Vanity Fair’s September Issue 2021: Power and the Past (2024)

Sean Combs was the original influencer. Now the artist and mogul is defining his next era—and launching a record label.

Elle Woods, Neo, the Royal Tenenbaums: A new generation of stars dresses the part.

“The recent past is full of blind spots,” writes Vanity Fair’s editor in chief. Hence, an issue devoted to looking right at them, reexamining and sometimes reveling.

Bill Bratton, Joe Klein, and former friends and aides weigh in on the colossal collapse of NYC’s ex-mayor.

How Gwyneth Paltrow, Beyoncé, Sarah Jessica Parker, and other stars embodied fashion in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

A generation ago, the landmark show and its creator blew up our idea of TV. With a new movie prequel, The Many Saints of Newark, on the way this fall, the showrunner returns to the scene of the crime.

Roger Stone, Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Ben Shapiro—they’ve all made their way to the Sunshine State, fueling and profiting from a tabloid culture that turns politics into spectacle, arguably Florida’s greatest export.

When the Kremlin tried to kill Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, his wife launched an epic battle to save his life—and became the face of the resistance to Vladimir Putin.

The writer and activist, now a producer of Impeachment: American Crime Story, waxes thoughtful on neuropsychology, survival, and the joy of a good amusem*nt park.

The knitwear designer and meme queen on her newfound notoriety and her own future in politics.

For teenage girls in the late ’90s, baring your soul meant baring your midriff.

Pop culture used to unite people. Now Star Wars, DC, and Marvel have all been plagued by vicious behavior. Can we fix this?

The once-dominant format for prestige TV has taken a back seat to the limited series and is at risk of extinction.

Novelist Emily Gould takes a hard look at today’s literary landscape—and at how things have changed since Lethem, Franzen, and Safran Foer first appeared on the scene.

Along with writing three books, teaching law, hosting a podcast, and running a social justice think tank, Crenshaw is now juggling the pop-political bastardization of her scholarship by Republicans—and she’s not backing down.

The artistic director of the Italian luxury house looks back on her past two decades, from taking over in the wake of her brother’s death to what’s next for the brand.

How Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and David Fincher foretold 9/11 and Trump.

Music journalist Kathy Iandoli, author of the new book Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah, on the long-held secrets she uncovered and the narrative she wants to flip.

Run, don’t walk to your nearest bookstore in the season’s best ballet flats.

6 slides

Anna Konkle and Maya Erskine, the show’s cocreators and stars, slip into character to review lip gloss and perfume fit for Y2K-era teens.

10 slides

From the New York Times newsroom to the Succession writers room, the kids once shooting spitballs at the establishment now have seats at the table. As a new Gawker gets going, here’s how spirit of the site—and siblings like Jezebel and Deadspin—has spread.

New York’s turn-of-the-century tough table changed social dining forever. The boom is back—and in hot new locales.

We’re going out again! But party people can trade “going out tops” for sky-high platforms, glitter, and chrome.

13 slides

With an exacting eye and a circle of next-gen muses, the California-born makeup artist is making the case for lush glamour.

Oscar-nominated costume designer Arianne Phillips and photographer Emma Summerton reimagine nine of our favorite films of the era through a contemporary lens.