L'OFFICIEL USA Fall 2021 - Fall Special 100 Year Anniversary Issue

Alessandra CODINHA WRITER “The Eyes Have It” “Jessica Chastain is one of those actors who is so good at her job that it’s easy to forget how hard the work she’s doing actually is. I was moved by the generosity of spirit she showed towards everything, from her co-stars and the characters she plays to the clothes that she wears.” Jermaine DALEY STYLIST “To the Nineties” “I viewed my favorite collections through the lens of cool ‘90s minimalism, highlighting the luxe velvets of Gucci, the neutral palette of Fendi, and the structured silhouettes of Bottega, whose looks best Illuminated that aesthetic.” Amanda HARLECH STYLIST “Time Traveler” “‘Time present and time past / Are both perhaps present in time future / And time future contained in time past’–T.S. Eliot Matt TYRNAUER WRITER “L.A. Woman” “Kali [the assumed name of the late Joan Archibald] is Vivian Maier…

Since 1981, Emporio Armani has been an innovator. Giorgio Armani’s collection dedicated to younger audiences has changed with the times, all the while staying true to its values of inclusion. The brand’s Fall/Winter 2021 show, aptly named “In The Mood For Pop,” is not only a celebration of the 40th anniversary of Emporio Armani, but also of the 1980s themselves. This mix of elegance and androgyny is apparent in the collection. Oversized suiting in relaxed silhouettes are nostalgic and sexy, harkening back to familiar trends of the decade with a modern take. The clothing is shared across the gender spectrum: pleated high-waisted trousers are paired with velvet jackets, while graphic prints and knit details punctuate the looks. The pieces in the collection are meant to be taken to the streets,…

I moved recently to a house in a canyon in Los Angeles, which is similar in its situation to the house in which I grew up in a neighboring foothill section of the city. Like the house my parents had, this property has views on to nearby canyon ridges. It is all quite picturesque in these canyons—as well as voyeuristic—because of views on to the backs of other canyon homes, framed by tall trees. In the distance—after dusk—there are city lights; in the foreground, coyotes. Overhead, in the L.A. canyons, with surprising frequency, there is the thunder of police helicopters. As I have not lived in an L.A. canyon for some years, the effect of returning is Proustian, being back above the city I live in, where I am from,…

Fine jewelry has long drawn its prestige from the versatility of the unique pieces that lavish on the crowned heads and great figures of high society. This centuries-old tradition, common since the 1800s, has its origins in a double necessity. First, a very practical one: The need to make the most of rare stones at a time when most modern mines had not yet been discovered. These stones were often passed down through generations. The jewelers’ role was to transform the original jewels to the tastes of the day; it was not uncommon for a tiara to morph into a necklace over the course of its ownership. The other need arises from new social mores of discretion. Clasps disappeared and chatelaines cleverly concealed watches that can be looked at tactfully.…

On social media, artist Lucy Bull’s landscapes read like tunedup Impressionism with shades of Mark Bradford. Or maybe late Monet lily pads on acid. In person, there is something more sinister going on. Bull’s psychedelic paintings hiss and vibrate like Bridget Riley stripes on a hot sidewalk. They dominate the room with a ferocious joy. The same could be said of Bull, who at 31 is a fixture of the Los Angeles art scene, a position she held long before her recent sold-out solo debut at the David Kordansky gallery, and one that extends out past the purview of the artist. Her beloved eponymous desk gallery, which she runs out of her house in Echo Park, is infamous for turning exhibitions into all-night parties, which Bull doesn’t mind, but she confesses to…