C California Style & Culture

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Van Cleef & Arpels

I liked Keri Russell from the moment I met her in the elevator of the Brooklyn photo studio where we shot her cover story. She was lovely, warm, and real. And truth be told, for someone who has basically grown up in front of our eyes (I will always think of her as the star of Felicity , even though she has played so many fierce and fabulous roles since then), she can be nervous in front of a camera. She shook it off, literally, by dancing and getting into the mood — and then she nailed it, shot after shot, one more interesting than the next. It goes to show that even the best of the best can have a moment of nerves before they hit something out of the park.

Speaking of a home run of sorts, artist Doug Aitken consistently creates works of art that have a deeper message and make one think, while also being highly collectible and coveted. We profile the prolific artist as he prepares to debut his newest boundary-pushing project, Lightscape . The film, with a live-to-picture sound collaboration with the Los Angeles Master Chorale and L.A. Philharmonic, is set in the rural and urban landscapes of Southern California. With a mythic feel plus striking images and sounds, the project explores where we are and where we could be going.

EDITORS’ PICKS

Sandals, $1,750, jimmychoo.com.

Founders Note

This state is a constant source of inspiration for the creatives in our midst. So many artists flock here for the freedom the West affords — and the light, oh, the light! Not every artist uses a canvas to create, however, and artistic endeavors come in many forms. We profiled a group of talented Californians making their mark in the design world and visited their studios to see what makes their work shine.

A perfect segue into sparkle, this season’s jewels à la mode are organic and true to form and design integrity. We shot some of these stunners as specimens in the middle of gardens and greenhouses. I am sure a few of the pieces will make it to the top of your list, whether to give or receive. And in that spirit, wishing you a most fabulous winter season in the Golden State — even if it is 72 degrees and sunny.

JENNIFER SMITH Founder, Editorial Director and CEO

On the Cover

Photography by JACK WATERLOT. Fashion Direction by EMMA JADE MORRISON. Hair by BRIAN MAGALLONES. Makeup by TINA TURNBOW.

KERI RUSSELL wearing JACQUEMUS jacket and TOM FORD shorts.

JIMMY CHOO

FEATURES

Winter Issue 2024

STATEMENTS

David Hockney’s career-spanning prints arrive in Palm Springs..............................................

Tamara de Lempicka’s paintings return to San Francisco..............................................................

Nick Fouquet and Lucchese go to boot camp........................................................................................

Five metallic handbags elevate holiday soirées.....................................................................................

Travis Lett’s Abbot Kinney izakaya refresh..................................................................................................

Why Keri Russell relishes her messy role in The Diplomat

Bold stones stand out in a hothouse filled with winter jewelry................................................

Six creatives at work making SoCal the next great hub for design........................................

How Doug Aitken created a multisensory masterwork set in the West...........................

WEDDINGS

Eye-catching styles to inspire your gown search...................................................................................

An intimate art-inspired union in Malibu................................................................................................... Powerhouse planner Stefanie Cove ties the knot in Montecito..............................................

DISCOVERIES

Where to book winter stays.....................................................................................................................................

Five NorCal spas serve up cutting-edge wellness................................................................................

How Aerin Lauder unwinds in California....................................................................................................

The Diplomat star on the lessons her on-screen characters have taught her

STYLE NEWS

The hottest openings of the season

Haute homes from California’s foremost tastemakers

Beauty Director

KELLY ATTERTON

Contributing Fashion Editor REBECCA RUSSELL

JENNIFER SMITH Founder, Editorial Director & CEO

JENNY MURRAY

Editor & President

Chief Creative Officer JAMES TIMMINS

Senior Editors

GINA TOLLESON

ELIZABETH VARNELL

Managing Editor

SARAH RUTLEDGE

Photo Editor LAUREN WHITE

Graphic Designer DEAN ALARI

Research Editor CAITLIN WHITE

Masthead

Contributing Editors: Caroline Cagney, Elizabeth Khuri Chandler, Kendall Conrad, Kelsey McKinnon, David Nash, Diane Dorrans Saeks, Stephanie Steinman, Nathan Turner, Stephanie Rafanelli

Contributing Writers: Anush J. Benliyan, Max Berlinger, Catherine Bigelow, Samantha Brooks, Alessandra Codinha, Kerstin Czarra, Helena de Bertodano, Richard Godwin, Robert Haskell, Martha Hayes, Rob LeDonne, Christine Lennon, Jessica Ritz, S. Irene Virbila, Chris Wallace

Contributing Photographers: Juan Aldabaldetrecu, Christian Anwander, Guy Aroch, Mark Griffin Champion, Gia Coppola, Roger Davies, Victor Demarchelier, Amanda Demme, Francois Dischinger, Graham Dunn, Sam Frost, Adrian Gaut, Lance Gerber, Alanna Hale, Rainer Hosch, Bjorn Iooss, Danielle Levitt, Blair Getz Mezibov, Dewey Nicks, Frank Ockenfels, David Roemer, Jessica Sample, Jack Waterlot, Ben Weller

Contributing Fashion Directors: Chris Campbell, Cristina Ehrlich, Petra Flannery, Fabio Immediato, Maryam Malakpour, Katie Mossman, Jessica Paster, James Sleaford, Christian Stroble, Samantha Traina

RENEE MARCELLO Publisher

Executive Director, West Coast

SUE CHRISPELL

Director Digital, Sales & Marketing

AMY LIPSON

Sales Development Manager ANNE MARIE PROVENZA Controller LEILA ALLEN

Executive Director, Information Technology

SANDY HUBBARD

C PUBLISHING

2064 ALAMEDA PADRE SERRA, SUITE 120, SANTA BARBARA, CA 93103 T: 310-393-3800 SUBSCRIBE@MAGAZINEC.COM MAGAZINEC.COM

CARLEE WALLACE

The stylist for “Haute House” (p. 86), our feature story on the season’s finest jewelry, Carlee Wallace is a Canadian fashion and advertising stylist. She began her career in London as a contributor to numerous international brands and publications. Since moving to Los Angeles in 2019, she has worked with some of the industry’s top clientele and publications, like Vogue, Elle, and Esquire. MY C SPOTS Exploring various L.A. neighborhoods • Hiking and taking in the otherworldly scenery in Joshua Tree • Relaxing and shopping in Ojai.

Writer Richard Godwin resides in Bristol, England, but he still misses living in L.A. For this issue, he penned the feature on cover star Keri Russell, “I Don’t Want to Play the Beautiful Girl, I Want to Play the Person Who’s a Mess” (p. 72). He regularly covers culture, technology, media, and cocktails, and you can find his weekly newsletter at thespirits.substack.com. MY C SPOTS Walks along Zuma Beach in Malibu • Browsing the stacks at Stories Books & Cafe in Echo Park • Enjoying a meal at La Super-Rica Taqueria in Santa Barbara.

Contributors

NYC–based fashion and portrait photographer

Christian Anwander shot the local artists in our roundup “Why SoCal Design is So Now” (p. 92). An avid fly fisherman who loves to travel the globe with his family, he has also photographed celebrities like Daft Punk, Richard Dreyfuss, and Pierce Brosnan for magazines including Esquire, Vogue, GQ, and Elle MY C SPOTS El Coyote for Mexican food • A cocktail at Sunset Hotel Bar • Grand Central Market DTLA.

The author of a feature on artist Doug Aitken’s newest boundary-pushing work created in collaboration with Los Angeles Master Chorale’s Grant Gershon and Jenny Wong, “Doug Aitken’s Ode to California” (p. 104), Elizabeth Varnell is a writer and editor based in Santa Monica who covers art, architecture, design, fashion, and health. She has spent the past two decades writing for Vogue, Surface, San Francisco, and C MY C SPOTS Snacks at Il Parco near the Presidio Tunnel Tops • Visiting the Huntington Desert Garden • Airstream camping with my family at Emma Wood State Beach.

RICHARD GODWIN

ELIZABETH VARNELL

CHRISTIAN ANWANDER

A Lange & Sohne

Libertine

From top: Hockney’s five-sheet print titled 25th June 2022, Looking at the Flowers (Framed) is one of more than 240 works on display; an editioned work from 1979, Joe with Green Window.

Statement - Opener

PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST

Career-spanning DAVID HOCKNEY prints arrive at the Palm Springs Art Museum

CONTRIBUTORS

MAX BERLINGER

CATHERINE BIGELOW

CAROLINE CAGNEY

KERSTIN CZARRA

DAVID NASH

REBECCA RUSSELL

ELIZABETH VARNELL

S. IRENE VIRBILA S T A T E M E N T S

At 87 years old, British artist David Hockney is still as relevant to pop art and culture as he was at the beginning of his career in the early 1960s. If you’re not convinced of his star status, just look at prices for his pieces at auction ($90.3 million for his 1972 painting Portrait of an Artist (Pool With Two Figures) at Christie’s in 2018) and the number of world-class museums and institutions that count his works among their permanent collections — or ask ARTnews Top 200 Collector Jordan Schnitzer, who has been hoarding Hockneys since 1980.

Better yet, visit the PALM SPRINGS

ART MUSEUM ’s exhibition David Hockney: Perspective Should Be Reversed: Prints From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation to see more than 240 works. As the largest survey of Hockney’s prints, the show includes works from 1954 to 2022 and presents the artist’s oeuvre from early printmaking to his tech-forward iPad drawings. “I’m addicted to David Hockney,” says Schnitzer, who also counts a work from Hockney’s Blue Guitar series as one of the first prints he bought. “He’s a master colorist, the foremost portrait artist of our time, and a naturalist.”

Statement - David Hockney

Originally conceived as a show of 160 works, it has increased by nearly 40 percent to include many of Hockney’s earlier prints, in which he explored his sexuality, that were not shown in a recent exhibition of Schnitzer’s collection at the Honolulu Museum of Art. The exhibition is part of the museum’s Q+ Art initiative, which focuses on the work of LGBTQ+ artists and includes public programs, collection building, and awards geared toward solidifying their voices in the arts.

Says Adam Lerner, the museum’s executive director, “Hockney’s work challenges viewers to see the world through his unique lens, embracing both artistic and personal freedom.” Nov. 23–March 31. 101 N. Museum Dr., Palm Springs, 760-322-4800; psmuseum.org. •

Words by DAVID NASH

Clockwise from top left: Gregory in the Pool (Paper Pool 4) , 1978; a 2009 iPhone drawing printed on paper, Early Morning ; a homemade two-sheet framed print, Green Grey & Blue Plant, July 1986 ; a photographic collage titled My Mother Sleeping, Los Angeles, Dec. 1982.

Le Prince de Galles

Paris

Laurent Perrier

Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature is crafted in our cellars from exceptional Chardonnay reserve wines to allow for a zero dosage.

DOUBLE DOWN

It’s a statewide expansion for ZIMMERMANN, with the Australian fashion brand’s fifth and sixth outposts opening doors in San Diego’s Fashion Valley and San Jose’s Westfield Valley Fair, respectively. In the new upstate Silicon Valley location, the 1,631-sq.-ft. boutique takes a pared-back approach with a full-length windowed facade that frames a two-toned Mazzega glass chandelier suspended on the other side. The lounge and fitting room have a barrel-vaulted ceiling, another monumental chandelier, a custom Kilim rug, iconic Warren Platner and Milo Baughman seating, rich patterned curtains, and artworks by Australian artists like Venn Miles and James Drinkwater. Down south, the aesthetic is more laid-back and reflects the region’s relaxed atmosphere. The narrow layout features a series of smaller rooms that lead to the lounge area that’s highlighted by exaggerated curved cornices, an elevated ceiling, furnishings by

Yrgö Kukkapuro and Isamu Noguchi, and works of art by Delphine Perlstein and Jordy van den Nieuwendijk. Both boutiques are stocked with the brand’s full range of offerings, which have had a devoted following since sisters Nicky and Simone Zimmermann founded it more than three decades ago. 7007 Friars Rd., San Diego; 2855 Stevens Creek Blvd., Santa Clara; zimmermann.com. D.N.

BOLD TOTES

Statement - Style 2

ZIMMERMANN has opened two new outposts in California.

EXPRESS YOURSELF

The legendary LADY DIOR handbag, which was released almost 30 years ago and named for Diana, Princess of Wales, has had a lifetime of interpretations. This winter, the ninth edition of Dior Lady Art features 11 international artists — four of whom are based in the United States, including Vaughn Spann, Danielle McKinney, Jeffrey Gibson (top), and Faith Ringgold (center and bottom) — who have reimagined the iconic silhouette of the handbag, in compelling twists, although still featuring the classic charms and silhouette. Each bag is a wearable object of art, with each artist honoring the canvas on which their identity and cultures are expressed. dior.com.

R.R.

Beth Hutchens’ modern heirlooms are making a West Coast debut on Melrose Place. Wooden crescents hold FOUNDRAE gold chains in varying lengths, while pendants and medallions drawn from symbols across cultures and eras — favored by Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, and Gwyneth Paltrow — sit in beguiling vitrines. Also inside is a workshop with a bench jeweler and hand engraver to personalize designs that become a second skin. For Hutchens, the new neighborhood feels like a community. She created a new symbol for the opening that she calls “a cherub for the city of angels,” which is only available here.

“I’m looking forward to spending more time in L.A. It will add richness and depth to my life,” she says. 8405 Melrose Pl., L.A., 323-424-4304; foundrae.com. E.V.

LENNY KRAVITZ

16–March 6.

FACE TIME

Michelle Obama’s official portrait is returning to San Francisco alongside a rendering of Breonna Taylor and nearly 50 other works, including a new triptych, as SFMOMA debuts its much-anticipated midcareer survey of portraitist Amy Sherald. The exhibition, Amy Sherald: American Sublime, showcases her depictions of Black women, men, and children at ease. Sherald’s use of gray shades for the skin of her subjects, a technique dating to the Renaissance, shines a light on race as a construct. Her works, organized into six thematic galleries, redefine what it means to be seen as an American. Known for her particular process, she invites people she meets to be

photographed, selects garments, and creates paintings that subtly reference canonic visuals. The museum’s recent acquisition, For Love, and for Country, evokes Alfred Eisenstaedt’s photograph of a sailor kissing a woman. In Sherald’s version, there are two men. 151 Third St., S.F., 415-357-4000; sfmoma.org. E.V.

Statement - Art

PLAYING FOR KEEPS

CHANGEMAKER

2

The roots of environmental justice are deepening in Los Angeles with an exhibition of Joseph Beuys’ social sculptures and a host of works from the German artist’s practice on view at THE BROAD’s Joseph Beuys: In Defense of Nature (Nov. 16–Apr. 6). Performance art and early involvement in Fluxus led Beuys to seek open public debates. His desire to communicate with a wide audience sparked his “multiples,” or small editions of sculptures made to give away or sell. Bottles of Rhine Water Polluted (1981) speak volumes. In addition to the show, an offsite reforestation initiative, Social Forest: Oaks of Tovaangar, directly addresses climate change, planting 100 native oaks in Elysian Park’s Chavez Ridge. 221 S. Grand Ave., L.A., 213-232-6200; thebroad.org. E.V.

CABBONET, the British brand known for kitchens, dressing rooms (that’s closets to Americans), and furniture dressed in rich materials and modern lines, recently opened its showroom at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood. Founder Andrew Hays, a partner in London-based design firm Arteim, says this newest studio will let visitors craft a vision borrowed from a mix of designer periods. The showroom will feature the brand’s singular handcrafted designs, like its Oil-Cloth Island, Stone Sink, and Apothecary Cabinet for the kitchen, as well as Cabbonet’s new dressing room collection, which includes versatile closet storage with a three-way adjustable vanity mirror and folding and pivoting glass entry doors. “Our finishes celebrate the art of tactility, sourcing materials both old and new and experimenting with traditional finishes in contemporary contexts,” Hays says. Appointments by request. 8687 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood; cabbonet.com. K.C.

new

The

CABBONET showroom in West Hollywood “embraces eclecticism,” says founder Andrew Hays.

AMY SHERALD’s exhibition at SFMOMA runs Nov.

The Look of Luxe

Get SARTORIALLY SENSUOUS this holiday season

Presley wears SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO blazer, $3,550, shirt, $1,500, and scarf, $450. Myever wears SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO blouse, $3,050, skirt, $3,150, bag, $2,300, bracelet, $1,050, and sandals, $1,050.

Photography by MARK GRIFFIN CHAMPION Styling by VANESSA SHOKRIAN

South Coast Plaza

Myever wears RALPH LAUREN top, $2,990, skirt, $3,490, and bag, $4,690. HARRY WINSTON rings, bracelet, and watch, prices upon request. Presley wears RALPH LAUREN jacket, $2,495, pants, $595, shirt, $495, tie, $235, and cuffs, $390 and $450.

Photography by MARK GRIFFIN CHAMPION Styling by VANESSA SHOKRIAN

IWC PORTUGIESER AUTOMATIC.

IWC Schaffhausen

Portugieser Automatic 42, Ref. IW501708

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 Horizon Blue. IWC. ENGINEERING BEYOND TIME.

Presley wears VALENTINO GARAVANI blazer, $3,390. Myever wears VALENTINO GARAVANI bag, $3,100, earrings, $2,290, tights, $890, and shoes, $1,290.

Photography by MARK GRIFFIN CHAMPION Styling by VANESSA SHOKRIAN

WINTER’S GOLDEN TAPESTRY

ALONG THE SANTA BARBARA COAST

Belmond El Encanto

As the golden winter sun illuminates the hills of the American Riviera, we invite you to enjoy a festive season of rich tradition, local craft and contemporary luxury overlooking the Santa Barbara Coast. From fireside cocktails, sumptuous cuisine and live music to seasonal workshops, afternoon tea and New Year’s celebrations, join us for a calendar of unforgettable festivities full of friends, family and merriment.

Please contact our Reservations Team at 805 845 5800 to plan your festive season retreat.

Presley wears DIOR jacket, $2,500, shirt, $700, bangle, $640, and ring, $430. Myever wears DIOR jacket, $6,700, shorts, price upon request, choker (worn as bracelet), $2,150, and earrings, $940.

Shot on location at THE GEORGIAN HOTEL. Models MYEVER AKINLEYE and PRESLEY WALKER with Photogenics Media. Manicure by ALEX JACHNO at Opus Beauty using Orly.

Photography by MARK GRIFFIN CHAMPION Styling by VANESSA SHOKRIAN

PIXEL PLAY

LACMA is showing Digital Witness Nov. 24 through July 13.

The tools of the digital trade, including image-editing software, have sparked ongoing debates about altered text and visuals, but they’ve also launched a wave of ongoing creative experiments. LACMA’s Digital Witness: Revolutions in Design, Photography, and Film mines the matrix to explore the role of such innovations — from the 1980s onward — in photography, graphics, and visuals. The exhibition, assembled just as AI image generators emerge, includes 150 photographs, posters, videos, moving image files, and interactive software created by nearly 200 artists and designers. With the computer graphics of films or the distorted reality of photographs by Loretta Lux, the blurry lines between fact and fiction are established and explored. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., L.A., 323-857-6000; lacma.org. E.V.

HOUSE PROUD

DECO DARLING

Statement - Design 1

Giorgio Armani’s interiors line, ARMANI/CASA, launched as part of the Italian designer’s quest to create havens that resemble the rest of his singular design world, has a new home in L.A. The relocated Robertson Boulevard boutique spans two floors and 4,000 square feet filled with innovative furniture, lamps, upholstered pieces, wallcoverings, rugs, textiles, and accessories, plus kitchen and bath systems. The new space, with its strikingly angular white frame, is freestanding following the company’s move toward independent retail spots and includes a terrace and courtyard filled with the line’s new outdoor collection. 125 N. Robertson Blvd., L.A., 310-358-0901; armani.com. E.V.

NATURAL SELECTION

The bold, vibrant, dramatic works by portraitist Tamara de Lempicka, the grande dame of art deco, have returned in a striking exhibition at the DE YOUNG MUSEUM 83 years after her first San Francisco gallery show. This sweeping survey, featuring more than 120 paintings and drawings as well as related fashion and decorative arts, is Lempicka’s first major U.S. retrospective. “One of Tamara’s lasting legacies is that she was truly a self-made woman, a selfmade artist,” says the artist’s greatgranddaughter, Marisa de Lempicka.

“She was a true original.” famsf.org.

C.B.

Melding botany and art, LILY KWONG’s Subterrestrial (through Aug. 2025) — a new living installation taking root in Night Gallery North’s courtyard, seeded with a variety of native trees, grasses, and flowers — marks her first environmental intervention in L.A. in seven years. Accompanying the show is a second exhibition of lumen prints using expired photography paper and a mix of salt, gold, and alchemizing elements to create the images of California plants from Kwong’s garden and the Santa Monica mountains comprising Solis (through Dec. 2024) in the gallery’s Chapel viewing room. In both shows, Kwong, who has had installed works at the New York Botanical Garden, the High Line in New York City, and Salone del Mobile in Milan, navigates between aesthetic control and elemental chance brought on by sun and rain. A vernal equinox gathering on March 20, 2025, will celebrate the self-irrigating garden bed (hügel) at full bloom. 2050 Imperial St., L.A., 323-589-1135; nightgallery.ca. E.V.

Lorem ipsum credit here.

LILY KWONG’s Subterrestrial runs through August 2025.

Tamara de Lempicka debuts at DE YOUNG.

CLOSE KNIT

A reimagined LORO PIANA Beverly Hills boutique opens on the Italian house’s centenary

LStatement - Loro Piana

oro Piana sweaters are designed to softly envelop the body, and the Italian house, which dates back six generations, has reimagined its Beverly Hills boutique to evoke that feeling from the ground floor entrance to the rooftop terrace. Designed with natural wools and cashmeres, a warm palette amplifying the earthy tones of the house’s signature kummel red, along with oak and Carabottino wood, the three-level space nods to the founding family’s textile legacy, now celebrating its centennial year. The new space also charts the future ahead, as does a new volume from Assouline, Master of Fibres. Just as the boutique’s rounded corners evoke sleek nautical design and its silk wall coverings and carpets in spare, modern shapes reflect the line’s minimalist bent, the book charts the evolution of its elegant readyto-wear, bespoke suits, and accessories to the present day.

Fleece harvested and spun in northern Piedmont in the house’s early days led to fabrics prized for innovative treatments sought out by French and Italian fashion houses for decades. The space’s ground floor houses women’s collections replete with the soft staples, while men’s coats, trousers, and jackets are upstairs. Private appointments take place on the top floor linked by a staircase with tactile three-dimensional sculptures covered in linen threads by textile artist Sheila Hicks. 337 N. Rodeo Dr., Beverly Hills, 310-860-0765; loropiana.com. X

Words by ELIZABETH VARNELL

Clockwise from top left: A Boo George campaign shot, Sergio Loro Piana; Beverly Hills boutique interiors; the exterior; a fall ready-to-wear look.

THOMES AWAY FROM HOME

A new book spotlights California residences built as NATURAL ESCAPES

Statement - CA Houses

he more we crowd into large cities the more we crave some element of nature, even if it is no more than a few potted plants or a pocket garden. That enhances the appeal of a retreat into the countryside; a place where nature rules. Thanks to the internet, a rustic retreat can now become a place in which to live and work year-round, encouraging architects to design second houses that are as versatile and commodious as the most ambitious urban dwellings, as well as snug cabins for a weekend escape.

The challenge is to protect the qualities that people have come far to enjoy. Unregulated development can quickly transform wilderness into suburban sprawl, as happened in and around Palm Springs. The

Words by MICHAEL WEBB

house that Neutra built there for the Kaufmanns in 1947 was a winter retreat at the edge of a tiny community, but air conditioning brought a rash of tract homes and a host of permanent residents. Yet, even in built-up areas, architects can orient houses toward a patch of greenery and landscape designers can create the illusion of a rural setting.

Selected for their diversity, these houses respond to every kind of landscape, from tumbling rocks to pounding surf and the dappled light of forests. One straddles a creek, another is elevated to protect tree roots, a third steps down a wooded slope. They pay homage to traditional forms and the pure lines of minimalist sculpture. Roofless House shuts out neighboring properties to focus attention on treetops and the sky, while Hill House creates its own landscape: a mound planted with succulents, hollowed out to contain soaring volumes and inner patios. Excerpted from California Houses (Thames & Hudson, $58). •

Statement - CA Houses

Clockwise from top left: Branch House, Montecito; Wave House, Malibu; Pebble Beach House, Monterey County; Hill House, Montecito; Roofless House, Atherton.

BOOT CAMP

Texas and California might be considered political opposites, but the partnership between Venice Beach designer NICK FOUQUET and El Paso boot maker

LUCCHESE proves that diplomatic relations can yield creative harmony. The second collaborative collection, which mixes a bit of Lone Star State swagger with laid-back surfer vibes, includes four men’s and four women’s boots, three hats, a baseball cap, and socks. It’s as stylish as it is covetable, and it shows there’s plenty of common ground to be mined. Some highlights include the Calico boot, made of patchwork leather joined by a distinctive overlock stitch; the Mahogany Moon, with its stacked heel and python detailing across the boot’s upper; and the cherry red Little Reata

MIND MELD

boot, crafted with intricate floral inlays. As for the headgear, there’s the Palomino Holy Paw, a wide-brimmed Beaver topper with a woven horsehair band and golden hardware, and the Highway 89, a cowboy-esque beauty made from Japanese straw and featuring a sheepskin sweatband with hammered and sand-casted buckles. All in all, it could be considered the sartorial equivalent of replying “Howdy” the next time a skater dude greets you with “Hey, bro!” lucchese.com. M.B.

- Style 1

Gem-encrusted earrings for the year ahead BALL DROP 1. 2. 4. 6. 3. 5. 7.

1. GRAFF, price upon request. 2. VAN CLEEF & ARPELS, price upon request. 3. CICADA, $45,250. 4. TIFFANY & CO., price upon request. 5. JACQUIE AICHE, $11,000. 6. HARRY WINSTON, price upon request. 7. CARTIER, price upon request. –R.R.

Artists Sybil and David Yurman led parallel lives. They traveled in similar Greenwich Village, Haight-Ashbury, Venice Beach, and Big Sur circles; knew some of the same people; and posted notes on the board outside Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s City Lights bookstore in San Francisco. But they had never met. Once they did, in 1969, the couple developed an artistic language and launched a jewelry line in New York, sparking a lifelong partnership cataloged in a new volume, SYBIL AND DAVID YURMAN: ARTISTS AND JEWELERS (Phaidon, $69.95). Their creative journey, stoked by Sybil’s painting and ceramics and David’s sculpture, yielded signature bauble designs alongside stark images shot by Peter Lindbergh. Sketches, behind-the-scenes shots, and archival photographs including the couple’s son, Evan — who is now at the forefront of the line’s continued evolution — are all gathered in the new volume. phaidon.com. E.V.

Amber Valletta pictured in DAVID YURMAN jewelry.

NICK FOUQUET and LUCCHESE have a fresh collaboration.

LUGANO celebrates its 20th anniversary.

CUSTOM CUTS

Reproductions of JB BLUNK’s rings start at $680.

Statement - Style 3

On the eve of its 20th anniversary, Newport Beach–based LUGANO is honing gemstones into the innovative one-of-a-kind rings, bracelets, earrings, and necklaces that have launched the jewelry house into the vanguard of fine and high jewelry design over the past two decades. House founders Moti and Idit Ferder established their California workshop to create modern pieces that often incorporate intriguing cuts, such as champagne diamond hearts, emerald-shaped solitaires, and halfmoon baguettes. These are set in gold or innovative materials including tech-

based carbonium, colored ceramics, prestige rubber, and sports car–grade titanium, plus ebony and other woods. The resulting pieces are thoroughly modern, jettisoning rigidity. Admirers of Moti’s boundary-pushing cuts and looping, twisting, and often unexpectedly light designs include Warhol muse Jane Holzer, equestrian and philanthropist Georgina Bloomberg, and BET cofounder Sheila Johnson. 545 Newport Center Dr., Fashion Island, Newport Beach, 949-625-7722; luganodiamonds.com. E.V.

American sculptor JB Blunk worked on a large scale with natural materials, but he also created pieces of jewelry that were often gifts for friends and family. For the first time, the JB BLUNK ESTATE is issuing reproductions of four rings in collaboration with Los Angeles jewelry designer Jess Hannah Révész, founder of J. Hannah. Produced in limited editions of 50, each piece has a deep connection to Blunk and has been reimagined in sterling silver or 18-karat gold, including Presence, which is based on a sculptural jade ring designed for his wife, Christine, in 1980. The other three rings, Continuum, Muse, and Crown (designed for his daughter and the estate’s director Mariah Nielson), share similar origin stories. All of them are certain to be conversation starters. jbblunk.com. D.N.

True Love Always

Three Golden State GETAWAYS

OBook yourself a luxurious staycation in Laguna Beach, Santa Monica, or Guerneville.

n the cliffs above Main Beach in Laguna, CASA LOMA BEACH HOTEL is emerging as a reimagined boutique hotel, tapping into the region’s roots as a seaside haven for creatives, bohemians, artists, and surfers with close proximity to the city’s downtown restaurants and galleries. Clay tiles in the lobby bar and lounge evoke the city’s famed makers and craftspeople, while custom beds and built-in guest room desks are influenced by the region’s surfboard shapers. Part of Marc & Rose Hospitality, the storied hotel includes a pool overlooking the dramatic seascape, and the organic shapes of the slopes leading to the sea are echoed throughout the interiors. 211 N. Coast Hwy., Laguna Beach, 800-544-4479; casalomalagunabeach.com. E.V.

Regent Santa Monica Beac h

Alegendary hospitality brand has returned to Southern California with the opening of REGENT SANTA MONICA BEACH. The new space is just steps away from the Santa Monica Pier and has stunning views of the Pacific Ocean. Its 167 guest rooms, suites, and on-site Guerlain Wellness Spa were brought to life by Wimberly Interiors and evoke the ultimate sense of serenity. For the most indulgent stay, book the 3,200-sq.-ft. Santa Monica Presidential Suite, complete with separate living, dining, and game rooms, as well as unbeatable panoramic ocean views. The hotel also includes four dining spots: Orla and Orla Bar by James Beard Award winner Michael Mina; Azure Bar, an outdoor watering hole; and Sweet July Café from restaurateur Ayesha Curry. 1700 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica; santamonica.regenthotels.com. D.N.

Statement - CA Hotels

Set along the Russian River, about an hour-and-a-half north of San Francisco in western Sonoma County, the 22-acre DAWN RANCH has just debuted two new Spa Cottages. With a mix of rustic charm and contemporary styling, each bespoke cottage offers an outdoor redwood ofuro-style soaking tub, a private enclosed patio with a firepit, a spacious living room with a wet bar and powder room, and a double-sided gas fireplace separating the living room and king bedroom. Guests can further relax by strolling along the riverfront, in the apple orchard, and through the meadow; taking part in activities like scent making, flower pressing, and bird watching: or choosing from a menu of customized spa experiences. 16467 California-116, Guerneville; dawnranch.com. D.N.

LAGUNA BEACH Casa Loma Beach Hotel

SANTA MONICA

Island Living Meets Desert Luxury

HEADY HOMECOMING

Five years ago Travis Lett walked away from Gjelina, the wildly popular California restaurant he cofounded in 2008. Now he’s back refreshed and focused on his new project, RVR. The idea for the restaurant has been percolating since he opened MTN in 2017, two years before he left the Gjelina group. It was also an izakaya, but this one, he says, completes the concept he had just begun: a casual Japanese tavern that combines everything he loves in the Japanese pantry with California’s glorious bounty.

RVR is open for dinner 5–11 p.m. (until 10 on Sunday).

EARLY HOURS

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That means yakitori, tempura, bone broths, pickles, salads, and charcoal-grilled fish and meats. A fun hand-roll section uses any seafood at hand, while yakitori is cooked over

binchotan charcoal. The kitchen makes its own gyoza skins and ramen noodles, and the broths are made from boiled down pork bones from local heritage pig farmers Peads & Barnetts. “I want to give everything more of a sense of place and specificity,” Lett says. You can easily make a feast with plates from every section of the menu. 1305 Abbot Kinney, Venice, 310-573-8077; rvr.la. S.I.V.

COUNTER SPACE

The legendary five-star HOTEL BEL-AIR has just added two new culinary experiences to the luxe property. At The Pâtisserie, Christophe Rull presents classic French morning pastries, including pain au chocolat and freshly baked breads, cookies, and sweets. You can enjoy your coffee and croissant on the outdoor courtyard around a wood-burning fireplace. Afternoons, meet a friend at The Living Room, the reimagined lobby lounge, for a cocktail and a light bite. Make it the “Coldest Martini in Town” served table side, with the Vidalia onion and crème fraîche dip or deviled eggs dabbed with caviar and gold leaf. 701 Stone Canyon Rd., L.A., 310-472-1211, dorchestercollection.com/ los-angeles/hotel-belair. S.I.V.

How many top-of-the-line sushi restaurants can one city support? It would seem there is room for one more now that Tokyo’s Michelin-starred sushi master Hisashi Udatsu has opened UDATSU SUSHI on the Sunset Strip with another starred chef, Naotaka Ohashi. With only eight charred-wood stools at the counter, the restaurant’s omakase will be helmed by Udatsu’s protégé, Shingo Ogane. The 17-course omakase is all about top-tier ingredients, and may include an organic herb roll, nigiri with sea urchins from Hokkaido and Santa Barbara, flounder with grated ponzu, and a Japanese sweet egg omelet as a finale. Vegetarians get their own omakase menu, and the wine list features both seasonal sake and natural wines. 6634 Sunset Blvd., 2nd fl., L.A.; udatsusushila.com. S.I.V.

UDATSU SUSHI is open W–Su, 5:30–11 p.m., with seatings at 5:30 and 8.

HOTEL BELAIR has two new spots.

L’Ermitage BH

LIBRARY WINES

Statement - Trippers

Words by GABE SAGLIE

A CENTRAL COAST collaboration yields next-level single-varietal sips

Aesthetics matter to the team behind TRIPPERS & ASKERS, an inspired Santa Barbara wine venture by friends Hayden Felice and Andrew Fitzgerald. That’s why what’s outside the bottle can be just as important as the liquid within. The brand name is inspired by a Walt Whitman poem. The moniker for each cuvée — whimsical titles like Catching Tigers in Red Weather and With Liquid Hands — are quotes from literary verses. And the eyecatching art on the labels, which the team compares to album covers, are photographs snapped by the founders.

Their wines are the product of an equally thoughtful and intuitive practice. They are snapshots of cool-climate sites — premium vineyards in areas like Santa Barbara County’s Sta. Rita Hills, mainly, and Monterey’s Carmel Valley — that produce organic wines that are fresher, lower in alcohol, and easy to drink young. Felice, who makes the wines, takes a single-varietal approach, rather than blending grapes. Wine titles change with each vintage, except for their launch wine, Lenient Therapist, the Pinot Noir rosé whose name stays the same. Industry buzz has been remarkable: Wine Enthusiast gave 97 points to their 2022 The Mind Is Its Own Place Pinot Noir and 95 points to the 2021 Root of the Wind Chardonnay.

Trippers & Askers wines are poured by the glass at local spots like San Ysidro Ranch, Montecito Club, and Barbareño. The wines are sold through three wine clubs and online, and the team regularly collaborates on custom label projects for weddings, corporate gifts, and fundraising events. trippersandaskers.com. X

From top: Trippers & Askers vines in Sta. Rita Hills AVA; racking the wine out of the barrel; cofounders Felice and Fitzgerald; each bottle is hand-dipped in custom wax to match the label.

Artful Living

SANTA BARBARA–BASED ARTIST COLETTE COSENTINO AND HER BRINDILLE GOLDEN ACCENTED PANEL SET DESIGNED EXCLUSIVELY FOR SCHUMACHER. PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRIS ORWIG.

Well - Opener

2024 WINTER

Why KERI RUSSELL relishes her messy role in The Diplomat p. 72. Bold stones stand out in a hothouse filled with WINTER JEWELRY p. 86. SIX CREATIVES making SoCal the next great hub for design p. 92. How DOUG AITKEN created a multisensory masterwork set in the West p. 104.

Artist Stefan Bishop’s studio in Glassell Park.

As the lead in Netflix’s high-stakes political dramedy The Diplomat, KERI RUSSELL has nailed it again. She tells C about her real-life power couple, girls’ trips, and a new friend in the State Department

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“I don’t want to the beautiful girl, I want to play the person who’s a mess”

Photography by JACK WATERLOT Styling by EMMA JADE MORRISON Words by RICHARD GODWIN

BALENCIAGA scarf, $550, and skirt, $2,390. BULGARI watch, $13,200.

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Top: LOUIS VUITTON jumpsuit, $4,750, and belt, $565. JIMMY CHOO boots, $1,195. Bottom: ALAIA dress, $4,070. GIANVITO ROSSI shoes, $1,175. BULGARI watch, $47,100. Opposite: GIVENCHY jacket and shorts, prices upon request. MICHAEL KORS COLLECTION boots, $1,595. JACQUES MARIE MAGE sunglasses, $725.

GUCCI jacket, $3,980, and skirt, $1,950. Opposite: FERRAGAMO coat, $5,800, and skirt, price upon request. JIMMY CHOO shoes, $975.

Every fall, Keri Russell leaves her husband in charge of the children for a short spell and takes herself on a little solo vacation. “I’ll fly into San Francisco, drive down to Big Sur — those giant redwoods are so California to me,” says the award-winning actress, 48. “It’s mostly, you know, romantic couples. But my romance is just with my book and myself. I use it as a time to think and regroup and be quiet.” A couple of years ago, she was thinking harder than usual. The screenwriter Debora Cahn had sent her a script for a show called The Diplomat. She had Russell in mind for the title role. The trouble was, the script was “really good.” Even worse, Russell really liked Cahn when they met.

watchable as Kate Wyler, a career diplomat who has cut her teeth in the fractious world of Middle East politics and is abruptly dropped into the U.S. Embassy in London as the series begins, charged with safeguarding the special relationship following a terror attack on a British warship. To do so, she must grapple with Iranian agents, Russian mercenaries, and worst of all, British politicians. As a rare female ambassador, she is also being scrutinized and patronized and manipulated by her semi-estranged husband, Hal, another ambitious former ambassador. So, like Ginger Rogers, she must do the job backward and in heels.

Russell is a delight to talk to, even over Zoom: She is warm, candid, and funny, with a worldly wisdom that comes from balancing a long career with ordinary family life (she has River, 17, and Willa, 13, from a previous marriage, and Sam, 8, with Rhys). As we’re talking, Willa is in the middle of a group chat that keeps popping up on Russell’s computer. “How do I turn it off?” she asks. “Those little jerks!” She has quite sensibly denied her younger children smartphones: “The 13-year-old is like, ‘Mom, this is crazy — I need a phone,’ and I’m like, ‘No, you don’t.’” But any antagonism seems affectionate and, crucially, mutual. Her children’s nickname for Russell and her friends is “Moms Gone Wild.”

But back to The Diplomat. Kate is clearly a gift of a role, and Russell read widely while researching. Paul Richter’s book The Ambassadors gave her a strong sense of the kind of diplomat Kate would be. “She wouldn’t be doing the fancy jobs in London or Paris or Rome. She’d be in the Middle East. It would be a bit more rough and tumble. She’d speak different languages and know a lot more about the culture and the people and the different factions and tribes.” The show itself clearly has its rewards, not least because it is filmed on location in the UK. “London

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This was a problem because Russell, mother of three, didn’t want to take on another huge TV series. She’d done a couple of those and knew what was involved: 18-hour days and six-day weeks in the case of the college drama Felicity, which dominated her early 20s. What’s more, the timing didn’t work. Russell and her husband, the Welsh actor Matthew Rhys, take turns, and it was his time. “Matthew was away working, and it was my turn to be home and do the laundry and make lunch and stuff,” she says. “But I thought, ‘I have to do this show.’”

It’s fair to say that Russell — and Rhys — made the right call. The Diplomat, which premiered on Netflix in spring 2023, is a huge hit. Season two drops on Halloween, and season three is already in production. Russell loves it. “The character Debora created is such a mess,” she says. “She’s so bossy, she’s so single-minded and focused on things, and then she has this extraordinarily messy relationship with her husband. I don’t want to play the beautiful girl, I want to play the person who’s a mess.”

As one critic wrote of Russell’s performance: “She’s so deft you wish she had the job in real life.” Indeed, Russell is almost outrageously

PRADA coat, $4,500. BULGARI ring, $3,800.

“I’ll fly into San Francisco, drive to Big Sur… but my romance is with my book and myself.”

KERI RUSSELL

CHANEL cape, $6,500, and skirt, $3,750. Opposite: TOM FORD dress, price upon request.

in the summer is just amazing,” she says. “The parks. Everyone’s spilling out onto the street from pubs, staying out so late at night.”

Russell has also secured some fancy dinner invites from her real-life counterpart, Ambassador Jane Hartley. “She is actually only the second woman American ambassador to the UK. Isn’t that ridiculous? But she is amazing and fabulous and has become a friend. Through her I’ve met all sorts of people within the British government.” And how did she find those guys? “Everyone’s nice at a dinner party. I’m sitting at a table with Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama or Samantha Power [head of the U.S. Agency for International Development]. Actors are the clowns, you know? I’m not doing important things for the world. So it’s incredible to get to be with those people and hear about their world.”

Overall, she sees the show as a “love letter” to the State Department and the Foreign Service. “It’s like, ‘We think you’re great. We think what you’re doing is incredible, under such duress and with hardly any thanks, and we want to tell stories about it.’” In this sense, it’s not far from Aaron Sorkin’s political fantasy The West Wing, which eased the despair many viewers felt about U.S. leadership when it aired from 1999 to 2006. Russell doesn’t shy away from the parallel. “We’re a cousin to The West Wing,” she says. Many of the creators are veterans of the show, including showrunner Cahn, director Alex Graves, and Allison Janney, who plays the U.S. vice president in season two. Russell is keen to stress that any parallels between the storyline and current events are purely coincidental. “People are going to think that we did this because of what’s going on, but all these stories were written so long ago. When you see it, you’ll know what I’m talking about.”

different being in love in your late 30s than when you’re 21. You know yourself better. You’re so lucky if you get to fall in love with someone at that age. You want different things and you notice different things.” It helped, of course, that The Americans was “such a fun ride.” She says, “It was so well received. The critics liked it. And the whole thing was just heady and fun and sexy. I never understand people in their 40s complaining about their age. The 40s is the best time. I feel like everything is just starting to work... it’s such a relief to not have to be the most beautiful person or the most romantic person anymore.”

Russell has experienced enough fluctuations in her career to appreciate the good times. She was 15 when she started acting. She grew up in Arizona and later Colorado, where she spent much of her teenage years in a dance studio. She was never particularly ambitious, but her whole troupe happened to audition for The Mickey Mouse Club. It was “a stroke of luck” that she was the one who made it through. It was, she reflects, a fun way to spend her teenage years. “When most teenagers were smoking pot and drinking, I was learning choreography to bad R&B,” she says. “I still stand by the fact that kids working is creepy. But it was the best of that world because 19 of us were teenagers, so it was kind of like being in a small performing arts school or something.”

“I never understand people in their 40s complaining about their age.”

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But the heart of the series is not so much the politics as the romance around the work itself. As in The Americans, in which Russell and Rhys played married Soviet spies living deep undercover in suburban America, The Diplomat is centered on a couple who are obsessed with their work. There are echoes of the Clintons but also, in Rufus Sewell’s portrayal of Hal, of Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. diplomat who helped broker peace in the Bosnian war in 1995. “They could be fucking, they could be fighting, it’s all the same — they’re always having this conversation about work.”

KERI RUSSELL

As for her own workplace romance, it’s still going strong. Russell and Rhys fell in love on the set of The Americans while playing Elizabeth and Philip Jennings. She learned later, however, that they had met 10 years earlier at a party in Rustic Canyon. “We were some of the last to leave. I was moving to New York really soon after that, and I remember he and his friend were trying to get me to stay, saying, ‘We have beer left.’ Matthew got my number and left a drunk message on my machine. But then I moved to New York and forgot all about it.”

Until a decade later, that is, when she was doing fight training for The Americans and Rhys let slip that he had tried it on with her a decade before. It didn’t take long for the romance to blossom. “It just works or it doesn’t, right?” Russell says. “I was just totally in love with him. It’s

Soon after that came four seasons of Felicity , which was based on New York University but filmed in Culver City. As wonderful as the show was, it left Russell utterly burned out. She was in almost every scene and the demands were huge. “I loved my experience, and I’m still friends with J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves. But I think I was so burned out afterward. I wanted to show up to my friends’ birthday parties and all that. I had saved money because I had no time to spend it. So I just decided to not do it anymore.” So she moved to the real New York and rented an apartment in the West Village with a friend.

“I did all the things I wanted to do,” she says. “I went dancing with my girlfriends, went to great restaurants, shared hilarious stories about dates, and just showed up. I got to be a kid wandering around the city, going to museums, reading books all day. It really saved me. It’s the reason I’m still in the business.”

Balance is clearly important to Russell. “It’s an amazing job and I love it and it’s afforded me this incredible life of adventure, but I always think of it like it’s an uphill sprint when you’re doing it. There are no days off. You can’t say, ‘It’s my kid’s birthday; I’m going to skip out early today.’ That’s not the way this job works.”

She offsets it by taking “multiple months off” when she doesn’t do much at all, except for the occasional trips with the Moms Gone Wild to Joshua Tree. “I don’t want to do some cool independent movie on my off time; I want to just go home and fold laundry and be with kids and get drunk with my girlfriends and stare at the wall. I have a friend who always says you can have all those things that you want — a career, a family, friends. But you can’t do them all well at the same time.” •

DOLCE & GABBANA blouse, $1,895, skirt, $3,245, and underwear, $995. JIMMY CHOO shoes, $975.

Hair by BRIAN MAGALLONES using Oribe for TraceyMattingly .com. Makeup by TINA TURNBOW using Testament Beauty. Manicure by ANGEL MY LINH at A-Frame Agency.

Bold stones, precious metals, and the most fanciful of gems SHINE BRIGHT in nature

Haute

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Left: BUCCELLATI yellow gold Opera Tulle bracelet, $3,000. Right: CARTIER Clash de Cartier 18K rose gold rings, $4,250 and $10,100, and Panthère de Carter 18K yellow gold watch, $28,400.

Photography by BRAD TORCHIA Styling by CARLEE WALLACE

House

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Left: VAN CLEEF & ARPELS 18K gold Rose de Noël clip, $18,500. Right: MARCO BICEGO 18K yellow gold Lunaria necklace with pavé graduated collar, $30,050.

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Left: BULGARI 18K rose gold Allegra Necklace set with amethysts, peridots, pink tourmalines, citrine quartzes, blue topazes, and pavé diamonds, $145,000. Right: DAVID WEBB 18K gold and platinum Lane bracelet with brilliant cut diamonds and green enamel, $33,500, and Octoagonal Buckle 18K gold and platinum ring with brilliant cut diamonds and green enamel, $21,800.

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Left: PIAGET Possession bangle, price upon request.

Right: POMELLATO 18K rose gold Iconica rings, $2,900–$7,800.

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Left: GRAFF white gold Oval Round Ruby Bow bracelet with round white diamonds, price upon request. Right: LUGANO 18K yellow and rose gold necklaces with pink, yellow, and white diamonds, prices upon request.

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Left: TIFFANY & CO. 18K yellow gold HardWear Bold Graduated Link necklace, $62,000. Right: CHOPARD titanium Haute Joaillerie collection earrings with sapphires and diamonds, price upon request.

Shot on location at INNER GARDENS. Model CHIARA BALLARD at Photogenics Media. Manicure by ALEX JACHNO at Opus Beauty using Orly.

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Why SoCal Design Is So Now

Photography by CHRISTIAN ANWANDER

Words by DEGEN PENER

Clockwise from left : Bennet Schlesinger’s green floor light at Marta gallery; Michael Felix’s Lunar Stool, at michaelfelix.com; Stefan Bishop’s Ash Sculpture, at Ralph Pucci Los Angeles; Laun and Chet Architecture’s Mondos Club Chair, at launlosangeles.com; Lois Samuels’ Portal No. 1 ceramic, at Twentieth; a room at the inaugural Design Miami L.A. fair.

On the heels of its fine art surge, Los Angeles has a next act. The metropolis is poised to flex its creative muscles as the next great hub for design. Of course, L.A. has long been a fount of innovation, from Gustav Stickley in the Craftsman era and midcentury visionaries Charles and Ray Eames to Frank Gehry turning cardboard into chairs beginning in the late 1960s. Now, thanks to a confluence of factors, the city has come of age when it comes to an interest in collectible furniture, decor, and ceramics.

In addition to a deep bench of makers and artisans, there’s a rising class of collectors. Major galleries have opened L.A. outposts, including Carpenters Workshop, R and Company, Friedman Benda, The Future Perfect, and Hostler Burrows, joining homegrown visionaries Blackman Cruz, Gallery Half, Joel Chen, Twentieth, and the new Marta. Fairs are making an impact too. The acclaimed Design Miami, already in Paris and Basel, chose L.A. for its latest expansion, bringing together nearly 50 galleries and designers last May at a Paul R. Williams-designed estate in Holmby Hills, and will return next year. The debut LA DESIGN Weekend, also unfurled across downtown and Northeast L.A. with more than 150 participating designers, artists and galleries.

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“I’ve been visiting Frieze L.A. since its inception, and I would start to notice that there were more and more design galleries in Los Angeles. And interior designers in L.A. are really exploring more and more collectible design for their clients,”says Grela Orihuela, SVP of fairs at Design Miami. Interior designers including Kelly Wearstler, Nicole Hollis, and Jamie Bush are also tapping into the creative wave, as is L.A.based Oliver Furth, who feels the pull.

“Everyone is wanting to know what’s happening in Los Angeles,”he says.“L.A. has that history, from the aerospace industry to Hollywood, as a place for experimentation. Now it’s happening in design. There are a lot of creative people making beautiful things.”

Previously pieces may have been snapped up by New York collectors, but now, he says, “it’s being sold through galleries here in Los Angeles and a lot of hometown collectors are buying it and it’s staying here.”

With workshops across the region, six leading lights of Southern California’s design revolution offer a look at their practices and the pieces they’re currently shaping.

“I had an epiphany, visions of all this shit I wanted to make.”

STEFAN BISHOP

multidisciplinary designer

There’s a powerful muscularity to Stefan Bishop’s designs.

Inside his Glassell Park workshop, an enormous, almost-completed custom bed is highlighted by a blackstained ash headboard that looks, from the side, like a row of robust upper backs lined up. Huge snakelike wood sculptures, boldly assertive in

their materiality, hang from the ceiling of the space, a former auto shop. “A lot of these sculptures I just make in between all my designs — all of these are in-process big things that I am just compelled to make,” Bishop says.“I’m just lucky that I have created this space where I’m able to make stuff and let my stamp come through.”

chain saw. “My whole body is telling me to slow down,” says Bishop, who has started relying more on digital cutting at the front end of his process“by necessity”, and finishing pieces by hand.“It takes some of the heavy lifting out. But that’s like a bittersweet thing for me because my favorite thing is working in the shop. It’s where my creativity happens.”•

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It wasn’t always this way. Bishop, who grew up in Oregon and Colorado, briefly made furniture in his early 20s, but left it behind to pursue interior design and later real estate. After the latter career flamed out (“I lost all my money in 2009,” he says), he wasn’t sure what to do next. “I had sort of completely written off the idea that I was creative and set it aside,” he says. That’s when his wife bought him a chain saw for Christmas and he jumped back into furniture design.“I had an epiphany, just out of nowhere, visions of all this shit I wanted to make,” he says.

Since then, Bishop — represented since 2020 by blue chip design gallery Ralph Pucci — has carved out a singular aesthetic in the design world; call it lumberjack meets abstract sculptor. His pieces, collected by the likes of John Legend, Jennifer Aniston, and Barack and Michelle Obama, include his Puddle tables, bronze works that call to mind pools of water, and imposing consoles in black walnut that have a primordial presence. Right now, his dream project is to supersize the fine art side of his practice. “I would just go big with it and lean further into the sculptural world,” says Bishop. The one hitch? His joints are feeling a bit abused after more than a decade of revving up that

Designer and artist Stefan Bishop cuts a piece of elm with his chainsaw at his Glassell Park studio. Works include a console table in stacked laminated birch and a large humanoid sculpture.

“I love the magic of the earth. It feels powerful and spiritual.”

LOIS SAMUELS ceramicist

Lois Samuels’work as a ceramicist isn’t a second career.“It could be a fifth,” she says with a laugh, and that pretty much hits the mark. Born in Jamaica and raised on a farm, Samuels (whose first name is pronounced Loy) was discovered by a modeling agent while in high school. She went on to appear on the covers of Essence and German Vogue and walked the runways of such designers as Alexander McQueen, Issey Miyake, and Thierry Mugler.“It lasts like the blink of an eye,” she recalls of her modeling days.

In 2009, she designed a clothing line, Vessel, for nearly a decade and also published a book of her photography, Jamaica Through My Eyes, chronicling everyday scenes in her home country. But five years ago, when her son moved to San Diego for college, Samuels decided to relocate to L.A. and start her newest creative endeavor working in clay. “One of my first dreams was to be a farmer. I just love the magic of the earth. It feels really powerful and special and spiritual,” she says of her

material of choice.

“Something about L.A. reminds me of Jamaica. There’s something about the light and the topography of the land. It really feels more like home here.”

Samuels hand-builds her ceramic works (as opposed to throwing them on the wheel), a process she prizes because she feels it adds more imperfection to her sublimely earthy yet beautifully ornamented vessels.“I think they reflect the experiences that you have in life — it’s not always perfect,” says Samuels, who this year joined the roster of designers and artists at L.A.’s esteemed Twentieth, founded by Stefan Lawrence.

For her latest collection, Open, Samuels used items like vegetable skewers, spatulas, and pieces of fabric to add patterns to the forms, with the end result looking in some cases like beadwork. While she works primarily at a communal studio in Cypress Park, Samuels says that she also likes to have clay at home,“because if I just roll out of bed and I want to touch the earth, I know it’s there.”•

Ceramicist Lois Samuels at Twentieth in the Hollywood Hills with her Portal No. 1 ceramic piece from her Portal series, (below left) and Open No. 30 from her Open series.

“Furniture was lacking in the intersection of beauty and function.”

MICHAEL FELIX furniture designer

“I don’t like to be pinned as one kind of thing,” says Michael Felix, a thirdgeneration furniture maker. “What I design can feel diverse.” What links his practice together — in addition to everything being made to order by hand in Los Angeles — is an ingrained desire to create pieces that are both instantly eye-catching and supremely livable.

“Growing up in the furniture trade, I felt that

the industry was lacking in the intersection of beauty and function,” says Felix, whose furniture can veer from classic modernist to “eighties post-modern Italian.” He worked as a sample maker’s assistant in the City of Industry furniture factory his grandfather founded in 1959.“I was stapling and upholstering and working on prototypes and samples. It was great to learn from the bottom up,” he says.“From there I went to the design department, then kind of leading the design department.”

He struck out on his own a little more than a decade ago.“I thought it could be interesting with the advent of Instagram to start my own thing. It was kind of the

beginning of Internet buying 10 years ago,” he says. His newest creations include custom wood tables made for the buzzy new Silver Lake wine bar, Barr Seco, as well as postmodern ceramic-topped side tables made in collaboration with artist Zane Zappas. They add to his body of works — which have been acquired by Hermes for a U.S. store and Equinox for its corporate offices — that include his voluptuous Madda chair and his elegant French 1950s-inspired Goddard daybed.

Felix also recently ran and operated a pop-up design gallery in Hollywood, allowing him to show his pieces in conversation with works by local L.A. artists.“I loved having it, but it did take me away from design a little bit.

I’m in a stage right now of focusing on new designs.” His dream is to“design a boutique, small hotel in the southern coastal Italian town where my family is from.”•

Furniture designer Michael Felix, outside his home in the Los Feliz hills, carries his kidney-bean shaped Lunar Stool.

“What is amazing about craft is that there’s no overarching conceptual weight to it.”

BENNET SCHLESINGER

lighting and furniture designer

The directness in creating objects that have a function constitutionally suits Bennet Schlesinger.“You can show someone a chair and they either like it or not and that’s really nice,” says the Ventura-based designer, who started out in the fine art scene but eschewed the pressure to explain his

artwork.“I spent eight or nine years in the art world talking about why I was doing something.”

Creating furniture offers a contrast.“What is amazing about craft is that there’s no, like, overarching conceptual weight to it,” Schlesinger says. There is, however, clear-as-day poetry to be found in Schlesinger’s works, which were the subject of his first solo show at L.A.’s Marta gallery earlier this year. His pieces range from floor lamps crafted in paper-covered bamboo frames set atop ceramic and brass bases to black walnut tables that he inlays with handpainted tiles.

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Since starting his practice about eight years ago — early on, he recalls making “eight or nine lights in a six-month period that sold in like three days”— he’s now happily in a creative groove.“I struggled for years and this is not that. I’ve had like a fouryear run of green lights so I’m very, very blessed,” says the designer, who has worked on commissioned pieces with such interior designers as Kelly Wearstler, Jamie Bush, Pierre Jovanovich, and Nicole Hollis.

On a recent day, Schlesinger, who grew up in Costa Mesa and surfs when he’s not working, was in his livework studio crafting handmade ceramic buttons to sew onto leather bean bag cubes, an ongoing collaboration with New York-based fashion designer Emily Dawn Long. One day,

Schlesinger dreams he’ll get the chance to design a church. “A chapel would be the most amazing thing in the world to create,” says the designer, citing his affinity for the iconic Sea Ranch Chapel in Sonoma County as well as a trio of churches built in Japan by Tadao Ando. “My focus with my work is about finding quiet, moments of reprieve,” he adds. As he prepares for his next show this winter at Galerie Timonier in New York, he’s happy to lose himself in the work. Although he does note, with a tone of bemusement, “I’m super busy, but as someone who works with interior designers a lot, sometimes I don’t get to see where the things I make go. They really sort of disappear and I go, ‘I swore I made more lights this year.’” •

Clockwise from left:

Lighting and furniture designer Bennet Schlesinger at his livework studio in Ventura with his blue floor light; his stick-and-poke tattoos are a work in progress with graphic novelist and painter Aidan Koch; handmade ceramic tiles used to inlay tables and chairs.

“As

architects it was very liberating to be able to physically make an object.”

RACHEL BULLOCK AND MOLLY PURNELL OF LAUN

California has long been a pioneer and bastion of insideoutside living, but that hasn’t always translated to an embrace of outdoor furniture by inventive designers. So architects and interior designers Molly Purnell and Rachel Bullock of LAUN saw an opening. Back in 2018, when the pair debuted their chic Hollywood Regency-inspired DeMille chair, “it didn’t feel like as many contemporary furniture designers were really pushing the envelope on outdoor at the time,” says Bullock.“We just felt like there was an opportunity to really explore more.”

Since then, the two have created a host of pieces that bring color and playfulness to poolsides and patios, while also hewing to modernist clean lines, from their zigzaggy Ribbon benches and Confetti terrazzo side tables to the

jewel-toned Mondos collection in neoprene and high-gloss fiberglass, in collaboration with Chet Architecture, named after a surf beach in Ventura.

“As architects, it was very liberating to be able to physically make an object,” Bullock says, noting that she and Purnell previously made drawings rather than crafting designs. The duo, whose firm is located in a loftlike space in DTLA’s fashion district and whose interior design clients include musician Drew Straus and actor Satya Bhabha, first met in architecture school at the University of Texas at Austin, and later each moved to Southern California.

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One of the huge pluses of working in L.A., they say, is the wealth of fabricators and machine shops that dot the city. “We make everything locally. People can do everything here and are so talented,” Bullock says. For LAUN’s Dawn collection, inspired by the work of Pasadena-born sci-fi writer Octavia Butler, Purnell recalls approaching a manufacturer of o-rings (silicone loops that help seal lids on containers) to make them a spool of the material in a custom color. The pair

used it to create waterproof fringe for side tables.

“I think it’s so fun to just drive to a shop in some random neighborhood that you’ve never been to,” says Purnell. “You get either

one of two reactions. One is like,‘No thanks.’The other is, ‘Sure, that’s a challenge for me. I’ve been stuck stamping the same metal form for 35 years. I’ll try to make something else.’”•

In the alley next to their DTLA Fashion District building, Laun’s Rachel Bullock (left) carries their Ribbon chair, made from layered aluminum tubes, and Molly Purnell holds an aluminum Confetti table.

Doug Aitken’s

Taking the Golden State as his muse, the artist has created a multisensory masterwork that captures its undulating landscapes and urban jungles in his inimitable style Words by

ELIZABETH VARNELL

Ode to California

A film still from Doug Aitken’s Lightscape , 2024, set at the Trona Pinnacles, Mojave Desert.

Stills from Doug Aitken’s Lightscape , 2024, set at the Marciano Art Foundation, Los Angeles (top) and along the California Aqueduct in Lancaster (bottom). Opposite: The artist Doug Aitken.

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“Lightscape explores the idea of the future, where we are now and where we could be going.” DOUG

AITKEN

passersby as a modern mythology.

“It’s like a river of different stories,” Aitken says of the film, and the landscape of Southern California itself — mountains, valleys, freeways, and factories — as well as its ecology, plays a starring role. Joshua Tree, Death Valley, Mojave, Grand Avenue, and an Amazon warehouse and airport parking garage are all here, juxtaposed in the frenetic mix. “Lightscape explores the idea of the future, where we are now, and where we could be going,” Aitken says.

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There’s a scene with Beck in front of this donut shop, sitting with the drummer James Gadson, and these drifter cars are doing their own donuts. We see the patterns of car tires on the ground,” says Doug Aitken, a multidisciplinary artist based in Venice, Calif., of his just-completed boundary-pushing project, Lightscape. “It’s almost feral, creatively.” His latest work encompasses film, music, live performance, and installation, using a mesmerizing method of storytelling through images and sound. The feature-length piece — he calls it “polymedia” — plays out as a fever dream or hallucination of the modern world propelled by what Aitken says is a “constant sense of continuous movement.” He sees the polyphonic partnership uniting the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and numerous dancers, musicians, friends of the artist, and

His work is often site-specific and just as often genre-defying. He curated 2013’s Station to Station involving a train, designed as a moving light sculpture, traveling from New York to San Francisco with various happenings along the way. His 2017 Mirage sculpture of a home covered in mirrors began in the California desert and traveled to Detroit and Gstaad, where members of the Chorale sang abstract, hypnotic phrases while walking through its interiors as snowflakes fell.

“We live in a world of images. There’s a sense of collective acceleration. There’s more and more. We need new tools to navigate this,” Aitken says. “I was more interested in asking questions about the individual. How do you retain your identity? We’re always going to rely on storytelling and myths, but we need models that speak to us now.” This project about the future of humanity is a foray into the technological fray, and Aitken feels compelled to go there. “Art can be a space with no commercial ties. If we don’t mine that, there’s no sector that will.”

Lightscape’s world premiere with a liveto-picture music performance is set for November 16, at Walt Disney Concert Hall, part of the day-long new music festival, Noon to Midnight: Field Recordings, curated by composer Ellen Reid and the L.A. Phil. The following month, the piece will be installed

“Art can be a space with no commercial ties. If we don’t mine that, there’s no sector that will.” DOUG AITKEN

on multiple screens at the Marciano Art Foundation, with the possibility of a wider release to theaters in the future. For this, Gustavo Dudamel and the L.A. Phil recorded the minimalist compositions, while the vocal parts come from the Grant Gershon–led Los Angeles Master Chorale. A schedule of live performances with the Phil’s New Music Group and the Chorale’s singers will also accompany the Marciano’s installation.

The film is visually stunning, with appearances by Beck, Natasha Lyonne, LA Dance Project’s Daphne Fernberger, and even a mountain lion who resembles Griffith Park’s P-22. The sound elements are equally compelling. Aitken began by writing song cycles, what he called, “minimalist pieces centered around the idea of the frontier, what is in front of us, the horizon.” He imagined creating 12 chapters and invited the Chorale’s artistic director Gershon and associate director Jenny Wong to compose new abstract, ambient vocals using the human voice.

Feature - Aitken

For Aitken, words and phrases take on meaning through repetition and become abstractions. He cites Lawrence Weiner and Bruce Nauman’s language-based works and Samuel Beckett’s plays as influences. In his studio, Aitken handed Gershon and Wong a stack of words to sing, including phrases such as, “there was a man.” Gershon says they had to ask themselves, “If you’re just speaking it, what’s the rhythm of that? What are the different possibilities? We developed this kernel of a melody.” Aitken asked Gershon and Wong to think of another word, “freeway,” as an infinite path forward. Gershon says they sang it in “very long tones with each vowel extended and the volume rising and falling.”

Much of the film depicts interactions and human connections, amplified by music. Wong calls the sound layering “otherworldly.”

Words and phrases are bolstered by electronic looping, and Gershon expects the live experience to be “overwhelmingly visceral.” Aitken and his engineer Austin Meredith also tapped canonic music for the work’s soundscape. “Instrumentals carry the idea of minimalism,” Aitken says, noting works by Meredith Monk and Terry Riley are woven in. Ultimately, the work is the culmination of the artist’s meandering journey. “There were these structures but the collaborative nature of this project really grew in a very organic way. It’s an artwork we were making, using film, but we didn’t really have a script. We were writing the scenes on the fly. That made it more risky, with more room for improvisation.” For the expansive project, Aitken tapped into the ecological variety, social diversity, and economic disparities of the West Coast to explore the future. He says the project is “a way to talk about these different realities, like Death Valley vs. a robotics factory, such radical diversity happening all at once, the different ecologies both within our landscape and within our culture.” Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., L.A., 323-850-2000; laphil.com (Nov. 16, 8 p.m.). Marciano Art Foundation, 4357 Wilshire Blvd., L.A., 424204-7555; marcianoartfoundation.org (Dec. 17, 2024–March 15, 2025). •

Above and opposite, from top: Stills from Doug Aitken’s Lightscape , 2024, set in Taft: at the Van Buren Drive-In Theatre, Riverside; at Washland Express in Los Angeles with Megan Renee; at the Donut Hut in Burbank with Elliot Bergman (left) and Beck; at Montecito’s Tremaine House.

Feature - Aitken

By DESIGN

Perfect Pairings in Montecito and Malibu

“Creating a habit of focusing together on the simple things in life is a lovely way to connect and stay focused on what matters — even through challenging moments in our lives,” says Mill Valley artist and poet Rachel Hébert. Her new volume, THE BOOK OF THANKS (Acorn Press Oakland, $65), calls to mind life’s small moments of beauty. A modern take on an illuminated manuscript, the linen-wrapped art volume includes meditative lists and drawings that spark joy and gratitude. There’s a reflection for every week of the year. Whether given by brides

LINKED UP WITH GRATITUDE

to their attendants or sourced as a gift for a couple starting their life together, the 52 short poems and more than 100 drawings and paintings make for a calming addition to any collection. E.V.

IN SEASON

“Florals are timeless, but adding fruit like berries gives the design a rustic element that really brings the cake to life,” says master sugar artist KELLY GRAY, who has created wedding cakes for celebrities like Derek Hough and Lily Collins. Every winter she receives an influx of requests from brides to incorporate fruit into their wedding cakes.

Weddings - News

SPINELLI KILCOLLIN , the L.A. house that has reworked the codes of high jewelry with modern shapes and iconic mixed-material linked rings, has opened the doors to its first L.A. boutique. The art-gallery-store hybrid, whose sleek lines echo the brand’s fluidity, features multimedia pieces by contemporary talents like Olivia Erlanger and Morgan Canavan, while showcasing its core collections of Galaxy rings, yellow gold chain necklaces and bracelets, and a divinely original selection of wedding rings. Choose from ready-made pieces (like the platinum and white diamond Thalia stack ring), or if you fancy flexing your design skills, rings can be customized using conflict-free diamonds, which can be positioned individually or in layered compositions. 747 N. Western Ave., L.A.; spinellikilcollin.com. C.C.

HIGH NOTE Intoxicating sillage for your walk down the aisle

“To me, there is truly nothing more beautiful than a branch of crab apples or figs, all made from sugar,” she adds.

“It just takes the [look] to the next level.” kellygray cakes.com. C.C. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

HOUSE OF BO Rosario, $365. 2. DIPTYQUE Lilyphéa, $330. 3. CREED Fleurissimo, $445. 4. PERFUMEHEAD Reine des Anges,

SHIRTING

Weddings - Runway

BOHEMIAN

Gown GUIDE Eyecatching aisle alternatives

SHINE BRIGHT

Throughout history, jewelry has paid a fitting tribute to life’s biggest celebrations, perhaps most notably engagements and weddings. Primed for such a fête is the new I Wish showcase from GRAFF . Bold and brilliant precious stones serve as the focal point of each treasure. A bangle made with white diamonds and Pigeon-blood cushion cut rubies — a symbol of love, commitment, and passion — communicates modern femininity. A pear-shaped emerald necklace, earring, and bracelet suite offers the dreamiest punctuation to a bare neckline. For brides looking to make a jaw-dropping statement with their ode to the tradition of “something blue,” there’s

SADDLE UP

a cuff made with baguette-cut diamonds complemented by a sensationally commanding sapphire. graff.com. C.C.

Weddings - News

When GALERIE HALF founder Cameron Smith dreams up thoughtful interiors, the warm glow and rich scents of London-based PERFUMER H candles are often in the background. Smith and Perfumer H’s Lyn Harris have now fused their creativity for a new range of fragrances. Smith challenged Harris to dream up a bespoke fragrance, and the result is SADDLE, inspired by the tactility and warmth of worn saddle leather, available as a candle, a room spray, and eau de parfum. To celebrate, Perfumer H is mounting its first U.S. popup at Galerie Half, opening December 7. In addition to the SADDLE fragrance family, the popup will offer a range of Perfumer H personal and home fragrances. 6911 Melrose Ave., L.A., 323-4243866; galeriehalf .com. K.C.

SUIT UP Monochromatic maillots for bridal bathers 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

GALERIE HALF x PERFUMER H collab Saddle starts at $90.

GRAFF unveils the I Wish showcase.

Lorem ipsum credit here.

Shreve & Co

PETAL TO THE METAL

It was “an immediate yes” when L.A. designer CLAIRE PETTIBONE received a request from Maria Bray, jeweler and founder of THE NORTH WAY STUDIO in Michigan, to collaborate on a fine jewelry collection. Pettibone’s gowns have attracted brides for their vintage-inspired enhancements that are simultaneously youthful and elegant, and this season’s flowing silhouettes and mini dresses are no different (think: silver embroidery, scalloped lace, and floral appliqué blooming throughout). “Maria’s work is so stunning and perfectly aligns with my aesthetic,” says Pettibone, explaining that both collections took cues from the classic children’s story The Secret Garden For guidance, Bray looked to Pettibone’s mood boards filled with fabric swatches and botanical images. The result is a dreamy selection of eight rings featuring diamonds, sapphires, and spinel in reclaimed gold settings of hand-carved leaves and flowers. All gowns and rings are made to order. clairepettibone.com; thenorthwaystudio.com. C.C.

Make it to the altar promptly ON TIME

Weddings - News

UNDERNEATH IT ALL

L.A. loungewear brand ANDINE , known for its Parisian sensibility and buttery soft materials, has entered the bridal space with a 36-piece collection that was created with ease in mind. “There’s so much more to the journey than just the wedding day,” says designer Elisabeth Weinstock. “I wanted to capture the intimacy of the quiet mornings, and the personal, relaxed moments that are just as meaningful.” Whether you are enjoying a long, relaxing breakfast with your wedding squad or sitting in your makeup chair, reach for standouts like the ivory silk camisoleand-short set, a pointelle robe, or a lightweight backless nightgown. shopandine.com. C.C.

WARDROBE WINS

STYLE VOUS PLAIT founder Kathy Duglin, whose decades with top fashion and beauty brands fueled the launch of her personal styling venture, curates looks for everything from engagement photos to showers and bachelorette weekends to rehearsal dinners and the celebration itself. Similar styling for the groom, partner, bridal party, families, parents, and even honeymoon essentials and gift curation is also available. With a sense of the couple’s vision in mind, Duglin organizes appointments at bridal salons, assembles pre-pulled looks at designer showrooms, sits in on fittings, and collaborates with designers for custom gowns or suits. Wedding day outfit design includes all the necessities: shoes, jewelry, a veil, robe, and makeup and hair consultation — and, most of all, peace of mind. stylevousplait.com. E.V.

STYLE VOUS PLAIT can curate every look relating to your big day. 1. 4. 3. 5. 2. 1. A. LANGE & SÖHNE, price upon request. 2. TAG HEUER, $3,050. 3. IWC SCHAFFHAUSEN, $13,500. 4. JAEGERLECOULTRE, $28,500. 5. VACHERON

ANDINE’s new bridal line.

WARMING WARES

Registry staples for the home

Weddings - Registry

Clockwise from top left: CUFF STUDIO stool, $3,474; GARDE candle, $175; HERMÈS cushion, $3,350; MARCH pitcher, $980; PALM SPRINGS , $105; PARACHUTE sheet set, $549; BANG & OLUFSEN speaker, $6,199; LOUIS POULSEN lamp, $405; KNEELAND CO. plate, $150; GREGORY PARKINSON placemats, $280; KNEELAND CO. flatware, $300.

Editing by KERSTIN CZARRA

Artistic Flair

An intimate affair at a contemporary compound in Malibu

Amutual friend’s dinner party was where it all began for Chilean former model Jocelyne Katz and art collector Alberto Chehebar. After an instant connection, the Los Angeles–based couple dated for several years and ultimately moved in together. Fast-forward two decades later:

Weddings - Feature

As they approached their 20th anniversary, Jocelyne and Alberto decided it was the perfect time to make their union official.

On a sun-drenched January afternoon earlier this year, as close friends and family looked on, Jocelyne and Alberto walked out hand in hand with their grandchildren as a flutist played on before they exchanged vows at their artist friend Brigitte D’Annibale’s home (and site-specific installation) in Malibu’s Point Dume. The property — which consists of a house set in a sculptural garden amid olive trees — bridges art, design, and nature and served as the ideal backdrop for the art collectors.

To execute their vision, Jocelyne and Alberto enlisted Melissa Sullivan of Studio Sully, who added balance and dimension to the venue’s open space by incorporating modern teepees to help shield guests from the sun, elegant table settings, and floral installations plush with lemon-yellow poppies and orange pincushions artfully arranged by Jenya Flowers.

After the ceremony, guests gathered for an alfresco feast that ended with the cutting of a traditional Chilean lucuma meringue wedding cake, as well as a fireside cacao

ceremony, a sacred Mesoamerican ritual that promotes love and connection. From there, the evening continued with flowing cocktails, tunes by DJ Ana Calderon, and dancing under a canopy of disco balls. •

Guests arrive before the ceremony; the couple pose with family. Opposite, clockwise from top left: Amalgamation and Oculus by Brigitte D’Annibale hangs above the entry; the bride and groom; the tent replete with disco balls; cocktail hour under a teepee.

DRESS Gabriela Hearst • PLANNER Melissa Sullivan • FLOWERS Jenya Flowers • DJ Ana Calderon

Photography by DANA FERRARO Words by CAROLINE CAGNEY

Weddings - Feature

Weddings - Feature

Clockwise from top left: Custom pergolas adorned with branches define the dining spaces; Cove in Safiyaa at the ceremony; the welcome party at San Ysidro Ranch; Cove and Tobin hit the dance floor; Tobin (middle) in Ralph Lauren at the ceremony; the grounds of a private estate in Montecito; revelry at the celebration party; Tiny Pine Press created an origami puzzle purse menu; Gabriela Salazar of La Musa de las Flores grew all the flowers at local farms; husband and wife take off in a vintage white Porsche. Opposite: In a nod to the bride’s parent’s wedding, the couple opted for a simple all-white ceremony in the gardens of the Santa Barbara Courthouse.

Master Class

For her wedding to Patrick Tobin, powerhouse planner Stefanie Cove distilled years of magic making into her own ultra-customized weekend in Montecito

Since launching her own firm in 2017, Stefanie Cove has become the go-to planner for high-end weddings the world over, but during a brief pause during the pandemic, she had her own date with destiny when she met Patrick Tobin, who works in the entertainment industry.

The couple became engaged on a snowshoe adventure in Jackson Hole a few years later and finally sat down to contemplate the big day. Surprisingly, it wasn’t something they had ever really considered. For starters, they decided they wanted to stay in California. They loved going to Montecito during the early days of their relationship, and as an homage to the bride’s parents, who were married at the Beverly Hills courthouse, they had a simple civil ceremony at the Santa

Photography by LARA PORZAK and OLIVIA RAE JAMES

Words by KELSEY Mc KINNON

Barbara courthouse on a Thursday afternoon in front of their nearest and dearest.

“I don’t like to be the center of attention and I was actually happy not to have to do the whole walking down the aisle thing with everyone staring at you,” says the bride, who entrusted Neely Shell, the director of production at Stefanie Cove & Co., to lead the weekend’s festivities.

On Friday, the couple welcomed more than 100 guests to an elegant garden party at San Ysidro Ranch, where Stefanie arrived in a green Monique Lhuillier dress that her friend and stylist Tara Maietta had reproduced just for her. The following night, at a grand Spanish Colonial estate in Montecito, the wedding celebration slowly evolved from

cocktails to dinner to dancing. Chef Eduardo Baldi of E. Baldi in Beverly Hills was an early phone call in the planning process, as was friend and longtime collaborator Mexican florist Gabriela Salazar, who worked with local farms in Santa Barbara to produce all the florals for the weekend.

“We didn’t have to come up with some crazy idea just because of what I do and have people say, ‘Oh my God, she did the most unique thing for her wedding.’ I’ve always felt people should do what fits them and that nothing has to be traditional or normal,” says Stefanie, who is looking forward to spending her “honeymoon” at home in West Hollywood with Patrick and their three dogs. •

STYLIST Tara Maietta

DRESSES Safiyaa, Monique

and Vivienne Westwood

JANUARY 23 - 26, 2025

FORT MASON CENTER fogfair.com

January 22, 2025

Preview Gala Benefiting the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

FOG FOCUS

PIER 2

Charles Mo ett Gallery, New York

Chris Sharp Gallery, Los Angeles

Commonwealth and Council, Los Angeles

Crèvecœur, Paris

Fernberger, Los Angeles

Fog

François Ghebaly, Los Angeles

House of Seiko, San Francisco

PIER 3

AGO Projects, Mexico City

Altman Siegel, San Francisco

Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York

Anthony Meier, Mill Valley

Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco

Casemore Gallery, San Francisco

Crown Point Press, San Francisco

David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles

David Zwirner, Los Angeles

Fergus McCa rey, New York

Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco

Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris

Galerie Maria Wettergren, Paris

Gallery FUMI, London

Gallery Japonesque, San Francisco

Gladstone, New York

Haines, San Francisco

Hauser & Wirth, Los Angeles

Herald St, London

Hosfelt Gallery, San Francisco

Hostler Burrows, New York

Design

Johansson Projects, Oakland

Jonathan Carver Moore, San Francisco

Municipal Bonds, San Francisco

OCHI, Los Angeles

Rebecca Camacho Presents, San Francisco

Superhouse, New York

Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco

Jessica Silverman, San Francisco

KARMA, West Hollywood

Kiang Malingue, Hong Kong

kurimanzutto, New York

LEBRETON, Monte Carlo

Lehmann Maupin, New York

Lisson Gallery, London

LUHRING AUGUSTINE, New York

Marc Selwyn Fine Art, Beverly Hills /      Gió Marconi Gallery, Milan

Marian Goodman Gallery, NewYork

Mendes Wood DM, New York

Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York

Micki Meng, San Francisco

Night Gallery, Los Angeles

Nino Mier Gallery, New York

Peter Blum Gallery, New York

pt.2 Gallery, Oakland

Sarah Myerscough Gallery, London

SIDE GALLERY, Barcelona

Southern Guild, Los Angeles

Talwar Gallery, New York

Tina Kim Gallery, New York

Venus Over Manhattan, New York

WINTER NIGHTS, CITY LIGHTS

Where to stay in MARRAKESH, PARIS, and beyond

I E S

The Grand Riad at ROYAL MANSOUR MARRAKESH.

Words by LESLEY M c KENZIE

Royal Mansour

Travel

Step inside the gates of ROYAL MANSOUR and the hubbub of Marrakesh slips away, replaced by a world of unparalleled elegance. Commissioned by its owner, King Mohammed VI, this 12-acre hideaway, opened in 2010 within the walls of the Medina district, is a true celebration of Moroccan craftsmanship. Every detail has been meticulously created by 1,200 artisans, from its carved ceilings to the intricate tiling. A premium is placed on privacy and discreet service at this regal refuge, as evidenced by a network of hidden tunnels accessed by butlers who cater to guests’ every whim, and a staff-toguest ratio of 10 to 1.

Pick up the keys to your own private three-story riad — one of 53 on the grounds — and spend the day unwinding in your rooftop plunge pool while soaking in the views of the city. The commitment to luxury continues at the opulent three-story spa, where pampering and relaxation await at the traditional hammam, and at the palatial property’s seven restaurants, including Italian destination Sesamo,

helmed by three Michelin-starred chef Massimiliano Alajmo. Can’t get enough of the Moroccan hospitality and craftsmanship? Check in to Royal Mansour’s newest properties in Casablanca and Tamuda Bay, both opened earlier this year. royalmansour.com.

Every detail has been meticulously crafted.

Clockwise from top:

A view of Marrakesh; one of the pools; the Royal Mansour spa; an attentive staff member; The Nest private dining experience.

The Manner

The new darling of the NYC SoHo hotel scene is Standard International’s THE MANNER, a 97-key getaway that opened in September and has quickly become a favorite among travelers seeking that perfect balance between boutique hotel charm and private residence exclusivity. Tapping into their backgrounds in Brutalism, Verena Haller of Standard International and Milanese residential architect and interior designer Hannes Peer dreamed up an inviting space in rich woods and plush materials brimming with custom pieces and collab -

Rooms and suites boast floor-to-ceiling mirrors.

orations, spanning guest room corridor ceilings by Alex Proba to ceramic wall art in the lobby by Giovanni de Francesco.

Rendered in light blue, ochre, and sand tones, rooms and suites boast floor-to-ceiling mirrors and custom chandeliers, while the splurge-worthy, 1,800-sq.-ft., two-story Penthouse comes with a wraparound terrace dotted with sunbeds, and a bedroom complete with travertine fireplace. The Penthouse also includes private access to The Rooftop, opening in spring 2025, which, like the hotel’s The Apartment lounge, will be open only to guests and their friends. But you don’t have to check in to The Manner to savor the scene: The Otter, a seafood restaurant on the ground floor, is open to outside reservations, as is second-floor cocktail bar Sloane’s — both overseen by James Beard–nominated chef Alex Stupak. themanner.com.

Travel

NEW YORK CITY

Clockwise from top left: The rooftop; the Apartment lounge; a king suite.

1, Place Vendôme

Paris is synonymous with lavish stays, but few come with a pedigree like that of 1, PLACE VENDÔME. The debut hotel from Swiss fine jewelry and watchmaker Chopard and its owners, the Scheufele family, 1 Place Vendôme sits discreetly above Boutique Chopard at its swanky namesake address. The complex, which comprises two historically significant mansions, was thoughtfully restored over five years by the family in collaboration with interior architect and decorator PierreYves Rochon, with keen attention paid to preserving its 18th-century details. In keeping with a watchmaker theme, each of the distinct five rooms and 10 suites is named after a gem, precious metal, a navigational instrument or astronomy, from the Jade Room to the Diamant Suite.

Reminders of Chopard’s rich heritage are woven throughout the hotel, as seen in the cabochon-studded mosaic that nods to Maison Chopard’s Animal World collection in the glass-roofed Winter Garden — just one of the salon-style spaces where residents can experience the family home ethos and private club mentality that underscores a stay at

The

Chopard.

PARIS

1, Place Vendôme. Guests can also gather in the salon, library, and cigar lounge (carefully concealed behind a hidden door), and in the basement-level wine cellar, where a fully equipped chef’s kitchen sets the stage for unforgettable meals. 1-placevendome.com.

Clockwise from top left: The 18th-century facade; the living room of the Ambre Suite; Boutique Chopard on the ground floor; Winter Garden mural.

LONDON

The Connaught

A lot has changed since THE CONNAUGHT opened its doors in tony Mayfair in 1897. But some things have stayed the same — most notably the property’s longstanding reputation for British luxury and sophistication. This legacy, combined with its knack for blending oldworld elegance with modern comforts, has earned The Connaught the distinction of being one of London’s most iconic stays. Designer Guy Oliver has struck an artful balance between English design and contemporary charm throughout the plush rooms and suites, spotted in touches ranging from light fixtures that echo the hotel’s original design to bespoke leather bedside trunks by Swaine Adeney Brigg. Need help getting settled in? Call upon your room’s private butler, ready to assist with everything from unpacking to shoe-shining. Don’t expect to spend too much time in your room, however. The property is also home to several dining options favored by a wellheeled crowd, including the three Michelin-starred Hélène Darroze at The Connaught, as well as the internationally renowned Connaught Bar and its famed Martini Trolley. And after a day spent in bustling Mayfair, nothing tops a Relaxing Holistic Massage at the Aman Spa, followed by a well-earned soak in the black granite swimming pool. the-connaught.co.uk.

A balance of English design and contemporary charm.

Travel

Clockwise from top: The entrance; treats from The Connaught Patisserie; the Red Room wine bar; the Martini Trolley.

NORCAL SPA SCENE

NNature, biohacking, and a SIDE OF VINO

orthern California’s spa scene is much more than mud masks and massages, blending laidback luxury with cutting-edge wellness. In Sonoma, FARMHOUSE INN (farmhouseinn.com) offers a pastoral oasis. Spa director Wendy Wright leads a holistic approach to healing, including what she describes as “wandering through the vineyards to reset.” Not far away, MACARTHUR PLACE (macarthurplace.com) has redefined its spa as a sensory escape. The sprawling property encourages guests to unwind in its newly revamped Relaxation Garden, perfect for sipping post-treatment wine. In Palo Alto, the NOBU HOTEL ( paloalto.nobuhotels.com )

leans into wellness with precision. The sleek, tech-infused Longevity Package offers guests a restorative soak in a private onsen before indulging in an Okinawa-inspired bento that embodies Blue Zone principles MONTAGE HEALDSBURG ( montage .com ) has teamed up with Fatma Shaheen and Skin Design London to debut a pair of exclusive facials at its 11,500-sq.-ft. spa, tucked away in a sanctuary above the vines. STANLY RANCH ( aubergeresorts.com/stanlyranch ) in Napa Valley takes wellness to the next level with its trio of specialized centers that focus on sleep, hydration, and overall well-being; biohacking techniques like cryotherapy; and fitness tailored to your performance goals. •

PARTY PLANNING

Must-haves for POST-SPA NIGHTLIFE

Words by KELLY ATTERTON

1. MERIT perfume, $92. 2. TYPOLOGY lip oil, $28. 3. OTM vanity case, $249. 4. RELEVANT highlighter, $36. 5. RETROUVÉ lip serum, $45. 6. CHANEL eyeshadow and blush palette, $88. 7. BALMAIN hair perfume, $186. 8. EPICUTIS brightening treatment, $175. 9. LA BONNE BROSSE brush, $168.

Clockwise from opposite top left: Farmhouse Inn; Stanly Ranch; MacArthur Place; Nobu Hotel; Montage Healdsburg.

AERIN LAUDER

Zen Moments

How the lifestyle entrepreneur unwinds

Where do you live?

New York City.

Where do you feel most zen? Wherever I am with my friends and family.

Favorite park/hike?

When I’m in New York, I love walking in Central Park. It really helps me relax. When I’m on the West Coast, I love walking or hiking anywhere with views of the water.

Favorite beach?

I love the beach in Malibu. It is beautiful and calming.

Favorite relaxing getaway?

I love spending time outdoors surrounded by the beauty of nature. The year-round sunshine in L.A. is perfect.

Favorite health food fix?

I love a green juice from Erewhon.

Favorite comfort food? From where?

A burger and French fries from The Polo Lounge.

Do you follow a diet? I do not, but I pay attention to what I eat. I try to be as healthy as I can be while still enjoying food I love.

Favorite beverage? From where?

Iced coffee from Alfred.

Favorite hotel?

The Beverly Hills Hotel. I love the iconic atmosphere, old school glamour, and delicious food.

Favorite workout? Pilates. I try to do a Pilates

class at least three times a week.

Favorite spa? Treatment?

Facials always make my skin look so hydrated and refreshed. Joomee Song does a Re-Nutriv facial that is one of my favorites.

Where do you take visiting friends?

Palisades Village is one of my favorite places to walk around. I love that it feels local and inviting. We just opened our first West Coast retail location here, and I am excited to share the AERIN brand’s effortless, feminine sensibility. The store offers a collection of global finds curated exclusively for this location.

What’s in your cosmetics bag?

I am always trying new products that are in development for the brand, as well as classic favorites like Estée Lauder Re-Nutriv, Clinique, and La Mer.

Favorite skincare?

Estée Lauder Re-Nutriv skincare is my favorite, including the Ultimate Diamond Transformative Brilliance Serum, Ultimate Diamond Transformative Brilliance Soft Crème, Rich Foam Cleanser, and Intensive Smoothing Hand Crème. The products are luxurious and hydrating.

Favorite fragrance?

Rose de Grasse is one of my favorite fragrances and continues to be a bestseller for the brand. The rich floral rose scent is timeless and elegant, with notes of Rose Centifolia, Bulgarian Rose, and Rose Absolute. It’s perfect for every occasion.

What’s your mantra?

Everything can be beautiful if you take the time. X