BlackBook Magazine

Freeze Frame: Tom Palumbo sizing up Tania Mallet, 1962.

We love France in the springtime, and Paris 1962: Yves Saint Laurent and Dior, The Early Collections—out in May from Rizzoli (176 pages, $75)—offers an insider’s view of just such a season in fashion history. On assignment for Esquire during Paris Fashion Week, Jerry Schatzberg captured moments of glamour and drama—including candids of Diana Vreeland, Helmut Newton, and Hiro—providing a vivid portrait of a bygone sartorial era.

Character actor Chiwetel Ejiofor takes the lead in David Mamet’s ass-kicking new film.

He may not be a household name, but you’ve seen Chewitel Ejiofor. He has quietly, brilliantly stolen scenes as a Nigerian immigrant in Dirty Pretty Things, as Keira Knightley’s husband in Love Actually, as a drag queen in Kinky Boots, and as Denzel Washington’s number two in Inside Man and American Gangster—in addition to a slew of recent roles (see Melinda and Melinda, Children of Men, Talk to Me). If you live in London you might have caught his recent performance as Othello at the Donmar Warehouse (which won him a Best Actor trophy at the Oliver Awards). Regardless, you’re about to see much more of him. And that is unequivocally a good thing.

Paging Sharon Stone! Jade Jagger, the genetically blessed model, socialite, and jewelry designer, has partnered with Belvedere vodka to corner the market on upscale ice picks. The Jagger Dagger, reminiscent of Disney’s titular sword in the stone reappropriated for VIP swashbucklers, is bedecked with diamonds, sapphires, and gold. Worth $200,000 (you read that right), the limited-edition dagger comes out in late spring and will be available in London at Harrods, and through other picky retailers across the globe.

This year would have marked the 78th birthday of Steve McQueen. Triumph didn’t forget. In his honor, the motorcycle company this month is offering a limited-edition hybrid of the vintage T-shirt the King of Cool wore during his racing days (he rode a Triumph 500cc). The shirt comes in pre-Technicolor black and white, for both men and women, and bears McQueen’s signature on its sleeve.

PROJECT: STRAITS ATLANTA

Director/Producer: Chef and owner Chris Yeo (a hairstylist-turned-restaurant-mogul who now owns three Straits locations in California) and Grammy-winning rapper, actor, and philanthropist Chris “Ludacris” Bridges.

Team: The Johnson Studio, the architect and design firm behind Kevin Rathbun Steakhouse in Atlanta and Fearing’s in Dallas (Esquire’s reigning “Restaurant of the Year”).

British brothers shrug convention, channel Orbison on drugs.

Dive Deep is like a mix tape, labeled “Stoner Jams.” After parting ways with original singer Skye Edwards two albums ago, British brothers Ross and Paul Godfrey continue to shirk convention by employing a number of lead vocalists, lending each track a wholly different vibe. The eleven songs share DNA—namely, the fuzzy-around-the-edges, soul-deep bass beats that are the aural equivalent of hot-boxing—but most are weak links.

This summer, runway fashion takes the fast lane. Expect road rage aplenty.

Diesel coated cotton and melange sweat dress, ($650).

As even a fashion dilettante can tell you, trends recycle every few years, bringing back the horror of ’80s-style scrunch socks, say, or high-waisted pants for a punishing second—or third, or fourth—season. Some looks, however, are worth revisiting, which is why we’re thrilled to see automotive-chic emerge as the dominant aesthetic for Summer ’08. Everyone from Junya Watanabe to Hermès is putting the pedal to the metal on the runway with leather biker jackets and zipper-ific driving garb, but Diesel’s offerings (see the Speed Racer-inspired cotton dress pictured at left) are especially wearable, blending urban comfort and couture tailoring. We’ll break for that.

The Upper East Side cosmetic dermatologist is cutting out to L.A. with his ‘Nip/Tuck’ business (just like that TV show!). Will Hollywood ever look the same?

“I made the biggest lips in the world,” says Dr. Steven Victor, chewing on a Twizzler and leaning back in a chair in his office, located across the street from the tony Carlyle Hotel. Those flubber-licious lips were bestowed upon a Penthouse pinup girl. Victor is proud of this, as he is proud of all of his deletions and inflations.

His practice knows no demographic boundaries. From strippers to socialites, they come. “Dr. Lookgood,” Victor’s nickname, is a standout cosmetic dermatologist to the stars of all walks—and industries—in a galaxy of lesser, self-publicizing plastic surgeons. His clients include Sarah Ferguson, Vogue columnist and author Plum Sykes, and socialite Ann Dexter-Jones. Those are the rare few who will admit it. Off the record, the grocery list of bold-faced names that walk through his no-fuss office dazzles. “Everybody wants to hide,” Victor says, smiling slyly. Which is why his upcoming Beverly Hills office, scheduled to open next month on swanky Canon Drive, will come equipped with a paparazzi-proof back door.

Toyota reinvents the Lexus with its new flagship speed machine, the IS F.

“What is F?” That’s the existential question Lexus has been hanging over our heads since January 2007, when the Japanese automaker revealed plans to introduce a performance sedan to compete with the all-powerful BMW 3 series.

Lexus has always been a superlative brand—it’s the highest-selling make of luxury cars in the States, and makes regular appearances on Consumer Reports’ top five lists—but the IS F promises to be its new flagship, a standout consonant in an already packed luxury alphabet (see also: BMW’s M, Mercedes-Benz’s AMG, Cadillac’s V, Volvo’s R, and Audi’s S and RS).