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ollywood legacies can be hard to live up to, but not for this next-generation cover star, Patrick Schwarzenegger. With his father, Arnold; his mother, Maria Shriver; and the Kennedy clan as extended family, Patrick has had to work that much harder to find his own identity. Mission accomplished, as he has been acting consistently for more than a decade while also launching his own business empire. That his breakout role in season three of The White Lotus has solidified Patrick’s star status is not a surprise to anyone who knows him. His dedication and drive are as impressive as his manners and truly lovely demeanor.
Passion is a through line throughout this issue, from L.A. artist Carl Hopgood’s mixed-media sculptures lit with neon phrases to a couple who lost everything in the Woolsey fire only to rebuild their Malibou Lake dream home better and smarter. We cover pioneering architecture in Palm Springs that melds the area’s dramatic natural landscape with stunning design, and we tour Dr. David Agus’s art-filled research and treatment headquarters, where he is fighting cancer in the most innovative ways as part of his lifelong commitment to eradicate this horrific disease. All the people we’ve profiled are committed to their calling, no matter how long it takes — which in this day and age of fast communication, fast friends, fast fashion, fast everything, is a welcome change.
Jennifer Smith Founder, Editorial Director and CEO
French lensman Jack Waterlot shot our cover and feature on Adam Brody, “Title is TK,” p. TK. Jack has been taking photographs since he was a teenager in Paris. In his early 20s he moved to Topanga Canyon before heading to the East Coast, where he began to shoot some of the world’s most iconic faces in fashion, music, and film for global brands and publications, including Tom Ford, Roberto Cavalli, Vogue, W, and Numéro
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Degen Pener, who penned “Title is TK title is TK,” p. TK, is a writer and editor based in West Hollywood who covers environment, design, and culture stories. He was most recently the deputy editor of The Hollywood Reporter, where he oversaw style, lifestyle, e-commerce, and culture coverage. He has previously written for The New York Times, Out, InStyle, Entertainment Weekly, Elle, Details, Wallpaper, Veranda, and New York Magazine
The lensman for our feature on artist Carl Hopgood (“Neon Dreams,” p. 38), Frank Ockenfels 3, started out photographing actors, musicians, and politicians for publications such as Rolling Stone, Esquire, Interview, Cream, New York Times Magazine, New York Magazine, Variety, and Spin, to name a few. His past subjects have included Nirvana, Barack Obama, Willie Nelson, George Clooney, Snoop Dogg, and Spike Lee, among others.
Tim Teeman, who penned “Taste of Success” (p. 24), is chief theater critic and a contributing writer at The Daily Beast. Previously, he worked at the Times of London. He still writes for the Times, as well as publications including Town & Country and the Guardian, and he is the author of the Amazon numberone best-selling biography In Bed With Gore Vidal: Hustlers, Hollywood, and the Private World of an American Master
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The family-run Italian tailoring maestros at CANALI (beloved by celebrities like George Clooney and Hugh Jackman) are reopening their Rodeo Drive flagship store, a manifestation of their dedication to traditional craftsmanship executed with modern finesse. The space has been architecturally reimagined to be in conversation with its surroundings, featuring double-height ceilings and oversize windows to welcome the world outside into the walls of the boutique. It will also host a VIP lounge, complete with an Italian-style bar, and a mezzanine with an immersive atelier to bring to life the brand’s history with the sartorial art of suit-making. 261 N. Rodeo Dr., Beverly Hills; canali .com. M.B.
The local legend BASIL RACUK wasn’t planning on moving; he was content humming along in semiretirement in his 24th Street studio. But the building was showing signs of age, and this summer Racuk opened up shop in the Mission District. The new 800-sq.-ft. location features soaring ceilings and a skylight, the perfect space for his atelier-shop-gallery, where you can find Racuk’s signature pieces: architectural bags made from buttery one-of-a-kind leathers, bespoke menswear crafted from limited-run textiles, and sculptural women’s clothing evocative of mid-century designers like Balenciaga. In addition to his own clothing design, he will host shows from local artists, creating a community-focused spot for creative endeavors of all kinds. 1089 Valencia St., S.F., 415-852-8550; basilracuk.com. M.B.
ult designer Patrik Ervell — a Northern California native known for combining gorpcore finesse with sleek, luxury menswear — has released a menswear capsule with New York brand PROENZA SCHOULER. This veteran of his own brand, plus L.A.-based knitwear label Vince and minimalist British line COS, has tightly edited a collection that mixes city street toughness with a bit of laidback West Coast élan. The black wool suit is elegant yet relaxed, while the beefy leather jacket is made for tossing over a tee while dining alfresco in Malibu. Other highlights are a
cobalt blue button-up shirt, an earthy brown wool officer’s coat, flannel coordinating sets, and bleached-out denim (each a one-of-a-kind piece). Oh, and the brand’s elevated, urbane take on the crunchy Birkenstock, a California classic if ever there were one. proenzaschouler.com. M.B.
The new BAR ISSI at the Thompson hotel in downtown Palm Springs, designed by Fettle, sports a vivid palette, curvaceous banquettes, and wallpaper with dancing crocodiles. The menu is more sedate, filled with easygoing dishes you might find on the Italian coast. Nibble on oysters and crudo, squash blossoms with ricotta and lemon, crispy octopus with smoked paprika, or shrimp linguini sparked by Calabrian chili. A wood-fired pizza oven turns out seasonal pies, and mains include roast chicken, branzino with preserved lemon, chops and steaks, and proper shoestring potatoes. Be sure to order the Italian spritz of Prosecco with blood orange juice and cardamom. 414 N. Palm Canyon Dr., Palm Springs, 442-334-2405; thebarissi.com S.I.V.
“Heroism, royalty, and the street,” are the words used to describe themes in a 1983 JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT exhibition at Larry Gagosian’s Los Angeles gallery in an archival press release. The typed document, along with receipts for 13 tubes of silver acrylic paint, shirts from Maxfield, and images of nearly 30 monumental works the Brooklyn-born artist created while living at the art dealer’s Venice residence comprise a new volume chronicling his prolific California visits in the early 1980s, JeanMichel Basquiat: Made On Market Street (Rizzoli, $100). In addition to chronicling three exhibitions in town, the book gathers candid photos, newspaper clippings, essays, and a conversation among the gallerist, filmmaker Tamra Davis, curator Fred Hoffman, and the artist’s sisters. rizzoli.com E.V.
Come November, a dream flight to Kahului commences. Complete with Hawaii-inspired fare from L.A. grocer Erewhon, as well as craft cocktails and spa-like flight essentials, the trips take place aboard AERO’s 12-passenger Gulfstream-IV planes. The jet service is based at Van Nuys Airport, where private terminals welcome travelers and their pets. Skip the endless lines to check surfboards, golf bags, and gear while flying direct to central Maui, opting instead for curbside check-in 20 minutes before takeoff, which still allows for oversize gear to be carefully stowed. To launch the new route, Aero is collaborating with the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea on getaways that begin with eight nights of airport parking and include last-minute access to rooms, priority dining reservations, and a host of other perks. The waves await. 323-745-2376; aero.com. E.V.
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Imagine your commute if you were able to avoid rush-hour congestion. A drive that might take a half an hour on a good day will literally fly by in four minutes with your own PIVOTAL HELIX electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The single-seat, allelectric personal aircraft is the aviation brand’s third-generation model capable of vertical landings and takeoffs. With a 20-mile range (on a full charge) and a cruise speed of 63 mph, short-distance jaunts are a breeze. Weighing just 348 lbs., the carbon fiber composite tilt aircraft can accommodate a pilot weighing up to 220 lbs. and a height of 6 feet 5 inches. And FAA Part 103 (Ultralight) category compliance for flight in Class G airspace means you don’t need a pilot license to soar above gridlock. pivotal.aero. D.N.
The hippie-meets-skater outdoors brand 18 EAST, which focuses on crafts and textiles, has popped up at the Mister Green store space along a trendy stretch in Los Feliz. The store took its cues from SoCal design; specifically, its indoor-outdoor layout and the public architecture that attracts skateboarders. The result is utilitarian chic: concrete floors and plywood shelving host the complete seasonal collection — think roomy pants, oversize button-ups, and retro outerwear, plus exclusive items like skate decks, a tote bag, and graphic T-shirts. Ceramics are courtesy of Shoshi Watanabe, a friend of the brand. The pop-up is slated to end in November, but 18 East designer Antonio Ciongoli says he’s open to finding a more permanent location. Here’s hoping. 3019 Rowena Ave., L.A.; 18east.co. M.B.
ucked under the A line train tracks in Chinatown, Mexico City–inspired CAFÉ TONDO dispenses freshly made cafe de olla scented with piloncillo sugar and cinnamon starting at 8 a.m.
A charming wooden pastry case displays festive conchas and moist pan de elote made with fresh corn, and spirals of the coveted cardamom buns from Clark Street Bakery. Stroll through the series of small indoor-outdoor rooms for your spot to enjoy chilaquiles topped with two fried eggs or masa-laced hot cakes. At 5 p.m., the evening menu kicks in, offering marinated olives, skewers of
gildas, fries with the house aioli. But also empanadas and tortas of carnitas, mushrooms or milanesa, which you can order on its own with salsa verde as a main plate. The other main is skirt steak frites with chimichurri. The café is a collaboration among first-time restaurateur and Mouthwash Studios cofounder Abraham Campillo, Mike Kang of Locale Partners, and chef Luis Luna. Think of it as a home away from home where regulars drop in for a coffee and a concha, and come back at dusk for a vermouth or a bite, relaxing in the vibe of this unique space. 1135 N. Alameda St., L.A.; cafetondo.com. S.I.V.
Will Rawls is traversing the HAMMER MUSEUM galleries with three performances of Unmade, a series of vignettes the dancer, writer, and choreographer created for the institution’s latest biennial, Made in L.A. 2025. Now in its seventh installment curated by Essence Harden, Paulina Pobocha, and Jennifer Buonocore-Nedrelow, the exhibition includes painting, sculpture, and photography, plus a mix of media by 28 artists from across the city. Sculptor and painter Alake Shilling, known for the enchanting creatures she dreams up, is also installing her work here. She and Rawls are joined by experimental filmmaker Pat O’Neill; inventor Carl Cheng, whose work explores technology, nature, and ecology; painter and muralist Alonzo Davis, who juxtaposes fragments from other cultures and his own; and many more. Each work is tied to the city, and many will inspire a second look at the streetscapes, flora, and vistas we think we know. 10899 Wilshire Blvd., L.A., 310-443-7000; hammer.ucla.edu E.V.
The wolf claw, a symbol of fierceness, headlines jewelry brand FOUNDRAE’s fall launches, designed to remind wearers to gird themselves and strengthen their resolve. The Protection collection, created by founder Beth Hutchens, includes a mix of white and yellow gold medallions, chains emblazoned with pavé diamond details, and onyx and malachite stones. In addition to 18-karat yellow gold La Loba Claws, there are signet rings symbolizing journeys of self-discovery and modern heirlooms with images of horseshoes, suns and moons, or numbers for personal expression. Interlocking chains hold dream medallions close to chests, while the guiding stars, divine triangles for fire and transformation, and arrows for careful aim serve as daily guides toward goals. 8405 Melrose Pl., L.A., 323-4244304; foundrae.com. E.V.
Fall designs for Nicolas Bijan’s by-invitation NB44 brand include pilot jackets in waterproof silk, reversible bombers in navy plaid and green silk, double-faced cashmere coats, and a handful of sport jackets that are already rolling out to members in packed trunks. The personalized edits of the made-in-Italy designs may also include peak lapel tuxedos and dinner jackets for upcoming galas alongside precisely shaped cotton T-shirts, silk knits, and denim jeans in an assortment of colors for athletes and A-listers alike. Those in the know (7,000 and counting), whose annual $12,000 membership fee gives them access to this convenience, can select wardrobe additions each season through a private digital platform launched in 2023, and they have the option to add new silhouettes to closets or send items back in the trunks. New members are admitted by referral. nb44.com. E.V.
Mei Lin is making another grand entrance at 88 CLUB in Beverly Hills, a swanky Chinese bistro where she’s using a deft modern touch with the comfort dishes she once ate and cooked at her family’s restaurant. Start with the jade marble lazy Susan twirling a chrysanthemum and peanut salad, sesame prawn toast, or a bowl of plump prawn and bamboo shoot wontons in a master chicken stock. Lin’s childhood favorite appears as Nam Yu roasted chicken perfumed with ginger scallion oil. Sommelier Diana Lee has constructed a food-friendly, mostly French list, and mixologist Kevin Nguyen deals in Asian flavors and turns house-made infusions into sophisticated cocktails. Order the gimlet dosed with pear brandy, shiso leaf, and bitter melon and drink to the prosperity and good fortune symbolized by the number 8. 9737 S. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills, 310-968-9955; 88clubbh.com. S.I.V.
Massive folding chairs, a colossal card table, and enormous dishes stacked higher than eye level that seem ready to tip are some of ROBERT THERRIEN’s most recognizable meditations on scale and material. The Broad’s new show and the largest exhibition of his work to date, Robert Therrien: This is a Story, has all those immersive sculptures and much more among over 120 works spanning five decades of the L.A.-based artist’s practice. The daring dimensional pieces, realistically fabricated and often functional ordinary objects, toy with a viewer’s perspective to playful Alice-in-Wonderland effect. Minimalist drawings are also here in this deep dive that includes partial reconstructions of the artist’s studio. Nov. 22, 2025–April 5, 2026. 221 S. Grand Ave., L.A., 213-2326200; broad.org. E.V.
Whether you have them in constant rotation or you avoid them outright, it’s time to rethink your relationship with clogs. STERLING RUBY’s new sculptural silhouette, a collaboration between his S.R. Studio LA. CA. and OTW BY VANS, is a fusion of two shoe types: mules and Dutch klompen. The functional aspect of the aerodynamic-looking kick, called FUTURE CLOG, is deeply rooted in Ruby’s family heritage. He recalls his grandfather wearing a version of the footwear in the Netherlands while making green-painted gardening
tools in his shop. Ruby embraced the traditional characteristics while transforming them into a bolder angular shape. The L.A.-based multimedia artist, whose work is part of permanent collections at MoMA, London’s Tate Modern, and Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, launched his ready-to-wear and accessories brand after experimenting with hand-worked textiles and traditional American craft for years. His latest Vans drop also includes socks, a jersey, and a bag, all in marbled yellow, in addition to Old Skool sneakers and matching Authentic versions of the skate shoe to rule them all. vans.com. E.V.
Blackness as a source of life on earth — imagined through Mikael Owunna’s photographs of models speckled with fluorescent paints and shot in darkness, evoking celestial grandeur — is part of the transportive group exhibition Unbound: Art, Blackness, and the Universe at San Francisco’s MUSEUM OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA. The show, which centers around the limitless possibilities of the cosmos with works by multigenerational artists, marks the museum’s 20th anniversary and spans all three floors. Key Jo Lee, chief of curatorial affairs and public programs at MoAD, organized the exhibit, which addresses metaphysical themes, creation myths, and a post-human future with paintings, collages, glass sculptures, and installations. 685 Mission St., S.F., 415-358-7200; moadsf.org. E.V.
After launching eyewear and sunglasses last year, BRUNELLO CUCINELLI is back with more luxe styles. For those who like to spend time on the snow-covered slopes of Mammoth or Tahoe, the brand is introducing ski goggles in bronze. Two new styles take their cues from classic Hollywood characters: a sleek engraved pair of sunglasses is inspired by Al Pacino’s character Carlito Brigante in Carlito’s Way, and a sleek rimless style pays homage to Brad Pitt’s punkish Tyler Durden in Fight Club. But perhaps the most noteworthy new style is the most opulent: the Mr. Brunello Goldcraft 1978 Edition, an existing model made in a limited run of 78 pairs, featuring 18-karat gold hardware and delivered in a special edition metal box and leather case. brunellocucinelli.com
This fall, the fabled French DIOR is bringing its savoir faire to Rodeo Drive with a four-floor, 48,000-sq.-ft. flagship that mirrors its iconic Parisian location on Avenue Montaigne. Designed by architect Peter Marino, the store will feature a sleek white facade that opens into a sweeping central staircase that unfurls through three stories of lushly manicured gardens. The store brings together everything in the Dior universe: men’s and women’s, leather goods, home, jewelry, and fragrance — plus, at opening, items exclusive to the location, including a Beverly Hills–branded sneaker in gray and mint green and a graphic T-shirt for men. The top level will host a VIP lounge, complete with a terrace and astonishing views of Beverly Hills. It’s the perfect time for the A-list favorite to reassert itself along one of fashion’s most famous shopping thoroughfares dior.com. M.B.
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To ma de this said, ou’re so nice, but your chara cter is so mean.’ ” The refer The White Lotus, iwhich he plays Saxon, the arrogant, six-pack-endowed oldest child of the rich and strife-riven Ratliff family. With his debut in season three of the HBO drama, he has gotten used to people shouting one of Saxon’s most famous lines at him: “So what kind of porn do you like?” Today, in a chichi New York hotel dressed in sweats, his tousled hair hidden under a baseball cap, the quietly spoken, very un-Saxon Schwarzenegger has just landed on the red-eye from Los Angeles for a week of TV appearances, including Good Morning America, The Drew Barrymore Show, and The Kelly Clarkson Show. The handsome 31-yearold actor — who lives in Santa Monica with his fiancée, the model Abby Champion — is on a promotional tour for the show. Playing Saxon could be a ticket to the big time for the son of movie star and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, thea Monica with his fiancée, the model Abby Champion — is on a promotional tour for the show. Playing Saxon could be a ticket to the big time for the son of movie star and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, the journalist, author, and niece of former President John F. Kennedy.
Each season of The White Lotus is set at an international outpost of the fictional luxury journalist, author, and niece of former
Each season of The White Lotus is set at an international outpost of the fictional luxury hotel chain. The dark comedy — the creation of Mike White, who writes, directs,
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and executive produces every episode — is a heady stew of outrageous twists, sex, murder, and partying from the entitled elites and scammers staying at the hotels and the long-suffering staff who serve them. The show became appointment viewing during the pandemic, with its debut season set in Hawaii. Season two was in Sicily, folngeles for a week of TV appearances, including Good Morning America, The Drew Barrymore Show, and The Kelly Clarkson Show. The handsome 31-year-old actor — who lives in Santa Monica with his fiancée, the model Abby Champion — is on a
viewing during the pandemic, with its debut seasIn the current season, the Ratliffs are typical White Lotus guests: wealthy, full of secrets, and terrible at communicating — with life-changing tribulations threatening to engulf them. By the sixth episode, Saxon is contemplating the nature of his apparent sexual desire for his younger brother, Lochlan (played by Sam Nivola). His father, Tim (Jason Isaacs), is facing ruin and contemplating suicide. Mother Victoria (Parker Po Isaacs), is facing ruin and contemplating suicide. Mother Victoria (Parker Posey and her
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promotional tour for the show. Playing Saxon could be a ticket to the big time for the son of movie star and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, the journalist, author, and niece of former President John F. Kennedy.
Each season of The White Lotus is set at an international outpost of the fictional luxury hotel chain. The dark comedy — the creation of Mike White, who writes, directs, and executive produces every episode — is a heady stew of outrageous twists, sex, murder, and partying from the entitled elites and scammers staying at the hotels and the long-suffering staff who serve them. The show became appointment
much-memed Southern accent) is mainlining the anxiety drug lorazepam, and daughter Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook) is on a spiritual journey toward Buddhism.
Growing up in L.A., family life couldn’t have been more different. Schwarzenegger was inspired by watching his father working on movie sets, including The Terminator, Total Recall, and True Lies. “Being around fame has probably been beneficial,” Schwarzenegger says. “I don’t act so I can be famous. Is it cool when someone comes up to you says, ‘I love your work and character’? Yes, it feels great. But I don’t mind if that doesn’t happen. What it does do is open doors for filmmakers, writers, and directors hopefully considering
me for future projects.”His acting career began at age 10 in the film The Benchwarmers. After earning a bachelor’s degree from the USC Marshall School of Business, he won roles in movies (including Midnight Sun in 2018, his first leading role, opposite Bella Thorne) and TV sehe USC Marshall School of Business, he won roles in movies (including Midnight Sun in 2018, his first leading role, opposite Bella Thorne) and TV series (including The Staircase). Before The Wries (including The Staircase). Before The White Lotus he played Luke Riordan/ Golden Boy, the protagonist
“I don’t ask my dad for any acting advice. He’s a movie star,” he says of his father. “It’s not that I don’t want to become that one day, but I want to focus on trying to get my feet wet in acting roles, then one day come to do those types of movies. We have two different routes of how to go about it. He’s all about, ‘You should be number one on the call sheet, the biggest name, your name should be on the poster. Go big.’ I’m of the opposite mindset. By going small and continually growing with my roles, I’m trying to build my As Saxon Ratliff, his pivotal scene with Lochlan (and all the confused feelings) left Saxon seemingly shaken and broken, and Schwarzenegge him: “So what kind of porn do you like?” Today, in a chichi New York hotel dressed in sweats, his tousled hair hidden under a baseball cap, the quietly spoken, very un-Saxon Schwarzenegger has just landed on the red-eye from Los Angeles for a week of TV appearances, including Good Morning America, The Drew Barrymore Show, and The Kelly Clarkson Show. The handsome 31-yearold actor — who lives in Santa Monica with his fiancée, the model Abby Champion — is on a promotional tour for the show. Playing Saxon
In the middle of the first season of Nobody Wants This, Noah Roklov, the dishy rabbinext-door played by Adam Brody, explains to his almost-girlfriend Joanne (portrayed by Kristen Bell) why candles are lit on Shabbat. According to one interpretation of this tradition, he tells her, the candles represent the two temples that were destroyed in ancient Jerusalem. “We light them,” he says, “to remind us that buildings can crumble, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is gathering with people we care about. So Shabbat can happen anywhere.”
“Kind of like a pop-up,” Joanne replies. In retrospect, this moment in the Netflix hit romantic comedy — one of many that underscore the culture chasm the couple must bridge to get to their happy ending — feels achingly prescient. When Adam Brody; his wife, the actor Leighton Meester; and their two children lost their home in the Palisades Fire, a sense of community provided an almost instant silver lining.
“It was a lot of things all at once and a lot of things that bubbled up after,” Brody
says of the fire. “You realize that because the whole town burned, so many connections were severed. Infinite connections. We’re all these people scattered to the wind. And yet — it sounds perverse, and it sounds privileged — like COVID, there are parts of this time in my life that I’ll be nostalgic for. Our family has never been closer. I think about our sweet neighbor who knocked on my door to let us know there was fire. I think about the security guard at my daughter’s school: We’re evacuating, and it’s really bearing down on everyone, there are helicopters dropping water right over us, it’s turning into bedlam, and here is this security guard shepherding all these kids to their parents in the midst of the chaos. The school did not survive, but that connection with people in your tender moment, I’ll never forget it. When you’re raw, it feels so good.”
We’re having a late breakfast at Cora’s Coffee Shoppe on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica. Brody’s surfboard is in the car, and while promotion of the second season of Nobody Wants This is in full swing, he’s not filming anything else at the moment, and there’s enough time to head to his favorite break in Malibu. Brody, 45, has been surfing since his childhood in San Diego, although the fate of his favorite pastime seemed in doubt for much of the last year.
“For a while it was such an open question: What does L.A. mean to us now? Can we picture ourselves here?” he recalls. “But then things started coming back to life. We started coming back to life. The fact that I’m surfing Malibu again — after thinking, ‘Oh, this is so devastated and so toxic and that part of my life is gone’ — it makes me feel, more than anything, hopeful,” he says, sipping his grapefruit juice.
There is little doubt that Nobody Wants This came at a time when audiences needed the serotonergic spritz of a rom-com, faced as they were with a dystopian television and film landscape that has made little space recently for a once-cherished genre. Erin Foster’s show focuses on the love story of a basketball-playing, pot-smoking rabbi and an agnostic shiksa who recounts her sexual peccadilloes on a podcast. It’s about people from different traditions and the by turns absurd and poignant ways in which they and their hilarious families navigate those differences. The show’s second season premieres next month.
“This is a beloved genre that hasn’t taken all that many swings as of late,” Brody says, “and this one clearly works as a funny romantic show with a central love story that you care about. More than anything, I think that’s it. The religious angle of it is, on one hand, a nice stand-in for any difference in a
relationship, any obstacle. And at the same time, whatever the state of the world, it also shows that there’s a real love out there for Jewish culture. It’s a culture cherished by not just Jews. But it’s a romantic comedy first and foremost.”
Brody is a person for whom acting was “a shot in the dark.” He had never even been in a play growing up. But at age 19, without any clear academic or professional direction, he decided to move to Los Angeles on a whim and with the tepid blessing of his parents. He worked at a couple of clothing stores on the Promenade in Santa Monica and parked cars at the Beverly Hills Hotel. While he remembers those early days as lonely and anxiety-filled, he was one of the lucky ones: After about a year, he was able to support himself as an actor, and at age 23 he landed a breakout role as Seth Cohen on The O.C. The soapy teen drama was a smash, and Brody instantly became the paradigmatic hot nerd as well as television’s most famous half-Jewish kid, introducing American audiences to the hybrid holiday of Christmukkah. Although it ran for only four seasons, The O.C. has found a new audience in Gen Z, which Brody attributes to a broader nostalgia for the aughts.
“It’s the last of the pre–cell phone eras. It was a more innocent time, war on terror and all,” he explains. “Even though 9/11
» The whole town burned but, like COVID, there are parts of this time I’ll be nostalgic for. Our family has never been closer. «
ADAM BRODY
» The fact that I’m surfing Malibu after thinking ‘This is so devastated’ makes me feel hopeful . «
ADAM BRODY
took away our innocence, I still think the current generation has faced so much more of a loss of innocence and probably feels so much more threatened. I know I do. I’m not going to list all the horrors, but there’s just so much coming at us: fires and floods, geopolitical intensity, authoritianism-slashfascism, technology, AI, social media. And by the way, I think Nobody Wants This offers something similar to The O.C. It isn’t about the threat of AI. It’s about people falling in love and navigating very relatable but ultimately surmountable problems. We want them to have a happy ending, and I think they will. That’s what the show is designed to do, and that’s what the show’s in service of.”
That Brody now regularly sees his character described as a “hot rabbi” provides an amusing redux 20 years after Seth Cohen, all the more so because Judaism played such a small part in his own upbringing. “Even though I was Bar Mitzvah-ed, I barely knew what Shabbat was myself,” he says. “True story. I didn’t really grow up around other
Santa Monica remains a focus point: He and Meester recently made a date night out of Nashville at the Aero Theater, and the whole family joined a rally against immigration raids in Palisades Park.
Brody is a diehard West Sider, even if he has some regret about never having had an Eagle Rock moment in his 20s. The ocean beckons too powerfully. “You’re in this dense metropolis, and then suddenly it breaks off into this infinite wilderness,” he says. “That dichotomy I’ve always loved so much. There’s a beautiful, desolate side to the sea that I’ve always found very calming on a foggy morning. People complain about the marine layer. I think that’s insane. It’s sunny 300 days of the year here. You don’t want 65 days of a nice, cool fog?”
There are certainly worse fates than being Hollywood’s most heart-throbbing reader of the Torah, but a track record of films such as the cult horror flick Jennifer’s Body and the TV crime drama StartUp
Jewish people. My idols were all surfers, and before that your typical Michael Jordan, Hulk Hogan kind of thing. It wasn’t until much later that I was like, oh, Lou Reed. Philip Roth. When I was cast in Nobody Wants This, initially I thought, ‘Noah’s very religious, and I don’t identify with that.’ And then very quickly I thought, ‘That’s what makes this a great part for me. That’s what gives me something to do.’ I still feel that way. Actually, the sermons are some of the stuff I enjoy most. They allow me to try to inhabit someone with a very different language and worldview.”
Although he spends some of his free time developing scripts with friends or noodling on drums and guitar, he has his hands full with a 10-year-old daughter and a five-year-old son. Brody loves to take his kids to the Santa Monica Pier on a Tuesday afternoon after school and hit the roller coaster and the arcade. On weekends, the family may take the bike path from Will Rogers Beach all the way to Hermosa.
suggests Brody is not keen to be typecast. He is always on the lookout for sharp, interesting stories with a point of view and a personality, in any genre.
“At the same time, nothing feels better to me than the pleasure of evoking laughter,” he says. “Right now I think that’s something we all need more of.” •
» Nothing feels better than evoking laughter. I think that’s something we all need more of. «
ADAM BRODY
In the 1970s, when I was a kid growing up in San Antonio, we visited family on holidays who lived in far corners of the state. These were places still attached in rhythm and style to a time gone by — no grown man set foot outdoors without a western hat. The old-timers, the ones who’d made it in the oil, ranching, or other related business, mostly wore what was considered the “gentleman’s cowboy hat”: a Stetson Open Road. Or if they enjoyed dressing up when they weren’t in field clothes and embraced the flair of western wear — whipcord suits with yoked seams on the shoulders and darts shaped like arrowheads — they likely chose a silverbelly Range, with its narrow brim kicked up on the sides to form a pleasing little swoop cantilevered just over the brow. This was my grandad’s hat of choice, which, in old-Hollywood western style, he cocked to one side.
As I got older, I inherited a few family Stetsons. Some fit, some didn’t, but I kept them as signifiers of my past; they reminded me of the place and people I came from. When I began my career as a magazine editor and writer in New York, my grandad’s hat moved with me. Eventually, as the editor of several fashion and style publications, I got the opportunity to see and understand what true handmade luxury looks like up close. I traveled to the Veneto, a cradle of leather craft, to witness the creation of a bench made pair of brogues. I visited the ateliers of the world’s great bespoke tailors, from Savile Row to Naples. And I learned what a “MOF” is — the acronym (Meilleur Ouvrier de France) used to refer
to the country’s topmost master craftsmen — and had seen them at work in couture houses. I somehow knew all this, and yet, until a recent visit to Stetson’s hat-making headquarters in Texas, had no idea that its extraordinarily painstaking process and meticulous standards of quality represent a true American equivalent.
In case you haven’t noticed, cowboy hats are in the midst of a comeback, thanks to western hats being embraced as symbols of style across the pop-cultural spectrum, from big luxury fashion labels and major music icons to juggernaut TV shows. These days, as a result, Stetson not only makes three times more cowboy hats than it does any other style, its hat-making operation, which remains largely the same as it was
» In case you haven’t noticed, cowboy hats are in the midst of a comeback, thanks to western hats being embraced as symbols of style across the pop-culture spectrum. «
windows, industrial fans encrusted with ancient lint, and a giant retro sign — “Good Hats Make Steady Jobs” — that might have been hung when LBJ, an Open Road enthusiast, was president. Hat-business people call a place like this the “Back Shop.”
A dense, wild animal odor hung in the air, and wisps floated about the space like indoor snow, as fur from 250-pound bales was being blown through two very long shafts — antique cotton gins retrofitted with comb rollers. By this process, the hair is separated from the down, and it is down — when exposed to heat, moisture, and pressure — that miraculously forms into felt (as the Mongols, those twelfth-century cowboys of the Steppe, found out when the fur pelts they wrapped their feet with transformed through use into a material that was both insulating and waterproof).
in a synchronized flow, it takes about eight-
Stetson. The former comes from
more than a century ago, finds itself in a happy predicament. Like a small handful of top Swiss watchmakers or a certain maison of luxury French leathergoods, Stetson these days can barely keep up with demand. As with other artisanal enterprises that make exceptional things using traditional methods, Stetson’s output is a painstaking operation that hangs in the balance of three fluctuating ingredients: the finite availability of premium felting material; the limited number of highly trained human hands; and the mechanical dependability of a last-of-its-kind fleet of rare machines, some of which date back to 1892. At full hum, when everything’s moving in a synchronized flow, it takes about four weeks to transform an eightounce blob of down — mostly rabbit with varying amounts of beaver mixed in — into a Stetson. The former comes from Eastern Europe, where rabbit is often on the menu, and fur production is a by-product of the farming process. Beaver, however, must be trapped in the Canadian wild. Its fur, which is more water repellent, is less plentiful and more desirable. The more Xs a Stetson has — the range goes from six to a thousand X — the more beaver it contains, and the more $s it costs.
Almost a thousand years later, Stetson’s process of making felt is a science that blends man and machine. But it still takes a lot of time for the trained hands of around eighty people divided among eight distinct and detailed jobs to turn that blob of down into an unshapen, floppy thing called a “hat body,” which is as much an approximation of a hat as a bolt of wool flannel is to a suit. One strangely looks like a Gemini space capsule, and the man or woman who operates what’s called The Former must, not unlike an astronaut, become one with the quirks of his machine. Those eight ounces of down are vacuum-sucked onto a large metal cone that you can see spinning through a port window of the Former’s closed hatch door. The cone, now flocked with down, is next hand-wrapped with a wet burlap blanket, sheathed with a second cone, and submerged in a nearby tub of water that’s been heated to 160 degrees. This step forces hot water through the mat of hair fibers, which, individually, look like barbed rose stems under a microscope, condensing and shaping them into what’s called a “boat sail” — a triangular cap whose name captures its exaggerated scale. At this point, it’s about eight times the size of the cowboy hat it will eventually become.
to crap out. (The Back Shop maintains three machine shops on-site.) Station by station, the cap gets rolled under pressure, wrapped and rolled again, soaked, and squeezed until it becomes about a quarter of its original size. Then it gets dyed in large stainless steel vats (Stetson’s colorways are proprietary and mixed by hand in Longview) and lightly shellacked, which fortifies the felt to hold its future shape. That process begins with the “tipper,” who, now that the shrinking process has made the felt thick and dense, carefully applies the power of his shaping machine, which pushes and pulls the hat down over a molded block as he slowly works to define the crown.
unlike any I’d seen; it was fluffy and white and reminded me of a large,
town of some eighty thousand people
I say blob, but this was a blob unlike any I’d seen; it was fluffy and white and reminded me of a large, freshly whipped cloud of cotton candy. I was standing at the far end of a long, low-slung building in Longview, a town of some eighty thousand people in East Texas. The place had what you might call old-factory charm, including a hundred-yard wall of steel
seven
pair specialized human expertise with specialized
From there, each boat sail is cycled through a series of some seven different operations that pair specialized human expertise with specialized antique machinery prone
The next and final step is “wetblocking,” which also requires great touch and experience, knowing how to mold and stretch the felt without tearing it to shreds. A wet-blocking machine is a little like a giant waffle iron, except the hot ingredient is water. There are three of these machines, and
they’re all ancient and finicky, requiring a new recruit anywhere from four to six months of training to become proficient. They also break down a lot. As a result the company recently commissioned a tool builder in Missouri to create a new one, based on the physical size and movements of an employee who has worked here for fifty-one years.
Instead of Model-T technology, the new Blocker is pneumatic and has a computerized brain. That doesn’t mean it operates itself. Among other things, not only does the hat have to be placed just so in order for a series of little finger-like clamps to hold onto the brim as a hot mold stamps down to further form the crown and “break” the brim, but a wet blocker has to know when the felt is the perfect stage of al dente so it’s neither too early nor too late to manipulate its shape.
After that, all that’s left is for the hats to dry before they get shipped a 120 miles west to Stetson’s “Front Shop,” which is located in Garland, a suburb of the Dallas metroplex.
The setup here is even bigger — there’s a separate factory building dedicated to making only straw hats, which amounts to about a third of Stetson’s overall production. Shafts of steam exhale toward the corrugated ceiling, and there’s a constant rat-tat-tat from a troika of irreplaceable Singer 103 sewing machines that were designed for one of the most challenging tasks in the whole factory — backstitching a hatband made of leather to the inner rim of the crown.
“Dozens” — wood trolleys carrying hats in job orders of twelve — are everywhere, as they make some thirty different stops on the way to becoming a finished hat. (Stetson makes about 250 dozen per day.) A taste of these stops includes: two sessions of dry blocking; more shellacking; “pouncing” (a multistep process by which the felt is conditioned with fine oil and then sanded to achieve different textures); brim cutting; brim beveling; trimming (an eight-station process involving the creation of a Stetson’s interior features, from “swirling” the satin lining to sewing in the bow at the back); and two different points of inspection overseen by two of Stetson’s most veteran employees, who look for “dags,” color imperfections, “shoves,” anything that’s off. A hat that doesn’t make it past them is called a “knockdown.” About a hundred per day don’t meet the bar.
As anyone who owns a Stetson knows, there are many styles to consider, from the fedora-like Stratoliner and “crushable” outdoor numbers to the iconic, western-style Boss of the Plains. Part of figuring out which one’s right for you is learning a little about what the different creases and brim shapes
mean. In the old days, they often signified a wearer’s profession — cowpunch, bronc rider, barrel racer, outlaw, or horse breaker, as Cormac McCarthy describes the hero of All the Pretty Horses, whose hat is mentioned repeatedly though never described. Stetson has some fifty-four different crown-style molds, and as many brim flange-molds as there are degrees to a parabola.
I, myself, prefer an Open Road, and have always owned one even when I was trying to convince people in New York that I didn’t have a Texas accent. At the factory, I felt I should try something new, so I plucked out a snuff-brown El Patron, a high-crown cowboy hat that strikes a note of self-possessed boldness. I wanted it to have a Cattleman crease with sides that curve sharply upward, like James Dean’s in Giant
The factory manager and I walked over to the crown press. He put a crown mold in a small metal hole and placed the crown of the hat into it upside down. Then a hydraulic press descended, inflating a balloon to 100 psi where your head goes. After sixty seconds, out came the hat, its iconic crease beautifully minted. “Cattleman all day long,” he said, as we walked to a double-row of Flange Brim machines. The hat was again dropped in a hole and placed on a flange that looked like an upside down taco. A top mold squeezed the felt brim between the two pieces of metal, which had been steamheated to 260 degrees.
He gingerly plucked the hat onto a second flange and lay several small sandbags on its brim so it would hold its shape as it cooled. After that, I put my hat on, swo he could eyeball it for any imperfections. “Yes, sir,” he said, meaning, it had met the Stetson standard. Only one thing left. A customary part of inspecting a hat is, as they say, “popping it.” You do this by gently pinching the front of the crown to test the resistance of the felt. Some people like a stiff hat that’s hard to pinch; others like one that’s softer and as a result makes a little pop as it reassumes its former shape.
“The sound is that immediate gratification,” my guide had told me back in Longview. “But the feel is what’s important.” I gave my El Patron a pop, which sounds more like a thwip. The sound was pleasing, indeed. But what he said was true: What makes a Stetson a Stetson is its feel, which is that of sculpted cashmere, and is something that’s easy to like. I have come to think this is one of the chief reasons I myself now rarely set foot outdoors without one on my head. Excerpted from Stetson: American Icon (Rizzoli, $100). •
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Mo made this said, ‘You’re so nice, but your character is so mean.’ ” The reference is to The White Lotus, in which he plays Saxon, the arrogant, six-pack-endowed oldest child of the rich and strife-riven Ratliff family. With his debut in season thretrife-riven Ratliff family. With his debut in season thre of the HBO drama, he has gotten used to people shouting one of Saxon’s most famous lines at him: “So what kind of porn do you like?”
Today, in a chichi New York hotel dressed in sweats, his tousled hair hidden under a baseball cap, the quietly spoken, very un-Saxon Schwarzenegger has just landed on the red-eye from Los Angeles for a week of TV appearances, including Good Morning America, The Drew Barrymore Show, and The Kelly Clarkson Show. The handsome 31-yearold actor — who lives in Santa Monica with his fiancée, the model Abby Champion — is
» Lorem ipsum quote lorem fare so quell ipsum quello lorem ipsum in California's epic nature salon . «
SOME ONNE
on a promotional tour for the show. Playing Saxon could be a ticket to the big time for the son of movie star and former California
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, the journalist, author, and niece of former President Jwarzenegger has just landed on the red-eye from Los Angeles for a week of TV appearances, including Good Morning America, The Drew Barrymore Show, and The Kelly Clarkson Show. The handsome 31-year-old actor — who lives in A baseball cap, the quietly spoken, very un-Saxon Schwarzenegger has just landed on the redeye from Los Angeles for a week of TV appearances, including air hidden under a baseball cap, the quietly spoken, very un-Saxon Schwarzenegger has just landed on the red-eye from Los Angeles for a week of TV
Saxon could be a ticket to the big time for the son of movie star and former California
appearances, including Good Morning America, The Drew Barrymore Show, and The Kelly Clarkson Show. The handsome 31-yearold actor — who lives in Santa Monica with his fiancée, the model Abby Champion — is on a promotional tour for the show. Playing Saxon could be a ticket to the big time for the son of movie star and former California
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, the journalist, author, and niece of former President John F. Kennedy. A baseball cap, the quietly spoken, very un-Saxon Schwarzenegger has just landed on the red-eye from Los Angeles for a week of TV appearances, including air hidden under a baseball cap, the quietly spoken, very un-Saxon Schwarzenegger has just landed on the red-eye froAmerica, The Drew Barrymore Show, and The Kelly Clarkson Show. The handsome 31-year-old actor — who lives in Santa Monica with his fiancée, the model Abby Champion — is on a promotional tour for the show. Playing
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, the journalist, author, and niece of former President John F. Kennedy. A baseball cap, the quietly spoken, very un-Saxon Schwarzenegger has just landed on the red-eye from Los Angeles for a week of TV appearances, including air hidden under a baseball cap, the quietly spoken, very un-Saxon Schwarzenegger has just landed on the red-eye from Los Angeles for a week of TV appearances, including Good Morning America, The Drew Barrymore Show, and The Kelly Clarkson Show. The handsome 31-yearold actor — who lives in Santa Monica with his fiancée, the model Abby Champion — is on a promotional tour for the show. Playing Saxon could be a ticket to the big time for the son of movie star and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, the journalist, author, and niece of former President John F. Kennedy. Each season of The White Lotus is set at an international outpost of the fictional luxury hotel chain. The dark comedy — the creation of Mike White, who writes, directs, and executive produces every episode — is a heady stew of outrageous twists, sex, murder, and partying from the entitled elites and scammers staying at the hotels and the long-suffering staff who serve them. The show became appointment viewing during the pandemic, with its debut season set in Hawaii. Season two was in Sicily, followed by season three in Thailand. Among an array of awards, The White Lotus has won In the current season, the Ratliffs are typical White Lotus guests: wealthy, full of secrets, and terrible at communicating — with life-changing tribulations threatening to engulf them. By the sixth episode, Saxon is contemplating the nature of his apparent sexual desire for his younger brother, Lochlan (played by Sam Nivola). His father, Tim (Jason Isaacs), is facing ruin and contemplating suicide. Mother Victoria (Parker Po Isaacs), is facing ruin and contemplating suicide. Mother Victoria (Parker Posey and her muchmemed Southern accent) is mainlining the anxiety drug lorazepam, and daughter Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook) is on a spiritual journey toward Buddhism.Growing up in L.A., family life couldn’t have been more different. Schwarzenegger was inspired by watching his father working on movie sets, including The Terminator, Total Recall, and True Lies. “Being around fame has probably been beneficial,” Schwarzenegger says. “I don’t act so I can be famous. Is it cool when someone comes up to you says, ‘I love your work and character’? Yes, it feels great. But I don’t mind if that doesn’t happen. What it does do is open doors for filmmakers, writers, and directors hopefully considering me for future projects.” His acting career began at age 10 in the film The Benchwarmers After earning a bachelor’s degree from the USC Marshall School of Business, he won roles in movies (including Midnight Sun in
“I don’t ask my dad for any acting advice. He’s a movie star,” he says of his father. “It’s not that I don’t want to become that one day, but I want to focus on trying to get my feet wet in acting roles, then one day come to do those types of movieto focus on trying to get my feet wet in acting roles, then one day come to do those types of movies. We have two different routes of how to go about it. He’s all about, ‘You should be number one on the call sheet, the biggest name, your
