No one does sex and style quite like Saint Laurent. The brand founded in 1961 by Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Bergé, has long been a byword for slick and sultry polish. The designer gave the world Le Smoking, a tuxedo for smart, seductive women, and pioneered wardrobe classics such as the trench coat and safari jacket that remain staples to this day. Since Yves’ retirement, his legacy has been shaped by several designers, including Tom Ford and Hedi Slimane. But for the past decade the man responsible for shepherding the spirit of the Rive Gauche has been Anthony Vaccarello, a quiet Belgian who rarely gives interviews.

He has made an exception in this issue to celebrate his 10-year anniversary and to gather members of the “family” – creatives, actors and musicians – who have helped shape his tenure. The actor Virginie Efira has known him since they were at school in Brussels. Charlotte Gainsbourg became a friend after he dressed her for the Césars. Others were already stalwarts with a decades-long relationship with the brand: actor Béatrice Dalle met Yves Saint Laurent when they were both in rehab, while Kate Moss recalls meeting “Monsieur Saint Laurent” when she was 17, only to be bitten by his dog. Louis Wise rounds up stories and celebrities to tell this chapter of the storied fashion house; Ezra Petronio and Isabelle Kountoure organised the portraits, in between the chaos of espresso Martinis, cigarette breaks and gossip backstage at Vaccarello’s AW26 menswear show.

Fabian HuebnerPerhaps chaos is not what you seek now. Do you dream of escaping to the far-flung, news-free reaches of the world? Our HTSI experts have curated the 20 coolest cabins, sharing the most Thoreau-esque sanctuaries on earth. Choose between romantic bothies in the Scottish Cairngorms, a beach hut in Comporta, or a glass-framed hideaway in the Stockholm archipelago. 

<img width='1' height='1' style='display:none;border-style:none;' alt=' src='https://images.passendo.com/t/2/8449/npnj5xo85s@niepodam.pl/2794462822000823/0/0'><img width='1' height='1' style='display:none;border-style:none;' alt=' src='https://images.passendo.com/extt/2/8449/npnj5xo85s@niepodam.pl/2794462822000823?pid=1'><img width='1' height='1' style='display:none;border-style:none;' alt=' src='https://images.passendo.com/extt/2/8449/npnj5xo85s@niepodam.pl/2794462822000823?pid=2'><img width='1' height='1' style='display:none;border-style:none;' alt=' src='https://images.passendo.com/extt/2/8449/npnj5xo85s@niepodam.pl/2794462822000823?pid=3'><img width='1' height='1' style='display:none;border-style:none;' alt=' src='https://images.passendo.com/extt/2/8449/npnj5xo85s@niepodam.pl/2794462822000823?pid=4'>

<img width='1' height='1' style='display:none;border-style:none;' alt=' src='https://images.passendo.com/t/2/8448/npnj5xo85s@niepodam.pl/6938919473973642/0/0'><img width='1' height='1' style='display:none;border-style:none;' alt=' src='https://images.passendo.com/extt/2/8448/npnj5xo85s@niepodam.pl/6938919473973642?pid=1'><img width='1' height='1' style='display:none;border-style:none;' alt=' src='https://images.passendo.com/extt/2/8448/npnj5xo85s@niepodam.pl/6938919473973642?pid=2'><img width='1' height='1' style='display:none;border-style:none;' alt=' src='https://images.passendo.com/extt/2/8448/npnj5xo85s@niepodam.pl/6938919473973642?pid=3'><img width='1' height='1' style='display:none;border-style:none;' alt=' src='https://images.passendo.com/extt/2/8448/npnj5xo85s@niepodam.pl/6938919473973642?pid=4'>

A good diner can also be a sanctuary – serving the ultimate comfort menu with easy familiarity. The American dining institution is a huge part of the culture, but rising operating costs and inflation have seen many closures as restaurants fail to keep up with increasing rents. Inès Cross has visited a host of new locales hoping to fill the gap. In LA, she finds Max & Helen’s, founded by actor Phil Rosenthal, patronised by Hollywood’s finest and modelled after the local diners that he ate in as a child. The same spirit flavours Hudson Diner in upstate New York, serving “no-frills” favourites since the 1940s, now under new management. Many are trying to capture a lost Americana, though modern variants abound. At Agnes and Sherman in Houston Heights, Texas, chef Nick Wong blends tradition with Chinese-American flavours: I’m dreaming of his cheeseburger fried rice.

The nostalgic theme continues as Alex Bilmes writes a paean to the estate. Once the safe, reliable, capacious car of choice for suburban parents, it has lately been supplanted by the “bellicose”, “criminally overpowered” SUV. Bilmes is waging a campaign to rehabilitate the estate’s image and reclaim its prowess as the ultimate family car. “I’m not saying it’s as smoking hot as a vintage Lamborghini,” he argues. “But it’s a good deal easier on the eye than any SUV.”

‌

‌

THREE MORE STORIES TO READ THIS WEEK

Actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau’s essential Copenhagen