L'OFFICIEL USA No. 43 - May 2024

If only you knew Peggy Gou. The 32-year-old DJ and queen of the charts is a bonafide It girl in the buzzy Berlin club scene. Gou began her DJing career as a teen in London during the peak of indie sleaze, and slowly built a loyal following within the underground house scene throughout the 2010s, releasing seven EPs since 2016. Last year, Gou’s single “(It Goes Like) Nanana”—an emphatic earworm that could inspire even the stiffest people from the town in Footloose to dance like their life depends on it—became a global hit seemingly overnight. The bop quickly cemented its status as a song of summer, heard everywhere from clubs to brick-and-mortar stores to Instagram feeds. Gou enjoys searching for nuance in techno, an art in itself. But she doesn’t…

This spring, New York’s whirlwind of art fairs and cultural events kicks off with Frieze’s 2024 edition—its 12th—taking place May 1 through May 5 at The Shed in Hudson Yards, an unmissable modern building featuring an angular white roof that drapes over the glass structure like a blanket. With 68 exhibitors representing 25 countries, the contemporary art fair this year is particularly foregrounding “Focus,” a program dedicated to emerging talents. This year’s roster, presented by Director Christine Messineo, runs an expansive gamut. Major galleries Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, Pace, and David Zwirner show alongside Gladstone Gallery, 303 Gallery, and White Cube. Frieze draws from New York presences Matthew Marks Gallery and James Cohan to the multinational Sprüth Magers and Proyectos Ultravioleta, Guatemala’s notable experimental gallery. Spanning abstract and conceptual art…

Florals? For spring? Groundbreaking. No, really. On recent runways, florals have broken away from traditional clichés and sprouted out of their usual constraints. For Marni’s Spring/Summer 2024 collection, Francesco Risso offered a new perspective on florals that escape the two-dimensional plane and burst out in a visually enchanting spectacle: a handmade mashup of fleurs en découpage molded from discarded tin cans, vibrant miniskirts, and feminine bustier dresses are a true celebration of joy and artistry. While not exactly crafted for timeless wearability or mainstream usage, Risso’s floral designs are meant to be appreciated fleetingly, just like nature itself. Simone Rocha’s innovative, tactile approach for the Spring/Summer 2024 collection similarly adds a new perspective. The use of real flowers is a sobering reminder of beauty’s ephemeral nature. Alexander McQueen and…

As warmer weather emerges, inviting us to venture forth, allow L’OFFICIEL’s Art, Design, and Travel issue to be your guide. In this issue, Spring fashion flourishes against the dramatic backdrops of Toyko, Croatia, and Marrakesh (no passport required). From boho-minimalism on the Adriatic, breezy fabrics in Africa, and sleek, night-out-worthy looks in Asia’s most kinetic city, the call to pack our bags is strong. While some yearn to explore new territories, others push another kind of boundary. On the heels of May December, our cover star Natalie Portman discusses her new miniseries Lady in the Lake, and the independent, sometimes obsessive roles she’s drawn to. The art world is abuzz this spring. New Yorkers will enjoy Frieze, but Italy beckons. For Milan, April’s Salone del Mobile is the most spirited…

Natalie Portman is sitting in the back of a car in Paris, wearing a charcoal wool coat and charcoal crewneck sweater (a monochrome look for a rainy Tuesday). She’s on her way to catch a train back to London where she’s shooting Fountain of Youth, a heist-adventure film from director Guy Ritchie, co-starring Eiza González, Domhnall Gleeson, and John Krasinski. In 2011, Portman won an Oscar for her stirring performance as the perfectionist ballerina Nina in Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan. When she accepted the Oscar in a drapey purple gown by Rodarte, she was pregnant with her first child of two. She’s since split from then-husband Benjamin Millipied and has managed to keep her family life private, despite tabloid fodder last year. Throughout Portman’s film career—which began at the age…

ATSUSHI TANAKA A.T. (1 MICHELIN STAR); ATSUSHITANAKA.COM L’OFFICIEL: When you were younger, what was your relationship with French cuisine? ATSUSHI TANAKA: When I was growing up it was not about French cuisine, but rather Western cuisine. L’O: What was your training? AT: I started working in the kitchen at the age of 16, and I worked my way up through the ranks, starting at the bottom. Going from dishwasher to clerk was not easy. L’O: Which chefs have had the most impact on you? AT: Pierre Gagnaire [head chef and owner of the eponymous restaurant at 6 rue Balzac in Paris]. Working with him [Gagnaire was Tanaka’s mentor early in his career] had a profound impact on me. L’O: Any classic French dishes that appeal to you? AT: Sea bass, or sea bass in…