Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2019 i Town & Country

1958 PALACE INTRIGUE In 1958, T&C visited Villa Leopolda, the sprawling estate on the French Riviera owned by Fiat head Gianni Agnelli and his wife Marella (seen here). Ever since it was built, in 1929, the villa has been the focus of gossip. “There are so many lies,” says John Yunis, a real estate agent with a vast knowledge of great homes (see his Instagram, @JOHNYUNIS)—such as the rumor that Roman Abramovich owns it; in fact the owner is Lily Safra (widow of banker Edmond), who has lived there since 1988. But another Russian oligarch did try to move in: Brooklyn Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov promised Safra more than $500 million and gave her a deposit, but then backed out. When he asked to get his deposit back, she gave…

“Questo è meraviglioso.” Even if you don’t speak Italian, it’s hard to miss the enthusiasm of the designer Laura Lusuardi. She lights up, her expression suddenly bursting with pride and fascination, gripped, it seems, even all these years after she acquired it, by the construction of a pristine 1954 white Chanel suit. “Molto emozionante.” Lusuardi is a grande dame at Max Mara, and she is standing inside the archive and library she persuaded the Italian label to assemble. The trove comprises Max Mara’s storied past (which includes the work of Anne-Marie Beretta, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, and Karl Lagerfeld) as well as fashion from the 20th century and beyond, a world class collection of 300,000 garments, accessories, and artifacts that comes as near to museum quality as a collection in private…

T&C BRIDAL LUNCHEON During fall Bridal Fashion Week, Town & Country debuted its first-ever Bridal Luncheon at The Plaza, hosting over fifty brides and their guests for a spectacular morning touching on everything from the engagement to the “I do.” The elegant celebration featured friends of the magazine and included a formal three-course brunch and conversation on modern wedding etiquette, offering brides insider insight to create the wedding of their dreams. Moderated by T&C Features Director Erik Maza, the panel included renowned event planner David Monn; founder of Slowdance & Fête Jung Lee; etiquette expert Myka Meier, and T&C’s own bride-to-be, Style & Interiors writer Olivia Martin. Specials thanks to De Beers Jewellers, Darby Scott, Georg Jensen, Ines Di Santo, LOUIS XIII Cognac, The Harmonist, The Plaza, CPS Events &…

1 BEST COUPLE Diamonds are the hardest gem, but sapphires come in second. Since jeweled watches became popular in the early 1900s, these two have been watchmaker stalwarts. 2 BEST PERFORMER Thanks to the red spinel’s resemblance to a ruby, it’s the real gem behind many historic royal jewels (even Queen Elizabeth’s Black Prince’s Ruby is a spinel). Today it sparkles in its own right. 3 LIFE OF THE PARTY Tanzanite wasn’t discovered until 1967, but like a lot of late bloomers it makes a dramatic entrance. Here, the violet-blue stone is paired with aquamarines and sapphires for a sophisticated ombre. 4 BIGGEST DREAMER Some ancient civilizations believed that turquoise was a gift from the gods. This combination with diamonds and onyx makes a strong case. 5 MOST ADVENTUROUS Ancient…

The allure of liquid beauty dates back to ancient Egypt, when Cleopatra allegedly bathed in milk and washed her face with vinegar. Now the newest breed of superliquids—a lifting oil, a firming concentrate, a milky elixir infused with molecules that brighten your skin tone—is meant to diversify your serum portfolio with just one drop. And since our skin rarely behaves the same way twice, targeted serums address whichever face you’re dealing with on a given day. For the stressed urbanite, whose skin needs a sip of topical balm, Aenea’s Anti-Stress Super Hero Serum, made with wild indigo, breaks down cortisol and may even calm your mood. The modern swan searching for a fresh-faced boost should reach for Dr. Barbara Sturm’s newest concoction, the Brightening Serum, which is made with extract…

AQUARIUS JANUARY 21–FEBRUARY 19 Christie Brinkley New paths and bold plans are the major theme for you this month. Being born under the sign of individuality empowers you to do and dare what other people often can’t even imagine. Jupiter in Sagittarius is opening your eyes to possibilities that truly inspire you, so get out there and go after your dreams. Background issues of a personal nature may demand attention near the 18th, but patience is the key word in handling any challenging situations. PISCES FEBRUARY 20–MARCH 20 Michael Caine Be prepared to revamp unfeasible plans as February begins; the new Moon of the 4th is the time to step back and reset your compass. By midmonth, try to remain calm and centered, because it will be easy to misinterpret…

To reach the Mountain, one must go beyond Shangri-La. A quarter-mile uphill from a cul-de-sac named for the mystical utopia, there is a 30-foot-wide gate beyond which lies another place of mythic proportions: the highest-priced residential property listing in history, a 157-acre hilltop aerie with a series of sprawling, manicured fields on an escarpment rising to 1,360 feet in California’s Santa Monica Mountains with 360-degree views—and an asking price of $1 billion. “It’s on top of the world. It’s the pinnacle of luxury, the pinnacle of Beverly Hills,” says Aaron Kirman, the broker handling the sale. “Nobody’s looking down on you. You’re looking down on everyone else.” Indeed, from this perch above Benedict Canyon you can make out in the distance the mansion Rupert Murdoch was going to sell to…

Behind the stately front door of a classic Upper East Side townhouse, a little black spaniel named Winnie skitters across terrazzo floors. Like a well-trained uptown hostess, she is surveying the premises before a visit from T&C, and she is pleased with her view: fluted walls, a mirrored foyer, a marvelous brass staircase ripe for a regal entrance, hers or her masters’. When they moved in a few years ago, the couple—she a fashion and beauty executive, he a financier from a New York family with a proud lineage—found a dignified grande dame dating from 1899. They enlisted the help of French architect and interior designer Jean-Louis Deniot to modernize the four-story, 20-room historical treasure and turn it into a home fit for kids running around, not to mention Winnie,…

More than 200 ballots went out in October. Jewelry designers, collectors, T&C editors, industry experts, and influencers were asked to nominate top talents in 12 categories. The results start on page 47, in the second annual Town & Country Jewelry Awards. The editors at T&C, which has covered the jewelry world for close to two centuries, see more masterpieces than most, and we believe that there has never been more talent in the field than there is right now. And so, in addition to the awards bestowed by our incomparable panel, we wanted to offer a jewelry year in review of sorts, to applaud some of the pieces and designers that made it onto our pages and into our posts—and maybe even into Will’s Notebook (@WILLSNOTEBOOK). (Please join me in…

There are two kinds of cook. Some depend on technique, relying on the alchemy of the kitchen to transform ingredients into strange new forms. These are the classic cooks—think Julia Child—who believe that with sufficient training anyone can make a masterpiece out of ordinary ingredients. Other chefs, however, believe that great cooking depends on nothing more than great ingredients. This is the slow food crowd, artists of the earth whose goal is to treat these treasures with the utmost respect, preserving their purity by serving them in the simplest possible fashion. Chefs in the second category spend their time seeking out the most talented farmers, fishermen, and artisans, but as American food has steadily improved, the chefs who rely on great products have been forced to work harder to surprise…

Amanda Chantal Bacon, high priestess of the wellness movement and creator of the holistic lifestyle brand Moon Juice, knew something wasn’t right. Despite the fact that she was exercising three to five times a week, meditating, and eating no grains, her doctors told her that her cortisol levels were at an all-time high. She took a break from working out, went to India for two weeks in search of deep relaxation, and ended up losing 10 pounds. Upon returning, and starting to plan a wedding, she went back to her regular routine, while also adding cryotherapy to counteract inflammation. The weight returned, and she got overwhelmed all over again. “To get to all of that in a day—I was exhausted, depleted, and cranky,” Bacon says. “And then you realize you…

Whenever I hear the word allowance, my mind wanders back to when I was 14 and I’m walking into the executive dining room of the old Chase Manhattan Bank headquarters. The occasion is lunch with my father. The dining room has the look and feel of a men’s club, albeit one floating in the clouds above Lower Manhattan. Waiters in livery. Starched white tablecloths. Business conducted in whispers. It is a sweltering August day, yet my father is cool, clinical, his jet black hair pomaded, his khaki suit pressed crisp. “So, you will be off to St. Paul’s in a few weeks, and you will need an allowance,” he says. “I’ve decided to give you $35 per month.” My mind quickly calculates what $35 equals when divided into Rolling Stones…

Alessandro, a tall, imposing businessman in his forties, wanted to immigrate to the United States from Brazil with his wife and children. He was financially set, but he worried about the rising crime in São Paulo, where he lived. So Alessandro, who spoke on condition that only his first name be used, did something that only the wealthiest can do: He bought his way into the United States. No thought of overstaying a tourist visa. No waiting for State Department paper-pushers to consider his application. And certainly no caravan or illegal border crossing. For Alessandro and his wealthy compatriots, it’s a business transaction. And it isn’t all that difficult. Shortly after President Trump was inaugurated in 2017, Alessandro received an O-1 visa from the United States that recognized his record…

Until last year, most Americans were not familiar with the phrase catch and kill, which refers to a media company’s buying a potentially damaging news story and then not publishing it to save the subject from embarrassment. The term entered the national lexicon in 2018 thanks to revelations of the way the tactic was employed (ultimately unsuccessfully) by National Enquirer publisher David Pecker to bury stories about his close friend Donald Trump. In December, Pecker’s company, AMI, admitted that in 2016 it gave $150,000 to a former Playboy model who claimed she’d had an affair with Trump, “to suppress the woman’s story” and “prevent it from influencing the election.” Nor would most recognize oppo, shorthand for opposition research, which is the hiring of private investigators to dig up dirt on…

In 1973 a strapping young ski patroller zipped down a hill at Aspen Highlands in Colorado and soared over a new patrol hut, to the delight of picnickers below. Forty years later this raucous rest spot-now Cloud Nine Alpine Bistro-is as popular as ever. Twice a day Aspen’s bohemian bons vivants, ski bums, and society darlings flock to Cloud Nine, where dancing on tables and popping open champagne bottles are de rigueur and the crowd is as fresh as the powder beneath its boots.…

WINDSOR, FLORIDA Leading British artist Sir Michael Craig-Martin will present an exhibition of painting, sculpture, prints and editions at The Gallery at Windsor, opening January 29, 2019. Part of a three-year curatorial partnership with the Royal Academy of Arts, London, Michael Craig-Martin’s “Present Sense” will be the first exhibition of outdoor sculpture to be presented at Windsor. WINDSORFLORIDA.com/gallery MICHELE WATCHES MICHELE creates watches influenced by individuality, self-expression and elevated style to connect women with pieces that reflect their beauty and celebrate milestone moments. The Deco Diamond has been a MICHELE icon for almost 20 years. Gold continues to up-trend for everyday pieces, confirming a move toward more formal accessories and a smartened-up look for the Spring '19 season. MICHELE.com MICHAEL COLLINS DÉCOR Michael loves designing fabulous events, from extravagant weddings…

India Eisley is no stranger to true crime. “I’ve always been a fan of investigation shows,” the 25-year-old actress says. “Forensic Files is big in our house.” It’s no surprise, then, that Eisley’s latest project puts her at the center of one of Hollywood’s most enduring, and gruesome, mysteries. I Am the Night, a limited series premiering January 28 on TNT, is a stylish thriller that tells the saga of the late Fauna Hodel, the young woman who uncovered the disturbing secrets of the prominent Los Angeles family that gave her up at birth and that just might be connected to the 1947 murder of Elizabeth Short, better known now as the Black Dahlia. It’s a tale that Patty Jenkins, the Wonder Woman director who is producing the series, has…

I’m often asked if I have a favorite wine. I find the question difficult to answer, but there is one wine that haunts me: the 1945 Romanée-Conti from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. It’s a legendary wine that few have ever tasted, as only 608 bottles were produced—though many more than that have been consumed. It’s possibly the most counterfeited wine in the world. My dream of tasting the wine became even more remote this past October, when Sotheby’s sold two bottles of impeccable provenance for a total of more than a million dollars at an auction I witnessed firsthand. The Domaine de la Romanée-Conti is considered by many to be the greatest address on the planet, and the Romanée-Conti vineyard itself, just five acres in the village of Vosne-Romanée, is…

BREAKTHROUGH designer of the year EMMANUEL TARPIN The High Jewelry Wunderkind. Tarpin founded his atelier last year at the age of 25, and already editors are making the pilgrimage to Paris to discover the new superjeweler. It’s easy to see why. A sculptor by training, the French designer takes an artistic approach to his work, producing only a few superlative pieces a year. Each is an optical illusion, a sublime, nature-inspired piece that mesmerizes with depth, texture, and color. LEGEND of the year VAN CLEEF & ARPELS The golden anniversary of a crown jewel. Jacques Arpels, the nephew of co-founder Estelle Arpels, had a knack for finding four-leaf clovers. He introduced the first Alhambra collection in 1968, forever altering the jewelry canon and beguiling everyone from Grace Kelly to Françoise…

In January, Miraval, the Oprah-approved wellness resort outside Tucson, is opening its second outpost. On 220 acres of protected land on Lake Travis in Austin, Texas, the latest Miraval (one in the Berkshires will follow this summer) observes the same ethos as the original: “life in balance.” So you won’t be forced out of bed at 5 a.m. for 14-hour hikes with nothing but a few almonds for fuel. Your itinerary is completely customized, whether you fancy light stretching, afternoon hikes, archery, tea ceremonies, horseback riding, Pilates, or just the robust menu of spa treatments. Bonus: Unlike most wellness retreats, Miraval serves alcohol. FROM $529, MIRAVALAUSTIN.COM Then, in May, sign up for the Perivolas Yoga Retreat in Oia, Santorini. Imagine six days of sun salutations with stunning views of the…

“It’s a question that causes a lot of parents anxiety, but it can be a teachable moment. First, ask why they’re asking. Second, realize that the child might just be looking for a simple yes or no answer. It’s an ongoing conversation that can happen when a child is four, seven, 16, and you can discuss it differently each time. Once my son asked, ‘Why don’t we have a convertible?’ and my wife said, ‘Everyone has a pot of money; some have bigger pots and others have smaller pots, but the parents have to decide what is important to spend that money on. We think education is important, so we spend our money on private school. We think giving back to the community is important, so we donate to homeless…

It’s finally happening: Pot is at a tipping point. Thirty-three states have legalized medical marijuana, and 10 states and Canada have legalized recreational use. Gwyneth Paltrow and Dr. Oz extoll CBD oils, Francis Ford Coppola is starting a cannabis line, and Molson Coors is looking into nonalcoholic cannabis-infused beverages. (Another sign: More and more people are calling pot by its classier name, cannabis.) It’s still a volatile market, but the so-called Global Cannabis Stock Index, an exchange for the industry, is gaining traction—a Canadian cannabis ETF reached $1 billion in assets last year—and millions of dollars are pouring into companies like Aurora and the Cronos Group. “The whole U.S. is going to go legal eventually,” says Eric Hippeau, of venture capital firm Lerer Hippeau, an early investor in marijuana startups.…

“We have much better locations!” barked the future president of the United States. “We should be in the top category!” It was June 1, 1982, and I was sitting in Donald Trump’s cavernous Fifth Avenue office interviewing the then CEO of the Trump Organization for Forbes magazine. I had just laid out my typewritten “prospect list,” a preliminary compilation of names of New York real estate tycoons who were candidates for the first Forbes 400 list of wealthiest Americans. At the top, Harry Helmsley was the only one with a net worth that might approach $1 billion. A small group of highly respected families, like the Roses and LeFraks, who had built or bought much of Manhattan’s housing, were next, at $500 million. At the very bottom, with a question…