Air Mail Fetes London Issue at Langan’s

Tianwei Zhang
·2 min read
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LONDON — Graydon Carter’s digital weekly Air Mail touched down in London Tuesday night to celebrate the special issue dedicated to the British capital in partnership with Valentino.

At the heart of the issue is the London List — 25 emerging creatives and intellectuals lighting up the social scene.

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They include fashion designer Charlie Casely-Hayford, Rejina Pyo, Chateau Orlando founder Edward Hall, actress Greta Bellamacina, ballet dancer Francesca Hayward, Brat’s chef Tomos Parry, novelist Nicola Dinan, painter Joy Labinjo, and TikTok influencer and art historian Honor Cargill-Martin, to name a few.

Carter, who launched Air Mail with Alessandra Stanley in 2019 after leaving Vanity Fair, said he entrusted the team to put together the list “because they are much younger and more plugged in than I am. My lens will be pathetic.

“I think we chose wonderful young people who will do great things in the future,” he added.

Chateau Orlando founder Edward Hall attends Air Mail and Valentino celebrating the London List at Langan’s Brasserie in London.
Chateau Orlando founder Edward Hall attends Air Mail and Valentino celebrating the London List at Langan’s Brasserie in London.

One of Carter’s favorite features in the issue is “School for Scoundrels” by James Fox, which entails how Eton College has long played an outsize role in Great Britain’s public life, and how the school has managed to exert its influence on generation after generation of public servants for better — or, more likely — for worse.

“I love the whole issue. I thought it worked really well and I thought it represented London as of now. There’s also a story on Nicky Haslam, an old friend of mine, and his tea towels,” he said.

Other highlights include a deep dive into the UnHerd Club, London’s liveliest — and most controversial — new literary salon by Stuart Jeffries. Dorian Lynskey, in the meantime, offers a brief history of Camden Town, from Withnail to Amy Winehouse, with “All the Young, Noisy People.”

Daniel Millar attends Air Mail and Valentino celebrating the London List at Langan’s Brasserie in London.
Daniel Millar attends Air Mail and Valentino celebrating the London List at Langan’s Brasserie in London.

London is a city that’s very close to the heart of Carter, who has been visiting the city at least four to five times a year for the past six decades.

He counts Sally Clarke, a restaurant that’s been open since 1984 on Kensington Church Street, as his must-visit whenever he is in town. Carter is looking forward to Jeremy King, who was being ousted from Corbin & King, the restaurant group that owns the Wolseley, reopening his own restaurant as well.

London is the second city to which Air Mail dedicates a whole issue, with the first being New York.

For next year, Carter revealed that Air Mail will head to Los Angeles. Milan and Paris are in the pipeline as well.

With close to half-a-million subscribers, he added that Air Mail has become “a great business” and a physical edition of Air Mail will “happen at some point.”

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