Time Travel: 1980s
From a topless JFK Jr. to a bottomless Kate Moss, Christopher Bagley takes us on a guided tour through four decades of W magazine.
Halston brings his posse of Halstonettes to the Great Wall of China.
First Lady to-be Nancy Reagan discusses her plans for life in the White House, including afternoon naps for her husband.
1981 | AUGUST (above) Gianni Versace shows off his newly restored villa on Lake Como, Italy.
1982 | MAY A feature titled “Rich, Rich, Rich” investigates the ballooning personal fortunes of fashion designers. Perry Ellis, when asked about the cost of the seaplane he bought for his hops to Fire Island, says he isn’t quite sure: “Six figures. Something like that.”
A dispatch from spring weekend at Brown, starring a bare-chested JFK Jr.
Socialite Pat Buckley, photographed with dozens of pieces of luggage and three Cavalier King Charles spaniels, says she’s not big on traveling light: “My advice is to always take more than you’re going to need.”
In L.A., W pays visits to Betsy Bloomingdale (who is worried about weevils in her zinnia bed) and Hollywood’s new hot producer, 33-year-old Brian Grazer.
On the cover: “Fashion Victims 1985,” featuring Diana, Princess of Wales.
In: Raisa Gorbachev, pecan trees, keeping a journal. Out: Japan, cats, Don Johnson.
During their honeymoon at Lake Como, happy newlyweds Kelly and Calvin Klein squeeze in the time for a W interview and portrait.
Anna Wintour, 37, the new editor of British Vogue, brushes off the rumor that she has her sights set on the top job at American Vogue. “Grace Mirabella is a terrific editor,” Wintour says. “They would be absolutely mad to replace her.”
W coins the term Nouvelle Society in a report on the new megarich—the ruling clique of Kravises, Trumps, and Steinbergs, who like “big rocks, big furs, and big deals.”
On the cover: Oscar de la Renta and Linda Evangelista, in one of the designer’s very voluminous fall opera gowns.
1987 | JULY (above) Christian Lacroix, 36, opens his couture house on Rue du Faubourg St.-Honore.
1988 | MARCH Giorgio Armani shares his favorite tortellini recipe.
Fall ’88 is all about pants for cover boy Isaac Mizrahi.
Murphy Brown star Candice Bergen is one of W’s first Hollywood cover girls.
“Mercedes Hooks Her Bass” is the headline for a story on New York’s richest newlyweds, Mr. and Mrs. Sid Bass.
On the cover: Karl Lagerfeld shows one of his Chanel couture creations: a short black dress with mousseline wings.
