C California Style & Culture

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OPRAH WINFREY

The titan talks truth and trust

DOMINIQUE CRENN

First among female chefs

20 YEARS IN REVIEW

Fashion and culture’s big moment

I F ORNI

Dear Paris,

For 25 years, we’ve been listening and learning.

We are in awe of your intellect, your elegance and your style.

You’ve inspired us to see more and to be more.

In Paris, the measure is eternity. This we know and have built accordingly.

BEVERLY HILLS, 250 NORTH RODEO DRIVE, 310 860 9045
CANOGA PARK, WESTFIELD TOPANGA, 6600 TOPANGA CANYON BOULEVARD, 818 340 7221
COSTA MESA, SOUTH COAST PLAZA, 3333 BRISTOL STREET, 714 327 0644
VALLEY FAIR, WESTFIELD VALLEY FAIR, 2855 STEVENS CREEK BOULEVARD, 408 516 1470

Not e very Oasis is a Mirage

Imagine living in a new home community in Rancho Mirage, California—where the crown jewel is dazzling Cotino® Bay. A place where parks and a promenade beckon. Where shopping and dining are just around the corner. And, the Disney touch is at the heart of it all. Just imagine. Better yet, let us show you what’s possible.

A Dior Emporium, replete with rooftop restaurant, lands on Rodeo Drive

Looking back at 20 years of the Golden State’s greatest fashion moments

Five innovative fashion doors to shop this fall

How California’s cultural cachet has grown over the past two decades

The supermodel who defined a generation reminds us that relevance is overrated

WINFREY

On trust, truth, and the right to speak freely

IN ELEGANCE

Even off the beaten path, Ralph Lauren’s refined styles stay right on track

Why there’s no stopping the first (and only) female chef to win three Michelin stars in the U.S.

From villa to veranda, when Chanel opens a boutique in Montecito, it rewrites the off-duty dress code

What Emma Grede does in her downtime

JENNIFER SMITH Founder, Editorial Director & CEO

JENNY MURRAY Editor & President

Style & Content Director ANDREW BARKER | Creative & Design Director JAMES TIMMINS

Beauty Director

KELLY ATTERTON

Contributing Fashion Editor REBECCA RUSSELL

Senior Editors

GINA TOLLESON

ELIZABETH VARNELL

Deputy Managing Editor LESLEY MCKENZIE

Graphic Designer DEAN ALARI

Photo Editor LAUREN WHITE

Contributing Photo Editor VIVIANNE LAPOINTE

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

Contributing Writers: Anush J. Benliyan, Max Berlinger, Catherine Bigelow, Samantha Brooks, Alessandra Codinha, Kerstin Czarra, Helena de Bertodano, Richard Godwin, Robert Haskell, Martha Hayes, Christine Lennon, Degen Pener, 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

Twenty years of covering the best of California life and style have flown by in the blink of an eye. Some days, it feels as if the publication has always existed — a dream inside me for so long that time can’t quantify. I was not born a Californian but became one, and that outsider’s eye helped me see what was worth celebrating rather than taking the state’s beauty for granted. I grew up in the East and Midwest before the call of the Golden State beckoned. When my father fell in love with Santa Barbara in the 1970s, the seed was planted for our family to put down roots here. By the time we arrived in the ’90s, I was a teenager who had fallen headlong for California’s golden light, surf culture, and sense of possibility. My mission became to capture this feeling and share it — could there be a magazine that defined the California lifestyle in all its variety?

At the time, national magazines covered New York and the Hamptons, with only passing glances at L.A. red carpets. I wanted something broader — something that celebrated movers and shakers, artists, chefs, designers, philanthropists, and innovators up and down the coast. After a few false starts with large publishers, it became clear I had to do it on my own terms. In September 2005, the first issue of C was released with supermodel Carolyn Murphy on the cover. Inside, we featured Thomas Keller of The French Laundry, Barry Diller, Ann Getty, Dede Wilsey, and stories that spanned Northern and Southern California. Our launch party at Chateau Marmont, cohosted by Murphy, captured the cross-section of culture I knew the magazine could embody.

Hundreds of issues later, our team continues to deliver access and storytelling that even national magazines can’t replicate: Frank Gehry’s studio; the redwoods of Santa Cruz; Dior on a Malibu bluff; portraits of Oscar winners Charlize Theron, Renée Zellweger, and Julianne Moore, as well as budding starlets like Margaret Qualley, Elle Fanning, and Sydney Sweeney — we’ve chronicled a state where technology, Hollywood, design, and food collide. Along the way,

Clockwise from top left: Founder Jennifer Smith with cover star Carolyn Murphy, Keri Russell, Patrick Dempsey, Renée Zellweger, Jamie Dornan, Zoe Saldaña.
“Which stories endure and still inspire?”

California itself — fires, earthquakes, reinvention, resilience — has been our subject and our home.

This issue marks our 20th anniversary. In curating what belonged, we asked ourselves: Which stories endure and still inspire? The answer pointed clearly to the extraordinary women who embody California’s spirit of originality and perseverance.

Cindy Crawford, a three-time C cover star, returns as our ultimate anniversary cover girl, photographed at Paramount Studios in cinematic fashion by a team of more than 40 — our biggest production ever — working tirelessly and giving it their all. The magical images, as cinematic as the location, were captured by famed photographer Matthew Brookes and styled by one of the greatest stylists ever, Paul Cavaco.

Oprah Winfrey, my neighbor, a dear family friend, and an early champion of C, epitomizes the power of vision. She encouraged me to pursue this magazine before it even existed, and she remains proof that possibility can be willed into being — what an honor to finally welcome her to our pages. And Dominique Crenn, the only female chef in America whose restaurant has earned three Michelin stars. A meal by Crenn is “last supper” kind of stuff. Her continued passion for the craft is compelling, and she isn’t slowing down, beating cancer along the way and helming the Monsieur Dior rooftop restaurant opening in Beverly Hills.

These women embody what C has always celebrated: boldness, creativity, and an unshakeable sense of place. California remains a beacon for those who carve their own paths, and with this special issue, we are honored to celebrate 20 years of capturing that golden life.

Photography by MATTHEW BROOKES.
Fashion Direction by PAUL CAVACO. Hair by PETER GRAY. Makeup by PATI DUBROFF.
CINDY CRAWFORD wearing VALENTINO gown and coat and BULGARI earrings. On the Cover
Clockwise from top left: Founder Jennifer Smith with cover star Cindy Crawford, Jeff Goldblum, Jessica Chastain, Oprah Winfrey, Emma Roberts.

Matthew Brookes

Matthew Brookes, who photographed cover star Cindy Crawford, was born in England and raised in South Africa. “Cindy was 100 percent on board, bringing her unique supermodel originality to every frame,” says Brookes, who divides his time among L.A., Paris, and NYC.

For makeup artist Pati Dubroff, who created cover star Cindy Crawford’s look, p. 86, working on our 20th-anniversary issue felt like a “fullcircle moment,” she says. “C was one of the first publications I worked with when moving to L.A. The team was dear old friends, reuniting.”

Degen Pener, who reflects on 20 years of California culture, p. 74, is a writer and an editor whose work spans environment, design, and culture. Currently the executive editor of Four Seasons magazine, he has written for The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, and other publications.

“Getting the opportunity to work with Oprah is proof that the universe provides and that life is good,” says photographer Kurt Iswarienko, who captured the Santa Barbara resident, p. 102. His cinematic portraits and use of light have attracted clients such as Lincoln and Apple.

Paul Cavaco, who oversaw the fashion direction for this issue’s cover, is the former fashion director of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar and former creative director at Allure. He currently cohosts the Under the Cover podcast with his daughter, Cayli Cavaco Reck.

Celebrity stylist and fashion adviser Annabelle Harron’s work has appeared in the likes of Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and Elle. In styling client Oprah Winfrey, p. 102, for this issue, she drew inspiration from California’s natural beauty to create “a truly memorable fashion moment,” she says.

Photographer François Dischinger’s nomadic childhood instilled a curiosity that infuses his work for top fashion, design, travel, and documentary clients. A shared background and humor sparked an instant creative connection with chef Dominique Crenn, p. 118.

For this issue, L.A.-based fashion critic, editor, and book author Booth Moore captures two decades of California fashion, p. 46. “As someone who chronicled the ascendence of L.A. as a global fashion capital, it was great fun to take a trip down memory lane,” says the former WWD editor.

Peter Gray, the hairstylist behind Cindy Crawford’s cover look, is globally renowned for his exceptional cutting skills and innovative approach. Beyond editorial work, he has led hair direction for fashion shows, including Maison Martin Margiela, Vivienne Westwood, and Hermès.

Kurt Iswarienko
Annabelle Harron
Paul Cavaco
Peter Gray
Booth Moore
François Dischinger
Pati Dubroff
Degen Pener

New

Look

DIOR ’s Rodeo Drive flagship is a confluence of gardens and delicacies that would make M. Dior proud Words by ELIZABETH VARNELL

From top: Dior’s new Peter Marino–designed Rodeo Drive flagship; looks from the house’s Cruise 26 collection.

from top: A

exclusive Small Lady

The sun-saturated House of Dior’s West Coast flagship is a reimagined Eden alive with verdant plants and a lush terrace open to the elements. The Peter Marino–designed four-story boutique, with its undulating limestone and stucco facade, combines California light with Parisian polish. The pareddown architecture lets the space’s central staircase, wound

through with a garden created by landscape architect Peter Wirtz, become a focal point amid the ready-to-wear jewelry and accessories collections on different levels.

Just as Christian Dior turned to the plant world for inspiration, Marino also looked to botanicals for the flagship’s third-floor restaurant, the house’s first with dinner service outside Paris. Helmed by renowned San Francisco chef Dominique Crenn (see interview on p. 118), the newest Monsieur Dior includes a bar and indoor and outdoor dining with a menu steeped in cinematic moments and dishes and desserts referencing Jean Seberg and Marilyn Monroe. A wall is covered in art by Nicole Wittenberg, known for her enigmatic landscapes depicting nature. Such works are common throughout the boutique, from images of flora by Karine Laval and Adam Fuss to a commissioned painting by John McAllister and Nancy Lorenz’s lacquered metal panels.

“There are also limited-edition pieces influenced equally by Hollywood and Paris.”

Amid Vladimir Kagan and Ado Chale furniture, there are also limited-edition pieces influenced equally by Hollywood and Paris and exclusive to the store. Reinterpretations of the nipped-waist Bar jacket are joined by a white, gold, and blue sapphire Bois de Rose ring and bracelet, new Lady Dior iterations, and a trunk covered in the house’s bucolic millefiori motif. 323 N. Rodeo Dr., Beverly Hills, 310-859-4700; dior.com.

Clockwise
flagship
Dior bag, $12,000; the bar at the Dominique Crenn–helmed Monsieur Dior restaurant; the boutique’s central staircase; a palmlined exterior view.
GROWN BRILLIANCE ring, $5,785. 7. HARRY WINSTON necklace, price upon request. 8. FENDI bag, $3,750. 9. GRAFF watch, $290,000. 10. GIANVITO ROSSI heels, $795. 11. HUNZA G swimsuit, $285.
LENNY KRAVITZ
Beverly Hills | South Coast Plaza | The Forum Shops

PUTTING THE IN

Over the past two decades, Los Angeles went from fashion’s stepchild to its standout star — welcome to Hollywood, where the red carpet is the NEW FRONT ROW Words by BOOTH MOORE

From top: Balenciaga’s Pre-Fall 24 show was staged on a street in Hancock Park; Versace Fall/Winter 23. Opposite, from top : The Gucci Love Parade on Hollywood Blvd, 2022; Celine Fall/Winter 23.

20 YEARS OF FASHION

On the Venice Film Festival red carpet this summer, actress of the moment Greta Lee wore a knockout black satin and green organza minidress with a long bow detail that introduced the next chapter of Dior. It was weeks before its new creative director, Jonathan Anderson, was set to show his first women’s collection for the world’s foremost couture house, one of the most anticipated debuts this decade. It proves

that the red carpet has become as important, or even more so, than the runway in fashion brand building. It also shows how far Los Angeles has come as a center of global fashion.

Days later, Lee was announced as a new Dior ambassador, continuing the successful designer-muse relationship she and Anderson had at his previous brand, Loewe. With designers increasingly engaged in storytelling, their collaboration is reminiscent of the ones between film stars and directors

in old Hollywood, like Katharine Hepburn and George Cukor.

Twenty years ago, things were very different. Much of the fashion industry looked down on L.A. — too provincial, too casual. The golden years of Hollywood had brought some of the most famous costume designers in the world to L.A. But they were long gone by 2003, when Rick Owens fled the T-shirt-and-jeans stigma of the City of Angels for the City of Light to build a luxury brand. But now that luxury is less

about selling formal clothes and more about selling an image, L.A. has offered fashion an entire industry devoted to the stories needed to feed all the screens that demand our attention. And corporate investment has followed.

French luxury conglomerate LVMH has gobbled up real estate for its ever-expanding brand flagships on Rodeo Drive,

including the newly proposed Frank Gehry–designed Louis Vuitton campus at the top of the street, a forthcoming Tiffany & Co. flagship on the site of the shuttered Luxe Rodeo Drive Hotel, and a Dior flagship replete with a restaurant and café opening soon. Gucci has sponsored the LACMA Art+Film Gala since its inception in 2011, and Belgian designer par excellence Dries Van Noten chose L.A. in 2020 for his first U.S. store.

Luxury’s growing obsession with Hollywood culminated in 2023, when Kering Group cofounder François Pinault’s holding company, Artémis, acquired a majority stake in the talent agency CAA. Suddenly, the same business that owned Gucci and Saint Laurent also represented the stars wearing

them. Saint Laurent took it further the same year by starting its own film production arm under the fashion brand’s creative director, Anthony Vaccarello. The house produces films starring Pedro Pascal and competes at international festivals (Father Mother Sister

Brother took the Golden Lion in Venice), treating cinema not as a sideline but as an extension of the runway with creative direction and costumes integrated throughout.

Now nearly every luxury player is engaging the film world, whether it’s Tiffany & Co. providing jewelry for Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, Chanel opening its ateliers for the filming of Couture, or Gucci unveiling creative director Demna’s first designs within a short film starring Demi Moore, Keke Palmer, Kendall Jenner, and Edward Norton, directed by Spike Jonze and a Milan fashion week premiere attended by Gwyneth Paltrow.

Designers across the industry, including Dior’s Anderson, have embraced costume design and cinematic storytelling to play out on screens big and small — he provided costume design for Luca Guadagnino’s most recent films, Challengers and Queer, while he was at Loewe.

Celebrity designers have also prospered. Pharrell Williams is the head of menswear at Louis Vuitton, bringing Hollywood to the highest echelon of French design. The Row, helmed by California-born Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, has become a pillar of pared-down sophistication, valued at $1 billion after

Clockwise from middle the Gucci Love Parade; director Yorgos Lanthimos’ Gucci Spring/Summer 20 campaign shot on Sunset; a hot air balloon announces the Dior Cruise 18 show in the Santa Monica Mountains; A Georgia O’Keefe–inspired look from Dior Cruise 18; the Louis Vuitton Cruise 23 show was staged at Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla.

recent investments from the Wertheimer family (owners of Chanel) and L’Oréal heiress Françoise Bettencourt Meyers.

At the other end of the price spectrum, Gap is in the midst of a transformation tied to pop culture and orchestrated by CEO Richard Dickson, formerly of Mattel, who arrived on the heels of his success helping produce Hollywood’s Barbie movie. He hired Anna Wintour favorite Zac Posen to head design, a masterstroke that took Gap onto the Met Gala red carpet.

What drew high fashion to L.A. wasn’t just sunshine and palm trees; it was relevance. This is where images are made and exported, where a beauty brand can go from start-up to a $1 billion acquisition, fueled by the power of celebrity and social media. The city offers backdrops and inspiration, talent, and infrastructure where fashion can most directly plug into the machinery of fame.

But how did we get here?

The transformation of L.A. into a global fashion capital didn’t happen overnight. One could argue it began in 2004, when Tom Ford — still reeling from his bitter exit from Gucci — chose L.A. as his new home base.

Ford was already a legend — the man who turned Gucci into the sexiest brand on earth,

What

drew

high fashion to

L.A. wasn’t just sunshine and palm trees; it was relevance.

In 2012, Hedi Slimane shocked the French fashion establishment by trading Paris for L.A. when he took the creative helm at Saint Laurent. He already owned a midcentury home in Trousdale Estates, where he spent time working on his Dior Homme slimline collections, which dominated fashion for a time.

But at Saint Laurent, he shifted the entire creative axis of the brand westward. The atelier was moved to L.A., campaigns photographed by

drawing inspiration from L.A. and his own Richard Neutra–designed house in Holmby Hills, which informed the clean lines of Gucci boutiques. Additionally, Bob Mackie’s designs for Cher and Diana Ross inspired collections.

“When he thinks about the American woman, he thinks about L.A.,” his friend and collaborator Lisa Eisner told me in 2004.

His arrival proved L.A. wasn’t just a one-industry town. It was a place a fashion designer of Ford’s stature could reimagine himself. Ford began writing and directing films. His debut, A Single Man (2009), was a stylish meditation on love and loss that earned Colin Firth an Oscar nomination. His sophomore effort, Nocturnal Animals (2016), was darker but just as visually arresting. Ford’s move blurred the line between designer and auteur, foreshadowing an era when fashion and film would become interchangeable forms of storytelling.

Slimane were street cast with kids from the clubs and beaches, as well as celebrity offspring like Jack Kilmer (son of Val) and Dylan Jagger Lee (son of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee). The clothes were steeped in the mythology of the Chateau Marmont, 1970s bohemia, and rock ’n’ roll.

In 2016, it all culminated in a runway show at the Palladium Theater in Hollywood just before the Grammys. Suddenly, the idea of a Parisian maison attached to L.A. culture didn’t seem absurd. It seemed visionary.

L.A. designers had entered the high-fashion conversation thanks to the popularity of streetwear and more casual clothing. By the time Mike Amiri

Clockwise from center: Saint Laurent held its Men’s Spring/Summer 20 on Paradise Cove, Malibu; Mia Goth wears Tiffany & Co.’s designs in Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein , 2025; Greta Lee wears Dior by Jonathan Anderson at the Venice Film Festival, 2025.

unveiled his collection in 2014, the landscape had changed.

Amiri’s distressed denim and embellished T-shirts, with a built-in celebrity fan base that includes rock and hip-hop’s finest, from Keith Richards to Kendrick Lamar, captured the attention of Italian entrepreneur and Diesel founder Renzo Rosso. In 2019, his OTB Group took a minority investment in the

brand, fueling its global growth to 29 stores. Luxury houses were realizing that L.A. was home to many of their muses, who attracted more media attention at a show than the clothes coming down the runway. It was a source of entertainment synergy and cinematic backdrops for storytelling. By the mid2010s, runway shows in L.A. became the industry’s most

Luxury houses realized L.A. was the home to many muses.

glamorous pilgrimages.

Karl Lagerfeld was the early adopter. In 2007, Chanel landed at Santa Monica Airport, transforming Barker Hangar into an exclusive airport lounge that had models disembarking from jets onto the runway.

“Fashion has come to Hollywood. He’s paved the way for many more designers, I hope,” Victoria Beckham told Vogue at the time. Recently transplanted to L.A. herself, Beckham would release her own collection a year later.

That ahead-of-its-time Chanel show felt like an amuse-bouche.

In February 2015, Ford, who had his own namesake fashion brand by then, held a star-studded runway show during Oscar weekend, signaling the growing closeness between fashion and celebrity. Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus, Jennifer Lopez, and Julianne Moore made the scene rival an awards show afterparty. The collection inspired by “a Hitchcock heroine if she morphed into a rich bohemian,”

as Ford said at the time, looked right at home, with supermodel Karlie Kloss closing out the show as white rose petals rained down on the runway.

In April of that year, Burberry staged its “London to Los Angeles” show at the Griffith Observatory, with Union Jacks flying, a parade by the palace guard, and David, Victoria, and the Beckham brood, Rosie HuntingtonWhiteley, Cara Delevingne, and Anna Wintour among the 700 guests with the L.A. lights blanketed before them.

And in May, Louis Vuitton chose the Bob Hope House in

Clockwise from left: Nicole Kidman at the Balenciaga Pre-Fall 24 show in Hancock Park; A Single Man , 2009; A coconut at Saint Laurent’s men’s Spring/Summer 20 show in Malibu.

Palm Springs for its resort show, with models navigating John Lautner’s retro-futuristic estate in leather bandoliers and wildly romantic dresses, while Selena Gomez, Catherine Deneuve, and Michelle Williams watched alongside 550 guests who traveled from as far as China.

The scene was inspired in part by Robert Altman’s 1977 film 3 Women, starring Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek, and Janice Rule, which was shot in Palm Springs, designer Nicolas Ghesquière said in an admission of how much and how often fashion designers are inspired by Hollywood film and costume. The creative director loved it all so much that seven years later, he bought his own Lautner house, the Wolff estate in the Hollywood Hills, where he now lives part time.

Then came Dior’s dusty

Western-inspired spectacle in the hills of the Santa Monica Mountains in 2017, complete with hot-air balloons and Georgia O’Keeffe–inspired runway looks shown at dusk. Saint Laurent’s 2019 boardwalk runway collection, set against crashing waves, was a cinematic love letter to Mick Jagger in 1970s Marrakech, transported to present-day Malibu. Keanu Reeves, Miley Cyrus, and Hailey Bieber traded their shoes for zebra-patterned Saint Laurent flip-flops at the entrance and hit the sand for the show and dance party where The Blaze performed to the metronome of lapping waves.

Perhaps the pinnacle of L.A. as a fashion set came in 2021, when Gucci shut down Hollywood Boulevard. Searchlights lit up the sky, and the

Fashion designers are inspired by Hollywood film and costume.

neon marquee of the El Capitan Theatre flashed “Gucci Love Parade” as black Suburbans pulled up, depositing Gwyneth Paltrow and Billie Eilish in director’s chairs along the Walk of Fame. Designer Alessandro Michele’s 115-look fashion extravaganza, covering golden-age glamour, cowboys, and kink, took over the street like a movie premiere on steroids; it has nearly six million views on YouTube.

Chanel was back again in May 2023, taking over Paramount studios for a runway show that put old Hollywood, 1980s fitness chic and Barbiecore front and center, just ahead of its brand ambassador Margot Robbie’s blockbuster Barbie film release. Louis Vuitton returned with a show at La Jolla’s Salk Institute in 2022, and later that year Ralph Lauren took over The Huntington Library with his.

The message was clear: L.A. wasn’t just a backdrop anymore; it was the main stage for creativity, collaboration, and celebrity culture. No wonder Vogue World has chosen it for its next outing this fall. •

Clockwise from left: Chanel Cruise 24; Margot Robbie and Rose Byrne at the Chanel Cruise 24 show at Paramount Studios; The Palladium hosted Saint Laurent’s Fall 16 show; Ralph Lauren takes his bow at the Spring 23 show at The Huntington Library.
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The Female Gaze

With her transcendent portraits, ANNIE LEIBOVITZ celebrates the women who shape our world in an updated volume

Words by ELIZABETH VARNELL
A self-portrait of the photographer in Brooklyn.

We are atoms whirling in place, affected by and affecting those near and far from where we are,”

Gloria Steinem writes, introducing the second volume of Annie Leibovitz: Women (Phaidon), a new two-book set pairing the photographer’s 1999 work with a new companion edition of portraits from the current century.

Leibovitz, arguably the greatest living photographer, whose career spans half a century, has said she modeled her original project after German lensman August Sander’s series depicting a cross-section of society during the Weimar Republic. She never stopped shooting, and now the ensemble is expanding.

Now 76, Leibovitz spent her formative years in San Francisco, documenting the era’s culture through intimate portraits for Rolling Stone before globetrotting for Vanity Fair and Vogue. Then she took on this personal project, creating singular portraits of women from a variety of backgrounds in unguarded moments.

“That women, in the same measure as men, should be able to fulfill their individuality is, of course, a radical idea,” her partner, Susan Sontag, wrote in an essay accompanying the first volume of images. Inside, the bold individuality of farmers, Vegas showgirls, artists, soldiers, and schoolgirls is mixed with portraits of Elizabeth Taylor

and her dog Sugar in Bel Air, Miss Chinatown and her court lensed inside L.A.’s Golden Dragon restaurant, Betty Ford in Palm Springs, and Joni Mitchell, cigarette in hand, also in Southern California. Leibovitz’s subjects appear with all manner of expressions, poses, and gazes.

The new volume adds a fresh range of unscripted moments from public figures, private citizens, scientists, athletes, and artists to Leibovitz’s expanding assemblage, which includes more than 250 portraits. She enlisted Steinem and Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (who wrote essays for the book) to

“The new volume adds a fresh range of unscripted moments.”

expand her search for subjects. In L.A., producer and writer Shonda Rhimes puts her feet up during a break on the Oval Office set of the series Scandal; Michelle Obama shakes out her braids in front of a studio set; and singer-songwriter Billie Eilish sits at a table, writing in a journal. In Oakland, political activist and professor Angela Davis stares into the camera, while media mogul and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey is reflective in Montecito. Chef and restaurateur Alice Waters picks fruit in Berkeley, and musician and activist Joan Baez strums a guitar while sitting in an oak tree on the Woodside property where she’s lived for half a century.

For Adichie, the images illuminate the “exquisite ordinary heroism of women,” and throughout the project she spots an “artistic humility that is also a quietly roaring confidence.” Both books include short biographies on each portrait sitter, underscoring Steinem’s assertion that, “Women isn’t just a collection of women, it’s a history of our time, with women included.” X

From top: Producer and writer Shonda Rhimes in L.A. at Scandal
Oval Office set; Joan Baez perched in a tree in Woodside.
The photographer’s new two-volume portrait compilation (Phaidon, $100).
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Femmes First

Five innovative, woman-driven fashion doors to shop this fall

Smart Cuts

NYC fashion brand KHAITE, favored by Chloë Sevigny and Margot Robbie, has finally brought its razorsharp silhouettes and coveted leather bags to L.A. Taking over the ivy-covered boutique at the triangular corner of Melrose Avenue and Melrose Place, the steel-and-concrete flagship has been transformed by architect Griffin Frazen, the founder Catherine Holstein’s husband. Joining its denim and lavish knitwear in monolithic linear displays are clutches, flat sandals, mules, and shades created in collaboration with Oliver Peoples. Fall/Winter 2025 designs consist of the ready-to-wear moodily lit by large-scale windows and narrow ceiling slots, and shelves with contrasting illumination and opacity spotlight Ona ankle boots and the Western-style over-the-knee Clive. 8409 Melrose Ave., L.A., 323-854-4160; khaite.com. E.V.

Khaite has finally brought its razor-sharp silhouettes and coveted leather bags to L.A.
LOS ANGELES | KHAITE
Above: Khaite’s concrete-and-steel L.A. flagship. Left: Fall 25 looks by Catherine Holstein.
On location at Montage Laguna Beach

Lido Allure

Gwyneth Paltrow, who reworked and renamed her minimalist made-in-Italy clothing line, GWYN, with Sofía Menassé, unveiled it in New York days before opening her lifestyle and wellness brand GOOP’s first boutique at Lido Marina Village. Designed by Orange County studio Via Clover, the store is the brand’s second-largest, spanning 2,000 square feet. The newly reworked ready-to-wear, from wool-cashmere peacoats to trouser-inspired skirts and coveted knitwear, is included in the mix. Zia tiles embellish the flooring throughout the polished space, as do Pinch lighting, wicker coffee tables, and a vintage bench acquired from 1st Dibbs. Goop beauty — the curated range of clean essentials — is here, along with an assortment of jewelry, handbags, accessories, and home decor products. 3424 Via Lido, Newport Beach, 949-220-7004; goop.com. R.R.

The just-opened Newport Beach Goop store spans 2,000 square feet.

NEWPORT BEACH | GOOP
Minimalist designs from Gwyneth Paltrow’s newly launched GWYN label.
Newport Beach has a new Goop boutique.

Lasting Layers

Georgia Dant’s genius take on seasonless customizable outerwear, MARFA STANCE, is made with dead-stock fabrics from Italy and Japan, such as shearling, doublefaced wool, and quilted water-repellent nylon. And it’s popping up at the Marin Country Mart through the end of the year. The British designer, who previously led men’s and women’s design teams at Burberry and rag & bone, launched the line of reversible garments and modular accessories — add or remove collars, hoods, and liners — meant to function across climates and seasons in 2019. Inspired by Donald Judd’s modular furniture on view in Marfa, Texas, her collections include bomber jackets, peacoats, and reversible raincoats with contrasting fabrics, textures, and colors, as well as trousers, skirts, and knitwear perfect for California microclimates. 2257 Larkspur Landing Circle, Larkspur; marfastance.com E.V.

Marfa Stance will be at the Marin County Mart through the end of the year.

LARKSPUR | MARFA STANCE
Above and below: Georgia Gant’s reversible outerwear.
Marfa Stance’s Larkspur pop-up.

Take a dip. Nourish your soul. Indulge in culinary delights. Toast to making life one long weekend. Your everyday escape awaits.

SAN FRANCISCO | SHERRI M c MULLEN

Knitting Notes

Known for her discerning eye and extensive relationships with designers, SHERRI McMULLEN is welcoming Rachel Scott to her Presidio Heights flagship this November. The Jamaica-born Scott, who recently took the helm at Proenza Schouler, launched Diotima in 2021 and just staged her first runway show for her lauded Caribbean-steeped line in New York. McMullen and her team of stylists are curating a presentation of Diotima Fall 2025 looks inspired by domestic spaces and headlined by meticulously crafted knitwear. Scott’s tailored pants and breezy dresses are rife with hand-embellishments, and her signature crochet elements — foundational to the collection — are all made in Jamaica. Nov. 20–21. 3687 Sacramento St., S.F., 415-7545310; shopmcmullen.com. E.V.

Sherri

McMullen is welcoming Rachel Scott to her Presidio Heights flagship.

Stateside Stones

I’ve had my eye on this spot for years,” MARGOT McKINNEY says of the new jewel box–size boutique she opened in Beverly Hills, her first independent store outside Australia. Situated inside The Peninsula Beverly Hills, the vibrantly colored and patterned space is as bold as the gems the fourth-generation jeweler designs. Known for selecting rare Australian South Sea pearls and imposing aquamarines, diamonds, and sapphires for her creations, McKinney takes inspiration from the beauty of the natural world. Azure oceans, coral reefs, and the outback’s red earth shape her ideas and influence her color combinations. McKinney is a master at layering motifs and hues, and her boutique includes a range of prints fearlessly combined amid vitrines and cases bedecked in oneoff designs made with rare stones. 9882 S. Santa Monica Blvd., The Peninsula Beverly Hills; margotmckinney.com. E.V. Australian

jeweler Margot McKinney has opened her first stateside boutique.
BEVERLY HILLS | MARGOT M c KINNEY
Above: Diotima Fall 25 designs. Below: Pink pearl, diamond, and sapphire Cookie earrings, $33,500. Margot McKinney’s jewel box–size Beverly Hills store.
1. HEIDI MERRICK sunglasses, $225. 2. BULGARI earrings, $2,300. 3. TORY BURCH cuff, $450. 4. ST. JOHN boots, $1,695. 5. VERONICA BEARD pullover, $498. 6. JIMMY CHOO bag, $895. 7. LOEWE trousers, $1,650. 8. CARTIER watch, $150,000. 9. SUZIE KONDI scarf, $675. 10. BURBERRY trench, $2,850.

THE STATE’S

CALIFORNIA’S CULTURAL BOOM has redrawn the global arts map via billion-dollar museums, blockbuster galas, and a creative spirit all of its own Words by DEGEN PENER

Museum galas don’t typically rival the Oscars when it comes to celebrity turnout. That’s why the 2011 debut of LACMA’s Art+Film Gala felt like such a game changer for the art world.

Everywhere you looked was another one of your favorite stars — Emily Blunt, Olivia Wilde, Jane Fonda, Zoe Saldaña, Jon Hamm, Reese Witherspoon — decked

out in the latest creations from the event’s founding sponsor, Gucci. Benefit cochairs Leonardo DiCaprio and Eva Chow, who envisioned the evening as a glittering convergence of L.A.’s creative worlds, also welcomed to the red carpet California art stars like Mark Bradford, Catherine Opie, Edward Ruscha, Doug Aitken, and Barbara Kruger. The evening honored two California visionaries: director

(and longtime Carmel resident) Clint Eastwood and conceptual artist John Baldessari. DiCaprio enjoyed himself so much that he stayed out until nearly midnight. Within five years, GQ had dubbed the annual benefit the “Met Gala of the West,” and it has since raised more than $51 million for the museum.

“This was always a city about film; now it’s a city that’s also about art,” Dawn Hudson,

who was then the CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, told me that night. “So the fact that we are celebrating both in the same place is pretty special.”

The message was impossible to miss: California — once an artistic frontier and long a fertile proving ground for exploration and creativity — was declaring itself a powerhouse on the international art scene. After decades

AGE

of operating in the shadow of New York, the Golden State was in full creative bloom.

You had already sensed it at the 2005 opening gala for the Herzog & de Meuron–designed de Young Museum, a striking, perforated-copper home for the institution’s encyclopedic collection of artworks spanning 5,000 years. That night, Gavin Newsom, then the mayor of San Francisco, looked around the

3,200 guests and — never one to undersell — exclaimed, “I’m blown away. This is an incredible gift to the city.”

You felt it at MOCA’s spectacular 30th anniversary benefit in 2009, where Lady Gaga debuted her song “Speechless,” playing a Damien Hirst–designed pink piano and wearing a hat created by Frank Gehry.

And you experienced it when a 31-year-old Gustavo Dudamel,

From top: Joan Semmel's Spaced Out , 2019, at Frieze Los Angeles; the LACMA Art + Film Gala 2024; Dancers from LA Dance Project, 2019. Opposite: Kim Kardashian at the LACMA x Gucci Art + Film Gala 2022.

the music and artistic director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, marshaled two orchestras to play Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 on February 4, 2012, at the Shrine Auditorium, along with 813 singers from 16 local choruses and eight soloists.

If California’s art scene was finding its swagger, nothing embodied that confidence more than the buildings themselves, as a string of gleaming new and reimagined cultural palaces sprang up across the state with a combined price tag of more than $4 billion.

After the de Young opened, multimillion-dollar expansions and renovations of such institutions as The Getty Villa (2006), the Huntington (2008), the

Santa Barbara Museum of Art (2021), the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (2022), the Asian Art Museum (2023) in San Francisco and the Hammer Museum (2023) followed. Each debut felt like part of a larger civic competition, as though every part of California wanted to prove that it, too, could play on the world stage.

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s 2016 expansion was yet another game-changing moment. Its elegant 10-story new Snøhetta-designed addition, with an undulating white facade inspired by the waters of San Francisco Bay, tripled the museum’s exhibition space and gave it more square footage to display art than the Museum of Modern Art in New York has. It also became the dazzling new home for the blue-chip Fisher Collection, a 100-year loan from the founders of Gap. Six years later, Orange County Museum of Art moved into its new Morphosis-designed building in Costa Mesa, a sculptural concatenation of bold geometric shapes clad in white-glazed terra-cotta.

Under Michael Govan’s leadership, LACMA has been completely transformed. After the addition of the Renzo Piano–designed BCAM and Resnick buildings more than 15 years ago, the museum is now preparing its most audacious architectural

“This was always a city about film; now it’s a city that’s also about art.”

statement: the $720 million Peter Zumthor–designed David Geffen Galleries, a thrusting expanse of concrete and glass that hovers over Wilshire Boulevard. It’s expected to open next spring.

Entirely new institutions have also arrived, further shifting the cultural map, including the Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco, Museum of the African Diaspora in S.F., Hilbert Museum of California Art in Orange County, and The Broad. With its honeycomb-like facade, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, The Broad sits as a delicate architectural counterpoint to its neighbor, Frank Gehry’s brashly swooping Walt Disney Concert Hall.

“We thought we would have about 250,000 visitors a year,” its founder, Eli Broad, once wrote. That estimate turned

out to be way off. Last year, the museum, which opened in 2015, welcomed more than 820,000 visitors to see its permanent collection and a retrospective of work by Mickalene Thomas. And it’s already planning a major expansion to be completed ahead

Clockwise from middle: Barbara Kruger's Untitled (Your body is a battleground) , 1989, at The Broad; Frieze Los Angeles, 2019; Richard Hudson's hilltop heart sculpture at Donum Estate; Lady Gaga played a Damien Hirst-designed piano at MOCA's 30th anniversary; guests attend LACMA Art + Film Gala, 2024.

of the 2028 Olympics in L.A.

Finally in 2021, Hollywood got its own museum, with the opening of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, featuring

with its own new temples of culture in the last two decades, including the Cesar Pelli–designed Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall (2006)

Entirely new institutions have also arrived, further shifting the cultural map.

the distinctive Renzo Piano–designed Sphere, which hosts the museum’s own gala, a competitor with LACMA’s Art+Film Gala for the title of Met Gala of the West. At last year’s event, says Amy Homma, the museum’s director and president, “Quentin Tarantino surprised us by bringing out the original handwritten script to Pulp Fiction and donating it to us.”

These buildings announced to the world California’s ambition to be a global center of art and culture. And they rose in lockstep with California’s booming economy, which this year overtook Japan to be the fourth-largest economy in the world.

The performing arts answered

in Orange County and the jewel-box Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (2013) in Beverly Hills.

But undoubtedly the biggest story on the performing arts front was the arrival of the dynamic Dudamel at the LA Phil. While its previous music director, the elegant Esa-Pekka Salonen, elevated the orchestra into firsttier status in the U.S. and gave it a reputation for experimentation, Dudamel shifted everything into creative overdrive.

During his remarkable 16-year run at the orchestra (he leaves next year to lead the New York Philharmonic), the LA Phil played Coachella, staged ambitious operas at Walt Disney

Concert Hall, and celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Hollywood Bowl, to name just a few highlights. And YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles), which Dudamel founded, performed at the Super Bowl twice.

“He was 26 when he started, and he just transformed what we envision an orchestra can be,” says Meghan Umber, the chief programming officer at LA Phil. She points to a trilogy of operas Dudamel staged between 2012 and 2014 as particularly magical, pairing fashion designers (Rodarte, Azzedine Alaïa, Hussein Chalayan) with architects (Frank Gehry, Jean Nouvel, Zaha Hadid). The transformation wasn’t just artistic; it was financial. By 2023, the LA Phil’s annual revenue had soared to $208 million, nearly double that of the New York Philharmonic. In a twist, Salonen will return to the LA Phil as its creative director, as the orchestra searches for a new music director.

Dance in California also attracted the world’s biggest players, from Benjamin Millepied, who founded the innovative L.A. Dance Project in 2012, to Tamara Rojo, who took the reins of San

Clockwise from middle: Save Me by Olivia Steele at Bombay Beach Biennale, 2018; Jesus Christ Superstar at Hollywood Bowl, 2025; OCMA; San Francisco Ballet rehearsal, 2024, photographed for C Magazine

Francisco Ballet in 2022. As if her hit 2024 production of the artificial intelligence–themed ballet Mere Mortals weren’t enough, the company announced last year that it had received a jaw-dropping $60 million gift from an anonymous donor — a huge vote of confidence in the company’s next era.

Interestingly, part of California’s newfound cultural dominance resulted from a look at its past. In 2011, the Getty launched its game-changing initiative, Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A., 1945 to 1980, which helped fund exhibitions on California’s artistic history at more than 60 cultural institutions across Southern California. Its message, as Vogue put it at the time, was that “modern art developed differently on the West Coast, and the New York–centric art world has ignored its contributions for far too long.” There were dazzling surveys of California artists at both Getty and MOCA, a phenomenal LACMA exhibit on California design, and the sublime Phenomenal: California Light, Space, Surface show in San Diego, where works by 1960s Light and Space artists like Robert Irwin, James Turrell, Mary Corse, Bruce Nauman, Larry Bell, and Helen

Pashgian shimmered.

The impact was seismic. “It was a coming of age for a city that sometimes doesn’t think of itself as having an art history,” said LACMA’s director, Michael Govan. Adds Maria Bell, the chair of the LA28 Cultural Olympiad and a former board chair of MOCA, “What the Getty did in bringing together all of these cultural institutions was transformative.” Since then, the Getty has doubled down twice more with Pacific Standard Time LA/LA (spotlighting Latin American and Latino art) and PST Art: Art and Science Collide. Each chapter reinforced the story that California has always had a rich narrative of its own.

The love for California artists continued at major museums, where acclaimed retrospectives

Part of California’s newfound cultural dominance resulted from a look at its past.

of established names included shows of Barbara T. Smith at the Getty; Andrea Bowers, Charles Gaines, and Lari Pittman at the Hammer; Mike Kelley and Henry Taylor at MOCA; Betye Saar, James Turrell, and Frank Gehry at LACMA; and Joan Brown, Ruth Asawa, and Jay DeFeo at SFMOMA.

The state also became a magnet for a new generation. It increasingly attracted young artists, many of whom were drawn to the state’s acclaimed art schools. (UCLA in particular has a remarkable history of major artists, such as Baldessari, Kruger, and Opie, serving as faculty.) In 2023, 22 percent of all fine arts degrees in the country were conferred in California, according to Otis College of Art and Design’s most recent Creativity Economy report. “Until very recently, L.A. was reasonably affordable for a

big city — less expensive than New York and London. So the scene has swelled,” says artist Meg Cranston, the chair of the fine arts program at Otis.

With all that influx of young talent, museums took note.

The Hammer’s “Made in L.A.” biennial became a launchpad for emerging painters and sculptors. The de Young created the de Young Open, inviting Bay Area artists into a salon-style triennial. And in 2022, OCMA brought back the museum’s California Biennial.

Of course, California’s cultural boom didn’t happen in a vacuum. Collectors, too, shifted their gaze. Where once they might have looked east for validation, many began rooting their collections locally. “There are so many collectors who have really focused on L.A. artists,” Bell says. “The artists were here, and you could

From left: Renoir's The Thinker at S.F.'s Legion of Honor; Alicja Kwade's ParaPivot at Desert X, 2021; actors Édgar Ramírez Andie Macdowell and Ruth Negga pose for C Magazine at the newly opened Academy Museum, 2021.

see their work in their studios. For collectors, that creates a real connection.” Money was flowing into the art world at unprecedented levels, and as California’s economy surged the global art market noticed — and wanted in.

Over the past dozen years, some of the most powerful galleries in contemporary art have planted flags in L.A., including Pace, Sprüth Magers, David Zwirner, Jeffrey Deitch, Matthew Marks, Lisson, Perrotin, and Marian Goodman. Hauser & Wirth opened two locations, including its museum-like compound, replete with restaurant, in a former flour mill downtown. Part

of the expansion was pragmatic; many of these galleries represented L.A. artists.

Then came the rocket booster. In 2019, international art fair Frieze landed in L.A. Celebs like DiCaprio and Gwyneth Paltrow became regular attendees, and dealers, collectors, and curators from around the globe built L.A. into their calendars. “The whole sector of the art world that travels from Asia, Europe, and over America, they come to Los Angeles in February for Frieze Week,” gallerist and former MOCA director Jeffrey Deitch said in 2024. “It’s a remarkable community celebration.”

exciting cross-pollination among disciplines, as well as an embrace of creative endeavors that haven’t always been considered high art. Exhibit A was MOCA’s Art in the Streets show of street art in 2011, setting an attendance record at the time with over 200,000 visitors. “We’ve seen museums, theaters, and even outdoor venues become more accessible by breaking down traditional barriers between art forms and audiences,” Homma says.

Homegrown fairs joined the mix too. Palm Springs’s Modernism Week — next year will be its 20th anniversary — turned midcentury architecture into a cultural pilgrimage. The Bay Area welcomed the annual FOG Design+Art fair, which brings together top galleries and high design. And since 2017, Desert X has turned the Coachella Valley into an open-air gallery every other year, featuring often monumental site-specific works like Doug Aiken’s Mirage — a house of mirrors that shimmered on the horizon.

What’s made California’s rise so exhilarating is that it rarely follows the traditional scripts of the art world. That’s made for

Dance also attracted the

world’s biggest players.

Underrepresented artists have also won greater representation over the past two decades. Two prominent examples are the 2022 opening of the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture in Riverside and the Hammer’s 2011 exhibition Now Dig This!: Art and Black Los Angeles 1960-1980. And in 2018, likely for the first time in L.A., female artists were the subjects of more solo shows than male artists at major museums in the city.

Expect many of these trends to continue. According to Otis College’s Creative Economy report, employment in California’s fine arts sector is the only one of nine tracked industries to add jobs statewide for two consecutive years. And next year, in addition to LACMA’s new building, L.A. will welcome the spaceship-like Lucas Museum of Narrative Art (a long-time dream of George Lucas and Mellody Hobson). Additionally, in late 2025, digital artist Refik Anadol’s AI-themed museum Dataland is expected to bow in DTLA across from The Broad.

One thing is clear: California is no longer an underdog. As Umber sees it, that presents a special kind of challenge — the pressure to “continue always succeeding. That’s one of the hardest things to do — to lead from success. I think that’s kind of where we are now.” •

From top: Mark Bradford's was the first exhibition at Hauser & Wirth's West Hollywood gallery, 2023; LA Dance Project's Benjamin Millepied poses with dancers for C Magazine , 2019.

ESCAPE IN A MOMENT

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Supermodel CINDY CRAWFORD reminds us that relevance is overrated p. 86. OPRAH WINFREY on trust, truth, and the right to speak freely p. 102. Even off the beaten path, RALPH LAUREN’S refined styles stay right on track p. 108 . There’s no stopping DOMINIQUE CRENN, the first and only female U.S. chef to win three Michelin stars p. 118. When CHANEL opens a boutique in Montecito, it rewrites the off-duty dress code p. 124.

“ I don’t want to tell women after a certain age we don’t deserve to be seen. It’s my responsibility to show up.”

After four decades at the top of her game CINDY CRAWFORD, the supermodel that defined a generation, reminds us that relevance is overrated and acceptance never goes out of style

Photography by MATTHEW BROOKES
Styling by PAUL CAVACO
Words by ROBERT HASKELL

CHANEL dress, price upon request, earrings, $875, bracelets, $2,175 each, and shoes, $2,700.

GABRIELA HEARST shirt, $6,840, skirt, $6,840, and boots, $2,230. LAMARQUE gloves, $195.
GIVENCHY BY SARAH BURTON jacket, $8,700, skirt, $1,950, and shoes, $1,050.
“For a model, you have a direct line to your fans, but social media is a hungry little animal that’s never full.”
CINDY CRAWFORD
LORO PIANA jacket, $6,020, sweater, $1,085, trousers, $6,805, and hat, $1,460.
DIOR bomber jacket, cardigan, and shorts, all price upon request, and choker, $5,200.
Opposite: VALENTINO gown, $27,000.
BULGARI earrings, $22,000.

People often ask Cindy Crawford about the lessons she’s passed along to her daughter, Kaia Gerber, from a career in modeling that has spanned more than four decades. Showing up on time (Crawford is always, famously, early) and putting your phone away represent the kind of nagging guidance that might earn a daughter’s eye roll, and Crawford knows it. She and her husband, the entrepreneur Rande Gerber, tend to think that their children hear only the “wah-wah” sound of the adults in Peanuts when they speak. So instead, they try to lead by example.

That’s just what Crawford did in September, when her friend Chris Chelios, the Hall of Fame hockey player (whose career included nine seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks), convinced her to sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” in the seventh-inning stretch at a Cubs game alongside Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, in front of some 40,000 fans. Crawford is not, by a long shot, a singer. “I’d never been to a Cubs game, which is shocking because I grew up there,” she recalls over lunch at the Little Beach House Malibu, about 20 minutes down the Pacific Coast Highway from her home. “I figured that if I could back Eddie up, it wouldn’t be so bad. So I went, and I sang, and my daughter said, ‘Mom, it’s so cool that you did that.’ She knows it’s not anything I’m comfortable with. But if she sees me even at this point in my career taking chances and getting out of my comfort zone and not being so precious about being a supermodel, I think that means something.”

Of course, Crawford was always the least precious of the supermodels. Cognizant of the rarefied reach of pure fashion, at the height of her fame she signed on to a Pepsi ad and a Playboy shoot that Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington likely wouldn’t have considered. She turns 60 next year, and when she reflects on a career that has included more than a thousand magazine covers, those early risks feel pivotal. “Playboy was a step away from the prescribed modeling path,” she says. “My agent didn’t think I should do it. My dad didn’t think I should do it. People were like, ‘Why? You’re on the cover of Vogue.’ But it was with Herb [Ritts]. That helped me get a totally different audience — a male audience. And that’s how I got MTV.”

(For seven years, from 1989 to 1995, Crawford hosted MTV’s House of Style, interviewing designers and the planet’s coolest actors and rock stars, mic-in-hand.)

“Fashion is so narrow, in a way.”

That early lesson laid the foundation of a far-reaching career. For more than 20 years, Crawford has been

“My agent and my dad didn’t think I should do Playboy. And that’s how I got MTV.”

CINDY CRAWFORD

a partner in and the public face of Meaningful Beauty, the skincare company she founded with the Parisian cosmetic surgeon Jean-Louis Sebagh. Cindy Crawford Home, her furniture and home decor line, grosses more than $350 million annually. She has been a brand ambassador for Omega watches for 30 years. And she poses: She recently shot a cover for the French edition of Harper’s Bazaar, and she and Kaia continue to live stream for the world’s largest fashion company, Zara.

But lately Crawford finds she would like to give herself permission to do less. “I’m not chasing anything,” she says. The pandemic shifted her perspective. Before then, she had worked steadily for years. “I’d always been busy, and suddenly we found ourselves at home a lot,” she says. “That was something I was afraid of. I didn’t know if I would do well, and I thought I would need to be going at that same pace. COVID showed me that I don’t. But I’m aware of the importance of maintaining a presence. If you keep your foot in the door, you can turn the volume up or down. If you slam the door shut, it’s hard to get it open again.”

Malibu has been Crawford’s home for more than 20 years, and the threats to it have made it even more precious. The 2018 fire taught her to be prepared: to inventory her possessions for the insurance adjuster (for example, rare designer handbags given to her over the years); to get all her photographs digitized and loaded onto drives; to keep a note on her phone about precisely what to grab and what to leave behind (favorite jeans yes, favorite gown no). So when the Palisades Fire erupted, and little spot blazes started to dot the adjacent canyons, Crawford and her family were ready. They gathered at their son Presley’s house in town, and then, when fire was spotted in the Hollywood Hills, they drove to the desert, where they spent several weeks in their La Quinta home. The Crawford-Gerbers were lucky; their Malibu enclave was spared. Her old friend the model Karen Alexander lost her home and everything in it in Altadena.

“When I came back for the first time, driving it at night, it was like a Tim Burton movie,” she says. “I just saw the skeletons of houses, on and on. Seeing those mundane parts of people’s lives, [like] a burned-out washing machine — it was heartbreaking. I love Los Angeles so much. And I chose Malibu. I didn’t have to live here. When we first came to L.A., we were in Brentwood, and the kids were outside all day, and the weather was beautiful. Malibu was an amplified version of that. The people we knew out here had families with kids of similar ages, and you’d go to dinner and the kids would be included. That’s so not New York, where you go to restaurants and you’ve never even seen the inside of your friends’ apartments. We really wanted to build our life in California, and I don’t take it for granted.”

But with her kids settled in their own homes, Crawford is less tied to Malibu than she once was. “Our house is such a family house that my husband and I both rattle around in it,” she says. “I always say the ghosts of the kids are everywhere. I miss them more when I’m in that house because I walk by their

MAX MARA shirt, $1,065, trousers, $930, and belt, $470. MICHAEL KORS shoes, $950. Ring, Cindy’s own.
CHLOÉ dress, $4,590, and shoes, $890. CHOPARD earrings, price upon request.

childhood bedrooms, and all the memories come back.”

While Crawford has never been an especially spontaneous person, more free time has allowed her to bounce around and say yes more than she ever has. This summer she spent six weeks at her lake house in Muskoka, north of Toronto. “People are all into grounding now, and I love having my feet in the grass. But when I’m in the lake in Canada, I’m so grounded,” she says. “It’s not good for my hair color. By the end of the summer, every woman’s hair up there looks insane, but we don’t care because we’re so happy.” Several years ago, she and her husband bought an apartment in Miami — although not for the reason you might guess. “We still pay taxes here. My kids are in Los Angeles, so I’m not going anywhere. But Malibu in the spring and fall, the lake house in summer, and Miami in the winter — that’s kind of a good movement. And for my husband and me, it’s fun because we didn’t spend family time in Miami, but we each have a history there. Rande owned a bar there, and I modeled there a lot. So when we’re in Miami, it’s kind of like we’re a young couple again.”

The world of modeling is not the same place Crawford entered at age 17, when she was discovered by a local photographer while she was a high school student in DeKalb, Illinois. Some changes have been for the better. “Diversity is the best thing that has happened to modeling,” she says. “Fashion with a capital F has been very elitist and has had a very rigid idea of beauty for so long. Even my generation, we felt like we were broadening the definition because, oh my gosh — brown hair! I think it’s great when magazines and designers reflect back to their audience.”

CHANEL dress, price upon request, earrings, $875, bracelets, $2,175 each, and shoes, $2,700.

never think, Wow, she’s got a few more wrinkles,” she says. “I think, You look gorgeous. I try to turn that on myself as well. Women — and probably men — need to speak to ourselves the way we speak to our friends.”

As she gazes out at the next decade, she finds that she thinks about beauty in a different way. Her goal is not to be dazzling but to be free to do the things she enjoys. “Health is the single most important aspect of beauty now,” she says. “Why am I exercising? So I can go on a long hike or play pickleball. You don’t want your life to get smaller as you get older. I’ve tried the vampire facials and things like that, but honestly I’ve not found any magic thing that makes all the difference. Instead it’s the regular stuff — staying out of the sun, eating 80 percent good 80 percent of the time, getting enough sleep.”

“I said, ‘Guys, we’ve got to do this documentary soon because no one’s getting younger except Naomi.’ ”
CINDY CRAWFORD

She can’t help but feel ambivalent about the other major revolution, social media. “For a model, you have an opportunity to tell people who you are, a direct line of communication with your fans,” Crawford says. “But the negative is that social media is like a hungry little animal that’s never full.” She laments the gradual dwindling of print in favor of social media’s more fleeting gratifications. “A Steven Meisel picture, a Helmut Newton picture — these are not meant to be seen in the flick of a finger. They’re meant to be savored, and that’s what’s beautiful about magazines. You peruse them. You really take your time.”

In 2023, The Supermodels reunited Crawford, Turlington, Evangelista, and Naomi Campbell in a fourpart docuseries on Apple TV+. “We all had the chance to tell our stories, and it was so much fun because

we’re like a dysfunctional family,” she says. “We’re like sisters, and you get along better with some than with others. But we have a shared history that is undeniable, and through the lens of time, you’re really able to appreciate what an incredible moment we lived through.”  Crawford, Turlington, and Evangelista used to joke, “Guys, we’ve got to do this documentary soon because no one’s getting younger except Naomi.” The truth is that Crawford doesn’t put her old friends under the microscope. “I

For Crawford, the balance between accepting the slow creep of time and fighting against it has shifted. These days she is less likely to see a professional photo of herself and ask that the decades be airbrushed out. “I’ll say, ‘No, this is what I look like,’ ” she says. “My younger sister let her hair go white during the pandemic, and I was kind of jealous.” She has a friend in Miami, a retired makeup artist, whom she takes walks with. The subject of facelifts tends to come up. “I’m definitely at the age. But we’ve sort of made a pact together not to. There are so many options now, and I don’t judge anyone. Freedom is about being able to do whatever you want to do and to feel good about it. As long as a woman — whatever she does — is doing it for herself, it’s right.” It’s hard to imagine Crawford will ever be anything other than one of the world’s most recognizable women. But if you don’t recognize her, that’s OK too. “If your goal is to stay relevant — well, yuck,” she says. “I don’t think about that. I’m not trying to show up like the hot 25-year-old at the party anymore. Instead, I try to embrace whatever stage I’m in. If it were up to me, would I just ride off into the sunset and say, ‘It was a great frigging ride, but I’m going to let them remember me at 25’? There is that temptation. But then I’d be complicit in telling women that after a certain age, we don’t deserve to be seen. I don’t want to do that. It’s my responsibility to show up.” X

Hair by PETER GRAY at Home Agency using Oway USA Official and easihairpro; assisted by FAITH KRAUSE. Makeup by PATI DUBROFF at Forward Artists. Set Design by MICHAEL STURGEON. Movement Direction by WILL LOFTIS. Dancers DANIEL RALPH MFAYA and ROMEIL JOHNSON. Produced by PEPPER MADE. Shot on location at THE STUDIOS AT PARAMOUNT.
“I have a great sense of the truth. An algorithm isn’t going to change my value system.”

Decades after reshaping daytime TV, OPRAH WINFREY is back behind the mic with a new podcast. From her home in Montecito, she talks truth, trust, and the right to speak freely

Photography by KURT ISWARIENKO
Styling by ANNABELLE HARRON
Words by ROBERT HASKELL
MAXMARA long coat, $6,025, bodysuit shirt, $930, turtleneck jumper, $625, trousers, $930, belt, $470, gloves, $365, and earrings, $590.
“My mantra is, Life is better when you share it.”

There’s a misconception about Oprah Winfrey. It’s so well known that it can hardly be called a misconception: that she is the ultimate people person, that her prodigious interpersonal gifts emanate from a desire to connect, above all, to her fellow humans. Not quite. Winfrey’s move to Montecito in 2001 was driven in part by a contrary impulse.

“The thing I cherished most,” she says, “was coming to a community where nobody wanted anything from me, where you could just go to the supermarket. And people would see you, and they’d be cordial and kind, but nobody was going to be asking you for anything. Nothing was required of me other than to be, and to be myself.” Still, she accepted the occasional invite. Winfrey also recalls a great ready-made circle of friends from the moment she bought the property. She remembers that first year as a succession of big outdoor dinner parties, a glittering welcome wagon with its many welcoming arms outstretched. But these days — the Bezos-Sánchez wedding notwithstanding — Winfrey is likely to decline. And she has no FOMO.

“One thousand percent no,” she says on a golden autumn afternoon on the patio of the house, which she calls the Promised Land. As always, she has spent much of the day outdoors, in the shadow of her beloved redwoods and oaks, and her watch indicates that she has already hiked 5.18 miles. “My secret is that I’m most comfortable with myself. My other secret is that although I appear to be extremely extroverted, and I have

developed extroverted tendencies that let me function in the world, I am majorly an introvert. The best time in the world for me is if there’s a big storm. I am happiest either under my trees or building a fire when the fog comes in.”

But Winfrey, 71, keeps busy. Late last year, eager to continue her decades-long project of introducing, through conversation, the ideas of important thinkers to a larger audience, she started The Oprah Podcast. “All my podcasts are little teachings,” she says. “Little drops of light for people to see themselves in a way that they need reminding of sometimes, or that reminds them of the goodness in themselves. That’s why I decided to do it. I’m sitting at my table with Father David or Eckhart Tolle, and I’m like, ‘God, I wish everyone could hear this.’ My mantra is, whether it’s a sandwich or a great experience or a trip or whatever, Life is better when you share it. So to have these conversations is a way for me to share information in a way that I think will benefit people.”

Winfrey is, frankly, worried about the world. She worries about the way in which social media and device use have rendered a generation of children and adolescents ill equipped to interact with the real world. She worries about government incursions into free speech. “I don’t think there’s a level of awareness of how dangerous it is,” she says. “People not understanding that if Jimmy Kimmel can be taken off the air, it’s not long before they’re coming for you. I don’t know if The Oprah Winfrey Show

could exist in this environment. I would be in trouble every day because I feel that in order to actually speak the truth and speak your mind, somebody is going to be offended.”

Although she used to watch the news every evening, Winfrey has lost the stomach for it. “I really can’t ingest it,” she says. “I have to modify how much negative information I allow myself to take in. And I moderate it. I’ll scan my iPad for what I actually need and not take in the rest.”

The Atlantic got her through the pandemic and beyond, and she still reads The New York Times and The Guardian . She believes that the single greatest safeguard as she confronts the media landscape is that she can separate right from wrong. She is not afraid of any algorithm. “I actually feel that I have a great sense of discernment about what is the truth and what isn’t,” Winfrey says. “An algorithm isn’t going to change my value system.”

The Kimmel affair reminded her of what happened some 30 years ago, when she aired a show devoted to the topic of “dangerous food.” She said on air that she had decided to stop eating hamburgers after learning about the risk of mad cow disease. Her comment led to a significant drop in beef prices, and members of the Texas cattle industry sued. The jury ruled unanimously in Winfrey’s favor. “On the day I won the trial,” she says, “the first thing I said was, ‘Free speech rocks.’ For democracy to continue to be what we want it to be, you have to have free speech. So I was very happy to see that Jimmy Kimmel was

restored to his position on ABC. Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with him, he has the right to be disagreed with and to be agreed with.”

Inevitably, she also worries for the environment, which has continued to batter her beloved home. Her relationship to Montecito changed forever in 2018, when a wave of mudslides tore through the Santa Ynez Mountains and took apart the town, killing 23 people. Winfrey was home and remembers gazing out at a night sky turned orange when a giant boulder carried by the debris flow hit a gas main and started a fire. “At the time, President Trump had been talking to Kim Jong Un, and I thought, Oh my God, we’ve been nuked,” she says. “I remember hesitating, thinking, I’m going to go out on the porch and I’m going to disintegrate. I said to Stedman [Graham, her long-time partner], ‘Wake up! The sky is orange!’ And he got up and looked at me, and he goes, ‘Nothing I can do about it.’ That was the beginning of my deeper connection to the community and a greater sense of appreciation for the people who live here.”

In times that feel perilous, Winfrey says she keeps her head by returning to nature, which she calls “the center of myself.” The wild of her own vast backyard has been a buffer against the noise of the wider world. And she has never felt healthier, thanks to knee-replacement surgery and a combination of walking, hiking, weight training, and GLP-1 medication, of which she has been an early and potent champion.

Born in rural Kosciusko, Mississippi, in 1954, Winfrey was initially raised by her grandmother on a small farm without running water. She learned to read by age 3 and began reciting Bible verses in local churches, foreshadowing her aptitude for language and command of an audience. Despite moving between her mother’s home in Milwaukee and her father’s in Nashville, she excelled academically. By 19, she had become the youngest and first Black female news anchor at WLAC-TV in Nashville, balancing her broadcasting ambitions with studies at Tennessee State University. In 1976, she moved to Baltimore to coanchor the evening news, and she became known for her empathetic approach, which became her signature when she took over AM Chicago (a struggling morning talk show) in 1984 and transformed it within months into The Oprah Winfrey Show, a

In this next decade, Winfrey intends to stay open to projects that, she says, “bring humanity together.” She wouldn’t mind interviewing Pope Leo XIV and is hopeful that their shared connection to Chicago might give her an in (as if she needed one). Despite exhortations to do so, she has no wish to run for office. “I couldn’t jump into that pool,” she says. “That’s not a pool I want to be in.”

“Let me just say for myself, who suffered from the disease of obesity long before I knew that it was a disease: It is a revelation,” she says. “It is a miracle that I no longer have to struggle with believing that it was my lack of willpower that continued to put the weight back on again and again. I have been shamed — was ashamed of myself — been blamed, blamed myself. Never thought that there would be a solution in my lifetime. It has completely shifted the way that I see myself in the world. It shifted my attitude toward going places, doing things, being active, participating in things I never would have participated in — all of it. Because I’m not in the struggle.”

national phenomenon that redefined daytime television. Over 25 years, Winfrey built a media empire, including Harpo Productions, the OWN network, and O Magazine. Her accolades include a Presidential Medal of Freedom, an Oscar nomination for The Color Purple, a book club that turns 30 next year, and the distinction of becoming the first Black female billionaire in North America.

Winfrey’s philanthropic legacy rivals her media empire: She has donated more than $400 million to causes spanning education, equality, and disaster relief; founded the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa; funds hundreds of college scholarships; and rebuilt homes after Hurricane Katrina. She continues to support multiple causes, championing opportunity as the truest form of empowerment.

Although she does not long for yesterday, she misses the power that her show had to shift the cultural conversation. A long time ago, in a grocery store, a woman stopped her and told her that at first she didn’t believe Winfrey when she advised parents not to hit their children. “It’s one of my favorite moments,” she says. “We used to do a lot of shows — big debates on spanking. This was the ’80s and ’90s. And this mother says, ‘I used to see you talk about how you’re not supposed to hit your kids, and I didn’t believe you, because how are you going to have good kids if you don’t hit them?’ And she said, ‘It wasn’t the fact that you said it. It was the fact that you were consistent, and every time you talked about it you were consistent. So I stopped hitting my kids. And I have different kids. And I’m a different mom.’ That just stuck with me. It’s not about saying something one time. The show was able to say something and say it again until it was a part of the culture.”

But few things in Winfrey’s life have been more consistent and nourishing than her relationship with her home. She walks the property nearly every day, and every day she finds something new, sees the light brighten a familiar tree in a different way. “Every day it feels different to me,” she says. “Every day I find something to feel a sense of awe about. And what I most feel — where I most get the feeling of awe — is sometimes crossing the bridge. Looking up through my backyard to my house, I am just amazed that I came from a dirt road in Mississippi to Montecito. I am ah-mazed at that. Capital amazed, as in amazing grace. California — it feels like God did some of his best work here.” •

Hair by NICOLE MANGRUM. Makeup by ADAM BURRELL at Opus Beauty.
“I am happiest either under my trees or building a fire.” OPRAH

Even off the beaten path, RALPH LAUREN’S refined styles stay right on track

From left: Aiki wears POLO RALPH LAUREN coat, $998, shirt, $198, jeans, $298, and loafers, $498. Camila wears RALPH LAUREN blazer, $5,990, skirt, $5,990, and belt, $500. Fabian wears POLO RALPH LAUREN jacket, $348, trousers, $198, shirt, $150, and loafers, $498. ARTIST IN RESIDENCE: RALPH LAUREN HOME X NAIOMI AND TYLER GLASSES Rena throw pillow, $595, Asher throw pillow, $595, Brea European sham, $475, Brea throw blanket, $1,250, and Standing Crosses rug in cream, $2,495.
RALPH
Photography by JACK WATERLOT Styling by MARY INACIO
Camila wears RALPH LAUREN cardigan, $3,490, blouse, $2,790, and lambskin pants, $3,490. Opposite: Ari wears RALPH LAUREN jacket, $5,990, and POLO RALPH LAUREN sweater, $598.
RALPH LAUREN X C MAGAZINE
From left: Fabian wears RALPH LAUREN shirt, $2,195, trousers, $795, and boots, $1,400. Ari wears RALPH LAUREN wool coat, $2,990, and sweater, $1,290, and POLO RALPH LAUREN jeans, $268, and boots, $998. Camila wears RALPH LAUREN dress, $7,500, and POLO RALPH LAUREN vest, $1,998, and boots, $798. ARTIST IN RESIDENCE: RALPH LAUREN HOME X NAIOMI AND TYLER GLASSES Saddle Blanket fabric, starting at $470/yard. Opposite: Fabian wears POLO RALPH LAUREN shirt, $198. Aiki wears POLO RALPH LAUREN coat, $998, and denim jacket, $198.
RALPH LAUREN X C
Top, from left: Fabian wears RALPH LAUREN suede coat, $11,000, and POLO RALPH LAUREN sweater. Camila wears RALPH LAUREN dress, $28,000. Center, clockwise from top left: Fabian wears POLO RALPH LAUREN pants, $198. Aiki wears POLO RALPH LAUREN jeans, $198. Camila wears POLO RALPH LAUREN jeans, $228. Ari wears POLO RALPH LAUREN jeans, $268. Below, from left: Aiki wears POLO RALPH LAUREN shirt, $150, and RALPH LAUREN trousers, $795. Camila wears POLO RALPH LAUREN shirt jacket, $1,798, jeans, $268 , and boots, $848. Ari wears RALPH LAUREN cardigan, $2,290, and POLO RALPH LAUREN jeans, $268. ARTIST IN RESIDENCE: RALPH LAUREN HOME X NAIOMI AND TYLER GLASSES, Brea European sham, $475.
From left: Fabian wears RALPH LAUREN suede coat, $11,000, trousers, $795, and POLO RALPH LAUREN sweater, $498. Ari wears RALPH LAUREN coat, $2,990, blouse, $3,490, pants, $1,590, and boots, $1,690. RALPH LAUREN HOME Holbrook Director’s Chair, $7,680.
RALPH
RALPH LAUREN dress, $28,000.
ARTIST IN RESIDENCE: RALPH LAUREN HOME X NAIOMI AND TYLER GLASSES Brea throw blanket, $1,250.
Hair by CANDICE BIRNS at A-Frame Agency. Makeup by GINA BROOKE. Models FABIAN ANCINEZ, CAMILA COSTA, ARI FOURNIER, and AIKI SMITH. Set design by PETER GUERACAGUE at WSM. Shot on location at ZACA LAKE, zacalake.com.
RALPH LAUREN X C
“I’m not here for you to like me. I’m here to express myself.”

DOMINIQUE CRENN’S rebellious instinct and resilient spirit made her the first (and only)

female chef to win three Michelin stars in the U.S. Now she is fusing haute couture and haute cuisine at Dior’s new Rodeo Drive restaurant

Photography by FRAN Ç OIS DISCHINGER
Styling by LAUREN GOODMAN
by DAVID NASH
DIOR shirt, price upon request, pants, $2,700, and shoes, $1,250. Opposite: DIOR shirt, $2,300, pants, $2,800, and jacket, price upon request.

October marks Dominique Crenn’s five-year anniversary of being cancer-free. “Yes, hallelujah! There’s no stopping for me. I’m not paying attention to — or internalizing — negative energy. I have two children, and I want to make sure I bring joy and happiness within myself,” she says over an afternoon coffee at Bar Crenn in the Cow Hollow neighborhood of San Francisco. After eight months of chemotherapy and a reconstructive surgery, in 2020 she received a clean bill of health and started working with José Andrés’s World Central Kitchen, the American Cancer Society (in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month), and La Cocina (to support immigrant women).

“You have only one life to live, and it’s all about love, kindness, giving to others, being curious, and taking risks,” she says. “That’s life.”

Let’s not forget Crenn is the only female chef in the U.S. to head a restaurant with three Michelin stars. Even in the face of more recent personal challenges — including the end of her yearlong marriage to actress Maria Bello, who filed for divorce in May — she remains upbeat and ready for her next challenge. And the next.

Since moving to California from France in 1988 — and securing her first kitchen job at chef Jeremiah Tower’s San Francisco restaurant Stars — Crenn has since found herself completely at home. “I’m French — yes, I was born in France, but I’m a Californian. I actually started to dream in English in 1998, and I was shocked.”

In 2011, she opened Atelier Crenn, which earned its first Michelin star that year, a second star two years later and a third in 2018 (making an Orion’s Belt in the culinary universe). Since then, the French expat has devoted her métier to imparting purpose and meaning. In fact, wearing a loose gray blazer, a white tank top, jeans, and a tilted straw panama covering her signature coiffure, she appears more café philosopher than restaurateur. “I got that first Michelin [star], and the rest is history,” she says. “But for me it’s just a platform to continue

my journey, have a dialogue with others, and make sure the next generation — especially the young women out there — have somebody they can look up to.”

So when the fabled House of Dior was looking for a chef to head its new Rodeo Drive rooftop restaurant and café designed by Peter Marino, it knew exactly whom to call for that delicate balance of French savoir faire and American exuberance.

“I’m a fan of Christian Dior, and I like his story — where he came from and how far he got in his [fashion] career, which was a pretty short 10 years,” she says, recalling the hours she spent combing through nearly 80 years of treasures in the archive, just off Avenue Montaigne in Paris. “I tried to imagine myself walking with M. Dior, having a conversation and picking his brain to see if we could create something magical together,” she says. This was more than a fanciful tête-à-tête between the internationally acclaimed 60-year-old Crenn and one of the 20th century’s most revered couturiers. It was an exercise in “imagineering” — first for Café Dior by Dominique Crenn at the brand’s Highland Park Village boutique in Dallas (which opened earlier this year), and now for the highly anticipated Monsieur Dior by Dominique Crenn atop its new three-story Beverly Hills flagship. “I spent a lot of time picturing the dresses [in the archives] and the mood and stories behind them, so I could try to tell the same stories on the plate,” she says.

Channeling the vision of the designer — and of those who’ve been stewards of Dior’s legacy (from John Galliano to Raf Simons) over the past seven decades — she’s found the phantom thread that connects haute cuisine to haute couture. “It’s kind of a fusion between the two,” she says about the menu, which will feature tuna tartare with purple yam chips and crème fraîche, a nod to a gown worn by Emilia Clarke at Cannes in 2018. Other highlights include a black truffle agnolotti with mushroom consommé, guinea hen with maitake mushrooms, a rib-eye cap with cauliflower purée and black truffle and desserts of coconut cream with raspberries and pistachio, and devil’s food cake with chocolate mousse and cherry. “Yes, it’s a gastronomic restaurant, but with an attention to detail, purpose, and meaning in every dish that connects with different creations from Dior’s studio.”

Crenn has long been an advocate for sustainability (removing meat from her tasting menu at Atelier Crenn in October 2019), supporting natural disaster relief with the Root Project after Hurricane Matthew in 2016, traveling to

DIOR shirt, price upon request, and eye band, $680.
“You have only one life to live. It’s all about love, kindness, and taking risks.”
DOMINIQUE CRENN
DIOR jacket, price upon request, pants, $2,700, and shoes, $1,250.

Haiti to plant trees for coffee farmers, devoting time to Bay Area organizations like Meals on Wheels and the San Francisco–Marin Food Bank. She’s telegenic too, competing on The Next Iron Chef in 2009 and Iron Chef America in 2010 and participating in Season 2 of the Emmy-nominated Chef’s Table in 2016.

But there’s one behind-the-camera experience she particularly enjoyed: designing the menu for the 2022 horror-comedy film The Menu and helping Ralph Fiennes develop his character. “It was one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life,” Crenn says. “I have such respect for [Fiennes]. The first question he asked me was, ‘How should I portray a chef? Should he throw things and yell?’ And I said, ‘No, it’s all about attitude. You have to walk into the kitchen like a director in front of an orchestra, pose yourself, focus, and connect with everyone [through your gaze]. Silence is more powerful than yelling.’ And that’s what he did — you can see it in the movie.”

Away from charitable missions, events, and the stovetops of Atelier Crenn, you’ll rarely find her hobnobbing with the gentry. “I prefer to hang out with a lot of artists,” Crenn says. “I love musicians, DJs, painters, writers — the kind of people who are funky and have a story.” That proclivity also extends into the world of food: She counts just a handful of chefs among her closest friends, including Basque chefs Elena Arzak and Andoni Luis Aduriz, Spanish restaurateur Quique Dacosta, and Mexican American chef Daniela SotoInnes. “I love the Spanish — those people really inspire me.” And there’s only a couple of things Crenn truly misses about daily life in France. “There are a lot of things you can replicate here, but a few you can’t,” she says. “I think the thing I miss most is sitting at a café by myself and striking up a conversation with [a stranger], someone you might see only at that moment in time, and there’s a story shared between you. It’s very, very French. You’ll find that in Italy or Spain, but I think Americans are afraid of [that kind of] intimacy, period. Here, intimacy scares people because it allows others to really see them, like a mirror.”

Belle Parker. “I spend every weekend with my kids,” she says, noting the necessary back-andforth to Los Angeles in preparation for Monsieur Dior’s unveiling. “And right now, it’s all about polo, swimming, dance, rock climbing, singing, and just spending time together.” Of course, that includes cooking at home, which is a recipe for bonding that Crenn shared with her mother (a financial adviser with a passion for food) and grandmother while growing up outside Paris and at the family’s farm in Brittany. “[My kids] love to make pasta and things like tacos, fried rice, and desserts. We made a cake together just the other day,” she says. Both girls enjoy being in the kitchen, but Charlotte is more comfortable in the mix. “She was here [at Bar Crenn] the other day, serving people at the comptoir [counter] and asking a lot of questions,” she says. “It was very interesting to see.”

Farming is another tradition that feeds not only Crenn’s soul but also her passionate diners. Bleu Belle Farm (named after her

the day-to-day agricultural activities to a pair of young and very capable farmers, Johnny Diskin and Emily Nicholson. “They’re not just farmers — they love the heart, the soul, and the nature of the ecosystem,” she says. “It’s very thoughtful and conscious how we do things.” The trio is already planning for winter: “We’ll plant a lot of root vegetables and greens — sunchokes are already on the menu. Usually, winter is really tricky. But we have a greenhouse, so we can plant anything we want.”

Apart from her restaurant and the adjacent Bar Crenn (Michelin-starred Petit Crenn closed in 2024), the farm, and the two culinary collaborations with Dior, Crenn has had several partnerships that have expanded her empire. Her name (and recipes) can be found on Air France’s La Première and business class in-flight menus, and she’s an ambassador for Veuve Cliquot and Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet. Last year, she became a member of HexClad Cookware’s Culinary Council, but don’t think she’ll attach her name to anything. “When Danny [Winer] from HexClad came to me a couple of years ago, I just loved the reason he [created the brand] — as a line of cookware that can be passed down to the next generation,” she says.

“I hang out with artists, musicians, DJs, writers. People who are funky and have a story.”

DOMINIQUE CRENN

Although her children are American by birth, Crenn is trying to instill some Gallic values in her 11-year-old fraternal twin daughters, Charlotte Alexandre Bleu and Olivia

daughters) is 45 miles north of San Francisco in the Sonoma Valley. It spans four acres and focuses on biodynamic and regenerative practices, ensuring the freshest ingredients for her seasonal tasting menus, including dishes described only by main ingredients, like tomato, sunchoke, and uni as part of the fall lineup. “[When] tomatoes are in season, we probably have 10 rows of different types of tomatoes — and a lot of herbs and flowers,” she says. Sungold, Early Girl, and heirloom tomatoes are regular features, while colorful pansy petals, nasturtium leaves, and magenta pea flowers are plucked to accent a variety of dishes. And then there’s her clutch of chickens — “my ladies,” she calls them. “They’re almost nine years old, but we’re actually getting some new chicks — the girls love to collect the eggs.” Although she makes the 50-minute trip to the country a few times each month — and with her team about once a month — Crenn leaves

Authenticity was instilled in Crenn from an early age, and it remains a hallmark of her life.

“You have to be who you are. Take social media, for example,” she says. “A lot of people [make negative comments] about me, but what you see is what you get — I’m not going to kiss your ass or whatever. I’m not here for you to like me. I’m here to express myself.”

No doubt her genuine, discerning nature is part of the reason she was named one of Time’s 100 most influential people in 2024. “I was flattered and grateful [to be included], but of course I have some humility within me,” she says. “So I started to think about what I’m doing, and that obviously people are listening. So maybe [the recognition] is also another platform for me to help others, which is kind of cool.”

Through her cooking, charitable endeavors, brand partnerships, and family, Crenn’s unabashed self-expression is what motivates her to continue making a positive difference in the world. “I never sleep — life is too short. I’m always going 24-7,” she says. “But I’m the happiest in my life, right now, that I’ve ever been.” •

A seasonal CHANEL boutique opens at the Rosewood Miramar Beach at 1555 S. Jameson Lane this fall, stocking ready-to-wear and accessories from the CHANEL Cruise 2025/26 collection, as seen in this story.
Hair by HAYLEY FARRINGTON at Art Department. Makeup by GINA BROOKE. Models RAFAELLA KISTLER, ANABEL KRASNOTSVETOVA, and DUKE MAXWELL. Set design by PETER GUERACAGUE at WSM. Car courtesy of STEVEN SORIA, co-owner @homemaker.

What entrepreneur and Kardashian secret weapon EMMA GREDE does in her downtime

WHERE DO YOU LIVE?

Between Bel-Air and Malibu.

WHERE DO YOU FEEL MOST ZEN?

My home in Malibu.

FAVORITE HIKE?

Zuma Canyon Trailhead.

FAVORITE BEACH?

Walking on Broad Beach with coffee and a sweater is about as good as it gets.

FAVORITE RELAXING GETAWAY?

San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara.

FAVORITE DRIVE?

PCH en route to Malibu.

FAVORITE HOTEL? WHY?

I’m obsessed with the Hotel Bel-Air. It’s super close to home and the only place I can realistically walk to, and the staff are incredible.

FAVORITE GYM/CLASS?

I hate classes. I work out with a trainer at home.

FAVORITE SPA? TREATMENT?

Lymphatic drainage massage from Detox by Rebecca.

FAVORITE COMFORT FOOD?

Curry goat, jerk chicken rice, and peas and fried plantains from The Jerk Spot in Culver City.

FAVORITE HEALTH FOOD?

The Green Goodness smoothie from SunLife.

DO YOU FOLLOW A DIET? No! Never. I’m a foodie.

FAVORITE BEVERAGE?

English breakfast tea from Fortnum & Mason.

WHERE DO YOU TAKE VISITING FRIENDS?

Disneyland. All English people want to go to Disney.

WHAT’S IN YOUR BATHROOM CABINET?

A lot of Augustinus Bader products.

FAVORITE SKIN CARE?

I really like to mix and layer. The three products I can’t live without are the Jan Marini Regeneration Booster, Augustinus Bader SPF 50, and Chanel Sublimage La Crème moisturizer.

WHAT DO YOU WEAR TO RELAX?

I wear Frame x Ritz Paris silk pajamas around the house.

WHAT DO YOU WEAR TO WORK OUT?

Nike SKIMS, of course!

FAVORITE HEALER?

My incredible masseuse, Cecile Canu, does cupping and can fix any injury.

FAVORITE CRYSTAL?

I keep a piece of malacholla in my bra and a large malachite in my handbag.

FAVORITE HOME ITEMS?

I love Elder Statesman cashmere blankets.

FAVORITE FLORIST?

I love Pul Flower L.A.

WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING? Right now I’m rereading Principles by Ray Dalio.

FAVORITE MUSICIAN/ALBUM TO HELP YOU RELAX?

I almost don’t listen to anything made after 1998, but I’m very into Giveon.

WHAT’S YOUR MANTRA?

Remember who the fuck you are!

Catch Emma on her podcast, Aspire with Emma Grede, a mixture of founder, expert and entrepreneur stories.

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