where the dynamics are different and people are more welcoming — what I call the real Paris, where the monuments are not and where the tourists don’t go. When my friends from L.A. come to visit, I push them to discover that Paris. In every city, if you’re with the right people and go to the right places, you’ll have that warm feeling.”
Bravo is newly single, having recently ended a three-year relationship with another actor whom he does not name. He says he understands why actors often date one another — no one outside the orbit quite understands it — but conflicting schedules and the high stakes of every reunion can spell doom. “You’re in different countries, and then you have 24 hours to reconnect,” he says. “It’s so much pressure to be the best version of yourself. Every gesture is overinterpreted. To stay sane in the industry you need to turn it off, which isn’t easy when you’re with someone else in the industry.”
When he lived in L.A., Bravo frequented Swingers, the West Hollywood diner. Free refills — unknown in France — were something of a revelation to his teenage self. These days, when he can, Bravo prefers to avoid the showbiz core of the city in favor of its edges: Silver Lake to the
east, Venice to the west. He unzips his sweater to show off a T-shirt from Sqirl, Jessica Koslow’s famed Virgil Village café. He is no less a fan of the monthly First Friday food truck night on Abbot Kinney. Bravo loves Sugarfish and KazuNori, In-N-Out, and the occasional cannabis e-cig at a local dispensary. “It’s legal here, and I like to contribute to that evolution,” he says.
Bravo’s Paris may be a lot cozier than the one that greeted Emily, but there’s no competing with Southern California when it comes to friendly neighbors. “In L.A.,” he says, “when you pass someone on the street and there’s eye contact, you say, ‘Hey, what’s up?’ I don’t think we’ll ever do that in Europe.”
Top: JIL SANDER sweater, $2,180. POLO RALPH LAUREN pants, $248. Center: LORO PIANA jackets, $9,025 and $3,550. Bottom: ZEGNA sweater, $2,850. IWC watch, $40,900. Opposite: GREG LAUREN jacket, $1,375. POLO RALPH LAUREN pants, $248. GRENSON BRADY boots, $495. JACQUES MARIE MAGE sunglasses, $1,050. T-shirt, stylist’s own.
Grooming by JAMIE TAYLOR at A-Frame Agency. Set design by ZORAN RADANOVICH. Vehicle provided by MR. VINTAGE MACHINE. Shot on location at TOPANGA CREATIVE ACRES.
Eddie Vedder recalls some of his favorite moments shared with his multifaceted friend, surf legend
Kelly Slater
Words by EDDIE VEDDER
Documented by TODD GLASER
Kelly Slater just out of the water in Fiji. Opposite: Portugal, 2014.
like the spit out of the doggy-door behind him. Luck, coincidence, wavewhisperer? The fact that this drama has played out on more than a few occasions, you’d have to give some credit to some internal knowledge, a connection with the ocean and even a certain break. Or some insane karma. Or...that he’s a freak.
elly Slater...A lot has been said. Kelly this. Kelly that. Surf films, magazines. Life-size posters in every surf shop. Eleven-time world champ, the ultimate GOAT. Thirty-plus years of being the most visible icon in the history of the sacred sport. And with all that...the press and admiration, the impact and inspiration, the titles and trophies...he is still underrated.
To quantify his influence, it’s been said that he is the Michael Jordan of surfing. No offense to M.J., but looking at Slater’s level of dominance throughout his career, it’s unparalleled. Michael Jordan is actually the Kelly Slater of basketball. Here’s the thing — Kelly is different...bit of a freak. I’m not speaking derogatorily. Everyone who knows him has thought it, said it, been marveled by it. And just when you may think for a second that he is actually pretty normal, he will astound you with some act of freakishness. It’s just the way he is. He’s a freak. Superfreak. A freak of nature... And, even more poignant, a freak with nature.
Ninety seconds left in the heat, he’s down by seven or more points. There has been a lull, not a wave in sight. Thirty seconds left and suddenly a bit of corduroy shows itself upon the horizon. Ten seconds left, a peak begins to form, and just before the horn blows, K. takes off on a late take-off wave that came from absolutely nowhere.
And just when you think you’re witnessing a miracle, this wall jacks up and closes out on him, and way too deep, he disappears... And as you’re watching the seemingly unridden wave work towards shore, bouncing fifteen-foot whitewash towards the sky and thinking about what could have been...he comes shooting out of the barrel with the speed of a human cannonball. The roar on the beach erupts out of shock and dismay, minds having just been blown
A couple stories...His competitive nature. There was a time when Kelly would make an annual visit to this secret spot I used to hide out in, a little-known corner of the planet. If you were feeling reclusive, this place was an isolated dream. A perfect spot to surf, write, play, drink, go deep in conversation, or do nothing at all. During one of my stays in this beachside shack, I would take breaks from the writing and throw some darts. I got pretty good. At some point in Kelly’s visit, I asked if he was up for a game. It became apparent rather quickly that this dartboard thing was perhaps the one thing he had no talent for. I was drilling the board quite proficiently and getting some big numbers, and he was sending more darts into the siding than the cork. I started feeling kind of terrible. Here’s my friend, traveled to get here, and now I’m pretty much crushing him...So I back off a bit, and he gets a few in. At least it’s not embarrassing. We get to his last turn, and he’s got three more darts...and I’m up by eleven. The guy who just started hitting the board is gonna have to hit three bullseyes to win. Not really possible. Ain’t happening. But oddly the first one goes in. It was definitely a surprise — highly unlikely. And obviously lucky. But then the second throw. Another bulls. WTF? How does that happen? I’m, like, too stunned to say anything smart-ass as he aims his final dart into a tiny piece of crowded real estate and, of course, shockingly threads the needle, lands three bulls, twelve points, takes the game. I think his understated quote, delivered with wide eyes and ever so slight a smile, was, “Wow, crazy.” Um, yeah...crazy. He’s a freak.
» I have said many a time, if only I could surf as well as he plays and sings, I would be ripping. «
EDDIE VEDDER
closer because he’s running and ain’t stopping ’til he hits the water. As he paddled out through the big surf just as the starting air horn blasted, I remember praying that he would win that heat. Which he did. I was so grateful. I didn’t want it to be the smoothie’s fault.
original image, but I’ve attempted a mini-version of it for reference.) But yeah, he sees things different. Slightly different dimension. Freakish.
Feature - Slater
Another time, Pipeline, semi-final. My daughter Olivia and I are with Kelly in his kitchen as the Pipe Masters coverage is playing on the
small screen behind us. As the heats go by, the stakes are becoming more intense, but our man K. seems calm and oblivious. He’s up next, and I’m thinking now must be the time he’s gonna get moving towards the contest flags up the beach. This thought is confirmed by the TV broadcast showing the other competitor with his singlet on, walking towards the water. As I’m about to “casually” mention this, he asks Miss Olivia if she’d like a smoothie. (?!) He starts explaining the ingredients as he starts slowly and deliberately grabbing various greens, scoops of fruits and powders, and filling the blender. A horn goes off just as he hits the button on the loud mixer... Did he hear the siren? With his finger not on the pulse, but the pulse “button,” is he gonna miss the start of the heat? A semis heat, at that. Pipe Masters, for God’s sake! Now I’m pacing, barely managing my nerves... He pours the contents (a magnificent, work of art frigging smoothie, by the way) into a jar for Oli, and I reach out to grab the blender...“Hey, man, let me rinse that out for you.” He says, “No, man, it’s cool. I got it.” Inside, I’m panicking, more than a little... “AAAGH...!! GET YOUR BOARD, BROTHER!”
He turns off the faucet, sweetly gives my protein-shake-sipping girl a hug, then glides to the back porch. Grabs his board, checks the fins, scratches at the wax, then literally jumps through the hedge onto the sand and heads up the beach. The crowd on the shore converges on him and then separates as he gets
Every surfer draws waves. We drew them in English, history, and biology class when thinking about what was important to us. And everyone has their own unique style of illustrating on a notebook page the vision that is in their head. In the early nineties, I wanted to test this theory and started asking all my surf friends to draw “their” waves in my composition book. Rob Machado’s was smooth and liquid, perfectly groovy. An exact representation of what you would expect from his pure-stoke approach. Ross Williams, Taylor Knox, Kalani Robb, etc., all contributed, turning a college-ruled notebook into a gallery of the masters. I remember Kelly going off into a corner and getting really focused on it. I didn’t see his interpretation until the next day. It was not what I was expecting.
It was dark. Made of pencil stabs and dashes. Jagged lines and sharp edges. And where all the angular lines would meet up and intersect, it gave off a sense of something heavy and foreboding. There was nothing inviting or groovy about this one at all. I asked him about it. He noted the dark spots on the wave. These are the power points of the wave. Where many of us see a swell, a peak, and a curl, his brain was almost digitizing it into angles and lines, and the concentration of the lines were where the energy of the wave was gathered. An offering he would exploit. If this was common practice among the surf gods of yore, or his other peers, it was certainly not something I had been presented that way before. Elucidated perfectly with the detailed sketch of dark matter. (I couldn’t locate the
Surfer, visionary, ambassador, inventor, friend. A true global citizen. Musician. I have said many a time, if only I could surf as well as he plays and sings, I would be fucking ripping. But that’s not gonna happen. ’Cause he’s a freak.
If you revered nature as religion and worshipped at the feet of our planet, being inside the barrel would be an audience with the Pope. I’m guessing K. S. has spent more time in the green room than most musical legends have been on stage.
And looking down his own barrel, the barrel of his camera lens, is another legend in Todd Glaser. A true friend. Compadre. Collaborator. Capturer. Custodian. Knowing that Kelly has had such an original crewmate and travel partner, artistically documenting this extraordinary existence, is truly something to be grateful for. A parallel visionary and a sometimes singular witness. Catching the moments like rare waves. Photos they can share. From which we may learn. Either awaken our stoke or increase it, most definitely. Inspired by images. Because some of this shit you wouldn’t believe.
And, for the record, all I have written here is true. Enjoy. •
Excerpted from Kelly Slater: A Life of Waves (Rizzoli, $55).
Feature - Slater
Clockwise from opposite top left: Slater with his partner, Kalani, 2015; Barbados; Tavarua, Fiji, 2018; North Shore, Hawaii; Cloudbreak, Fiji, 2012; Pipe Masters, 2022; Slater with Eddie Vedder, 2017; Gold Coast, Australia, 2017; South Pacific, 2017.
» [Kelly Slater] surfer, visionary, ambassador, inventor, friend. A true global citizen. «
EDDIE VEDDER
Says photographer Todd Glaser, “Barbados was the first place
How two friends are rewriting the rules of menswear with a new luxury brand inspired by the West Coast’s board culture
Feature - Relyk
We describe Rélyk as counterculture American luxury,” says Skyler Stone, co–creative director of the freshest luxury menswear brand on a California scene that, over the past decade, has birthed the cult names Amiri, Fear of God, and Gallery Dept. So what gives Rélyk its edge?
“It is really for someone who lives an active lifestyle and needs transitional pieces in their day-to-day life — timeless pieces that can live in your wardrobe for decades and only get better with wear and age,” adds Kristopher Brock, co–creative director and a former winner of the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund (fellow laureates include L.A. brands Rodarte and The Elder Statesman).
They didn’t meet until 2023, when they were neighbors in Corona del Mar, but both Brock, 38, and Stone, 32, are lifelong surfers, skateboarders, and snowboarders, and they share a love of the rugged coastlines and soaring mountain ranges of the wild American West. Stone runs the Rélyk studio in Aspen, Colorado, where he now lives with his wife and children. Brock is based in Orange County with his girlfriend and children, close enough to the factories of South L.A. that assemble some of the Rélyk garments, the setting for today’s shoot.
Words by ANDREW BARKER
Photography by BRAD TORCHIA
Rélyk co–creative directors Skyler Stone (left) and Kristopher Brock at the factory that produces their jeans. Grooming by Andre Gunn at Honey Artists.
Sourcing the finest cashmeres and cottons from Italy and Japan, the pair want to deliver contemporary cuts for family guys like themselves, with a taste for board sports and the great outdoors. “We both travel a lot, so everything needs to be wearable and easy but able to withstand the elements, whether that’s being with our kids, at the office, in meetings, or on the mountain, beach, or skate spots. Clothes that look put together but never too precious to be lived in,” says Brock. The name Rélyk comes from the intention to present pieces that feel lived-in, even before they are purchased.
Brock grew up in Texas and studied at Parsons School of Design in New York in the late aughts. After working as a tailor, in 2014 he launched Brock Collection with his then wife, Laura Vassar, whom he met at Parsons. Their dresses, blouses, denim, and bridalwear were stocked at well-regarded purveyors such as Net-a-Porter and Saks and worn on the red carpet by the likes of Emma Stone, Alicia Vikander, and Elizabeth Olsen. Highs included collaborations with H&M and Tecovas and nominations in the CFDA Awards’ Emerging Talent category in 2017 and 2018, but the pair parted ways professionally in 2021.
“Kris is more classically trained in fashion and tailoring, and I am not, but it’s kind of a great marriage in that I gravitate toward less traditional, more streetwear silhouettes, and Kris brings this elevated tailoring element,” says Stone, who grew up in Florida and Orange County and worked as a cinematographer and director. Before his fashion pivot, Stone was on the road filming with the likes of Blink-182 and making videos of Red Bull’s adrenaline-junkie sportspeople before running his own media company.
“This brand came from that lifestyle change of me sitting in a room with only creatives to sitting in rooms with finance guys and not really feeling like I had the wardrobe to blend those two worlds together,” he says.
“It’s nice creating with someone who’s newer to the industry because I sometimes find myself following the more stereotypical path versus questioning it, as Sky does,” adds Brock.
Today we meet at the factory that produces the brand’s jeans. Lowslung and loose on the leg, they feature a drawstring belt that has become something of a signature to the Rélyk shorts and pants — a tribute to the shoestrings they tied around their waists as teenagers to keep their baggy pants from falling down.
» Everything needs to be easy but able to withstand the elements, whether that’s our kids, the mountains, the beach, or surf spots. «
KRISTOPHER BROCK
Indeed, the prevailing culture of their formative years looms large in their designs. “On the mood board we have a lot of old punk shows, skate and surf images from back in the day. We’re figuring out how to bridge that gap of fine tailoring but making it feel authentic to what we grew up on,” Stone says.
A brick red jacket in weathered lambskin is a standout that makes you wonder whether it’s a one-of-a-kind vintage find. “It’s clearly a leather jacket,” Brock says, “but it’s constructed more like a tailored piece. You get this feeling when you put it on that it just works. You never feel restricted. It’s oversize but not sloppy, and you can still layer underneath it.”
In December, Rélyk’s debut collection for Spring 2025, seen throughout this shoot, launches exclusively at FRWD, online and at its store in Aspen. Featuring denim, tailoring, knitwear, and leather goods, the plan is to expand into new categories next year. (Brock will join Stone in the studio the week after we meet to begin designs for Fall 2025.)
“Working in fashion, it’s important not to take ourselves too seriously and to have fun along the way,” Brock says. Two friends working together, creating the clothes they’ve always wanted but could never find — what could be more fun than that? •
Feature - Relyk
Top left: Presley wears RÉLYK jacket, $1,620, shirt, $850, and jeans, $440. Top right: Kris wears RÉLYK shirt, $490, and pants, $720. Presley wears RÉLYK shirt, $850, and shorts, $590. Skyler wears RÉLYK shirt, $420, pants, $490, and cap, $190. Bottom left: Monte wears RÉLYK jackets, $890 and $950, and pants, $720. Bottom right: Monte wears RÉLYK windbreaker, $660, jacket, $890, and pants, $540.
NEW HEIGHTS
● One of Williams’ most famous residential projects, the Jay Paley House at 1060 Brooklawn Drive, was commissioned in 1934 and built at a cost of $100,000. Two years earlier he had delighted Paley with the design of the property’s Zodiac swimming pool and pool house (which appeared on a cover of Architectural Digest in 1933). In 1961, following Paley’s death, the estate was sold to Barron Hilton for $475,000 (nearly $4.9 million today). Two years after the hotelier’s death in 2019, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt paid $61.5 million for the historic home.
● In 1941, the new owners of the Beverly Hills Hotel hired Williams — along with interior designers Paul Laszlo, John Luccareni, and Harriet Shellenberger — to give the lobby a much-needed redesign, which included the installation of CW Stockwell’s Martinique banana-leaf print wallpaper. Throughout that decade, Williams was commissioned for a number of changes and additions to the Mission-style hotel, including the creation of its Crescent Wing, which serves as the backdrop for the property’s equally recognizable script sign. Completed in 1949, the addition cost $1.5 million (about $19 million today), and was soon followed by Williams’ renovation of the Palm Court Terrace.
● For the original Saks Fifth Avenue at 9600 Wilshire Boulevard, completed in 1938, Williams was credited as “architect for the interiors” for the Hollywood Regency-style space. The department store’s success led to two subsequent and immediate expansions led by Williams in 1940 and 1948. De-emphasizing traditional commercial product displays, Williams created “moods” and vignettes that have been credited with inspiring boutique store designs of the ‛80s and ‛90s.
● Perhaps his most infamous residential project is the longabandoned 8,700-square-foot pink Italianate palace he designed for Tarzan actor Johnny Weissmuller at 414 St. Pierre Road in Bel Air. Completed in 1931 — with a formal ballroom, coffered 20-foot ceilings, and carved stone mantels — the property was equally admired for its unusual and extensive landscaping.
CALIFORNIA CLASSIC
Remembering California’s premier Black architect, who designed many of its iconic buildings and homes for its biggest stars Paul R. Williams
Words by DAVID NASH
From the mid-1920s until he retired in 1973, Los Angeles architect Paul R. Williams (1894–1980) helped define the landscape of Southern California through his modern and often innovative takes on a variety of aesthetic styles, including Mediterranean, Tudor Revival, Regency, Spanish, French Provincial, and Modernist. After studying at the Los Angeles School of Art and Design and the L.A. outpost of the New York Beaux-Arts Institute of Design, Williams graduated from USC in 1919 with a degree in architectural engineering. In 1921, he became the first licensed Black architect west of the Mississippi River — and the first Black member of the American Institute of Architects just two years later.
After opening his office in 1925, Williams became known as “Hollywood’s architect” for designing a multitude of private homes
for celebrities and other wealthy clients during and after the Golden Age of Hollywood, like Barbara Stanwyck, Lon Chaney Sr., Johnny Weissmuller, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Frank Sinatra, and several members of the founding family of CBS, including Jay Paley and his nephew William S. Paley. Williams’ prolific career also included many commercial, civic, and institutional projects, such as the interiors for the original Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills, renovations of Chasen’s restaurant in West Hollywood, and the 1940s redesign of the Beverly Hills Hotel’s lobby and the addition of its Crescent Wing.
After designing about 3,000 structures, Williams died at age 85. His funeral, fittingly, was held at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church at 25th and La Salle Streets, which he had designed 17 years earlier. X
From top: Williams in 1965 in front of the LAX Theme Building, which was part of a larger airport project he collaborated on; Williams’ visionary early ’50s redesign of the El Mirador Hotel in Palm Springs attracted Hollywood’s A-list and U.S. presidents; Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz moved into their Williams-designed Palm Springs home in 1954.
A Lange & Sohn
