SUMMER LOVING
Grace Gummer’s moment in the sun
How Zac Posen Brought Gap Back
Watches and Jewels for the Shoreline Set
At Home and Personal With Jenni Kayne
Omega
SITTING ATOP HIS JENNIFER CHAIR
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA CIRCA 1980
MICHAEL TAYLOR
THE JENNIFER CHAIR
BY CIRCA 2026
THERE ARE PIECES THAT FURNISH A HOME, AND THOSE THAT DEFINE IT.
Van Cleef & Arpels
Van Cleef & Arpels
Bulgari
For
43
BEHOLD, DATALAND
The world’s first museum of AI art
48 STYLE NEWS
Gucci’s revival silk scarves and Sporty & Rich’s new clubhouse
50 CITRUS CRUSH
Accessories inspired by summer’s bounty
54 SALON SOCIETY
The little bookstore with main-character energy
58
ART & DESIGN NEWS
A new exhibition celebrates 100 years of Marilyn Monroe
62
DINING NEWS
The best places to sip and to be seen
Tudor Watch
68 GRACE GUMMER
On playing a Kennedy and keeping out of the spotlight
78
ZAC POSEN
The designer’s formula to bring back Gap
For
86 TIDAL TREASURE
Jewelry and watches to wear while you coast
96 JENNI KAYNE
The lifestyle guru on designing a home at one with nature
105 C WEDDINGS
From old-world romance to modern nuptials reimagined
125
MEDITERRANEAN MOOD
Four hotels to make you long for Europe
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
Managing Editor SARAH RUTLEDGE
Production PEPPER
Art Director ANDREW WREN
Contributing Editors: Caroline Cagney, Elizabeth Khuri Chandler, Kendall Conrad, Kelsey McKinnon, David Nash, Stephanie Rafanelli, Diane Dorrans Saeks, Nathan Turner
Masthead
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: Chantal Anderson, Christian Anwander, Matthew Brookes, Gia Coppola, Roger Davies, Victor Demarchelier, Amanda Demme, François Dischinger, Graham Dunn, Adam Franzino, Sam Frost, Adrian Gaut, Lance Gerber, Alanna Hale, Rainer Hosch, Bjorn Iooss, Kurt Iswarienko, 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
Executive Director, West Coast
SUE CHRISPELL
RENEE MARCELLO Publisher & Vice President
Director Digital, Sales & Marketing
AMY LIPSON
Sales Development Manager
ANNE MARIE PROVENZA Controller LEILA ALLEN
C PUBLISHING
2064 ALAMEDA PADRE SERRA, SUITE 120, SANTA BARBARA, CA 93103 T: 310-393-3800 SUBSCRIBE@MAGAZINEC.COM MAGAZINEC.COM
Executive Director, Information Technology
SANDY HUBBARD
FOUNDER’S LETTER
Summer in California has always carried a cinematic kind of promise. The light lingers longer, dinners stretch well past dark, and even the familiar can take on a mythic quality. In this issue, Jenni Kayne’s canyon home feels like it’s almost in conversation with the landscape around it; a vineyard wedding in Vista could easily be mistaken for the South of France; and the season’s jewels seem to catch the Pacific light as if carried on its waves. Summer here invites a more imaginative way of living — and a more open one too.
Grace Gummer exists in the imaginative space between who we are and who we portray. In Ryan Murphy’s Love Story, she moves through a world of American mythology and heightened storytelling, while off-screen remaining grounded, considered, and deliberately private, despite her place within a Hollywood dynasty. As awards attention builds, Gummer reflects on what it means to define yourself while inhabiting someone else’s story.
Transformation runs through the rest of the issue as well. Zac Posen has delivered one of fashion’s most unexpected reinventions, turning Gap into a new kind of cultural stage — one that balances nostalgia and zeitgeist with a sharpened sense of spectacle. We also visit Godmothers, the Summerland literary salon and bookstore where culture, conversation, and community meet in a beautifully considered space.
Founder’s Note
Because summer, ultimately, is less a season than a state of mind.
Jennifer Smith Founder, Editorial Director, and CEO
Editors’ Picks
Remarkable wrist candy
TIFFANY & CO. , $32,500, tiffany.com.
ZAHN-Z , $11,525, zahnzjewelry.com.
KINN STUDIO , $4,280, kinnstudio.com.
STEPHEN SILVER , $61,000, shsilver.com.
Photography by OLIVIA MALONE.
Styling by SAMANTHA TRAINA at The Wall Group.
Hair by BARB THOMPSON at Forward Artists. Makeup by SABRINA BEDRANI at The Wall Group.
GRACE GUMMER wears SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO dress, $5,000, and earrings, $3,350.
C PEOPLE
Petra Flannery
“ Violet Los Angeles has charming patio classic French fare.”
Caroline Cagney
“Acupuncture at Gilli Wellness to balance the body.”
Fashion director Petra Flannery — whose studio styled the jewelry portfolio, “Precious Moments” (page 86), for this issue — has created unforgettable looks for the likes of Emma Stone and Zoe Saldaña. MY C SPOTS Violet Los Angeles for charming patio classic French fare • Monogrammit Beverly Hills, which is a favorite for many Rodeo Drive brands (if you know, you know) • VRAI on Melrose Place to see the Petra and Meehan Flannery jewelry collection in person.
Kurt Iswarienko
“There’s nothing like a love story to lift the spirits,” says writer and C contributing editor Caroline Cagney, who penned the three wedding features (page 105) and several news stories for this issue. A certified health coach, she devotes her time to freelance writing and helping clients build a cleaner lifestyle. MY C SPOTS I have to scoop up some local favorites at Erewhon market anytime I’m in L.A. • San Ysidro Ranch for a weekend getaway • Acupuncture at Gilli Wellness to rebalance the body.
Contributors
Summer Issue 2026
“Carnitas Michoacan (the original one) for Mexican food.”
Samantha Traina
“Oakville Grocery in Napa is a classic for food and wine.”
Kurt Iswarienko is the lensman behind “Precious Moments” (page 86). He captures intimate emotional portraits that are like close-ups inside vast cinematic panoramas. His career has taken him around the world shooting advertising and entertainment campaigns for clients including Lincoln, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Universal, Netflix, and Apple. MY C SPOTS Carnitas Michoacan (the original one on Broadway near Chinatown) for Mexican food • The beaches in Santa Barbara • Palm Springs for desert air.
Stylist and and brand consultant Samantha Traina began her career as a fashion editor for C Magazine. For this issue, she styled actor Grace Gummer for the cover feature, “Grace Gummer Has Entered the Chat” (page 68). MY C SPOTS Sal’s in L.A. is a favorite date-night spot that pops up for six months of the year • Oakville Grocery in Napa is a classic for food and wine • Dottie Doolittle is a sweet San Francisco store I grew up going to; now I love shopping for my son there when I visit.
C STATEMENTS
Sensory Revolution
With Dataland, Refik Anadol transforms rainforest data, scent, sound, and human emotion into an immersive dreamscape that reimagines art for the future
Installation view of Machine Dreams: Rainforest, at Dataland, June 20, 2026–January 31, 2027.
Words by ELIZABETH KHURI CHANDLER
“It’s not utopian thinking to be able to have a conversation with nature.”
A dreamscape of art and sound generated by AI will blow your mind this summer when DATALAND in downtown L.A. opens with the exhibition Machine Dreams: Rainforest The world’s first museum of AI arts, it’s the culmination of a fascinating journey for media artist Refik Anadol and his partner in life and cofounder Efsun Erkılıç as they pioneer the use of data with human-manipulated AI and push the boundaries between humans and machines.
The result is an experience that is as physical as it is digital. At Dataland, visitors will be fitted with a wristband to track heartbeat and skin temperature, as well as a neck device designed to emit 12 custom scents, before they descend into five galleries kitted out with 84 high-resolution projectors, 3,500 square feet of LED panels, and 250 speakers. Plunged into a digital universe presented on 1.5 billion pixels, all five senses are stimulated. Visitors’ individual reactions of joy, fear, and rumination — as expressed through their vitals — are fed back into the system in real time as the art responds to what they see, hear, and smell on an individual level.
“It’s not utopian thinking to be able to have a conversation with nature,” Anadol says. “Here emotions inspire the artworks. That’s the breakthrough.”
That philosophy extends to Dataland itself, which the media artist describes as the world’s first omni-sensory museum. It’s fitting that the first work should be devoted to Mother Earth. Born in Istanbul on the Bosphorus, Anadol grew
up surrounded by water. Over the years the artist and designer has used “data as pigment,” collecting vast datasets, including wind patterns, coral imagery, and glacier monitoring statistics. His studio’s work has been featured at MoMA in New York, Centre Pompidou in Paris, and Sphere in Las Vegas, as well as projected onto the Walt Disney Concert Hall in L.A. (which sits opposite the new museum). As Google’s former artist in residence, he is also beloved by Silicon Valley.
later, large language models (LLMs) exploded into the public imagination.
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As a result, Anadol decided to dedicate all his time and resources to creating an LLM about nature and using AI for good, gathering images of flora and fauna and sounds from 16 different rainforests, and voices from tiny Indigenous communities. “AI can preserve language,” he says. “We are creating a model with language spoken by only 70 people.”
When Anadol and Erkılıç went to the Amazon in 2021, they spent a great deal of time with the
Yawanawa people in Brazil, who see their role as caretakers of the rainforest. “The rainforest is not just the lungs of the planet; it’s the heart of the planet,” Anadol says. The journey fundamentally altered his thinking about trained networks and environmental preservation, and he began to think of nature as a vast interconnected intelligence. Then, two years
Called the Large Nature Model, it forms the cornerstone of Machine Dreams (which also includes data from partners including the Smithsonian Institution and the Natural History Museum in London), a process that is part computation, part choreography, as an Anadol Studio–developed custom algorithm turns the vast collection of images into dynamic new works using tools such as NVIDIA’s StyleGAN2, a generative AI software. The AI-generated visuals are manipulated again with the human touch via a second layer of software to create an unfurling cascade of surreal and immersive imagery. “I’m coming from the creative corner, not the pessimistic corner,” Anadol says. “Dataland is a place for contemplation on technology.”
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. On the docket: a $100,000 artist’s residency, a gallery devoted to demystifying artificial intelligence, and an AI-informed tasting experience from Valerie Confections. It’s a brave new world downtown. dataland.art
Dataland, the world’s first omni-sensory museum, sits opposite the Walt Disney Concert Hall.
STYLE NEWS
RETAIL, REWRITTEN
Just opened on Melrose Avenue, the first West Coast flagship of the cult streetwear brand AIMÉ LEON DORE is less of a store and more of a place you could happily kill two hours. The Mediterranean-inspired space channels old European houses: stucco walls, custom wood window frames, and a cinematic cobblestone courtyard shaded beneath an 80-year-old olive tree. Yet the tree isn’t even the most cinematic thing here. Inside, the Spring/Summer 26 collections sit beneath skylights in a sun-drenched room furnished with custom sofas mixed with vintage pieces (the design was by Sarita Posada Interiors). The store opens with some covetable exclusives, namely a limited-edition colorway of the ALD-New Balance 471 and an L.A. Dodgers Unisphere T-shirt. 8746 Melrose Ave., L.A.; aimeleondore.com. M.B.
RALPH IN MOTION
Thames & Hudson’s Catwalk series has staked a claim stateside with the publication of its 11th volume featuring RALPH LAUREN as its subject. Penned by fashion journalist Bridget Foley, Ralph Lauren Catwalk ($90) is the first to feature an American designer and includes more than 1,300 runway photographs, with a focus on the vast range of refined and rugged elements that make up his distinctive looks combining masculine and feminine influences, from his debut Fall 72 women’s runway looks to Fall 25. ralphlauren.com. E.V.
Statements - Style News
3.
JEAN THEORY
Curve-hugging cuts are an ALAÏA staple. Now that the French house is launching denim — following a year of research and refinement — the jeans are as sculpted as the maison’s dresses. Rope-dyed indigo fabric is made in Japan, and the hand-washed and overdyed effects are precisely crafted and meant to acquire a worn-in patina over time. There are six styles, each constructed with a defined waist and hip-hugging shape. The deep-sea blue Bootcut is elongating, while the Fit-and-Flare is stonewashed, the dock-blue Palazzo is wide and fluid, and the Round style in hand-sanded fabric clings to contours. A light blue Skinny cut also references the house’s bodycon roots, and the vintage-wash Straight is meant to endure. 3333 Bristol St., South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa, 657-205-5822; maison-alaia.com. E.V.
LA VIE BOHÈME
A reimagined Serpent Bohème collection is emerging this spring as BOUCHERON taps onyx and yellow gold for an array of new earrings, necklaces, rings, bracelets, a brooch, and a watch. The designs evoke the light-blocking effects of an eclipse, with the sun rendered in gold and onyx representing the moon. Pieces are set with polished gold taking the place of a stone or faceted onyx paired with pavé diamonds. Creative director Claire Choisne’s latest moonshot includes four oversize creations, including a ring and bracelet resembling a snake that’s meant to encircle a finger or wrist, a bold necklace with a pear-shaped stone drop, and a brooch — all playing on the duality of light and dark. 449 N. Rodeo Dr., Beverly Hills, 424-421-3993; boucheron.com. E.V.
AESTHETIC ATHLETICS
TRUNKS OF CHARACTER
The tyranny of the little black suitcase is giving way to cosmopolitan luggage sets for those whose belongings are an extension of their personality and style, courtesy of ETRO’s new collaboration with heritage British travel case maker GLOBE-TROTTER. Arnica Gold cases in micro, carry-on, and check-in sizes — with the Italian house’s beloved paisley pattern upholstering the stronger-than-steel and environmentally designed structured vulcanized fiberboard — have brown leather detailing and brass hardware, while Arnica Black designs pair the pattern with black leather and black detailing throughout. Inside, multicolor stripes nod to Etro’s vibrant spirit. A special edition includes enchanted visuals by artist Tabby Booth. etro.com. E.V.
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The fit set can look beyond bland workout gear or candy-colored weights now that DIOR has launched Haute Wellness, a collection of accessories designed in the house’s cannage motif. The blue-and-ivory hued bolsters, yoga mats, and Pilates rings incorporate a stitched version of the pattern in gold thread. Cordelia de Castellane, the Maison’s artistic director, created the line in collaboration with Christian Dior Parfums for spas and hotels, and embraces mindfulness and sleep in addition to sport. There are water bottles, a silk pillowcase, and even copies of The Five Minute Journal 323 N. Rodeo Dr., Beverly Hills, 310-859-4700; 3333 Bristol St., South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa, 714-549-4700; dior.com. E.V.
MODERN HEIRLOOMS
The Swedish jewelry house ENGELBERT , founded in 1920 and helmed by Giovanna Battaglia Engelbert and Oscar Engelbert, has landed in Beverly Hills. The new showroom is layered with personal objects, including Giovanna’s drawings, vintage Wilhelm Kåge ceramics, and the brand’s signature jewelry, including the Legacy Knot collection. 415 N. Camden Dr., Beverly Hills, 424-278-1885; usengelbert1920.com. E.V.
1. AIMÉ LEON DORE’s Melrose space has a cobblestone courtyard. 2. Over 50 years of RALPH LAUREN looks comprise a new Catwalk volume. 3. Couture-level ALAÏA denim. 4. Light and dark duality inspired BOUCHERON’s Serpent Bohème jewelry. 5. ETRO and GLOBE-TROTTER send boring luggage packing. 6. DIOR’s haute take on wellness. 7. The baubles in ENGELBERT’s boutique are layered with vintage Swedish ceramics.
STYLE NEWS
THAT’S RICH!
When Emily Oberg founded SPORTY & RICH in 2014, it began as something closer to a manifesto than a brand. A decade later, the brand’s first L.A. flagship has opened its doors on Melrose Avenue, and at 5,200 sq. ft., it’s less of a boutique than a habitat for the athletic aesthetes. After browsing the brand’s full assortment of women’s, men’s, beauty, and footwear, customers can take in a bespoke Pilates session in a studio inspired by Oberg’s Beverly Hills home, followed by coconut soft serve or cold-pressed everything. 8619 Melrose Ave., L.A.; sportyandrich.com. K.C.
Statements - Style News
TAKE YOUR TIME
The Watchmaker of Watchmakers has a new West Coast address. JAEGER-LECOULTRE ’s newly relocated South Coast Plaza boutique draws its design language from the Vallée de Joux — organic materials, natural tones, quiet confidence. A Strap Bar invites unhurried customization, while a private VIC lounge offers collectors a moment entirely their own. Some things, it turns out, are worth the wait. 3333 Bristol St., Costa Mesa; jaegerlecoultre.com. K.C.
THE SILK CODE
Supporting a Calabrian revival of the silk supply chain, GUCCI is launching reimagined archival scarves with patterns selected by the house’s creative director, Demna, and crafted from Italian silk. Emblematic motifs from nautical prints to animalia nod to the house’s early years, and two only-in-L.A. Flora prints created for the opening of the David Geffen Galleries at LACMA round out the offering. Vittorio Accornero’s complex illustrations of abundant blooms, first created in 1966, are a starting point. The squares, meant to be worn in a variety of styles — from halter tanks and belts to head scarves and headbands, or accessories for bags and twisted bracelets — are limited-edition pieces developed in collaboration with silk maker Nido di Seta and manufacturer Ongetta. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., L.A., 323-8576000; lacma.org. 347 N. Rodeo Dr., Beverly Hills, 310-2783451; gucci.com. E.V.
2.
3.
1. SPORTY & RICH, a habitat for athletic aesthetes, has arrived in L.A. 2. The relocated JAEGER-LECOULTRE is worth the wait. 3. GUCCI’s only-in-L.A. Flora prints.
coach.com
Zest Friends
- Accessories
Edited by REBECCA RUSSELL
COACH
Sunglasses, $180,
DIOR Scarf, $500, dior.com
TORY BURCH Bag, $325, toryburch.com
SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO Bag, $3,500, ysl.com
GUCCI Sandals, $590, gucci.com
IWC Schaffhausen
Engineering Dreams.
Portofi no Automatic Day & Night Le Petit Prince, Ref. 4598
The spirit that leads the Little Prince beyond his asteroid continues to inspire us at IWC Schaffhausen: driven by curiosity, courage, and the pursuit of new horizons. Our fi rst Portofino dedicated to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s beloved tale touches the heart with its poetic day-and-night display. As day turns to night, the display reveals the Little Prince – a gentle reminder of imagination, discovery, and the beauty of seeing the world with an open heart. The deep blue, sunray-finished dial recalls the vastness of space – created for those who never stop exploring what lies beyond the horizon. IWC. Engineered.
IWC Boutique · South Coast Plaza
MONCLER Keychain, $335, moncler.com
Scarf, $660, hermes.com
LOEWE Sandals, $1,400, loewe.com
& GABBANA Bag, $3,845, dolcegabbana.com
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Cap, $650, prada.com
GARAVANI Sunglasses, $490, valentino.com
MARYSIA Top, $189, marysia.com
jimmychoo.com
PRADA
HERMÈS
VALENTINO
DOLCE
JIMMY CHOO Shoes, $495,
BURBERRY X HUNZA G Bikini, $475, burberry.com
Beyond the Gates
California has its share of magnificent public gardens. But for sheer variety and dramatic design, GANNA WALSKA LOTUSLAND in Montecito, one of the best gardens in the world, has few competitors. Its creator, the delightfully eccentric Ganna Walska, pursued numerous careers — opera singer, theater owner, perfumer — before acquiring the 37-acre property in 1941 (with the encouragement of her sixth husband).
Walska spent more than four decades lovingly designing and expanding Lotusland, and upon her death in 1984 she bequeathed it to the Ganna Walska Lotusland Foundation. Since then, the award-winning garden has continued to thrive under the careful stewardship of its nonprofit board. Today, Lotusland draws enthusiastic garden lovers from all over the world seeking to experience Walska’s enduring vision in person.
Among the wonders Walska left behind are the Aloe Garden, with its pond surrounded by luminescent abalone shells; the Dracaena Circle, with its dragon tree dating to the 1890s; the Cycad Garden, with its five species now extinct in the wild; the Topiary Garden, with its horticultural clock; and the Theatre Garden, with whimsical stone figures that Walska purchased in France, and much more.
But a lesser-known aspect of Lotusland is its exclusive garden tour program, Gardens in Paradise, an ongoing series of visits to private
Inside Lotusland’s Gardens in Paradise tours
Words by LORIE DEWHIRST PORTER
gardens in the Santa Barbara region. Held twice annually, these tours are limited to a small number of guests who get access to special properties otherwise unavailable for public viewing.
Each itinerary features conversations with landscape architects, designers, and horticultural experts. Participants are also treated to delicious food and wine while enjoying the breathtaking landscapes. Garden locations remain undisclosed in advance to
“It’s about sharing extraordinary spaces with people who would truly value them, while respecting the privacy that makes them superb. All to benefit Lotusland.”
preserve the owners’ privacy, which also heightens the sense of discovery inherent in the experience. (Previous destinations include two historic estates originally designed by architect George Washington Smith: Los Sueños in Montecito and Florestal in Hope Ranch.)
As Dorothy Gardner, a cofounder of the Gardens in Paradise program, says, “It’s about sharing extraordinary places with people who would truly value them, while respecting the privacy that makes them superb. All to benefit Lotusland.” lotusland.org.
From top: The Reginald Johnson–designed home of Madame Ganna Walska; Florestal; summer lotus blossoms at Lotusland; junior botanists discover Lotusland; Lotusland’s Water Garden in the spring.
A Novel Idea
Blending literary culture with star power, Godmothers bookstore has become the unlikely new nexus of the entertainment industry
Words by JOSEF WOODARD
Santa Barbara has its share of deep bookstore lore, including the beloved Chaucer’s, which opened in 1974, and the Book Den, which has been in business for 124 years. But a buzzworthy new kid on the block landed in September 2024 — with serious star power attached. Godmothers, nestled in a 100-year-old three-story barn in Summerland, kicked off with an opening weekend supported by Oprah Winfrey, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, and Ellen DeGeneres. The event was covered by Town and Country magazine.
As the store’s cofounder Victoria Jackson says of the auspicious beginning, “When you get the Oprah seal of approval, her personal stamp of support, that’s a pretty awesome way to start.” Jackson is the entrepreneur behind Victoria Jackson Cosmetics and an advocate for neuromyelitis optica (NMO), an autoimmune disease her daughter has had since 2008. But she needed a partner from the book world. So she teamed up with her friend Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, a powerhouse literary agent connected with William Morris Endeavor and with a long close association with Winfrey.
“I completed a 30-year chapter centered on the book business. And while I didn’t miss the business part, I did long for a place to gather the
book tribe and dive into the deep end of the pool in conversations about authentic stories, ideas, and tools for transformation,” Rudolph Walsh says. “Victoria, Oprah, and I had recently played the role of collective fairy godmothers to celebrate a shared friend’s book launch. When I called Oprah to share that we were opening a bookstore, she suggested we name it Godmothers.”
Jackson says the pair dreamed of creating “a place of storytelling,
Situated on Summerland’s Lillie Avenue, the bookstore has hosted salon-style events, including Guillermo del Toro and Jacob Elordi in conversation about the film Frankenstein
enjoy the intimate experience at Godmothers so much that they’ve become our unofficial brand ambassadors, telling their writer friends they have to visit and do events here.”
For example, when actor Josh Brolin’s memoir, From Under the Truck, was released, he appeared in the store with longtime Montecitan Rob Lowe for Lowe’s podcast. Gwyneth Paltrow, another longtime Montecito resident, has been in the conversation spotlight here with authors, along with Winfrey, who has interviewed Maria Shriver and others here. Jennifer Aniston recently spoke with the designer Jenni Kayne (see page 96) about her latest book, and Guillermo del Toro and his monster Jacob Elordi were interviewed by Rudolph Walsh during the Frankenstein Oscar campaign.
Santa Barbara’s celebrity population goes back to the early days of Hollywood. Through the centralized movie source of its Flying A Studio, the city was effectively the movie capital in the silent-film era, years before Hollywood became the epicenter. That star contingent has expanded in recent years, especially after the pandemic, as a ripe and desirable location close to Hollywood yet far enough from its paparazzipeppered terrain.
One key celebrity convergence point is the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, which has seen its industry and festival circuit clout grow considerably since Roger Durling took over as
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“People will say, ‘This store saved my life.’ ” —
something that’s missing in all of our lives, which is that real sense of community and gathering together. We would feature amazing speakers. You could have a great cup of coffee. I have such a love for decorating. [When] I bought the building, I really wanted to not just have a beautiful building on the outside, but a beautiful and welcoming space inside.”
When you enter the multipurpose compound, you’re greeted by “godmothers’ hall.” Among the formidable women celebrated with framed photographs are Gloria Steinem, Indira Gandhi, Amelia Earhart, Harriet Tubman, Frida Kahlo, Joan Didion, and even Winfrey, whose Montecito estate is a 10-minute drive away. There’s a food-anddrink zone operated by Dune Coffee Roasters of Santa Barbara, and book selections include new releases, classics, quirky titles, and first editions. The second floor includes a generous children’s section and a lounge-worthy space stocked with coffee table books — including titles focused on Montecito and Lotusland — and specialty volumes, with a third floor dedicated to workshops, signings, author interviews, and even mah-jongg.
“Jennifer and I are very fortunate,” says Jackson, who has homes in L.A. and Carpinteria. “I’ve been up here a long time. We have friends here, and some of them are celebrities — to us, they’re just our pals,” she adds, laughing. “So when they’re coming out with a book, they think of us.”
Rudolph Walsh says that “our friends, many of whom are authors,
executive director in 2004. SBIFF takes place in early February, timed with the Academy and Golden Globe Awards promo season, and Santa Barbara’s inherent allure for the Los Angeles and Hollywood elite helps bring the highest-profile figures to the festival.
This year there were tributes to Stellan Skarsgård and Jeff Bridges, and Paltrow presented her friend Kate Hudson with an award. In 2025, Winfrey paid tribute to Colman Domingo, and Ryan Gosling (then a Carpinteria resident) was toasted with the Kirk Douglas Award in 2024 — aka the Barbie year. (Douglas and his son Michael previously lived in Santa Barbara.) Zoe Saldaña was given her own tribute night at the Arlington Theatre in 2025, during the promotional tour before winning an Oscar for her work in Emilia Pérez
As Godmothers leans into the summer and its second anniversary, a new see-and-be-seen-in institution has taken root in the 805 area code. “People will literally come up and say, ‘This store saved my life’ or ‘This store has made such a difference.’ That’s music to my ears,” Jackson says. “It’s also exposing me to a lot of books and authors I didn’t know about. That’s a wonderful thing at any point in your life: to still be engaged and excited to learn and explore.”
Rudolph adds, “It has far exceeded our wildest dreams. People tell us they’ve lived in the area for years but finally feel that they truly belong because of Godmothers.” godmothers.com
STYLE NEWS
CÔTE D’AZUR DAYS
It’s no accident if MICHAEL KORS’s summer capsule transports you straight to Saint-Tropez — it’s precisely the destination the brand had in mind when collaborating with artist Christina Zimpel. “I love that her work has such a strong sense of place. It instantly transports you,” Kors says of the Australian-born, Brooklyn-based artist. “This summer felt like the right time for a wardrobe filled with that sunny, uplifting aesthetic.” Zimpel created two original artworks: a vibrant, sun-drenched beach scene and a stylized rendering of the town’s iconic bell tower, awash in forest green, hot pink, and citrusy orange. The motifs play out across an easy, escapist wardrobe — sarongs, shirt dresses, and breezy short sets — alongside accessories like canvas totes and bucket hats. “I tried to conjure up the pleasure of sitting at the perfect vantage point on a perfect
CLEAR VISION
SEALED WITH A KITH
KITH has expanded into a space that matches founder Ronnie Fieg’s sizable ambitions. The expanded store allows Fieg to introduce two new concepts: an apothecary stocked with fragrances and wellness finds, plus a VIP Studio with panoramic Downtown LA views. Feeling peckish? Ronnie’s Pronto, Fieg’s eatery, is a New York deli with a salubrious SoCal slant. 8500 Sunset Blvd., L.A.; kith.com. M.B.
Statements - Style News
JACQUES MARIE MAGE ACKERMANN
very different, but yields a line of three sunglass styles highlighting bold individuality, a concept prized by both the L.A.-based eyewear founder and the Paris-residing designer. Ackermann, the Colombian-born creative director helming Tom Ford, is known for his sharp edges and elegant drapery. For JMM, he took on an exploration of shades as protectors, and the resulting crafted-in-Japan designs include the sleek, rectangular Gaspard in beta titanium, an oval Balthazar combining acetate with titanium, and the bold rectangular acetate Melchior. Each is a singular play on identity defense. jacquesmariemage.com. E.V.
DOWNTOWN DIAMONDS
HARRY WINSTON relied on the natural shape of each stone as a guide for the jewelry he designed, and the house’s new Graffiti collection taps into the same pursuit of individuality — with a decidedly downtown vibe. The collection’s pendant necklace is set with diamonds and colored gemstones filling in house initials, H.W., that are shaped in the exaggerated block letters used to scrawl a name or phrase across a notebook, a doodle, or a subway wall. There are also earrings, a bracelet, and brooches in variety of palettes, from a monochrome ice-forward approach to high-contrast initials encrusted with blue sapphires mixed with diamonds. Another version pairs paraiba tourmalines with pink sapphires in a nod to the SoHo neighborhood that became the epicenter of New York’s avantgarde and where artists gained attention for underground graffiti before coming to Southern California and elsewhere to paint murals and canvases for galleries. harrywinston.com. E.V.
1. A transportive capsule from MICHAEL KORS. 2. KITH’s growing ambitions are clear at its new emporium. 3. JACQUES MARIE MAGE and HAIDER ACKERMANN create identity-concealing eyewear. 4. HARRY WINSTON taps into a downtown vibe.
ART & DESIGN NEWS
HOME BASE
Tucked away in West Hollywood, THÚS HUMA presents a more intimate take on the gallery experience. Debuting in November 2025, the space is conceived as a “living narrative” — less whitebox gallery, more thoughtfully designed home where furniture, lighting, and textiles coexist as they would in real life. With the ongoing exhibition Gathered Worlds, the gallery brings together a rotating cast of international makers, including Camille De Prêtre and Nadège Mouyssinat, alongside founder Huma Sulaiman’s designs. thushuma.com. M.H.
WHITE OUT
The immersive scale of Norwegian landscapes in polar winter bathed in the region’s blue-hour light sparked Catherine Opie’s latest exploration of the natural world. A road trip through Norway in early 2024 led to images of snow-capped peaks and fjords comprising her new exhibition, Holding Blue. The REGEN PROJECTS show, the artist’s 12th with the L.A. gallery, also includes two groups of Opie’s ceramic pieces, titled Before and After. 6750 Santa Monica Blvd., 310-276-5424; regenprojects.com. E.V.
Statements - Art + Design News
THE GRANDE DAME RISES
Like the mythical Phoenix — a symbol of renewal forever rising above San Francisco — THE HUNTINGTON HOTEL has reclaimed its perch atop Nob Hill. Founded in 1924 as a discreet five-star getaway, the brick-clad, 12-story Italian Renaissance Revival–style landmark (listed in 2025 on the National Register of Historic Places) has been meticulously renewed by native San Francisco real estate magnate Greg Flynn (in partnership with Highgate Hotels), who tapped cinematic designer Ken Fulk to reimagine the primo property. In his tip-to-toe revamp, Fulk upgraded the hotel’s 143 rooms and 8,900-sq.-ft. spa, framed by a skyline-facing pool atrium. Off the lobby, Fulk created Arabella’s, a jewel-box cocktail salon accented with fin de siècle murals. Yet the Huntington’s beating heart, for which locals and global cosmopolitans are now clamoring for reservations, is its beloved Big Four restaurant, founded in 1976. This glamorous 72-seat boîte (defined by banker’s green banquettes and wood-paneled walls adorned with early California memorabilia) is helmed by executive chef David Intonato. His deluxe California comfort menu (chicken pot pie, Crab Louie, San Francisco seafood stew) pairs perfectly with crisp martinis and nightly pianists, who envelop the clubhouse-inspired space with old-school tunes. 1075 California St., S.F.; thehuntingtonhotel.com. C.B.
1. New WeHo gallery THÚS HUMA feels like home. 2. REGEN PROJECTS is showcasing Catherine Opie’s latest work through July 3. San Francisco gem THE HUNTINGTON HOTEL has reopened. 4. RH highlights a new collection of pillows.
5. LAWREN HOWELL has opened an eponymous gallery in Santa Barbara. 6. Celebrate Marilyn Monroe’s 100th birthday at ACADEMY MUSEUM. 7. L.A. DANCE PROJECT’s next new work may come from Santa Barbara.
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WOVEN WORLDS
By annually curating 40 exclusive collections of “pieces that will not only furnish your home, they help to define it,” RH — which opened its newest California gallery, RH Palm Desert, in mid-May — delivers design inspiration like no other with its Outdoor Sourcebook. This year spotlights Montecito artist Dara Kay Barker. A lawyer turned interior designer, Barker brings a refined, artistic sensibility to her Serha collection of woven pillows. Crafted from premium yarns and defined by bold, graphic motifs, each piece evokes a vintage elegance that feels almost too delicate for outdoor living. Yet these beautifully considered covers are engineered to endure, with performance materials that resist moisture, stains, and wear without compromising on style. The result is a seamless blend of form and function that is elevated and effortlessly chic. rh.com. M.H.
BLONDE AMBITION
HOLDING COURT
“The concept of presenting a curated space that feels like you’ve stepped into a collector’s home has appealed to me for a long time,” says Lawren Howell, the interior designer, stylist, and former Vogue editor, who just opened HOWELL & CO. gallery in Santa Barbara’s El Paseo courtyard. Her roster of artists includes Ojai native ceramicist Mark Churchill, co-curator Nicole Alejandra Pierpont’s private collection from Mexico City, and felted exhibition posters made by her sister, textile artist Stevie Howell. And she’s found herself particularly enamored of chairs and tables by Los Olivos artist Chet Taylor. “There’s something about Chet’s interpretations that feel so cool and new,” she says. “They’re the ultimate utilitarian object, but also works of art you’d want to live with.” 30 El Paseo, Santa Barbara; howellandco.shop. E.V.
Statements - Art + Design News
A triple-threat actor who also sang and danced, Marilyn Monroe launched a production company that defied the studio system. Her personal style combining era-defining platinum curls and dimensional red lips is now shorthand for the golden age of Hollywood. Born Norma Jeane Mortenson, the actor is the subject of the ACADEMY MUSEUM’s exhibition Marilyn Monroe: Hollywood Icon, which marks the centennial of her birth with rarely seen film posters, photographs, production documents, letters, and personal ephemera — plus on-screen costumes, including two by OrryKelly from 1959’s Some Like it Hot and the William Travilla–designed silk satin pink dress she wore while belting “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” in the 1953 film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes 6067 Wilshire Blvd., L.A., 323-9303000; academymuseum.org. E.V.
SHORESIDE STEPS
L.A. DANCE PROJECT , the boundary-pushing company founded by Benjamin Millepied, is ushering in a new era of modern dance in Santa Barbara. Following performances on June 12 and 13 (set to Luciano Berio’s Sequenza series at the Esa-Pekka Salonen-led Ojai Music Festival), a new initiative — the Santa Barbara Fund for New Choreography, founded by Millepied and Jennifer Smith — brings the dancers to the tranquil coast in July. The fund will support newly commissioned works to be presented by the company locally and on international tours. A celebratory private seated dinner at a historic estate, including a performance, is slated for July 16 to kick off the new venture. ladanceproject.org. E.V.
STYLE MEN’S
RUN CLUB
Italian brand VERSACE has linked up with the Japanese sneaker label ONITSUKA TIGER. The result, the TAI-CHI Sakura, has a sleek, low profile made with the mindful, slow-moving sport of tai chi in mind. Handcrafted at the label’s storied Sanin factory in Tottori, Japan, the old-school athletic silhouette has history, while Versace adds a molto Italiano dose of sexy maximalism. It’s the kind of pairing that sounds hard to imagine, but once on your foot, it all makes sense. For West Coast sneakerheads who live at the intersection of sport and style, this collab was made for you. The unisex style has already been spotted on celebs like Billie Eilish at Coachella. versace.com. M.B.
ON SECOND THOUGHTS
Here’s something watch aficionados have long come to accept as a given: If you want a timepiece officially certified as hyper-precise, it needs a seconds hand. OMEGA just blew that rule to smithereens. The Swiss horological powerhouse has unveiled the Constellation Observatory Collection — a sleek two-handed timepiece that somehow snagged Master Chronometer certification, the horological equivalent of a Michelin star. Omega’s own in-house Laboratoire de Précision developed a new system that generates real-time data from the first second. Watchmakers can now pinpoint exactly when and where any irregularity happens. It is, in a word, game changing. And as for the watches themselves? Dreamy. omegawatches.com. M.B.
Statements - Mens Style News
ZEN AT WORK
Founded in 2015 by Tom Daly and Max Vallot, DISTRICT VISION has built a loyal following around its philosophy of performance through exercise as a means to enlightenment. Designed in collaboration with SR Studio, the new 2,600-sq.-ft. storefront acts as a hybrid retail and research environment, with meditation, breath work, and movement classes; eyewear, apparel, accessories, and collaborative pieces from New Balance and PAF; and a coffee and hydration bar and technical eyewear service. 939 S. Santa Fe Ave., L.A.; districtvision.com. M.B.
SWIM SET
ORLEBAR BROWN, the British swim brand that has been under the ownership of the iconic Parisian label Chanel since 2018, is opening its doors at Brentwood Country Mart. The space is its fourth California outpost alongside stores in Beverly Hills, Newport Beach, and Montecito, and the location feels like a natural fit. The open-air shopping enclave — equal parts farmers market charm and Hollywood glamour — shares the brand’s easy, effortless vibe, and will carry its latest collection, which leans into vivid color palettes, Italian-crafted linens, and resortready pieces built for somewhere warm, beautiful, and where life is like a postcard. In other words, California. 225 26th St., Santa Monica; orlebarbrown.com. M.B.
DINING NEWS
A Bar and Beyond
When the January 2025 Eaton fire swept through Altadena, Tyler Wells lost his house. His restaurant, Bernee, was almost destroyed too. Wells pitched a tent on a farm, and in August reopened the eatery under the name Betsy. The beloved fixture just got a next-door sibling, BAR BETSY — café by day, rollicking wine bar at night. Everything is made in house, including savory and sweet scones, breads, sandwiches, and cookies. Evening brings charcuterie and cheese, always raw fish, pasta, and two or three larger dishes, depending on what’s best at the farmers market. The wine list is pretty tempting, as is the music from vintage speakers. Open daily, 8 a.m.–10 p.m. 875 E. Mariposa, Altadena; barbetsy.com. S.I.V.
Pick Daisy
At DAISY MARGARITA BAR — which was just listed on North America’s 50 Best Bars 2026 — beverage director Max Reis devises thrilling guises for the cocktail. Try the frozen guacamole version, the salsa verde with charred tomatillo and green chile, or the Baja slaw, a blend of espadin with purple cabbage and Oaxaca pineapple brandy. While you’re sipping, try chef Alan Sanz’s octopus taco, blue corn tamale with duck carnitas and pistachio mole, or branzino in adobo verde. Open daily, 5 p.m.–12 a.m. 14633 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, 818-450-3994; daisyla.com. S.I.V.
Statements - Dining
Lounge Life
Keyboard player and producer Ben Lovett just added the first bar to his company TVG Hospitality’s portfolio. MITSI is big — and glamorous — and seats 150 indoors and out, making it something of a mega bar with plenty of space for music fans to stroll over for some serious cocktails after a concert. That could mean a pretty rosé martini featuring Lillet rosé, a 50/50 martini with a dash of tomato water, or a Paloma with watermelon radish and passion fruit. You can also have a spirit-free Phony Negroni or a sparkling tea from Taiwan, or try interesting wines by the glass or bottle, local beers, and sake. Open Thurs.–Sat., 6 p.m.–2 a.m. 1737 Naud St., L.A., 213-259-3905; mitsi.la. S.I.V.
Napa’s New Chapter
California winemaker Robert Mondavi had the vision and the moxie to establish Napa Valley as one of the world’s premier wine appellations. Now, 60 years after he founded ROBERT MONDAVI WINERY , his heirs have reenvisioned the estate for the future while honoring its past. The new design scrapes away additions and changes made through the years to architect Clifford May’s original vision, opening to views of the vineyards and mountain landscape. The emblematic arch and tower now houses a welcome lounge and wine library. Architects Aidlin Darling Design and landscape architect Surfacedsign have added tasting terraces, kitchen gardens, and native plantings, plus an indoor-outdoor dining veranda. 7801 St. Helena Hwy., Oakville; robertmondaviwinery.com. S.I.V.
Turn their wildest dreams into reality in the Elephant Suite, a two-bedroom family retreat inspired by Elephant Valley at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.
Omni La Costa OMNILACOSTA.COM
CULTURE
Hollywood Comes Home
“Ang Lee’s Gold Mountain captures the creative energy we are seeing.”
Statements - Profile
television producer who previously served as U.S. ambassador to Hungary — has been trying to stop the “runaway production” trend. Over the past few years, other states and countries have used aggressive tax breaks to lure film and TV projects. In 2025, the Golden State went on the offensive, increasing California’s annual cap on tax breaks to $750 million from $330 million. It also expanded eligible productions to include reality programs and animation (like The Simpsons Movie 2, coming in 2027).
As rival states lure productions away, Colleen Bell is leading a campaign to bring filmmaking back to its birthplace, fueling Oscar winners and a Golden State reboot
Words by DEGEN PENER
For Colleen Bell, the executive director of the California Film Commission, this year’s Oscars felt like a long-held vision finally coming to life, after seven years of championing California as a home for film production. That evening in March, Paul Thomas Anderson’s propulsive One Battle After Another won six Academy Awards, including best picture. Filmed almost entirely in California — Sacramento, Humboldt County, the San Diego suburbs, La Purisima Mission in Lompoc — the movie received $8.4 million in state tax breaks. “We are very proud,” Bell says, adding that film shoots “drive real economic activities in our communities.” In Sacramento alone, the movie created $5.3 million in spending, according to the local film and media office.
Three years earlier, the trippy Everything Everywhere All at Once — which also received tax breaks, filming across the L.A. area — won best picture. “There’s a significant amount of momentum taking place here and a very exciting range of projects choosing California,” Bell says. Since her appointment by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2019, Bell — a former
In October 2025, 52 new projects received tax breaks, including Heat 2, Jumanji: Open World, and Nightwatching, an independent film starring and produced by Mila Kunis. “Filming Nightwatching in California has been a gift,” Kunis says. “The crews, the infrastructure, the creative community — it’s all here. This program helps make sure productions like ours can continue to call California home.” Bell says the tax break program encourages filmmaking across the entire state; incentives can be 5 to 10 percent higher outside the L.A. area.
“We are a continent’s worth of land here in one state, and it truly is one of our greatest strengths,” Bell says. “There are extraordinary locations, from the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada to the deserts, the Central Coast, and Northern California.” But luring production to California is still challenging. According to FilmLA, shoot days in 2025 for TV and commercial production in the L.A. area dropped 16.1 percent compared with 2024. A new governor will take office in January, and Bell hopes the state will continue to support the industry, adding that movies and TV shows shot here encourage tourism. “So many people travel to California to see where their favorite TV show scene or movie scene was shot.”
Hopefully, those only-in-California best picture moments keep coming. Bell has her eye on a future contender. “One project that really captures the creative energy we are seeing right now is Gold Mountain, directed by Ang Lee, which is currently filming in Northern California,” she says. “It’s a story rooted in the gold rush being told in the very landscape where that history unfolded. There’s something incredibly powerful about stories being told where they belong.”
From left: Executive director of the California Film Commission Colleen Bell; Leonardo DiCaprio and director Paul Thomas Anderson on the set of One Battle After Another, which was shot in California in 2025.
Mauna Lani
SUMMER 2026
68 Grace Gummer reflects on playing a Kennedy and keeping her life out of the spotlight
Zac Posen shares the formula behind his reinvention of Gap and its return to relevance
On Gabrielle: FOUNDRAE 18k yellow gold, diamond, and amethyst necklace, $19,340. CHANEL swimsuit, $1,450.
On Jagger: PANERAI watch at The 1916 Company, $12,400. LOEWE shirt, $1,500.
Ryan Murphy’s Love Story dominated the cultural conversation this year, and with awards buzz building, its costar Grace Gummer reflects on privacy, performance, and portraying American royalty
Feature - Gummer
GRACE
KHAITE top, $2,680, and skirt, price upon request. MANOLO BLAHNIK shoes, $795. ENGELBERT earrings and ring, prices upon request. CELINE sunglasses, $450.
Photography by OLIVIA MALONE Styling by SAMANTHA TRAINA Words by ROBERT HASKELL
GUMMER
Has Entered the Chat
ENGELBERT earrings and ring, prices upon request. Opposite: BOTTEGA
request.
VENETA dress, price upon
TIFFANY & CO. earrings, $8,400. ENGELBERT ring, price upon request.
“We were not the Kennedys. There wasn’t that amount of scrutiny and spotlight on my life.”
On a crisp spring afternoon, with awards campaigning kicking up across Hollywood, Grace Gummer followed the lead of more than a few fashionable New Yorkers once they land in Los Angeles: She made her way to the Dries Van Noten store on La Cienega. Once there, she made a beeline for the archive section, a room where pieces from past seasons can be purchased by mavens who might have missed them the first time around.
“Vintage is kind of the only thing I fuck with,” Gummer tells me later that day over a cup of tea in the airy atrium of Soho House Holloway. “It gives me great joy to find something nobody else has. I asked the sales guy to show me stuff from the ’90s, and he said, ‘You know, the ’90s are really in right now.’ I laughed and said, ‘Thanks to us!’ ”
— to Japan under President Barack Obama and Australia under President Joe Biden. She recalls a particular 1980s Valentino striped shirt with a strong shoulder and buttons up to the neckline. Although she was a supporting player in the drama, Gummer bore a unique responsibility on Love Story: Of the story’s central figures, she played the only living one. “That was immensely delicate,” she says. “All I wanted was to honor Caroline Kennedy. My job was to find some connection to the truth, but it’s not a biopic. It’s not a documentary, so I wasn’t interested in any kind of impersonation. I was interested in sort of gathering pieces of her from what I knew, from what other people had told me about her, from what I’ve read, from what I’ve seen — pieces of a very private person.”
Kennedy’s son, Jack Schlossberg, has been sharply critical of the show, but it’s not clear if Caroline has seen it. “Honestly, I just hope I’ve done right by her,” Gummer says. “I have so much admiration for her. It must be really hard to see your family or yourself portrayed on-screen. I cannot imagine how it feels.”
Feature - Gummer
Gummer is referring, of course, to Love Story — Ryan Murphy’s addictive reimagining of the romance between John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette — and the way the hit show instantly brought Bessette’s sleek, pared-down dressing into the zeitgeist. White button-down shirts and boot-cut blue jeans, camel skirts, black coats, leather boots, and loafers: A clean ’90s minimalism has invaded visual culture anew. Gummer has seen the line of young women waiting outside C.O. Bigelow, the venerable New York apothecary where Bessette bought her tortoise headbands.
“Fashion-wise, the ’90s have always been my compass,” Gummer says. “The muted colors, the low-key elegance.” The past few months have found her bringing an array of serious and high-minded fashion to the likes of the Met Gala and the Vanity Fair Oscars party (with the support of the stylist Nicky Campbell, of viral TikTok fame). It comes as no surprise to those who know her: Gummer has always been into clothes. After college at Vassar, she studied costume design in Rome, then interned for Zac Posen (see page TK).
“In the ’90s, I was in middle school. And I was cool — well, as cool as you can be in a small town in Connecticut,” she says. As an adolescent, Gummer chose her outfit the night before and laid it out in the shape of a person, including the headband, shoes, socks, and underwear. “Everything. Almost as if I could just get out of bed and slide into it. Fashion was always very important to me. It was a planned event. I had a dress code, and I’d get in trouble for breaking it: the skirt a little too short, the shirt unbuttoned a little too low. I was always pushing back because I knew what I looked good in.”
For Gummer, clothes were an essential inroad into the character of John’s sister, Caroline Kennedy, who went on to serve as an ambassador
Of course, Gummer knows a thing or two about life in the public eye. She’s the daughter of Meryl Streep, riding high on the back of The Devil Wears Prada 2. Her older sister, Mamie, and younger sister, Louisa, are also actors. (Their brother, Henry, is a musician.) She spent her early childhood in Brentwood. But after the Rodney King riots, the Northridge earthquake, and the O.J. Simpson trial, Streep and her husband, the sculptor Don Gummer, moved their family to Connecticut. Gummer was entering the third grade. “I kind of hated my parents for a while after we moved,” she says. “I loved rollerblading and going to pool parties. I was like, ‘Why are we moving to the cold, dark woods?’ But I think it was a really good decision. And was it protective? I think in some ways.”
In episode 7 of Love Story, there is a scene in which Caroline’s daughter asks Bessette about getting some candy from the doorman of her parents’ building during a party. They descend to find a swarm of paparazzi in the lobby, and moments later Caroline appears in search of her briefly missing little girl, none too happy at Bessette for placing her in the line of fire. “I can totally relate to that feeling, especially being a mother now and working in this business,” Gummer says. “But obviously, we were not the Kennedys. There wasn’t that amount of scrutiny and spotlight on my life. But I understand Caroline’s feeling. I was kept out of all of it for most of my life. I honestly thought I was going to be an Olympic swimmer or a fashion designer or a dancer. Basically, I grew up in the woods and played a lot of sports.”
When Gummer was living in Rome, a friend sent her a script for a play he was directing off-off-Broadway in the hope that she’d consider designing the costumes. “I read it, and I had not one single design idea,” she says. “All I wanted to do was say the words. So I thought, OK, I guess I should follow that instinct.” Gummer’s friend cast her in the lead role of that play (The Sexual Neuroses of Parents in 2008), her first job as a professional actor. The New York Times didn’t love the production but wrote of its star something that surely made both mother and daughter proud: “Ms. Gummer seems to have inherited her mother’s acting smarts.”
She has worked steadily since that time, but Love Story has given Gummer a lot more exposure. She was amused this season to hear herself described as an ingenue. “That was funny to me as I approach 40,” she says. (Gummer celebrated her big birthday in May. She asked
LOEWE dress, $2,990. JIMMY CHOO shoes, $895. TIFFANY & CO. earrings, $8,900. ENGELBERT ring, price upon request.
LOEWE dress, $5,250. TIFFANY & CO. necklace, $77,000. Opposite: PRADA top, $2,450, skirt, price upon request, and shoes, $1,320.
“Ryan Murphy is so good at giving women, especially my age and older, center stage.”
her husband, the music producer Mark Ronson, to throw her a surprise party. It wasn’t really a surprise party, but it was an opportunity to get together with good friends and dance for many hours.)
Marlboro Lights were popular. It also coincides with a moment of considerable cultural backlash against the scourge of social media.
“It was sort of the last time before we had the modern attention economy,” Gummer says. “That’s what’s brilliant about the show. It’s touching on all of that too, and showing a whole new generation of young people how cool it was not to have a phone. Someone who was doing my hair recently told me that there’s this thing called Nineties Night that kids do now in New York, where they leave their phones at home. The first place my mom brain goes is, That’s so dangerous! How could you not have a phone going out? But I didn’t have one. And I didn’t need one.”
Gummer, Ronson, and their two young daughters live in downtown Manhattan, and they are, in her words, “New Yorkers through and through.” But two of her siblings and their families are in Los Angeles. There are now six Gummer grandkids under age 6, and time together out here has never been more precious.
Feature - Gummer
“I love L.A.,” she says. “I love eating a perfectly ripe avocado in February. I don’t want to live here. I like the spontaneity, the cynicism, the feeling of being in touch with the world and with other human beings that New York gives you.” But she relishes her Los Angeles vintage shopping. (Scout and Shabon Vintage are favorites.) She loves a few hours of pampering at Olympic Spa followed by Korean food.
And she loves to drive. In her 20s, when she lived in L.A. briefly, Gummer had a 1988 white Mercedes 500SL. “It was a hard-top vintage convertible, American Gigolo style,” she says. “Eight-cylinder engine, superfast, so sexy. It was a lemon.” She bought it while shooting Extant, a TV show produced by Steven Spielberg and starring Halle Berry. “One day I pulled into the studio, and Spielberg happened to be walking by. He said,
‘It’s a good thing you’re on this show if you’re going to own that car. Because the money you’re making is going right into it.’ He was right. But I wanted the full California experience, and I got it.”
“I’ve been working consistently, steadily, for 15 years on things that I also felt very proud of,” she says. That résumé includes roles in Noah Baumbach’s beloved Frances Ha and in Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere in 2025. Her TV credits include The Newsroom, American Horror Story: Freak Show, and Mr. Robot. Gummer — never exactly an anonymous person — is relishing her new recognition, largely because she’s proud of its source. “It’s just so much fun. Shakespeare himself wrote about the loves and lives of kings and queens and told their stories in a way that everyone could relate to, on a human level. That’s what this show is about.”
But Love Story is more than a love story. It’s also a meditation on lost innocence, a time before 9/11, when smartphones didn’t exist and
With the possibility of award nominations coming her way, Gummer may have bought herself the full California experience once again. She’s entertaining multiple acting offers, although it’s too soon to speak of them. “I want to be the protagonist facing all the adversities,” she says. Playing Caroline Kennedy certainly provided a boot camp in resilience through adversity. “Ryan Murphy is so good at giving women, especially my age and older, center stage. I really love him for that. And maybe my lived experience up to this point has given me the ability to play someone like Caroline, to dip into the well. It happened at the right place and time in my life. The doors are opening now.”
Hair by BARB THOMPSON at Forward Artists. Makeup by SABRINA BEDRANI at The Wall Group. Interior design by ANTHONY BARSOUMIAN. Landscape design by JOHN SHARP. Shot on location at HAILEY RESIDENCE, courtesy of Patrick O’Neill.
CELINE dress, price upon request, and shoes, $1,450. ENGELBERT earrings and ring, prices upon request. Opposite: TORY BURCH top, $350, and skirt, $450. JIMMY CHOO shoes, $925. DAVID WEBB earrings and bracelet, prices upon request.
Fashion may be fleeting, but reinvention springs eternal for an industry predicated on change. Just ask designer Zac Posen, who in 2019 shuttered his namesake brand — after two decades dressing A-listers and royalty like Rihanna, Demi Moore, Natalie Portman, and Princess Eugenie — only to land one of the biggest jobs in American fashion five years later. That move has made us fall in love with Gap all over again.
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Gap’s collaborations and viral moments are growing by the minute. This spring, a sold-out Victoria Beckham x Gap collection distilled her minimal signatures and Gap’s quintessential and accessible staples, striking a chord with both style-conscious younger shoppers and loyal Gap traditionalists. Gap’s Hoodie House at Coachella was a hit because it sold the brand’s signature item as a customizable wear-now souvenir ideal for cool desert nights. But Posen’s greatest achievement has arguably been getting his GapStudio line onto the red carpet. At this year’s Met Gala, Kendall Jenner wore a dress inspired by the sculpture Winged Victory of Samothrace It featured a leather bodice and drapery, not to mention detachable wings so big that they didn’t fit on the carpet — spot-on for the gala’s dress code, “Fashion is Art.”
Two decades after Posen’s first trunk show for Neiman Marcus, he has made San Francisco his second home. Sitting in his corner office at the company’s Folsom Street headquarters, he kicks off his textured Timberland boots, flops down on a modular dark blue chenille sofa,
Zac Posen flanked by models wearing GapStudio creations, including a version of the poplin white shirtdress designed for Anne Hathaway in 2024, a poplin bodysuit and high-rise seamed denim maxi skirt from the Fall 2025 collection, and a version of the black cropped satin Icon jacket and matching pants worn by Timothée Chalamet to last year’s Academy Awards nominees luncheon.
Seven years after closing his label, the designer has turned Gap into fashion’s most irresistible comeback story via redcarpet spectacle, pitch-perfect nostalgia, and an instinct for viral moments
How ZAC POSEN
P hotography by RAINER HOSCH Styling by MASHA MANDZUKA
Words by DAVID NASH
“I wear different hats, but to be a hands-on creator, that’s as important as eating and sleeping.”
and reclines while the concrete-and-glass jungle of skyscrapers appears through the floor-to-ceiling windows behind him.
“I remember, after my trunk show on my first trip here, Vanessa Getty and Ken Fulk took me to Bix for dinner,” the 45-year-old designer says, recalling the ambiance of the 1930s-style supper club and the warm welcome he received in the early 2000s. “It has taken almost two years of being here — 20-plus years later — to rediscover it. But I was just there again, and it was totally a full-circle moment.”
Posen’s job title is a mouthful. He’s the creative director at Gap Inc., the San Francisco–based clothing company founded by Donald and Doris Fisher in 1969, and the chief creative officer at Old Navy. Gap Inc. had net sales of $15 billion in 2025, so Posen’s job is one of the biggest in U.S. fashion. And his arrival has been instrumental in the 57-year-old retailer’s renaissance.
“I represent the creative community and am a creative partner to Richard Dickson, the CEO,” Posen says. “Often, it’s meetings prior to final reviews with Richard and giving guidance. A lot of times it’s letting creatives within teams evolve and build their work — you’re a steward, in a sense.”
In its heyday from the 1990s to the early 2000s, under the direction of CEO Mickey Drexler, the brand elevated itself with video campaigns (Madonna and Missy Elliot collaborated on a remix of “Get Into the Groove,” and Lenny Kravitz and Sarah Jessica Parker mashed up “Are You Gonna Go My Way” and “Lady”). Print ads featuring supermodels, actors, and other boldface names — including Naomi Campbell, Helena Christensen, Spike Lee, Whoopi Goldberg, John Malkovich, and Joan Didion — were shot by Annie Leibovitz, Herb Ritts, and Steven Meisel. The clothing itself was of the moment and in demand. Fast-forward almost 30 years — through creative direction changes, financial crises, and a pandemic — and Gap as we romanticized it has returned.
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“It has been an amazing transformation over the past two years, and it’s really just beginning,” Posen says. “It’s a reestablishment, I would say, and a restatement of our value-style proposition that we deliver. And we’ve had amazing category growth over the past two years that’s just kind of extraordinary.”
Asked about the rebirth of a cultural era that produced Friends, grunge music, and the dotcom boom, Posen says Gap’s resurgence is “kismet.” He adds, “Our brands are taking center stage; they feel really attuned right now to culture.” I mention Ryan Murphy’s latest series for FX, Love Story (about the relationship of John F. Kennedy, Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy), knowing Posen designed the costumes for Murphy’s show Feud: Capote vs. The Swans. “I believe over the past two years, Mr. Murphy has been watching closely,” Posen says. “He was one of the first people [to know] when I got this job because we were doing the press on the costumes for Feud. And that kind of nostalgia, which is a very American thing, I think feels more attuned [to this moment] than high fashion.”
Posen in his office at Gap Inc.’s headquarters in San Francisco, where a typical day begins around 8 a.m. “From there, I describe it as buckling up into a roller-coaster seat,” he says.
Recent Gap campaigns have given us hits of nostalgia, like “Get Loose” in Fall 2024, featuring Troye Sivan (focused on the revival of ’90s-era baggy denim); the viral “Better in Denim” Fall 2025 campaign, with the group KATSEYE dancing in low-rise denim to a version of Kelis’ 2003 hit “Milkshake”; and “Sweats Like This” in Spring 2026, with Puerto Rican rapper Young Miko. But GapStudio truly bolstered the brand’s profile. “It wasn’t in the master plan,” Posen says about setting up an internal creative studio that released its first collection for Spring 2025 (some of its pieces are on these pages). In 2024, he dressed Oscar winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph in a draped denim gown for the Met Gala and crafted a white corseted shirtdress for Anne Hathaway to wear to a Bulgari event in Rome. After that, the die was cast: Gap released a version of Hathaway’s dress for $158, and it flew off the racks. “It was crazy. It sold
out like hotcakes within minutes,” he says. “That led to Richard asking, ‘What if we built a studio for ideas [and] capsule collections?’ ”
With GapStudio, which is based in New York, Posen has been able to strike a balance between the boardroom and creativity. A few pieces sold in a flash: a seamed denim midi dress and a denim cocoon coat from a campaign starring mother-daughter duo Gwyneth Paltrow and Apple Martin (shot by Mario Sorrenti), as well as a version of the custom black duchess satin Icon jacket and jean ensemble worn by Timothée Chalamet to last year’s Academy Awards nominees luncheon. “It’s allowed me to keep my hands in clay, and that’s something really important to me as a creator,” he says, noting that he’s involved in all the brands: Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, and Athleta. “I’m not designing those collections. I wear different hats in many ways [and] get into the creativity of business building and strategy. But to be a hands-on creator, that’s as important to me as eating and sleeping.”
A workday in San Francisco might start at home around 6:15 a.m. “I Zoom with my trainer in New York, because I like to create consistency there. I let my dogs out and make my green tea — I switched to tea while working here; before I was drinking too much coffee. Then I get to the office for my first meeting around 8. From there, I describe it as buckling up into a roller-coaster seat,” he says with a laugh. “I basically have back-to-back meetings until 6 p.m., on an average day, that can include long-range planning sessions in the boardroom, seasonal ready-to-market concepting, casting, store planning, real estate, and visual merchandising meetings.” As for regular travel between coasts: “There’s no direct cadence; it’s kind of up to where I’m needed and where I have meetings.” Occasionally, the GapStudio team will come here, but the atelier — a codesigner, a collection designer, a pattern maker, two sewers, a few additional staff, and freelance designers — is squarely set in New York.
“A lot of the pieces you saw in New York were draped in San Francisco, and there’s a back-and-forth flow to that,” he says of my visit to Gap’s office in Tribeca. “But that’s really built out as the hub for experimentation, for new ideas, and for developing cultural moments.”
“So much about the Gap Inc. brands have unveiled themselves to me through a deeper understanding of San Francisco.”
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In his West Coast life outside the office, Posen proves to be equally enthusiastic. “I really appreciate the history in San Francisco — it’s surrounded by such outrageous beauty,” he says. “I don’t know any other place in the world that has a more diverse range of nature right outside it.” In town, he and his fiancé, Harrison Ball, found a comfortable perch in North Beach. “It’s one of the oldest houses in San Francisco — it’s a little redwood jewel box with a lot of history [and] a small backyard with a garden.” Nestled on a quiet block, the place offers anonymity and a respite from his busy work schedule.
In fact, you’re more likely to see the pair picking over produce at a farm stand than eating at one of the city’s most popular restaurants. “Obviously, I’m a big foodie,” says the author of Cooking with Zac: Recipes from Rustic to Refined (Rodale Books), published in 2017. “Sadly, my favorite [dining] spot is my own kitchen. We go to our local farmers market, and on weekends we’ll sometimes go to the Petaluma Market. Pride in produce is something I can really appreciate and geek out on.” Almost immediately after he arrived, chef and restaurateur Kathy Fang gave him an insider’s tour of where to shop and what to shop for. “I have a text chain with her about what’s in season, and the streets in Chinatown and what to get there, and that’s just really cool,” he says.
On days off work, Posen’s penchant for plant life can keep him feeling just as fulfilled as produce markets. “I love plants and I do spend a lot of time — when I get free time — at garden centers,” he says, citing Heron’s Head Nursery and Flora Grubb in San Francisco, and Cottage Gardens in Petaluma, as a few of his favorites. “I have beautiful palms in my teeny
From GapStudio’s Spring 2025 Collection: a denim tailored trench coat, high-rise denim sailor pants, and a knit corset top. Opposite: Since his arrival, Posen has helped Gap find its light through capsule collections, designer collaborations, and red-carpet moments (like at this year’s Met Gala and the Academy Awards).
Downtime for the designer is often spent strolling farmers markets and visiting garden centers. “I have beautiful palms in my teeny, little backyard from Flora Grubb,” he says about the outdoor space he tends at his North Beach neighborhood home. Opposite: On the terrace of Gap Inc.’s San Francisco headquarters, with the city’s concrete-and-glass jungle in the background, Posen stands with models wearing looks from various GapStudio collections.
“I really appreciate the history in San Francisco — it’s surrounded by such outrageous beauty.”
Feature - Posen
little backyard from Flora Grubb that I just adore — it’s like Jurassic Park meets an English garden.”
Sometimes his personal and work lives converge. The San Francisco Ballet offers an indoor outlet for the couple (Ball is a choreographer, an actor, and a former principal dancer at New York City Ballet). “What a beautiful theater — and to be able to spend time doing new costumes for it,” Posen says about designing the ensembles, inspired by Bay Area sunsets, for Christopher Wheeldon’s Within the Golden Hour, which premiered in February 2025. “It was an incredible experience working with both the costume shop and the company.” His civic mindset and cultural proclivities also landed him on San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s board of trustees in 2025. “It’s a world-class collection, and they’re putting on incredible exhibitions,” he says. “My father is a painter, so I grew up in the art world and thought it would be interesting to have that kind of fresh perspective. And, obviously, there’s the connection with the Fisher Collection [at SFMOMA].” (Posen grew up in SoHo in New York City, attended Parsons School of Design there, and then went to Central Saint Martins in London before staging his first runway show at age 21.)
In mid-conversation, he runs his hands through his mop of curly black hair and announces (for the second time) that he needs a haircut: “It’s a mess; it’s way too long — I need someone who deals with curls.”
He’s short on time and leaving in two days for L.A., where two custom GapStudio looks are set to hit the Academy Awards red carpet less than a week later: a corseted cobalt blue gown for actor Barbie Ferreira and a sleek black tailcoat suit for actor Milo Manheim. Luckily, the L.A.-based stylist for our shoot earlier in the day, Masha Mandzuka (with whom he shares Demi Moore as a mutual friend), offers up the name of a trusted coiffeur there. His usual hairstylist is in Manhattan, so crisis averted. At the end of our time together, I ask Posen to summarize his experience over the past two years. “So much about the Gap Inc. brands have unveiled themselves to me through a deeper understanding of San Francisco — even just looking at the Gap brand itself and its evolution over time, its level of modernity or modularity, and what was happening in design and technology in San Francisco and Silicon Valley in the ’80s and ’90s,” he says. “And it just all starts to click. There’s something really cool about continually perfecting a T-shirt, continually perfecting classics, tweaking them ever so slightly and evolving that story — I just felt like this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I feel very lucky to be here.”
Hair and makeup by CHRISTINA FLACH. Model TATUM CROCKER @tatum crocker. Model BRIAN OZAWA BURNS @brianoburns. Model DARYA RADI @daryaradi_.
Precious
On Gabrielle: BUCCELLATI Hawaii yellow gold earrings with diamonds, $22,000, and necklace with diamonds, $64,000; Macri Classica white gold bracelets with diamonds, from $14,000; Macri pink gold rigato watch with diamonds, $22,500. GABRIELA HEARST top, $1,250. On Jagger: OMEGA watch, price upon request.
Moments
On the California shoreline, jewelry and watches shed their formality as luxury lives in rhythm with the tides and the romance of the Pacific
P hotography by KURT ISWARIENKO Styling by MARCO MILANI FOR PETRA FLANNERY STUDIO
GRAFF Tilda’s Bow yellow gold and white diamond bracelet, $28,000, and necklace, $55,000; Be Together yellow gold and pavé white diamond bangle, $26,800, and ring, $8,400; Laurence Graff signature facet pendant in white gold, $9,550, and ring, $4,700; Spiral white gold ring with white diamonds, $17,100. ERES bustier, $720.
Feature - Jewelry
Top: On Gabrielle: CHANEL Coco Crush 18K white gold necklaces with diamonds in quilted motif, from $4,450, 18K beige gold cuff, price upon request, 18K yellow gold rings, from $3,350; blouse, $3,850, bikini top, $750, and bottom, $700. On Jagger: OMEGA watch, price upon request. LACOSTE swim trunks, $85. Bottom: VAN CLEEF & ARPELS 18K yellow gold Perlée ring with diamonds, $7,350; Trace 18K yellow gold chain, $1,770; Zodiaque 18K yellow gold medal, $2,740, and bracelet, $2,970. LOUIS VUITTON bikini top, $750, and bottom, $750. MIU MIU sunglasses, $607.
Feature - Jewelry
On Gabrielle: BULGARI Tubogas 18K yellow gold necklace, $19,800; Serpenti Tubogas 18K yellow gold necklace with demi pavé diamonds and black onyx, $41,900; Tubogas 18K gold bracelets, from $13,600, and rings, from $4,950. MAGDA BUTRYM shorts, $1,170. Tank, stylist’s own. On Jagger: JAEGER-LECOULTRE watch, price upon request. LACOSTE shirt, $129.
On Gabrielle: POMELLATO Iconica rose gold earrings, necklace, and bracelet with diamonds, prices upon request; Together rose gold rings with diamonds, prices upon request. On Jagger: IWC watch, $23,800. Opposite: On Gabrielle: DOLCE & GABBANA Alta Gioielleria limited edition 18k yellow and white gold necklace, earrings, and bracelet with black diamonds, rubellite tourmalines, and colorless diamonds, prices upon request; dress, $3,495. On Jagger: TUDOR watch, $6,325; DOLCE & GABBANA cardigan, $2,395.
PRADA Eternal Gold yellow gold earrings, necklace, and ring, prices upon request; top, $1,820, jacket, price upon request. Opposite, top: IWC watch, $76,300. ELEVENTY shirt, $495. Opposite, bottom: On Gabrielle: CARTIER 18K yellow gold Clash de Cartier ring, $4,800; Trinity 18K yellow gold, 18K rose gold, 18K white gold pendant, $5,000, and necklace, price upon request; Santos de Cartier 18K white gold necklace, $12,300; Panthère de Cartier 18K yellow gold watch, $209,000. SPRWMN tank, $275. MIU MIU sunglasses, $607. On Jagger: CARTIER Santos de Cartier 18K white gold necklace, $13,200; Trinity 18K yellow gold, 18K rose gold, 18K white gold ring, $4,300. STONE ISLAND jacket, $500. LACOSTE swim trunks, $42.
Feature - Jewelry
Hair by HEATHER ROSE HARRIS at Dew Beauty Agency. Makeup by JOHANNA NOMIEY at Home Agency. Model GABRIELLE HAUGH at Women Management @gabrielleghaugh. Model JAGGER SHERMAN at Wilhemina Models @jaggerfreakensherman. Prop styling by LUX WRIGHT. Shot on location at ANNENBERG COMMUNITY BEACH HOUSE.
Jenni Kayne’s Canyon of Calm
Feature - Jenni Kayne
How the entrepreneur who turned pared-back design into a lifestyle empire has created a harmonious home where oak trees and open skies are just as integral as the interiors
Photography by SAM FROST Words by ELIZABETH VARNELL
Jenni Kayne, wearing looks from her line throughout, beside a Sarah Crowner–commissioned painting in her dining room.
An antique dining table from Dienst + Dotter Antikviteter and Pierre Jeanneret chairs from Galerie Half with de Le Cuona linen cushions sit atop solid oak floors. Opposite: Her family’s Vincent Van Duysen–designed house with a white limewashed brick exterior surrounded by indigenous oaks and grasses.
Feature - Jenni Kayne
In a city known for climbing ivy and all manner of vines and greenery ascending walls and covering buildings, Jenni Kayne took a different tack for her latest Los Angeles home. The limewashed brick residence she built in a Brentwood canyon with Belgian architect Vincent Van Duysen is surrounded by California oaks with broad
branches and the canopies of sycamore trees, but it stands in minimalist splendor. “Vincent very much didn’t want anything growing up the house. He didn’t even want landscape tucked all the way up to the house. He wanted the house to be able to breathe,” Kayne says from her perch in the sun-drenched dining room near a wall of 10-foot-tall windows that open to a tree-lined slope.
The entrepreneur and Southern California native founded her eponymous lifestyle company in the early aughts, then built it into a $140 million empire encompassing fashion, furniture, skincare, and an apothecary line with 31 boutiques across the country, including Amagansett, Greenwich, and Madison Avenue on the East Coast and Marin, Carmel, L.A., and Montecito in the Golden State. Kayne, who had no outside investors beyond her father until last year, was a quiet luxury pioneer before quiet luxury, launching best-selling Cocoon cashmere cardigan sweaters alongside Pacific dinner plates, Belgian wool chairs, and Moisture Rich Balm, all inspired by her California surroundings. And she’s known as much for her spare aesthetic and strict adherence to calming neutrals as she is for seamlessly merging interior and exterior spaces.
The latter is the guiding leitmotif behind the series of midcenturyinformed rooms in the residence she shares with her husband, real estate broker Richard Ehrlich, and their three children, which connects to the outdoors with massive windows and views of wide swaths of open sky. “You kind of flow around it,” she says of the courtyard, which is also visible from the front door. “When I’m in the dining room, the living room is right there off the courtyard, and if I walk around it, I get to a den and the children’s rooms. Everyone is all right here,” she says. But at the same
From top: Kayne and her rescue dog, Otter, in the living room filled with linen-covered sofas set with soft-hued pillows she changes seasonally and a vintage coffee table from Sweden; a side deck with tables and teak-framed chairs from Van Duysen’s Franck collection for Sutherland. Opposite: Sycamore trees loom beside the pool.
“I can look through the courtyard and see nature wherever I am.”
—
time, she notes, “we’re not on top of each other.” Glass-lined passageways connect them. Van Duysen’s firm describes the theme: “There’s no real barrier between exterior and interior; landscape and nature blend in seamlessly.”
Kayne’s latest book, Pacific Natural Everywhere (Rizzoli, $50), is centered on this ideal. Her Pacific Natural series is devoted to a design philosophy combining organic materials, a pared-back simplicity, and California minimalism. But this third volume looks at houses around the world. Rather than focus on interiors, finishes, and furniture, she explores the relationship between the architecture and landscapes and what Kayne calls “the feeling that you have when looking in and looking out.” She found herself asking how people capture this feeling around the world. “The book is about how there’s not a real divide between the inside and the out, and how architecture lives within nature,” Kayne says. “Those are things that I really tried to capture in my own home.” She and her architect did, however, occasionally have differing views about the details. “Vincent really designed the house around the oak trees. I think I had always pictured the living spaces — the kitchen and the living room — looking out to the sycamores, and Vincent very much saw them looking out to the oaks.”
Feature - Jenni Kayne
Summers spent at Lake Tahoe helped shape Kayne’s embrace of the blend between indoors and out in the Van Duysen design. “I would come home to my beautiful house on the east side [of L.A.] and feel boxed in,” she says. “I wanted just to be on land, where you didn’t know where you were, and I wanted to feel — I don’t want to say alone — but with a little more private space and
A row of bedrooms, sunken den, and a rescue cat, Rosemary, seen through the central courtyard set with a fountain from The Well in Summerland.
Feature - Jenni Kayne
“Living seasonally makes you feel grounded and gives you moments to look forward to.”
surrounded by nature.” As an equestrian with a California upbringing, creating beautiful livable spaces outside also took precedence.
In addition to the pool patio, the house itself has a side deck with a dining area set that features Van Duysen’s Franck table and teak-framed chairs and a fireplace. A farm table and benches are set under an oak grove, and a barn houses Kayne’s menagerie of more than two dozen animals — many of them rescues, including mini horses and a pig named Moo. Kayne says being more engaged with her surroundings makes the region’s subtle seasonal changes stand out. “Here, the sycamores lose their leaves, so that’s a very defining moment. I love the leaves all over the ground, and the goats love to come out and eat them,” she says, noting that proximity to the wilds also brings a heightened awareness of vulnerability. “We get reminded how close we are to the outdoors when we have these crazy winds. It really brings all those ideas home.”
Inside, the decor functions as a clean slate for Kayne. The materials, including solid oak floors and natural linens and wools, purposefully create
a calm and quiet space. “I’m surrounded by so much at work, even if the collections are primarily neutral. I’m looking at colors and patterns, and constantly at new things. When I come home, I want everything to feel cleansing and quiet,” she says. To that end, Kayne favors pieces that blend, mixing upholstered chairs and sofas covered in linen with Swedish tables in the living room. The bare dining room table is paired with midcentury Pierre Jeanneret chairs. The showstopper is the curving plaster staircase. The family wanted a single-story house, but Kayne, who compares Van Duysen’s staircases to fine art, felt the house had to have one. It leads to an office that doubles as a place for the children to meet with tutors. “The space functions for everybody,” she says. “It also has a great daybed looking out to the oaks where you can hide and take a nap.”
But beyond the restrained interiors, Kayne embraces bursts of botanical chaos on the property. “The landscape is primarily beautiful grasses, and then there are moments of beautiful flowers that pop up seasonally,” she says. From hydrangeas to rockrose, poppies to cosmos, there’s always something blooming. “In general, the garden feels less designed,” she adds. “I think it took turning 30 to appreciate that not everything has to be green all the time. When I was younger, I wanted everything to be grown in.” Cooking for her family and tending a garden taught her to slow down and pay attention to the seasons. Now, living in a house so connected to the natural world provides a constant reminder. “Learning to live seasonally in rhythm with nature makes you feel more grounded and also gives you moments to look forward to,” Kayne says. “Like when the wisteria pops up, it’s so special.”
From left: Kitchen barstools by Doug McCollough sit opposite Waterworks’ Clayburn farmhouse apron sink and Newport Brass faucet, and beneath Rose Uniacke lights; the elegant plaster staircase, a Van Duysen signature, leads to a second-floor office.
In the barn just below her house, Kayne greets the family goat Radish while surrounded by (left to right) Walnut, Jelly, Moo, and Rutabaga.
CALIFORNIA
C MAGAZINE'S FIRST BOOK IS NOW AVAILABLE
WEDDINGS
Riviera Romance
Where old-world glamour meets the California sun
WEDDING News
FLUID FORMS
L.A. native DANIELLE FRANKEL’s evolving approach to bridal design and eveningwear takes her latest work, Collection XI, in a bold new direction. Grounded in couture techniques, her sculptural draping leads to elongated forms, from the silhouette of her Lucienne gown cut from woven silk with metal embroidery and a high-neck design paired with a plunging back — all framed with bias-cut ribbon layered with hand-frayed organza — to her Valerie column with fans of stripped crinkle organza dip-dyed in ombré shades from lilac to oxblood. A mini dress, Virginie, includes layered silk organza and Chantilly lace cut into strips to create a pattern, paired with whisper-soft fringe at the neckline and hem. In all, Frankel’s Fall 2026 collection, shot by Italian lensman Paolo Roversi, known for his intimate portraiture, has a romantic feel that also captures the precision of each line and the sculptural qualities that define the work emerging from her New York atelier. She’s dressed Julia Garner, Zoë Kravitz, and Alexandra Daddario for portions of their weddings, as well as Charli XCX, Cynthia Erivo, and Meg Ryan for red-carpet appearances — in singular looks that speak to the individuality of each creative. Here, she introduces new dimension and variation while doubling down on some sharper lines and blurring others with elegant cascading textile effects. 8475 Melrose Pl., L.A., 323-533-7241; daniellefrankelstudio.com. E.V.
FRESHLY PICKED
This season, master sugar artist KELLY GRAY has been drawn to incorporating fruit (hand-sculpted from sugar) into wedding cakes, which she explains can add a tonal dimension as well as a rustic feel. “It’s a subtle way to anchor the cake within the moment,” Gray says, “making it feel thoughtfully in tune with its surroundings.” kellygraycakes.com. C.C.
CURRENT AFFAIR
This season, designer Jasmin Hekmat of L.A.-based label CULT GAIA has expanded her bridal offerings with a lineup that takes a deeper dive into texture with looks that honor tradition yet feel anchored in her playful sensibility. Brides will find everything from a strapless two-piece crepe skirt set and a layered high-neck gown to a structured mini-bubble dress with delicate floral trim around the bodice — all versatile enough to wear across engagement parties, rehearsal dinners, and after-parties, as well as the big day. cultgaia.com. C.C.
1. DANIELLE FRANKEL’s newest line highlights sculptural draping. 2. Wedding cake creator KELLY GRAY incorporates sugar fruits and florals into her designs. 3. CULT GAIA has a new highly textured bridal drop. 4. Pick up the perfect gems from TIFFANY & CO. 5. SUSIE CAVE’s fresh label keeps everything in black and white. 6. New bands from VAN CLEEF & ARPELS are perfect for stacking. 7. NORDSTROM celebrates 125 years with a MANOLO BLAHNIK capsule.
HEADY HARVEST Elegant renditions for memorable sillage
Strange Invisible Perfumes Ulla Johnson
Ré gime des Fleurs
Bienaim é
1. La Vie en Fleurs, $240; bienaime1935.com. 2. Wildly Fig, $275; regimedesfleurs.com 3. Aquarian Rose, $210; siperfumes.com. 4. Adriatic Gold, $210; ullajohnson.com.
FLIGHTS OF FANCY
The play of light and color on butterfly wings encrusted with white and fancy vivid yellow diamonds or rare colored gemstones like padparadscha sapphires is eye-catching in any setting, particularly as part of a bridal ensemble. Blue Book designs created by Nathalie Verdeille, TIFFANY & CO. chief artistic officer, alongside the jewelry house’s design studio, include high jewelry interpretations of the elegant insect in aisle-ready necklaces and bracelets. The Hidden Garden collection pieces are drawn from archival Jean Schlumberger originals such as a necklace with a concealed Monarch butterfly evoking the creature’s delicate movements in rings and bracelets. tiffany.com. E.V.
SPARKLING
SPHERES
Golden beads are paired with diamonds or vibrantly colored gemstones in a new assortment of rings from VAN CLEEF & ARPELS’ elegant Perlée collection. The spheres, in yellow, rose, or white gold grouped in multiple rows or a single line, are intertwined with similarly-size diamonds and can be layered, making the designs ideal for brides. There’s even a three-row Perlée ring that’s set with rows of sapphires amid yellow gold beads for a sought-after touch of blue. Diamonds and radiant colored stones are chosen to match the carefully calibrated precious metal beads cast in wax and reworked by hand for optimal roundness. Nail settings with rounded tips created by High Jewelry stone setters secure the diamonds, sapphires, rubies, or emeralds, and light shines through the gold honeycomb openwork on the reverse side. vancleefarpels.com. E.V.
GOTHIC REVIVAL
Designer SUSIE CAVE has returned to her roots, launching a new label, Susie Cave Weddings and Funerals, of 25 silhouettes in black or white meant to be custom tailored through her London atelier. The demi-couture line of ethereal, embellished creations is a particularly joyful discovery for brides who reveled in Cave’s former brand, The Vampire’s Wife. The new designs range from monotone minidresses to elaborate floor-length romantic gowns, all of which can be personalized with various additions or subtractions, like capes, trains, and veils. Cave’s signature elongated sleeves, ruffled hems, and bows are here, dreamed up in silk, silk-velvet, and organdy fabrics meant to feel all the feelings in. susiecave.com. E.V.
CLEAN SLATE
White leather and raffia rendered as classic slingbacks, sophisticated mules, and strappy sandals by MANOLO BLAHNIK strike the perfect balance for alfresco weddings taking place shoreside, among the vines, in a garden or a redwood grove. The collection, a capsule of four styles created to celebrate Nordstrom’s 125th anniversary, just happens to include all the best footwear for summer brides. There are towering styles for the rehearsal dinner, elegant options for the ceremony, and flats to dance through the reception and after-party. A season spent in the Mediterranean inspired Blahnik to create shoes that seem tailor made for ceremonies up and down the California coast, or further afield. From $925. 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., Westfield Century City, L.A., 424-204-1177; 2400 Forest Ave., San Jose, Westfield Valley Fair, 408-248-2180; nordstrom.com. E.V.
RUNWAY Report
AISLE STYLE Altar-ready trends
Sheer Delight
Suits
Weddings - Runway
Chloé
Chanel
Alberta
Ferretti
Dior
Gucci
Bottega Veneta
Givenchy
Jacquemus
Jacquemus
Louis Vuitton
Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello
McQueen
McQueen
Erdem
Simone Rocha
Zimmermann
Gabriela Hearst
WEDDING Registry
DWR Vase, $1,750, dwr.com
GANTRI Lamp, $698, gantri.com
Weddings 2026
DIOR MAISON X NOÉ DUCHAUFOUR-LAWRANCE Lamp, $6,200, dior.com
LA DOUBLEJ Napkins, $100, ladoublej.com
Weddings - Registry
RALPH LAUREN HOME X CABANA Poufs, $2,950 each, cabanamagazine.com
LULU AND GEORGIA Table, $898, luluandgeorgia.com
AERIN Tray, $875, aerin.com
L’OBJET Salt and pepper shakers, $450, l-objet.com
WEDDING FILES: PIA E DAVIDE
Racing Hearts
Jourdan Sloane and Wells Childress throw the Provençal wedding of their dreams at a hilltop escape in Vista
Photography by JOSE VILLA Words by CAROLINE CAGNEY
Weddings - San Diego
Jourdan Sloane fondly remembers a morning when she gazed over at the closet in her Los Angeles home and noticed a substantial accumulation of her boyfriend Wells Childress’s belongings. “Wells would come over every day,” the model and influencer says of the organic way they moved in together. “[He] wanted to be part of my life, and that kind of consistency made me feel very safe with him.” It was the same feeling she had on their first date several months earlier at the Santa Monica Proper Hotel in December 2023, after they connected on the dating app Raya. “It was one of those nights where you lose track of time,” Jourdan says of her instant connection with Wells, the founder of Banyan Motors, a company that restores vintage German cars. “It felt like we had already known each other for much longer than we had.”
Fast-forward to November 2024 in India, where the couple were attending a friend’s wedding and celebrating Wells’s birthday. After a long day of hiking, they returned to their hotel room, where the Houston-born entrepreneur had set the scene for a proposal with flowers and Champagne. “I was completely overwhelmed,” Jourdan says. “It was just the two of us — no cameras, no big production, which made it feel even more special.” The next day, the pair celebrated with a safari and then retreated to the Amanbagh hotel in Rajasthan (one of their bucket list destinations) for a few more days of reveling.
The couple wed in October 2025 at Cal-a-Vie Health Spa in Vista, just outside San Diego, in a four-day celebration that unfolded across the château-style estate’s rolling vineyards, 400-year-old chapel, and lavender fields. “The property has this French countryside quality, but with the ease and natural beauty of Southern California,” says the bride, explaining that she and Wells wanted their guests to feel as though they were in Provence.
Jourdan collaborated with interior designer Kara Childress (Wells’s
The bride in custom Galia Lahav. Opposite, clockwise from top left: The bridal party; the gown; the groom in custom Arturo Castañeda; guests exit the ceremony at dusk.
Weddings - San Diego
mother), and the couple worked with event planner Dani Blasena of HauteFêtes, who helped execute their “old-world romance meets moody fall” vision. Blasena incorporated details like candlelight, gold, and rich hues amid the rustic woods and antiques to give each event a warm, lived-in mood. “We wanted everything to feel layered and personal, like the space already belonged to us,” Jourdan says. As a nod to the groom, vintage cars were woven into the weekend both aesthetically and practically, transporting guests to and from the events.
For their breezy mountaintop ceremony, which was officiated by Jourdan’s childhood minister, Pete Bowell, the bride made her entrance wearing a custom Galia Lahav gown that she designed with the brand’s head designer. “Because I studied fashion, I always knew I wanted to be closely involved in creating my own dress,” she says. “It was really special to see something that had lived in my mind become real.” After they exchanged vows, the newlyweds made their exit in a 1969 Mercedes 280 SL Pagoda, while guests were led to cocktail hour in the rose garden.
“ The property has this French countryside quality, but with the ease and natural beauty of Southern California.”
— JOURDAN SLOANE
Weddings - San Diego
The sit-down dinner was held at the estate’s limestone reception hall, L’Orangerie. Breathtaking antique murals were lit aglow in candlelight, while compositions of green sunflowers, chocolate Queen Anne’s lace, and deep-purple fruit spilled out onto the tablescapes. “It’s a space that feels straight out of a movie,” Wells says. “It really set a timeless backdrop for the night.”
Inside the after-party at the Parish House and the wine-tasting room, which was transformed into a French speakeasy called Chez Childress, late-night revelers kicked off their shoes and danced for hours to a deep house set by DJ Santiago, followed by sliders and fries. At the end of the night (after Jourdan had changed into a vintage Alexander McQueen lace dress), the newlyweds were, to no one’s surprise, the last two on the dance floor. “It was the most fun, joyful, and high-energy celebration,” Jourdan says. “The night felt completely like us.”
VENUE Cal-a-Vie Health Spa · PLANNING & DESIGN HauteFêtes · PHOTOGRAPHY
Jose Villa · FLOWERS Siren Floral Co. · DJ Santiago · CAKE Hey There, Cupcake! · ENTERTAINMENT Élan Artists · STATIONERY Alexa Pulitzer; Minted Weddings · HAIR
Kathleen Riley · MAKEUP Melissa Hernandez · CATERING The Farmhouse Catering · TRANSPORTATION Banyan Motors
Stargazers
Blythe Barger and Mark Riedy exchange vows at a brutalist oasis beneath Baja’s desert moon
Photography by MY SWELL LIFE BY DANIELA Words by CAROLINE CAGNEY
Blythe Barger and Mark Riedy met in August 2021 on a blind date in San Anselmo, where they instantly bonded over their love of architecture, their former lives in New York City, and the journey of raising daughters. “I found it really appealing that Mark loved being a girl dad,” says Blythe, a creative leader and production executive, who has one daughter. Mark, the founder and CEO of public relations agency True Comms, has two. A courtship ensued. Five months later, the couple flew to Todos Santos, Mexico, with their kids. “I’m not going to lie: It was bumpy,” Blythe says of introducing each other’s children. “But I liked that Mark was willing to roll up his sleeves when things got tough, and he pushed me to do the same. I really saw him as a partner, and we got through it.”
One year later, the couple moved into a midcentury Eichler house in Tiburon and recalibrated the space as they entered their new chapter. Life took an unexpected turn in the summer of 2024, when Blythe nearly lost her battle with a serious case of pneumonia. “Mark was my rock throughout that situation,” she says, explaining how the experience brought them even closer. Weeks later, on the eve of their third anniversary, Mark proposed in their backyard while their daughters captured the moment on camera. “It was such an easy yes,” Blythe says, adding, “because in my mind and in my heart, I was already there.”
The couple returned to Todos Santos to wed on October 25, 2025, at the Paradero hotel in front of 100 friends and family members. Flanked by lush desert blooms and views of the Sierra de la Laguna
Weddings - Mexico
Clockwise from top: The groom in a Sid Mashburn suit; Blythe’s daughter, Teddy, served as flower girl; the bride in a Grace Loves Lace dress and Rue de Seine veil; twinkling lights hang over the reception table.
Opposite: The Paradero hotel was designed by architects Yashar Yektajo and Ruben Valdez.
mountains, Blythe and her brother walked down the aisle to Cat Power’s “Sea of Love.” The bride wore a slip dress with a Rue de Seine veil hand embroidered with stars and a crescent moon in honor of the pair’s carefully selected wedding date. “We were in the phase of a waxing crescent moon, which is symbolic of new beginnings and building something,” she says of the motif, which also appeared on their invitation suite. “It became the theme of our big day.”
As a former executive at Pinterest, Blythe stepped into a familiar role — initially producing much of the affair herself — and used the platform’s inspiration boards to communicate with planner Michelle Condes of The Cabo Wedding Co., who took the reins as the day grew closer. “It was a very rainy season, so we wanted to embrace how tropical the desert felt,” says Blythe, who incorporated various shades of green throughout her event. “We picked succulents and mixed them with wildflowers for the tables,” she says. “We took cues from the natural surroundings so as not to compete with the brutalist architecture,” which she describes as “pure magic.”
After the ceremony, guests enjoyed signature hibiscus mezcalitas amid fragrant herb gardens and thickets of giant cardón cacti before sitting down for a candlelit feast of modern Mexican fare from the resort’s Michelin-recognized restaurant Tenoch. A marathon of speeches and toasting led to the newlyweds opening the floor with their first dance to “L-O-V-E” by Nat King Cole before everyone else joined in. The festivities continued with DJ Kelly Cole playing eclectic tunes while cocktails flowed — and when the hour turned late, the freespirited bunch took the dance party into the pool. “[Mark and I] were in the water, fully clothed,” Blythe says, “and I just remember thinking, This is going to be a good life together.”
Weddings - Mexico
VENUE & CATERING Paradero · PLANNING The Cabo Wedding Co
Swell
“We took cues from the natural surroundings so as not to compete with the brutalist architecture.”
— BLYTHE BARGER
The newlyweds. Opposite, clockwise from top: Blythe and Mark share a moment after the ceremony; a woven throw hangs in the Paradero hotel’s open-air walkway; the bride and groom with their daughters (from left) Rio Riedy, Poppy Riedy, and Teddy Barger; the pool at sunset.
Where the Heart Is
Rebecca Rittenhouse and
Kyle Robiskie
throw a garden party steeped in childhood memories at her family’s home in Pasadena
Photography by DANA FERRARO Words by CAROLINE CAGNEY
For Rebecca Rittenhouse, everything became crystal clear during a clumsy moment at home with venture capitalist Kyle Robiskie, when she dropped and broke a bottle of olive oil at her bare feet. “Without hesitation, [Kyle] picked me up, carried me to the sofa, and wouldn’t let me help clean it up,” the actor, producer, and Privet Beauty founder says of the moment early in their relationship. “It was such a simple act of service, but it meant a lot to me and spoke volumes about the kind of man he is.”
The Hollywood Hills couple met in September 2021 at San Vicente Bungalows in West Hollywood, where Rebecca spotted Kyle across a crowded bar. “I basically stared at him until he finally talked to me, although it took a while because he thought I was there with another guy,” she says. The evening ended in conversation on the patio, where the two planned to meet again for their first date the following weekend. “We clicked so effortlessly from day one,” Rebecca says.
Cocktail hour featured a 1940s-style jazz trio and a Negroni fountain, which was accidentally filled with the white version of the cocktail, causing guests to mistake it for water. “I think that may have contributed to the jovial party atmosphere,” Rebecca says, laughing. As guests mingled, the couple took photos on a balcony attached to Rebecca’s childhood bedroom, where florist Felisa Funes created a burgundy-red peony installation. “I used to stand [there] as a little girl imagining who I would marry someday,” she says. “So returning there on my wedding day felt surreal and emotional.”
Weddings - Pasadena
On their second anniversary, the couple returned to the site, where Kyle popped the question. After a two-year engagement, they wed in an intimate ceremony on November 22, 2025, at the First United Methodist Church in Pasadena, the bride’s hometown parish. “Since my mother passed away in 2019, it felt incredibly meaningful to get married in a space so connected to my family history and memories,” Rebecca says. She walked down the aisle to Nick Mulvey’s “Infinite Trees” wearing a custom Mark Ingram gown and capelet, surrounded by a riot of dark greenery and wispy trees. After exchanging their handwritten vows, the newlyweds and their guests proceeded to Rebecca’s father’s nearby home.
To make the most of the property’s lush palm-fringed grounds, Studio Sully helped set up culinary stations and a raw bar outside, offering caviar, oysters, robust salads, and steak. “We wanted it to feel more like the best dinner party rather than an overly formal production,” the bride says. After cutting the cake, Rebecca changed into a corseted minidress by Seline Meisner for a “full-blown millennial dance party” led by DJ Ross One in the living room (aptly named “Club Don” after Rebecca’s father). Late-night revelers fueled up on In-N-Out burgers, boozy vanilla milkshakes, and espresso martinis before returning to the dance floor. “Like a high school fantasy come true,” Rebecca says.
PLANNING Studio Sully · PHOTOGRAPHY Dana Ferraro · FLOWERS Of the Flowers · DJ Ross One · MUSIC (COCKTAIL & RECEPTION) Doll & Company · STATIONERY Noah Lee; Aardvark Letterpress · HAIR Bridget Brager · MAKEUP Ahna Ellis · CATERING Schaffer · GROOM’S TUXEDOS Ralph Lauren Purple Label · BRIDE’S RING Retrouvai · RECEPTION GOWN Custom Laura Vassar and Bill Bull
Weddings - Pasadena
Clockwise from top: Husband and wife; the alfresco reception at dusk; the couple open up the dance floor with “II Most Wanted” by Beyoncé and Miley Cyrus. Opposite, from left: The bride in custom Mark Ingram; the ceremony; a chocolate olive oil and raspberry cake by Between Two Cakes.
Promo
C DISCOVERIES
Mediterranean Odyssey
Four seaside retreats and secluded island hotels that channel the romance and mythic beauty of Homer’s world
Words by KERSTIN CZARRA
Aman Sveti Stefan is a 15th-century island village that seems to rise from the Adriatic.
SVETI STEFANI, MONTENEGRO
Aman Sveti Stefan
Travel
Few hotels anywhere can claim a setting this cinematic. AMAN SVETI STEFAN — reopening this summer after a hiatus — is built across a 15th-century fortified island village connected to the Montenegrin mainland by a narrow sandy causeway. It’s an entire island privatized for guests. The property is two experiences in one: Villa Miločer, the 19thcentury mainland residence of Queen Marija Karađorđević, set amid olive groves on a pink-sand shore with eight suites, a wisteria-shaded dining terrace steps from the water, and a library and the island of Sveti Stefan itself, opening July 1. On the island, reserve a stone cottage like the two-bedroom Saint Sava, with its north-facing terrace over Miločer Bay, or the 165-square-meter Sveti Stefan Suite, which has a private pool and panoramic sea views. Your dining options include Arva, Aman’s Italian concept rooted in fresh regional sharing plates, or Cliff Bar, perched above the sea for cocktails at what may be the Adriatic’s most atmospheric sunset. The Aman Spa spans nearly 27,000 square feet with hydrotherapy areas, cold plunge pools, and a 78-foot indoor-outdoor pool, with treatments incorporating wild autochthonous herbs. Lounge your way through three beaches, with Queen’s Beach remaining private for Aman guests throughout the season. amanresorts.com.
MUST-DO: Arrange a private boat excursion to Lake Skadar, the largest freshwater lake in southern Europe, which is ringed by mountains and monasteries and home to the Dalmatian pelican.
Clockwise from left: A view of the Villa Milocer; the Villa’s infinity-edge pool looks onto a rocky cypress-lined path that rolls down to the sea; the vaulted arch ceilings of the island cottages are original; the Chapel of St. Stefan, the 15th-century church, stands among olive trees and stone terraces.
Casa Bonavita
The origin story of CASA BONAVITA is as good as the hotel itself. Christopher and Suzanne Sharp — British founders of the Rug Company, with showrooms from Manhattan to Melrose Avenue — spent 15 years restoring this 1715 Maltese palazzo in the quiet village of Attard before opening it in May 2026. Suzanne grew up in Malta; the hotel is the place they always wished existed on the island, and you’ll feel that the moment you arrive. Interiors by her design studio layer soaring frescoed ceilings and original architectural details with family heirlooms, Sicilian marbles, Murano glass chandeliers, and commissions including hand-painted de Gournay wallpaper depicting 17th-century Valletta that wraps the intimate bar. Each of the 17 rooms has its own character, shaped by light and scale. If you can, hold out for the Folly Suite — a stand-alone oval-shaped building in a private garden of date palms and bougainvillea, with a rooftop terrace and private pool. The restaurant is led by executive chef Dex Oseman, formerly of The River Café, London, and centers on ingredient-led Mediterranean cooking, much of it locally grown. Start your mornings in the house kitchen, where oranges are pressed from the garden and Maltese pastries cool on the counter. Attard sits 20 minutes from Valletta and just beside the ancient walled city of Mdina, making it your ideal base for one of the Mediterranean’s most underwritten islands. casabonavita.com.
MUST-DO: Villa Bologna Pottery for ceramic workshops in the gardens of one of Malta’s great baroque estates, and Trabuxu Wine Bar in Valletta, a vaulted cellar with a strong list of Maltese labels.
Travel
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Hand-painted de Gournay wallpaper depicting 17th-century Valletta wraps the intimate bar.
Clockwise from bottom: The exterior facade of the palazzo with honeycolored limestone; the entrance hall at Casa Bonavita; the hotel’s restaurant is devoted to modern take on Mediterranean cuisine; one of the well-appointed rooms; dated palms dot the courtyard.
NERANO, AMALFI COAST, ITALY
Le Sirenuse Mare
Travel
Le Sirenuse has been the Amalfi Coast’s most quietly nonnegotiable address since 1951, when four Neapolitan siblings converted their family’s summer home in Positano into an eight-room hotel. John Steinbeck stayed the following year and wrote it up for Harper’s Bazaar Seventy-five years later, the Sersale family has finally opened what they’d been planning for decades: a beach club. Designed by Amalfi Coast architect Annarita Aversa, the 27,000-square-foot LE SIRENUSE MARE drapes across terraces ascending from a pebble beach. Landscape architect Paolo Pejrone planted 13 mature Aleppo pines to provide shade as you dine on the restaurant terrace. Art is everywhere: a 3.5-meter fountain in pearly white refractory clay by sculptor Giuseppe Ducrot anchors the upper terrace; Rose Wylie’s bronze Pineapple and Bosco Sodi’s raw clay Caryatide punctuate an olive grove above; Alba Clemente’s 39 painted ceramic tiles are embedded throughout the floors like a pack of cards scattered by the wind. Chef Francesco De Simone puts a spin on classic local dishes: his spaghetti alla Nerano swaps aged provolone for a fresh Campanian cow cheese, uses both the zucchini flower and the fruit, then finishes with a red prawn tartare. Lunch arrives on hand-fired ceramics inspired by Greek vase motifs, available to buy at the Emporio Sirenuse flagship store just steps away. sirenusemare.com.
MUST-DO: Book a table at Lo Scoglio, the family-run trattoria perched on a boulder above the sea that has been a Le Sirenuse favorite for years. Order the verdure miste, a copper pan of vegetables from the family farm.
Clockwise from left: Hand-painted Vietri tile floors in a room at Le Sirenuse; an outdoor bar at the luxury beach club; antique prints, crisp linens, and shuttered doors set the tone; a view of Positano from the water; curved white walls and Moroccan-style rattan at Le Sirenuse Mare.
Zannier Île de Bendor
Paul Ricard — the Marseille-born pastis magnate — bought a tiny 17acre island off Bandol in 1950 and spent the next decade building his idea of Mediterranean happiness: a car-free village with an art gallery, artisan ateliers, a diving center, and a harbor where celebrities and locals arrived by boat to eat, drink, and linger. The island fell into disrepair after his death, until his great-grandson Marc de Jouffroy partnered with Belgian hotelier Arnaud Zannier for a five-year restoration, reopened this May as ZANNIER ÎLE DE BENDOR. The aesthetic throughout — shaped by Arnaud Zannier and Marc de Jouffroy, and executed by Hardel Le Bihan Architectes and Zannier Design Studio — is warm wabi-sabi meets Mediterranean: dark neutrals, pale woods, dusky terra-cotta, with 200 artworks installed across the island. The 93 rooms span three separate retreats, each with its own personality: Delos (1960s Riviera glamour), Soukana (sea facing, nature focused, built around the wellness center), and Madrague (five two-story former fishermen’s houses with private gardens near the harbor). If you book the Delos Suite, you get 55 square meters of open-plan living flowing onto a 99-square-meter terrace with uninterrupted sea views. Eight dining venues are led by Michelinstarred Marseille chef Lionel Lévy. At the 1,200-square-meter Resonance Spa, try out its bioresonance diagnostic technology with a hammam, mud bath, Iyashi DÔme, and Augustinus Bader treatments, plus five personalized wellness programs. zannierhotels.com/bendor.
MUST-DO: Rent a vintage car, drive the Crus Classés vineyard route from Le Castellet to the coast, and end with a private tasting at a partner estate.
Pastis magnate Paul Ricard bought a tiny island off Bandol in 1950 and spent a decade building his idea of Mediterranean happiness.
Clockwise from bottom left: Le Grand
Large serves Provençal cuisine overlooking the sea; the courtyard pool exemplifies the North African–inflected architecture; the hotel is on a small island just off Bandol, the village buildings and harbor in the background; the spa’s indoor pool with sculptural plaster walls; a treatment room wrapped in the hotel’s signature warm light.
Just Add Soak
In California, ancient water rituals are being reimagined as social spaces, where wellness, culture, and connection meet
Words by KELLY
Early on a weekday morning in Sausalito, people climb down a narrow dock and jump into the San Francisco Bay. There’s always a moment of hesitation. Then they disappear under the surface, come up gasping, and start laughing. A few minutes later, they’re sitting shoulder to shoulder in a cedar sauna, wrapped in damp towels, talking to strangers as though they’ve known one another for years. No one checks their phone. No one is in a hurry to leave. This is Fjord, a floating sauna built from salvaged materials, tied up just off the waterfront and rooted in the Nordic conviction that moving the body between extremes of heat and cold is less a luxury than a necessity. You may have seen it on TikTok, a one-off experiment that’s an early sign of a larger shift. Versions of it are appearing across the state: places built around water in all its extremes. In San Francisco, Alchemy Springs is developing a 16,000-squarefoot bathhouse with thermal pools, salt caves, and a large event sauna. In Los Angeles, Likeminded and Pause have turned the hot-cold circuit
into a weekly ritual rather than a special-occasion booking. In West Hollywood, Remedy Place has the energy of a nightclub without the hangover. The spaces don’t serve the same purpose. Some are social by design, built for an evening out; some sit closer to traditional spa culture; some are built around guided protocols and measurable results. Thermalist, founded by Susanna Søberg, whose research centers on cold exposure and metabolic response, is expected to open in L.A. in late 2026. There’s serious money behind it: The global thermal spa and wellness market is valued in the tens of billions and is still climbing, helped by a growing body of research around heat, cold, and recovery. Cold exposure has been linked to the release of norepinephrine and dopamine and activation of the brown fat, the metabolically active tissue that helps the body generate heat. Søberg’s research suggests regular cold immersion can strengthen that response and improve blood regulation. The case for heat is even more established. A
ATTERTON Illustration by DEREK CHARM
long-running study in Finland associated frequent sauna use with significantly lower allcauses mortality and reduced cardiovascular risk. Together, the hotcold cycle works through hormetic stress — small, controlled doses of discomfort that help the body adapt, recover, and regulate stress more efficiently.
Bathhouse, a New York concept that turned a Williamsburg warehouse into a social wellness institution, has taken over the former Amoeba Music building on Sunset and is creating a 55,000-squarefoot complex with pools, steam rooms, and a rooftop lounge. It’s expected to open in 2028, when L.A. will already be focused on athletes, recovery, and performance as host of the Summer Olympics. “The Games will impact L.A.’s infrastructure and add more intent to wellness and recovery spaces that will last well past 2028,” says Courtney Wittich, who writes SPA, a Substack newsletter about water and wellness.
an evening out, where the activity is an ice bath instead of a cocktail, the sauna becomes the gathering point, and staying longer than planned is the whole idea. The ritual is familiar. The substance has changed.
California makes this practice easier than most places. The geography alone covers more of the thermal range than almost anywhere else in the country: Pacific coastline cold enough to stop your breath, desert mineral pools, mountain snowmelt running into the valleys, and natural hot springs fed by the same fault lines that define the state’s geology. Add to that a population shaped by generations of immigration, and you have something rarer still — a place where Korean jjimjilbangs, Japanese onsens and sentōs, Russian banyas, and other traditions have coexisted for decades, often side by side. “California has options,” Wittich says. “We’ve got the ocean, we’ve got hot springs, and then we’ve got all these different bathing cultures sitting next to each other. We have it all.”
Those traditions were never trends to the people who practiced them. For Korean Angelenos, the jjimjilbang is just where you go — part hygiene, part ritual, part social hour; visited regularly and without fanfare. Beverly Hot Springs, built over the only natural artesian well in Los Angeles, started attracting supermodels between shoots — Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell — who mentioned the mineral waters in interviews. For many people, it was an introduction to Korean bathing culture.
Beauty
Elsewhere, the state’s natural springs have been drawing people for much longer. Water filters through fractures in California’s mountain ranges, heats deeply underground, and rises back up rich in minerals, running its own thermal circuit long before anyone builds a cedar room around it. Along the cliffs of Big Sur, Esalen Institute has sat above the Pacific since before it had a name; the Esselen people used the site for 6,000 years before Michael Murphy and Dick Price opened the center in
The hot-cold cycle helps the body adapt, recover, and regulate stress more
At Fjord, cofounder Alex Yenni is direct about what the experience involves. “This isn’t a spa,” he says. “You’re jumping into 55-degree bay water and sitting on a wooden bench in a repurposed shipping container.” The people who keep coming back have surprised him — not the younger, outdoorsy crowd he anticipated, but women in their 40s and 50s, who return frequently. “Our most devoted regulars caught us off guard and forced us to examine why we were surprised in the first place,” Yenni says. What draws them, he thinks, is simpler than optimization: heat, cold water, a view of the bay, and other people willing to be in it with you. For years, the pursuit of better health operated in tension with social life. The choices that made people feel better helped integrate the two. Jonathan Leary kept hearing about it from clients at his private wellness practice: “The number one thing I heard was, ‘I feel incredible and you fixed all my health issues, but you ruined my social life.’ ” Remedy Place was built as a response. It’s a social wellness club, as Leary calls it, a place designed for
1962. In the desert, Two Bunch Palms has been a retreat since the studio era, its mineral pools fed by water dating back 600 years. None of it was designed to scale. The water was there, and people kept coming back. “We’re creating something new around practices that are ancient,” Leary says. “The evidence is the history.”
There are limits. Some of the hot springs that used to be open are now part of resorts or locked behind permit systems. And there is the question sitting plainly in the background. “We’re having a bathing renaissance in a state that is perpetually in drought,” Wittich says. Still, people keep showing up, and new places keep opening. At Fjord, Yenni has watched the same scene play out hundreds of times. “Many claim they won’t do it,” he says. “No jumping, no swimming, no plunging.” Then they do. People come for the heat, the cold, the recovery, the ritual— whatever they want to call it. They stay for something more meaningful: the chance to feel better, together.
WHEN IN LOS ANGELES
When In
The exotic pull of L.A. brought Nancy Silverton to her culinary corner on Melrose
Interview by ELIZABETH VARNELL
I was born in the San Fernando Valley, and we lived in Sherman Oaks, then Encino. But I didn’t realize the Valley had a bad rap until I was old enough to hitchhike to Sorrento Beach with a couple of friends and I saw a wall with graffiti that read “Vals Go Home.” I just knew that anytime my mom would drive me over the hill, as we called it, and we would go into Westwood, it just seemed so exotic.
I’ve lived in Windsor Square for three decades. Family, friends, weather, business, and the inability to load up 32 years’ worth of treasures keeps me here. I’ve collected cookbooks, mostly restaurant oriented, and my palate draws me to Mediterranean cooking. I love to support the cookbook world by shopping at NOW SERVING or CHEVALIER’S BOOKS in Larchmont. When I opened Campanile, I lived two blocks away from the restaurant, then moved upstairs. After that I never wanted to live more than 10 minutes from work. I love walking in my neighborhood. I have a route, three miles a day, and people drive in to join me. I’m spoiled.
Besides staying with me, if you’re downtown, I like the HOTEL FIGUEROA. There’s also THE GEORGIAN in Santa Monica, and a quirky place in Hollywood called CARA HOTEL. It was an old motel that’s been redone — one of those classic places where you look down on a pool and there’s a great little restaurant.
What Caryl Lee and her staff have created at NOODLE STORIES on 3rd Street is like a candy store or a jewel box. Her taste is fantastic,
and the way she curates the store is so simple — it’s really a pleasure. I get a facial every month at FACES EUROPEAN SKIN CARE, which I started doing 30 years ago. I also go to MARIANA CHICET Natural European Skin Care for creams. I put on layer after layer. When I’m in town, I tend to stay on my corner of Melrose and Highland, but I like to think about the most recent good meal I had out. In L.A. it was at REGALADE, a modest restaurant on 3rd Street with a very simple, straightforward menu.
The ORIGINAL FARMERS MARKET is a great multigenerational mix. There’s a sandwich place from Florence, ALL’ANTICO VINAIO, and I just took my granddaughter to BOB’S COFFEE & DONUTS
“We would go into Westwood, and it just seemed so exotic.”
I love HUNTINGTON MEATS and MONSIEUR MARCEL next door. If you have an empty pantry, that’s the place to go to fill it.
LITTLEJOHN’S CANDIES for English toffee, MAGEE’S HOUSE OF NUTS for peanut butter — there’s something for everyone.
I don’t know any city where a Sunday drive is more interesting than L.A. There are so many distinctive neighborhoods, so many tucked-away places and canyons. It’s something to see. I did fail my first driving test for not immediately looking in the rearview mirror. But I learned how to drive a stick, a manual transmission, and that’s what I drive now.
James Beard Award–winning chef Nancy Silverton has created new menus for Soho House West Hollywood’s Garden Restaurant. She also cofounded La Brea Bakery, Michelin-starred Osteria Mozza, and Max & Helen’s. Her next restaurant opening is Spacca Tutto in the Palisades.
Clockwise from left:
Nancy Silverton at Soho House West Hollywood; The Georgian Hotel in Santa Monica; the reimagined Cara Hotel; fried confections at Bob’s Coffee & Donuts; Regalade restaurant; Now Serving cookbook and culinary shop; Monsieur Marcel Bistro.
Nancy Silverton
ESCAPE IN A MOMENT
Getaway to a rare place where you can truly slow down. Where 220 acres surround our iconic Inn, offering space to unplug, cool off, and explore to your heart’s content. Dine al fresco under starlit skies, soak in the views from a dreamy poolside cabana, or pedal the trails with an artisan picnic in tow. Reset, recharge, and return to what matters. Your idyllic Ojai escape awaits.
