CONTRIBUTORS

1 Sarah Ellison

By her own admission, contributing editor Sarah Ellison is not much of a royal-watcher. But reporting "Diana's Impossible Dream" (page 338)—her story on the two-year hush-hush love affair between Diana and heart surgeon Hasnat Khan—proved to be a homecoming of sorts. "I began my career in journalism as a Newsweek intern in Paris a few weeks after Diana's tragic car accident," says Ellison. "To return to Di's life over a decade later felt like coming full circle."

2 Mario Testino

For this month's portfolio honoring the best of Vanity Fair's International Best-Dressed List, contributing photographer Mario Testino shot a lively coterie of taste-makers (page 286). But photographing these men and women was about more than just capturing what they wore. "Style means personality," says Testino (shown at the Animal Ball Masquerade). "People with a point of view. Clothes don't make them; they make the clothes."

3 Michael Lewis

At the core of contributing editor Michael Lewis's article in this month's issue, "Goldman's Geek Tragedy" (page 312), is the collision of computer culture and Wall Street culture. "Sergey [Aleynikovj's story is a thread in a bigger narrative," says Lewis of the Goldman Sachs programmer who was imprisoned and then released for his alleged theft of the firm's high-frequency-trading code—only to be charged again. "He is a symptom of these two worlds being forced into contact with one another."

4 Vanessa Grigoriadis

"He is a great American character," says contributing editor Vanessa Grigoriadis of Andre Leon Talley, the larger-than-life former Vogue editor and fashion connoisseur profiled in "The Eyeful Tower" (page 328). "You can study fashion in school and read magazines, but it is essentially an oral tradition. And he is the oral historian of fashion as it has been lived in the past half-century."

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1 Jonathan Becker

Last year, contributing photographer Jonathan Becker's work for this magazine was commemorated with the publication of Jonathan Becker: 30 Years at Vanity Fair (Assouline). This month, he picks up where the book left off, capturing the spirit of Andre Leon Talley, the style legend pictured here with Becker, for "The Eyeful Tower" (page 328). "I've admired Andre ever since we did a portrait of Diana Vreeland together in 1978," says Becker, who also shot Britain's auto-racing aristocrats for "Goodwood Vibrations" (page 212).

2 Evgenia Peretz

"There was no breaking-the-ice period," says contributing editor Evgenia Peretz of her first encounter with designer Michael Kors. Trailing the juggernaut of American style across New York City for "Kors Celebre" (page 320)—including lunch with a group of women who are both his friends and fans—Peretz learned that success has not dimmed Kors's enthusiasm. "He and Iman high-hved several times across the table—not a gesture typically associated with fashion's upper echelon."

3 Nigel Parry

Whether he's photographing a fast-talking pundit, a powerful banker, or the president of the United States, Nigel Parry doesn't judge his subjects. This month. Parry shot Sergey Aleynikov, the computer programmer accused of stealing from Goldman Sachs, for "Goldman's Geek Tragedy" (page 312). "Aleynikov was a little guarded," Parry recalls. "I can't tell his whole story, with numbers and figures, but I can show what he feels."

4 Jean-Paul Goude

As a multi-disciplinary artist, Jean-Paul Goude has an array of skills at his disposal when creating a work of art—be it France's bicentennial parade or a Chanel ad. "I don't consider myself a photographer. I'm more of a graphic artist who manipulates photographs," says Goude, who shot designer Christian Lacroix for "The Hand of Schiaparelli" (page 336). "Whether it's a commercial him, a live show, or straight photography, I always start with a drawing—just like an illustrator."

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1 A. A. Gill

Despite a lack of interest in motor racing, contributing editor A. A. Gill found himself awed by England's annual Goodwood Festival of Speed, on which he reports in "Goodwood Vibrations" (page 212). "Just the momentum of the event makes it exciting," says Gill, who was accompanied by Pink Floyd's Nick Mason, an avid automobile collector and longtime friend. "His interest in cars pre-dates his interest in rock music."

2 Jessica Diehl and Michael Carl

Fashion and style director Jessica Diehl and fashion market director Michael Carl collaborated with Mario Testino to shoot the best of Vanity Fair's International Best-Dressed Fist (page 286). "Michael brilliantly elaborates on any starting point I might have," says Diehl of their partnership. Carl also styled and wrote "Two for the Mode" (page 318), about supermodels Joan Smalls and Karlie Kloss. "They were delightful," he says. "Working with them was a dream."

3 Sasha Erwitt

During her eight and a half years at Vanity Fair, senior associate photography editor Sasha Erwitt did it all, producing shoots with every major photographer for every section of the magazine. Among the highlights for Erwitt, who is leaving V.F. to pursue photo and writing projects, is coordinating a portfolio of nearly every living presidential Cabinet member. "We are all going to miss Sasha's calm, collected style," says photography director Susan White.

4 Wayne Maser

Wayne Maser recalls that when he first photographed Fiat heir Fapo Elkann nine years ago for Vanity Fair, Elkann spoke about one day designing clothing. A member of Vanity Fair's Best-Dressed Hall of Fame and co-founder of the luxury line Italia Independent, Elkann has since teamed with Gucci. Of their reunion for "The Scion, the Watch, and the Wardrobe" (page 326), Maser reflects, "I was happy to see his dream come true."

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Susan Phear, Punch Hutton, and Paloma Huerre

If the Fanfair and Fairground sections are a magazine unto themselves, then deputy editor Punch Hutton (center), who orchestrates the operation, senior associate photography editor Susan Phear (left), and associate art director Paloma Huerre (right) are that self-contained magazine's staff. "We've been working together so long that we can almost predict each other's needs," says Huerre. The pages (this issue, 17 in all) act as V.F.'s arbiter of what is culturally en pointe from exclusive photos of Sean Parker's wedding (page 197) and a peek at Carolina Herrera's desk (page 166) to the newly introduced Cult Favorites feature (page 180). "It's great to see these places months later, when they're a big hit, knowing we were there first," says Phear. "Our challenge each month is to present an eclectic array of exciting stories and memorable visuals," says Hutton. "If readers tear out our pages, we know we've raised the bar for our next issue."

Beinaklo Herrera, Amy Fine Collins, and Aimee Bell

OCCUPATION: REINALDO HERRERA Contributing editor. Vanity Fair. AMY FINE COLLINS Special correspondent. Vanity Fair.AIMEE BELL Deputy editor. Vanity FairIN THIS ISSUE: R.H. "The International Best-Dressed List" (page 246). A.F.C. "The International Best-Dressed List," "A Blast of the Best" (page 286), "The Hand of Schiaparelli" (page 336), and Behind the Scenes (page 144). A.O. "The International Best-Dressed List," A. M. Homes's "From Maui to Malibu" (page 325), Michael Carl's "Two for the Mode" (page 318), Amy Fine Collins's "A Blast of the Best" and "The Hand of Schiaparelli," Hot Type (page 176), Pippa Middleton's "Lord's and a Lady" (page 206), and Jane Birkin's Proust Questionnaire (page 362). SARTORIAL MISCUE THEY CANNOT STAND: R.H. "Short trousers with no socks and laced-up shoes." A.F.C. "Bad posture, chronic newness, conformism, and implants." STYLE ICON: R.H. "My father." A.F.C. "My daughter. Flora, and the exquisite women drawn by Eric and Rene Gruau." A.O. "Reinaldo and Amy."

FOR DETAILS, GO TO VF.COM/CREDITS