Inside New York City’s Sauna Wars

Plus: VF Predicts the 2026 Oscar Nominations

View in browser | Update preferences SUBSCRIBE FOR FULL ACCESS Escaping the cold in New York City is a job unto itself. You can pile on the cashmere (dry cleaning bill be damned), furiously search for flights to warmer climes (President's Day weekend is right around the corner), or spend a few hours in the steamy serenity of a sauna, where your only assignment is to sweat and forget just how bleak this time of year can feel. For more than a decade, Manhattan's Flatiron District has been synonymous with nouveau wellness. Boutique fitness classes, fancy gyms, acupuncturists, stretching, recovery—this area has it all. But now, as senior staff writer Marisa Meltzer reports, we are living in a bathhouse boom with new openings across the city. As dedicated bathhouses compete with pricey members clubs, New Yorkers find themselves smack dab in the middle of what she calls, "the sauna wars." Which side will you be on? MAGGIE COUGHLAN, SENIOR EDITOR Inside New York City's Sauna Wars BY MARISA MELTZER From Bathhouse to Othership to Altar, a wave of bathhouses in NYC is popping up just blocks apart, igniting a war of zen. READ MORE More Great Reads CULTURE How to Throw a Deuxmoi-Worthy Rager in St. Barths BY ELISE TAYLOR Meet Myles Shear, a.k.a. Manager Myles, the party-planning mind behind that viral St. Barths New Year's Party—where tables cost up to $300,000. READ MORE FILM The 16 Films and TV Shows We're Most Excited to See at Sundance 2026 BY JOHN ROSS The storied film festival's last dance in Park City—and first edition without founder Robert Redford—has an impressive lineup of docs and narrative features. These are the ones we can't wait to see first. READ MORE AWARDS SEASON Our Predictions for the 2026 Oscar Nominations BY VANITY FAIR Nominees for the 98th Annual Academy Awards will be announced Thursday morning. Here's what VF's Hollywood experts predict for every single feature-film Oscar category. READ MORE From the Magazine Why We Can't Let Go of JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy BY CHRIS MURPHY John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy were a seemingly perfect couple who met a perfectly tragic ending. For the Winter 2026 issue, VF's Chris Murphy explains why we're still obsessed with them—and introduces Paul Anthony Kelly and Sarah Pidgeon, who bring the doomed pair back to life in Ryan Murphy's Love Story. READ MORE In Case You Missed It Unpacking Trump's Obsession With Greenland Blame the president's bullying approach to geopolitics, as well as his own personal peccadillos—though where one ends and the other begins is hard to say. JD and Usha Vance, Pronatalism's Poster Couple, Are Pregnant Usha Vance is the first woman to announce a pregnancy while her husband serves as vice president. MORE FROM VANITY FAIR POLITICS BUSINESS HOLLYWOOD STYLE ROYALS CELEBRITY This e-mail was sent to you by VANITY FAIR. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, vanityfair@newsletter.vf.com, to your address book. View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe Copyright © Condé Nast 2026. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.