New York’s Battle of the Hot Girls

Plus: Inside the Barneys Dynasty

View in browser | Update preferences SUBSCRIBE FOR FULL ACCESS MAGGIE COUGHLAN, SENIOR EDITOR What hath Megan Thee Stallion wrought? The rapper popularized the term "hot girl summer"—and since her song "Hot Girl Summer" dropped in August 2019, American culture has been inundated with seasons, activities, and meal configurations deemed the provenance of hot girls. Perhaps we should have guessed this relentless trend would eventually trickle down into politics—but as Olivia Empson notes in a new story today, New York's mayoral election has co-opted it in a surprising way. Sure, there's a group of young, enthusiastic Mamdani supporters who call themselves Hot Girls for Zohran. But there's also an opposing Hot Girls for Cuomo movement—albeit one that may actually involve only a single girl. Hot Girls vs. Hot Girls BY OLIVIA EMPSON The hot girls of New York are fighting—but not over the Corner Store wait list, Sandy Liang sample sale, or the age-old question of Manhattan or Brooklyn. Their new battleground is the city's mayoral race and two of its candidates: Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo. If you've wandered through Chinatown, Bed-Stuy, or any New York City neighborhood on a recent weekend and seen a sea of young people clad in Salomons, cargos, and electric blue T-shirts, then you've witnessed one of his canvassing events. The shirts say "Hot Girls for Zohran," they're a steady downtown staple, and celebrities including Emily Ratajkowski, Reneé Rapp, and Hasan Piker have all worn one, according to the grassroots group behind them. Independent from Mamdani's official campaign, Hot Girls for Zohran has created a momentum so scintillating it's reshaped the race itself, even inspiring a Hot Girls for Cuomo movement on the other side. Speaking from her hotel room in Tel Aviv, Emily Austin—the "hot girl" behind Hot Girls for Cuomo—tells VF's Olivia Empson she'd "prefer" a Republican, but Cuomo "never had this persona of just being a guy." READ MORE Hot Topics POLITICS Ken Paxton Continues the Crusade Against Tylenol BY BESS LEVIN The Texas attorney general—whose wife divorced him on "biblical grounds"—is suing the manufacturer of the drug and claiming, without evidence, that taking Tylenol during pregnancy can cause autism. READ MORE PODCAST The Secret Life of a Cookie Mogul BY SARAH AMOS VF's new podcast, Tough Cookie: The Wally "Famous" Amos Story, tells the story of a Black pop-culture icon, through his many booms and busts, from the perspective of his daughter, host Sarah Amos. READ MORE From the Archive Bringing Down Barneys BY JENNET CONANT Flamboyant retailing heir Gene Pressman's plan to create an achingly chic empire that would stretch from Madison Avenue to Wilshire Boulevard wreaked havoc on the family business—and on the family as well: "Holly Pressman called her in-laws 'the most dysfunctional family I've ever seen.'" From the May 1996 issue, Jennet Conant details the Barneys dynasty. READ MORE In Other News Anthony Hopkins's Turning Point The actor, who will celebrate 50 years of sobriety this December, spoke in an interview about the episode that convinced him to seek help: "I could have killed somebody." Princess Diana's Sister Has Reportedly Been a "Handful" During Her Recent Hospital Stay Lady Sarah McCorquodale, who recently suffered a "very bad fall" from a horse-riding incident, has been keeping her doctors busy. 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 2025. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.