Cover Story

338    PARIS MATCH 
Carla Bruni, the enchanting new wife of French president Nicolas Sarkozy, raised eyebrows with her hit CD, sexy Internet photos, and past conquests (Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton). Not only has the Italian ex-model won over her adoptive country, but she may even help her embattled husband. Getting to know an unusually candid First Lady, Maureen Orth assesses l’effet Carla. Photographs by Annie Leibovitz.Web special: A slide show of Carla on the catwalk.

Features

348   THE KING OF CENTRAL PARK WEST 
               With sales of its 201 luxury apartments at roughly $2 
               billion, 15 Central Park West is the world’s most lucrative 
               residential building. Roaming through architect Robert 
               A. M. Stern’s answer to the Manhattan glass-tower trend, 
               Paul Goldberger pinpoints what has lured Wall Street 
               mandarins and Hollywood stars to its 
               English-oak-paneled lobby. 
               Photographs by Todd Eberle. 
               Web special: An archive of Manhattan real-estate tales.
 
354    A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN 
               Naomi, Cindy, Linda, Claudia, Stephanie, Christy: 
               the original supermodels needed no last names, just one 
               another, to conquer the fashion scene. Fifteen years later,
               and as glamorous as ever—the proof: Mario 
               Testino’s portfolio— they recap their power-posse days 
               for Bob Colacello.

360    TRULY, MADLY, NICKY 
               With his smashing looks and catlike grace, Nicky Haslam 
               practically invented Swinging 60s London, then swept 
               through New York and Hollywood. Thriving as an interior 
               designer, his memoir on the way, the ultimate man-about-               town—chum of Andy Warhol, the Duchess of Windsor,
               and Mick Jagger—takes Evgenia Peretz on a dizzying,
               occasionally wistful tour of  his not-quite-charmed 
               existence. Portraits by Jonathan Becker.

366    FOUR FACES OF LONDON 
               David Bailey and Nicholas Coleridge spotlight four faces—
               Veruschka, Penelope Tree, Twiggy, and Kate Moss—that 
               chart the evolution of London cool. Web special: A look 
               back at our sexiest supermodel spreads.

368    AN IMMOVABLE FEAST 
               Charles Masson thought his wife, Giselle, was crazy when 
               she signed a lease for 3 East 52nd Street in 1962. 
               But their restaurant, La Grenouille, is now a beloved
               New York institution. Run today by their son Charles, 
               it owes its longevityto food, flowers, and fiercely high 
               standards. Douglas McGrath has the saga, from Masson 
               Sr.’s army-mess-hall epiphany to a showdown with 
               Robert Kennedy, to post-9/11 Francophobia. 
               Photographs by Jonathan Becker.
               Web special: An audio slide show of memories from the 
               restaurant’s 45 years.

372    LESS IS MAIER 
               Bottega Veneta doesn’t flash logos. Neither does German 
               designer Tomas Maier, who rescued the Italian 
               luxury-goods company from the brink of ruin in 2001, 
               creating a new style juggernaut. 
               In Milan and Palm Beach, Matt Tyrnauer learns how 
               Maier imposed his discreet elegance on the age of bling. 
               Photographs by Todd Eberle.
 
376    THE NEWMAN CHRONICLES 
               Paul Newman’s on-screen magnetism (and blue, 
               blue eyes) has brought him worldwide adulation. 
               Instead of buying into his own legend, he created new
               ones: director, businessman, philanthropist, 
               and devoted family man. Amid concerns about the
               83-year-old Newman’s health, Patricia Bosworth 
               examines the turning points in a remarkably private life.
               Web special: A slide show of Newman’s life.

FANFAIR

219      30 DAYS IN THE LIFE OF THE CULTURE 
             Patrick Demarchelier comes home
222       The Cultural Divide
224       Lisa Eisner suits up for Jack Taylor; Eliza Griswold casts a  
             ballot for American Wife; Lisa Robinson tunes into Largo’s
             new locale
228       My Desk—Christopher Bailey
230       Elissa Schappell’s Hot Type
232       Design for living
234       The rising stars of American fashion pose for Jenny Gage 
              and Tom Betterton. Web special: Video from the shoot.
238       Lisa Robinson’s Hot Tracks
240       Patricia Bosworth remembers the Warner brothers; Jon Kelly 
             expects big things of Little Britain USA; John Ortved gets 
             sucked into True Blood
242       Brigitte Lacombe’s latest photography compendium, 
             Anima/Persona; My Stuff—Minnie Mortimer; 
             Web special: A slide show of Lacombe’s images.
244       Q&A with Victoria Beckham; Stila’s Backstage Beauty
             Collection; Hot Looks

Columns

254     ON THE LIMITS OF SELF-IMPROVEMENT,
            PART III 
             Against all odds, Christopher Hitchens’s extreme 
             makeover (teeth whitening, smoking cessation, Brazilian 
             waxing, etc.) has actually improved him. But even as he 
             braves both a Fekkai haircut and a $14,000 exercise 
             machine for his final report, the columnist confronts his 
             mortality in the mirror. 
             Photographs by Art Streiber.
260      ANIMAL HOUSE 
             Prince Louis Albert de Broglie revived a zoological 
             treasure trove when he bought Deyrolle, Paris’s fabled 
             taxidermyestablishment, in 2001—only to see it ravaged 
             by fire. Thanks to Hermès, the French Army, 
             and others, Deyrolle is rising from the ashes, as Olga 
             of Greece reports.
266      DAY OF THE CROCODILE 
             After maintaining his stranglehold on Zimbabwe in an 
             internationally decried election, Robert Mugabe is 
             continuing his ruthless, decades-long pattern of bloody 
             repression. Reporting from a country closed to Western 
             journalists, Peter Godwin sheds light on the man behind 
             the mayhem.Photographs by Jeffrey Barbee.
278      AMERICAN DYNAMITE 
             Seen as the “crime of the century,” the deadly bombing 
             of the Los Angeles Times in 1910 presented an irresistible
             challenge to America’s greatest detective. In an excerpt
             from his upcoming book, Howard Blum follows 
             William J. Burns’s 
             investigation, which crossed paths with Clarence Darrow 
             and D. W. Griffith and uncovered a nationwide 
             anti-capitalist plot.
290      THE 69TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL BEST-             DRESSED LIST 
             The ballots are in, and it’s Obama, by a thread! That’s
             Michelle Obama, who joins fellow political wife (and cover 
             subject) Carla Bruni, and—better late than never—James
             Bond in V.F.’s annual style poll.
318      MASTERS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: MARK SELIGER 
             Celebrating a quarter-century of its photographic art, V.F. 
             showcases Mark Seliger’s work, while Ingrid Sischy 
             explains the intensity behind his images. 
             Web video: Seliger recalls his sessions with Kurt Cobain 
             and Lindsay Lohan. 

Vanities

333I       DREAM OF GUGINO
334        Billie Jean King shows George Wayne some leg. Web 
               special: Extended version.

Et Cetera

172      EDITOR’S LETTER
179      CONTRIBUTORS
192      LETTERS 
             The Bill Clinton Show; Postscript; Web special: more letters
251      FAIRGROUND
337      FRONTISPIECE
             September Song
406      CREDITS
408      PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE 
             Carolina Herrera