Vanity Fair articles from September 2011

Vanity Fair archives from September 2011

Fleet Street's Arab Spring.
September 1, 2011... Byline: GRAYDON CARTER Fleet Street's Arab Spring In an irony not lost on the gods, Rupert Murdoch's endless summer of hacking began not with News of the World but with another profitable outpost of his vast media empire. It was on the...

Fair Enough.(Vanity Fair readers' survey)
September 1, 2011... FAIR ENOUGH AMERICANS BELIEVE THE STATUE OF LIBERTY'S WELCOMING WORDS ("GIVE ME YOUR TIRED, YOUR POOR... ") STILL RING TRUE. AND THEY DON'T DEFINE MITT ROMNEY BY HIS MORMONISM. This month we Americans present ourselves as an open-minded...

Rucci's Rules.(Ralph Rucci)(Interview)
September 1, 2011... Byline: BY JOHN HEILPERN ILLUSTRATION BY TIM SHEAFFER RUCCI'S RULES Ralph Rucci, of the exclusive Chado label, explains the difference between fashion and style Ralph Rucci, whose high-fashion label, Chado, is synonymous with superb...

Hamptons Gothic.(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2011... HAMPTONS GOTHIC Subdivided they fall; revisiting Hitchens's Pakistan; poll problems; consuming ambitions; Silvio Berlusconi; Broadway bares all; and this Justin...Timberlake! About your July issue ["Betting the Farm," by Michael...

More From The V.F. Mailbag.(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2011... MORE FROM THE V.F. MAILBAG 'Maybe there was one too many articles in July's issue about absolute power corrupting absolutely," writes Sandra Sawatzky-Cariou, from Calgary, Alberta. "It was near impossible to tell the difference between Jefri...

Speaking Up: Kirk Douglas Responds.
September 1, 2011... SPEAKING UP: KIRK DOUGLAS RESPONDS I was very moved by Christopher Hitchens's article on his bout with esophageal cancer, which caused him to lose his voice ["Unspoken Truths," June]. Fifteen years ago, I suffered a stroke, which caused me...

The VF.COM Letter Box.(Vanity Fair)
September 1, 2011... Byline: DAVID FOXLEY THE VF.COM LETTER BOX As soon as it launched on VF.com, special correspondent Amy Fine Collins's "Sex Trafficking of Americans: The Girls Next Door"a troubling investigation of the nation's underage-prostitution trade,...

Hot Type.(new books)
September 1, 2011... Byline: ELISSA SCHAPPELL HOT TYPE Modern-day American horror: After 9/11, Shannen Rossmiller American mom and intrepid small-town judgemakes infiltrating the online networks that spawn global terror cells and bringing them to justice her...

Close Up.(Girls in White Dresses)(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2011... Byline: ELISSA SCHAPPELL Close Up Novelist Jennifer Close makes her debut with Girls in White Dresses (Knopf), in which a group of funny, perpetually hungover gal pals muddle through the typically harrowing transition into young adulthood....

Frame Of Mind.(Cyclepedia: A Century of Iconic Bicycle Design)(Brief article)
September 1, 2011... Byline: PUNCH HUTTON FRAME OF MIND The owner of one of the world's most impressive collections of bicycles, Michael Embacher has written a new coffee-table book, Cyclepedia: A Century of Iconic Bicycle Design (out next month from...

Poisson Paradise.(Le Bernardin)
September 1, 2011... Byline: DAVID KAMP Poisson Paradise They have a mantra at Le Bernardin a literal mantra, uttered aloud on a regular basisthat "the fish is the star." But while those words hold true for the New York restaurant's staff, we the public can be...

My Stuff.
September 1, 2011... Byline: L'Wren Scott MY STUFF As a stylist, former model, designer, and sky-scraping beauty L'Wren Scott launched her eponymous line with the memorable Little Black Dress collection in 2006, and her designs have since graced runways across...

Horseplay.
September 1, 2011... Byline: LAURA JACOBS PHOTOGRAPH BY JASON BELL Horseplay Some of the greatest stories of all time have been narrated not by a human but by a horse. Black Beauty, the first-person bildungsroman of an English colt, is said to be the...

Bright Idea.(Plumen lightbulbs)(Brief article)
September 1, 2011... Byline: LINDSEY KEENAN BRIGHT IDEA P lumen, the award-winning British lightbulb created by Sam Wilkinson and Nicolas Roope, is finally available Stateside. With a home in MoMA's permanent collection, the bulbs have sculptural glass plumes...

Designed For Life.(Missoni collection)(Brief article)
September 1, 2011... Byline: PUNCH HUTTON Designed for Life Brightly hued zigs and zags from the luxe Italian fashion house Missoni hit Target stores this month in the form of a limited-edition collaboration. With more than 400 pieces in the collection, which...

Hot Tracks.
September 1, 2011... HOT TRACKS CAMERON CROWE'S NEW DOCUMENTARY Drugs, death, and disaster are indigenous to rock 'n' roll. But according to Academy Award-winning filmmaker Cameron Crowe, director of the new documentary Pearl Jam Twenty, this Seattle band...

Tailor-Made.(Anderson & Sheppard's "Anderson and Sheppard: A Style Is Born" coffee-table book)(Brief article)
September 1, 2011... Byline: DAVID KAMP TAILOR-MADE Fred Astaire's elegance wasn't solely a matter of grace. It was a matter of good tailoring toothe way his jacket collar never separated from his neck as he jetA[c] 'd across a room; the way his trousers broke...

A Cut Above.(F.S.C. Barber San Francisco)(Brief article)
September 1, 2011... Byline: ANTHONY ROTUNNO A Cut Above Those San Franciscan men who wish to channel their inner dandies need look no further than the city's Mission District, the home of Sam Buffa's latest homage to the classic barbershop: F.S.C. Barber San...

First-Class Coach.(Coach's Crosby Collection)(Brief article)
September 1, 2011... Byline: PUNCH HUTTON FIRST-CLASS COACH Coach celebrates its 70-year legacy with a renewed focus on its men's collection. Classic updates on soft-sided leather suitcases and briefcases are part of the very swank Crosby Collection. There are...

Warrior.(Movie review)(Brief article)
September 1, 2011... Byline: KRISTA SMITH WARRIOR Writer-director Gavin O'Connor ( Tumbleweeds, Miracle ) has assembled a perfect cast for his latest film, Warrior (Lionsgate), a family drama dropped into the world of Mixed Martial Arts (M.M.A.). Nick Nolte...

Drive.(Movie review)(Brief article)
September 1, 2011... Byline: GRAHAM FULLER DRIVE There's a touch of Steve McQueen about the ultra-laconic loner played, with nary a bat of an eyelid, by Ryan Gosling in Drive. Director Nicolas Winding Refn's artful L.A. action thriller, adapted from James...

Restless.(Movie review)(Brief article)
September 1, 2011... Byline: A. M. HOMES RESTLESS Gus Van Sant's Restless is a melancholic romance, the story of innocence interrupted. Mia Wasikowska is captivating as Annabel Cotton, a beautiful girl with a brain tumor who's in love with life and the work of...

Going Dotty.
September 1, 2011... GOING DOTTY FALL'S POLKA-DOT TREND DASH OF DOTS Marc Jacobs Lady Bug bag, $1,895. (bergdorfgoodman.com) HOME DECOR Studio Bon at Schumacher Fuzz fabric, price upon request. (fschumacher.com) FALL SHOWERS Barneys New York...

Turn Me On.
September 1, 2011... TURN ME ON PERSONAL TIME The Bamford Watch Department allows you to customize the most desirable of sport watches. Or you can purchase one of their Special Edition timepieces. (All three watches available at bamfordwatchdepartment.com)...

Scent Of A Man.
September 1, 2011... Byline: OLIVIA STRAND Scent of a Man The house of Yves Saint Laurent has bottled the power of man in its third addition to the L'Homme fragrance series. L'Homme Libre is a tribute to the quote from the late Y.S.L.: "I address myself to...

Pure Goodness.(PureDKNY Verbena)(Brief article)
September 1, 2011... Byline: OLIVIA STRAND PURE GOODNESS Donna Karan has always had a knack for making doing good look good. And now she makes it smell great, too. Her latest scent, PureDKNY Verbena, is not only beautiful, it's also sustainable and socially...

Daring Diane.(Diane von Furstenberg's fragrance)(Brief article)
September 1, 2011... Byline: OLIVIA STRAND Daring Diane Diane von Furstenberg certainly understands the power of understated seduction. In 1974, her wrap dress gave entirely new meaning to the term "Dress for success." Now, as an iconic businesswoman and the...

Hot Looks.(cosmetics)(Brief article)
September 1, 2011... Hot Looks NARS Larger than Life Long-Wear Eyeliners. $23, narscosmetics.com. Estee Lauder Pure Color EyeShadow Duo in Clouds. $30, esteelauder.com. D&G Perfect Finish Creamy Foundation in Creamy 80. $55, saks.com. Dior Vernis in...

Fairground.(Jessica Diehl and Phil Poynter weds plus celebs party)
September 1, 2011... Byline: PHOTOGRAPH BY FERNANDO SANCHO FAIRGROUND SEPTEMBER 2011 ELEGANT REVELRY Jessica Diehl, VANITY FAIR' s fashion-and-style director, and photographer Phil Poynter were married at Lypiatt Park, a Tudor manor in breathtaking...

The Accidental Institution.(Private Eye)
September 1, 2011... THE ACCIDENTAL INSTITUTION This fall, Private Eye marks its 50th anniversary with an exhibition at London's Victoria and Albert Museum-which suggests that a proudly scurrilous scandal rag has found a place in the British establishment. Score...

Vanity Fair Nominates Blake Mycoskie.(Brief article)
September 1, 2011... Byline: PHOTOGRAPH BY BRANTLEY GUTIERREZ DAVIS GUGGENHEIM VANITY FAIR NOMINATES BLAKE MYCOSKIE Because Blake Mycoskie saw that "giving" was typically a one-way transactionthat, too often, so many of us simply write a check and move on....

Last Tuxedo Standing.(Jerry Lewis)
September 1, 2011... Byline: ILLUSTRATION BY ANDRA CARRILHO LAST TUXEDO STANDING It's easy to sneer at Jerry Lewis, and pooh-pooh his acclaim in France. But as the surviving clown prince of the vaudeville-to-Vegas era hosts his final muscular-dystrophy...

9/11: The Tapping Point.
September 1, 2011... Byline: BY DAVID ROSE ILLUSTRATION BY BARRY BLITT 9/11: THE TAPPING POINT What if, two years before the 9/11 attacks-with the installation of a cell-phone- and-Internet system in Afghanistan-the U.S. had been handed complete access to...

Requiem For Rescorla.
September 1, 2011... Byline: MATTHEW GUERRIERI PHOTOGRAPH BY JASON BELL REQUIEM FOR RESCORLA Rick Rescorla himself sang of heroes. He sang the songs of his native Cornwall, England; sang in Vietnam for soldiers he commanded as an officer in the U.S. Army; then...

LibertA, AgalitA, AgnAs B.
September 1, 2011... Byline: BY LAURA JACOBS PHOTOGRAPHS BY BRIGITTE LACOMBE LIBERTA, AGALITA, AGNAS B. Child of Versailles-and of the 1968 Paris student uprising-AgnA[umlaut]s B. is a fashion tycoon who doesn't know how much money she makes, whose vision is...

Enter The Cyber-Dragon.(Company overview)
September 1, 2011... Byline: BY MICHAEL JOSEPH GROSS ILLUSTRATION BY BRAD HOLLAND ENTER THE CYBER-DRAGON Hackers have attacked America's defense establishment, as well as companies from Google to Morgan Stanley to security giant RSA, and fingers point to China...

Best-Dressed List.(Brief article)(List)
September 1, 2011... Best-Dressed List A THREAD OF TRADITION RUNS THROUGH THIS LATEST ROSTER OF HAUTE STYLE, AS ROYAL BRIDES, TYCOONS, AND MOVIE STARS ALIKE CHERISH THE PERFECTLY BROKEN-IN HANDMADE SHOE OR THE HEIRLOOM BLING. BUT IT'S A SURE BET THAT EACH ONE HAS...

Best-Dressed Women 2011.
September 1, 2011... BEST-DRESSED Women 2011 H.R.H. THE DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE OCCUPATION: Wife of the future King of England. RESIDENCES: Anglesey, Wales; Kensington Palace. SIGNATURE ITEMS OF CLOTHING: Issa wrap dresses, Alexander McQueen wedding gown, Reiss...

Best-Dressed Men 2011.
September 1, 2011... BEST-DRESSED Men 2011 JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE OCCUPATIONS: Actor, producer, singer-songwriter, designer. RESIDENCES: New York City, Los Angeles. SIGNATURE ITEMS OF CLOTHING: Fedoras, three-piece suits. SHOES: William Rast footwear. CAUSES:...

Best-Dressed Professionals 2011.
September 1, 2011... BEST-DRESSED Professionals 2011 STELLA TENNANT OCCUPATIONS: Model, housewife, "jack-of-all-trades." RESIDENCE: Scotland. FAVORITE ITEM OF CLOTHING: Lanvin jacket. FAVORITE FASHION PURCHASE OF 2011: "Balenciaga dress." FAVORITE SHOES:...

Best-Dressed Originals 2011.
September 1, 2011... BEST-DRESSED Originals 2011 LADY GAGA OCCUPATION: Singer-songwriter. RESIDENCE: New York City. SIGNATURE ITEMS: Leather, latex, meat. JEWELRY: Fred Leighton diamond collar. STYLE PREDECESSORS: Madonna, Divine. CAUSE: MAC AIDS Fund. The...

Best-Dressed Siblings 2011.
September 1, 2011... BEST-DRESSED Siblings 2011 CARA, CHLOE, and POPPY DELEVINGNE RESIDENCE: London. Cara OCCUPATIONS: "Model, actress, drummer." FAVORITE ITEM OF CLOTHING: "Burberry biker jacket." FAVORITE FASHION PURCHASE OF 2011: "Michael Kors...

Best-Dressed Couples 2011.
September 1, 2011... BEST-DRESSED Couples 2011 LAUREN BUSH and DAVID LAUREN RESIDENCE: New York City. Lauren OCCUPATION: Social entrepreneur. FAVORITE ITEM OF CLOTHING: "My FEED bag." FAVORITE FASHION PURCHASE OF 2011: "Ralph Lauren sparkly cocktail dress."...

Best-Dressed Hall Of Fame 2011.
September 1, 2011... BEST-DRESSED Hall of Fame 2011 BRIAN WILLIAMS OCCUPATION: Journalist. RESIDENCE: New York City. FAVORITE ITEM OF CLOTHING: "My volunteer-fire-department jacket from 1977." FAVORITE SHOES: "A 15-year-old pair of loafers, currently on the...

Masters Of Style.(photographs by Annie Leibovitz, Mario Testino, Patrick Demarchelier, David Seidner, and Steven Meisel)
September 1, 2011... Masters of Style Turning celebrity portraits into an art form, V.F.' s photographers have perfected the elusive fusion of style and subject. This portfolio of contemporary images, LAURA JACOBS writes, is steeped in Hollywood's history with...

Vanities: All Is Vanities ... Nothing Is Fair.(Anton Yelchin)(Biography)
September 1, 2011... Byline: KRISTA SMITH PHOTOGRAPH BY LORENZO AGIUS VANITIES: All Is VANITIES... Nothing Is Fair SEPTEMBER 2011 Anton Yelchin AGE: 22. PROVENANCE: St. Petersburg, Russia. DRIVEN, AT WARP SPEED: Yelchin first made an impression, in...

Poli Psych.(Newt Gingrich and Harry Reid analyzed)
September 1, 2011... Byline: JAMES MAURO POLI PSYCH Wherein Licensed Shrinks Analyze the Public Utterances of Our Ruling Class All quotations are real. All analyses are given by accredited psychoanalysts in the Greater New York City area. "I know how to...

In Character.(Bobby Cannavale)(Brief article)
September 1, 2011... Byline: WRITTEN, DIRECTED, AND PHOTOGRAPHED BY HOWARD SCHATZ IN CHARACTER ... STARRING BOBBY CANNAVALE You're three sheets to the wind at the karaoke bar, doing not just "Proud Mary" but a whole frickin' Creedence medley. You're a...

Gasbaggery Made Simple: The Express Lane To Joining The "Decision 2012" Punditocracy.
September 1, 2011... Byline: A V.F. FLOWCHART PRESENTATION BY BRUCE FEIRSTEIN GASBAGGERY MADE SIMPLE: The Express Lane to Joining the "DECISION 2012" PUNDITOCRACY SO YOU WANT TO BE A POLITICAL PUNDIT FIRST, DECIDE WHAT KIND: Forward-thinking progressive...

Q&A: Fab And Loose.(Andy Cohen)(Interview)
September 1, 2011... Q&A: Fab and Loose Andy Cohen ON MATT LAUER, HAVING "BIEBER FEVER," AND COMING OUT "He's carved a rather remarkable niche as a TV-network suit by day and a gabby talk-show host at night. It's an unfathomable balancing act!" "As an...

Jenny Back On The Block.
September 1, 2011... Byline: PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARIO TESTINO acents STYLED BY JESSICA DIEHL Jenny Back on the Block With a forthcoming greatest-hits album, several new movies, a second American Idol season on deck, and an unprecedented licensing deal with Kohl's...

Next Stop, Manhattan.(Santiago Calatrava to design a building in Manhattan, New York)(Brief article)
September 1, 2011... Byline: KURT ANDERSEN PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERTO FRANKENBERG NEXT STOP, MANHATTAN Unlike actors and athletes, architects start getting famous only in their 40s and 50s. So during the last decade, Santiago CalatravaSpanish-born,...

It's The Economy, Dummkopf!(Company overview)
September 1, 2011... Byline: PHOTOGRAPHS BY JONAS FREDWALL KARLSSON It's the Economy, Dummkopf! With Greece and Ireland in economic shreds, while Portugal, Spain, and perhaps even Italy head south, only one nation can save Europe from financial Armageddon: a...

Return To Catfish Row.(Porgy and Bess)(Opera review)(Brief article)
September 1, 2011... Byline: LESLIE BENNETTS PHOTOGRAPH BY MARK SELIGER RETURN TO CATFISH ROW With its unforgettable music, controversial racial stereotypes, four-hour running time, enormous chorus, and huge orchestra, Porgy and Bess has been a problematic...

Windsor Dressing.
September 1, 2011... Windsor Dressing For her feature-length directorial debut, W.E., Madonna has drilled into the obsessively stylish saga of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, whose romance rocked the British Empire and shocked the world. Naturally, as KRISTA...

Great Inspirations.(fashion designers and their muses)
September 1, 2011... Byline: STYLED BY JESSICA DIEHL Great Inspirations Givenchy had Audrey Hepburn. Saint Laurent relied on Loulou de la Falaise, Betty Catroux, and Paloma Picasso. Now a New Wave of fashion talent draws inspiration from the likes of Florence...

John Currin.
September 1, 2011... Byline: PHOTOGRAPH BY ANNIE LEIBOVITZ John Currin Renowned for his hypersexualized mashups of high and low culture, John Currin has thrived as the bad boy of American painting, with a new book and two exhibitions this fall. A. M. HOMES...

The Age Of Elegance.(Interview)
September 1, 2011... The AGE of ELEGANCE From Larchmont, New York, a pair of identical twins conquered Manhattan, Rome, and international high society, turning heads with their beauty and polish. Following the death last year of Countess Consuelo Crespi, at 82,...

Picking Her Battles.(Angelina Jolie)(Brief article)
September 1, 2011... Byline: RICH COHEN PHOTOGRAPH BY JONAS FREDWALL KARLSSON STYLED BY JESSICA DIEHL PICKING HER BATTLES If you were a normal person who also happened to be the biggest movie star on the planetsexy, tabloid fodder, and all thatand decided to...

All Havana Broke Loose: An Oral History Of Tropicana.
September 1, 2011... Byline: PHOTOGRAPHS BY WILLIAM EGGLESTON All Havana Broke Loose An Oral History of Tropicana In the decadent jet-set heaven of 1950s Havana, the only place to be was Tropicana, a pleasure dome where the shows (and showgirls) were...

Jill Abramson.(Interview)
September 1, 2011... Byline: ILLUSTRATION BY RISKO JILL ABRAMSON Now that she's set to take the reins as the first female executive editor of The New York Times, what does Jill Abramson do to relax? She releases a new book, The Puppy Diaries, out next month....