Editor’s Letter: Inside Robb Report’s First Entertainment Issue

When Louis Vuitton announced in 2023 that the search for Virgil Abloh’s successor as the creative director of the French house’s menswear division had concluded with the appointment of Pharrell Williams, reactions ran both hot and cold. Some insiders lamented his lack of technical training and decried his status as a celebrity influencer. Other commentators praised the elevation of one of pop culture’s most visionary leaders to the upper echelons of style as a profoundly forward-thinking move. What most could agree on, however, was that the courtship that had been going on between the worlds of fashion—and, by extension, luxury—and entertainment was now a full-blown marriage. 

In this, Robb Report’s first entertainment issue, author and business writer Christina Binkley looks into that deal and the ones that followed. Because after Bernard Arnault’s LVMH had welcomed Pharrell into the fold, François-Henri Pinault, chairman and chief executive of Kering, the parent company of Gucci, Saint Laurent, Boucheron, and Brioni, revealed the fruits of his own love affair by purchasing a majority stake in Hollywood talent agency CAA. Then Arnault went one better, launching his own entertainment studio, no less. And to top it all, now he’s changed the Hollywood sign to LVMH. Okay, maybe not, but the luxury world’s obsession with popular culture via music, film, TV, and more continues unabated. Binkley spent months speaking to numerous insiders and observers to understand what this means for consumers of all stripes. Read her revealing report here. 

For another take on Tinseltown, we visited one of its most interesting couples, Jessica and David Oyelowo. She is a true multi-hyphenate, an actor-producer-singer-songwriter making her debut as a director, chronicling the seven years her husband spent preparing to play Martin Luther King Jr. in the award-winning 2014 film Selma. It’s a fascinating and important conversation about racism, parenting, optimism, and culture. 

Sports are a vital part of the luxury/entertainment ecosystem, too, and in recent years, more and more stadiums and arenas have been spending big on upgrading their facilities for high-rolling VIPs. Whether that’s the Courtside Crown Club at the Brooklyn Nets’ Barclays Center home—its private club and restaurant by Major Food Group has an 800-bottle wine list—or the full-on experience in L.A. at the Crypto.com Arena—where membership doesn’t get you just prime seating and lavish hospitality but also tickets to the Grammy Awards and 2028 Olympics events—it’s fair to say that “going to the game” has become a seriously decadent experience (with the price tag to match). Robb Report’s digital director, John Vorwald, runs down the amenities. 

This summer sees sports take the global stage with the Olympics: France has been gearing up for the Games for years, and Paris, after a period in the doldrums, is peaking at just the right time (25 five-star hotels have opened there in the past three years, no less). We asked tastemakers in fields across fine dining, art, fashion, and design to highlight their favorite spots, while travel writer Vivian Song explores how the City of Light got its groove back. “Paris is happier than before, more joyful than before,” says the acclaimed Michelin six-star chef Hélène Darroze, and who are we to argue? Our guide to your Parisian summer begins on page 126. 

For a little light relief, stop by our quiz to test your knowledge of celebrity side hustles, from chic cleaning products (yes, really) and cannabis accessories to gold-plated toothbrushes and small-batch spirits. Because you’re nobody in entertainment unless you’re hawking something, right? Elsewhere, we check out some subtly stylish films, discover Rajasthan’s latest luxe outposts, review a pair of outstanding new headphones, and meet the woman behind the Piaget revival. 

Enjoy the issue.