By Maurizo Fiorino for d la Repubblica. This article has been translated from the original Italian below.
There is a bridge connecting the island of Palm Beach to the western side. A physical bridge, certainly, but also a metaphorical one: on one side, the dream; on the other, the rest of the world. “Today, West Palm Beach has exploded, becoming a kind of northern Miami. Financial institutions have relocated thousands of people there, families of young and very young professionals,” explains Stefano Tonchi. A phenomenon that has, in turn, created an entirely new social fabric. “Within the ten kilometers between Palm Beach and West Palm Beach, you can see a vision of what America’s future looks like,” adds the Editorial Director.
It is from this idea that PALMER was born, an unusual and original magazine that tells the story of this particular corner of Florida. It does so through stories, fashion, culture, and social observation, creating a layered narrative that avoids the surface in order to explore the deeper dynamics of the community. “Palm Beach today is younger, more diverse, more influential, and wealthier than ever,” echoes Michael Berman, the magazine’s Publisher, explaining that what makes the island a kind of experiment in the future is, paradoxically, its past. “That’s the magic. We’re talking about a community unlike any other, one that has evolved culturally in significant ways over the past ten years.” The idea for the magazine, which recently celebrated its tenth issue, emerged after Covid. “My husband had a gallery in Palm Beach, and over the years I spent a great deal of time there,” recalls Tonchi.
What struck him most? He answers without hesitation: “Privacy. Nobody stops you on the street. That’s one of the reasons Tom Ford, Tommy Hilfiger, and some of the country’s leading business people move there. In a certain sense, it’s the opposite of Beverly Hills and Miami.” This distance from any form of spectacle is also central to the magazine’s editorial identity, and according to both men, support from the community was immediate and tangible. On that subject, Berman shares an anecdote: “There is a well respected couple in town whom most people consider the embodiment of Palm Beach. Philanthropic, accomplished, social, and, for what it’s worth, they’re both even scratch golfers. I can’t tell you who they are, but I can say that I think of them every time we put together an issue of the magazine.”
Of course, there are many clichés to dismantle. Chief among them is the one surrounding women. “The press focuses on plastic surgery, floral dresses, and other stereotypes. But it never pays attention to the men, who are among the most powerful people in America,” Tonchi points out. Often, he adds, the future of the country is decided on golf courses or over lunch at private clubs. “Before Trump there was Rockefeller, and before Rockefeller all the great dynasties.” In this context, luxury is not an exception but the norm. “Wealth is simply the price of admission. It’s a fact of life, but it’s not our focus,” Berman is careful to emphasize. Yet, PALMER’s readers buy fashion and jewelry, build extraordinary art collections, take lavish vacations, purchase haute couture, and own private jets and yachts. “They are every luxury advertiser’s dream.”
Tonchi’s view on the subject is unequivocal: “An abundance of money has always brought every kind of excess with it, positive excesses such as philanthropy and negative ones such as the display of one’s lifestyle. Excess, let’s be honest, creates spectacle and attracts curiosity.” In that sense, the city continues to change, becoming increasingly transactional, with soaring real estate prices and a constant expansion of luxury. Two examples: Brunello Cucinelli has just doubled its retail space, and Bottega Veneta has moved into a larger store. “Florida, in general, is one of the few places in the United States that seems to exist more as an idea than as a reality,” the editor adds. “Palm Beach certainly has a very specific iconography, much like Beverly Hills. You say the name and immediately picture an aesthetic.” On that point, their position is equally clear regarding what is happening in the United States today. “To think that Donald Trump invented Palm Beach or somehow represents it is a mistake. Our position is not to engage in politics.” The magazine is inspired by what Tonchi describes as a state of mind more than a physical location. The citizens of Palm Beach are also the citizens of the Hamptons, Montecito, Aspen, and Nantucket. It is an America with enormous financial resources, certainly, but also a strong appetite for culture, which in contemporary America is itself a form of luxury.
Among the latest trends they have observed is the return of so-called formal entertaining at home, as well as the growing importance of private clubs, which suddenly seem to be multiplying everywhere. There is also the obsession with longevity and experimentation in cosmetic procedures. “In general, all the habits and pleasures of the affluent class find a particularly visible expression here,” Tonchi summarizes.
“I can’t imagine anything more banal than reading about rich people doing rich people things,” Berman adds. “The people of Palm Beach lead interconnected worlds, set agendas, challenge the status quo, and build legacies. That, perhaps, is the real luxury.” adds the Publisher. “And this is a new America. It’s not the same people who were coming to Florida in the 1990s. To put it simply: lifestyle, not entertainment,” Tonchi concludes. When the conversation turns to excess, kitsch, and everything else, Berman laughs. “We leave that sort of thing to others. We deal with reality, not reality television.”
