Culture
Into Thin Air
“Women Will Not Be Admitted on the Climb”: Inside a Groundbreaking Trek up Denali
An exclusive excerpt from Thirty Below remembers the women who made history on the mountain our president insists on calling Mount McKinley.
By Cassidy Randall
Obituary
David Johansen: His Life In Photos
The New York Dolls frontman, who also performed as “Buster Poindexter,” died Friday at age 75.
By Eve Batey
pod people
In the Podcast World, Gavin Newsom Is In, Alix Earle Is Out, and Alex Cooper and Dave Portnoy Are Eternal
Earle’s Hot Mess is reportedly out at Cooper’s Unwell Network, and Newsom is ready to talk. As for Portnoy? He’s here to troll them all.
By Kase Wickman
FROM THE MAGAZINE
Channel Brighter Days Ahead With These Wayne Thiebaud–Inspired Picks
Originally a cartoonist whose work was imbued with wit and playfulness that would continue throughout his career as a painter, Thiebaud foregrounds the serenity of the days spent in the sun.
22 slides
By Nicole Chapoteau, Kia D. Goosby, Jessica Neises, Miles Pope, and Daisy Shaw-Ellis
excerpt
How Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring Forged a Friendship While Protesting the Killing of Michael Stewart
In an excerpt from The Man Nobody Killed: Life, Death, and Art in Michael Stewart’s New York, author Elon Green recounts the young artist’s killing at the hands of police and its impact on the art world.
By Elon Green
REIGNITED
Fyre Festival Is Coming Back—And You Can Get a $1.1 Million Ticket. Sounds Fun, Right?
Billy McFarland is out of prison and ready to party—if he’s legally allowed out of the country, that is.
By Kase Wickman
true colors
The Art World Returns to a Post-Fires Los Angeles
After the catastrophic January wildfires, it was an open question as to whether Frieze, the city’s marquee fair, and its dozens of offshoot openings and satellites would go on. Six weeks later, those arriving in town found a return to form—and some lessons in quiet resilience.
By Nate Freeman
PICTURE THIS
Feast Your Eyes on These 8 New Photography Books
From gripping portraiture to striking landscapes, these new releases from Mary Ellen Matthews, Dafydd Jones, Matthew Barney, David Armstrong, Kim Hastreiter, and more prove a picture is worth more than a thousand words.
8 slides
By Madison Reid
FROM THE MAGAZINE
Karla Welch Can’t Get Over These 8 Items
The celebrity stylist and The Period Company cofounder shares her favorite things with Vanity Fair.
By Kayla Holliday
bring your child to work day
Elon Musk’s Daddy Cosplay Is a Not-So-Subtle Threat to All Working Women
The kid stays in the picture because he’s a great prop and charming distraction—but how many mothers can cart their children to the office?
By Karen Valby
Movement Work
Tamika Mallory, Women’s March Organizer, Warns to “Pay Very Close Attention” to Trump, Vance, and Musk
The civil rights activist speaks to Vanity Fair about her new memoir, her experience with the Anti-Defamation League, and this moment of American upheaval.
By Erin Vanderhoof
true colors
Inside the David Geffen–Crypto Banana Guy Legal Brawl
The entertainment mogul and upstart collector Justin Sun are locked in a court battle over an almost $80 million Giacometti, but the lawsuit’s details are even more surprising than its broad strokes. Plus a Sotheby’s-Breuer restaurant scoop and more in this week’s column.
By Nate Freeman
From the Magazine
Rupert Everett on Why He Started Writing, Being Dazzled by Julie Andrews, and What He Thinks of the Kardashians
In advance of his new collection of short stories, The American No, Everett opens up about finding the humor in rejection, the Oscar-nominated film that makes him want to “take a Valium” and more.
By Vivian Manning-Schaffel
love notes
A Valentine to a Certain Kind of Black Male Sexuality
From Jamie Foxx’s stand-up special to Vinson Cunningham’s debut novel to anti-cunnilingus “propaganda,” the writer surveys Black men and sexual agency in pop culture.
By Joseph Earl Thomas
BLEEDING HEARTS
Elizabeth Holmes Speaks About the “Hell and Torture” of Prison, New Inventions, and Pregnancy “Optics”
“I truly did not think I would ever be convicted or found guilty,” she told People in a new interview.
By Kase Wickman
Q & A
Nicole Scherzinger Conquers Broadway at Last
The Sunset Boulevard star on overcoming insecurity, sharing the spotlight in the Pussycat Dolls, and her New Year’s Eve with Patti LuPone.
By Chris MurphyPhotography by Norman Jean Roy
Michael Shannon’s Latest Role: Touring in an R.E.M. Cover Band
Talk about meta. The group’s biggest fans are Michael Stipe and the other members of R.E.M.
By Benjamin Hedin
SUPER (SAD) BOWL
Travis Kelce Delivers Emotional Apology To Fans For “Tough” Super Bowl 2025 Loss
“I’m sorry for how it ended,” he said during an episode of New Heights, the podcast he co-hosts with brother Jason Kelce, published Wednesday.
By Kase Wickman
Editor’s Letter
Radhika Jones on Millie Bobby Brown’s Next Chapter
Plus, the VF editor in chief highlights Hollywood’s movers and shakers—from seasoned favorites to rising forces.
By Radhika Jones
THEATER
Smash Was a Cult TV Hit. Now Steven Spielberg and Friends Are Bringing It to Broadway
The backstage backstories of the original show, the new production, and the mad rhapsodies of making a musical.
By Michael Riedel
AND THE WINNER IS
Actually, Serena Williams Won the Super Bowl 2025
The tennis GOAT made a lasting impression, and she boosted Taylor Swift after Donald Trump twisted things on social media.
By Kase Wickman