| KASE WICKMAN,
REPORTER, CULTURE & SOCIETY |
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On 2019's Lover, Taylor Swift wondered what it would be like if she "was the man," fantasizing about a life in which she was in charge in business and the bedroom, free of consequence. Five albums and six years later, we have The Life of a Showgirl, Swift's 12th full-length studio album, on which her tune has changed. There's no more "if" involved, nor is her vision of domination a fantasy. Reuniting with producers Max Martin and Shellback, who were also driving forces behind Reputation and 1989, Swift presents a concise, adult (we'd love to hear what Travis Kelce's teammates are saying about "Wood" in the locker room), and catchy 12-track album, a Louboutined heel-turn from the 31-track slide into a warm bath of depression that was her previous offering, The Tortured Poets Department.
In my capacity as Vanity Fair's longtime Swift correspondent, I decoded the backstage mysteries of Showgirl, and Swift's treasured pastime of rewriting her own personal history, just for you. The crowd is king, after all.
Elsewhere, VF editor at large Matt Tyrnauer remembers last century's master of turning public rivalries into career fuel and artistic inspiration, Gore Vidal, on what would have been his 100th birthday; our colleagues at VF France report on the late Giorgio Armani's private Paris; and Prince William gives a candid interview to a surprising outlet. More Monday… |
Erudite, waspish, and routinely referred to in his lifetime as "America's greatest man of letters," Gore Vidal had a breadth of achievement as a novelist, screenwriter, playwright, essayist, occasional politician, and TV talk show personality, one that has no equivalent—and likely never will—in American culture. He was also known for his rollicking public spats with fellow mid-century literary icons. He'd crossed swords, most famously, with William F. Buckley Jr., Norman Mailer, and Truman Capote, and had either sued, been sued by, or threatened to sue each of them. One of Vidal's most quoted aphorisms came from a period of self-realization: "After a certain point in life, litigation replaces sex."
Matt Tyrnauer recounts how he found himself in the middle of the last great feud in Vidal's long, august line of literary battles—with his ultimate sparring partner Christopher Hitchens, a friend turned adversary, and fellow VF contributor. |
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The joy oozing from the 12 tracks makes the message clear: Taylor Swift built this life; now she's ready to enjoy it. |
The billionaire has accused Netflix of "grooming" children with "sexualized content" in series such as CoComelon and Strawberry Shortcake. |
In one of his final interviews, the Milanese fashion master recalled memories of fashion shows, incognito strolls, and bold moves in a long, intimate history with Paris. |
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The killing in Geneva of Edouard Stern, one of Europe's richest men, stunned the global financial elite. Once the heir apparent to his father-in-law Michel David-Weill, at the investment bank Lazard Frères, Stern was known as much for his brutal arrogance as for his dashing style. With exclusive access to the financier's inner circle, including the friend who found his latex-clad, bullet-riddled body, Bryan Burrough reveals the fears and enemies that plagued Stern's last days as well as the erotic entanglement that came undone just before his death: "It took a moment for it to sink in that I was looking at a dead body.... It was evil." |
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