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25th Oct 2019

In conjunction with the International Fair of Contemporary Art, Saint Laurent’s Rive Droite Paris concept store—a retail destination-cum-cultural space—has occupied much of its store’s space to install a temporary exhibition titled Dark Shadows, the home to a number of works from notable artists. Curated by the French fashion house’s creative director, Anthony Vaccarello, the exhibition brings together photography, artwork and sculpture, including a series of six black and white polaroids captured by Robert Mapplethorpe, sculptures signed by Lucio Fontana and Sterling Ruby, as well as pieces by Ed Ruscha and Alberto Giacometti.  [Vogue inbox]

Shortly after debuting her spring/summer 2020 collection in the idyllic setting of Athens’s Temple of Poseidon, Mary Katrantzou will soon be dropping a 14-piece capsule on The Outnet. Using fabrics from Katrantzou’s archives, which reflect her signature opulence and vibrant prints, the designer has reworked them to create the collection, which includes dresses, blouses and a jumpsuit. “Our core focus was on accessibility for women who love our brand and the exclusive prints we designed are inspired by jewel tone colour blocking and our take on animal print,” notes Katrantzou. “Through the use of bold colours and feminine silhouettes, we want women to feel confident and stand out, while having fun mixing and matching the pieces.” The collection will be available to shop online from October 30. [Vogue inbox]

Following National Breast Cancer Awareness Day on October 28, world-leading breast cancer doctors and researchers collective, Breast Cancer Trials, will launch their Her Lab Coats campaign in celebration of the women leading the charge in finding preventions and cures for the disease—one which is said to be the most diagnosed female cancer and the biggest cancer killer of young women. Aiming to raise awareness about breast cancer trials across Australia, in addition to raising money to fund vital research, 10 local designers, including Lee Mathews, Anna Quan, Effie Kats and Lover, each made their pass at creating their own interpretation of a lab coat, unique pieces which will be auctioned online from November 1 with all proceeds going to the organisation’s life-saving trials. [Vogue inbox]

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R.M. Williams recently partnered with Australian industrial designer, Marc Newson, to create the brand’s latest boot offering: the Yard Boot 365. Created as part of the brand’s Undeniable Character platform, the design was ideated to be a future icon for the heritage boot brand, with Newson reinterpreting the classic Gardener Boot for his new design, intended as a modern-day work boot for the modern-day worker. Designed to be worn all year around, by both men and women, the style features the classic elastic gusset and tug, a rubber outsole and added comfort in the inner sole. Available in six colours and three leather types, the limited-edition Yard Boot 365—which was developed and manufactured in R.M.Williams’s South Australia workshop—will be available to purchase online from October 28, and in selected retailers from November 11, for $445. [Vogue inbox]

Australian label Sir recently released its resort 2020 collection, named Deladana Le Citron, in homage to Portuguese folklore. As a celebration of the Sir woman, and an exploration of empowerment on both a conscious and subconscious level—with a generous dose of mystical elements—the collection features the brand’s signature embroidery, paired with boyish tailoring, fairytale femininity and prints which reflect the notions of fertility, peace and abundance with the use of leaf, fig and pomegranate motifs. In addition to the ready-to-wear offering, the collection also expands Sir’s intimates collection with woven and knit pieces that aim to redefine ideas around sensuality, confidence and femininity. The collection is available to shop online now. [Vogue inbox]

The spring racing carnival is in full swing, which means all of the stylish event-goers have carefully planned their outfits for the season. On Saturday, October 19, the fashion set descended on Royal Randwick for The Everest and their looks for this Sydney race day certainly didn’t disappoint. Every guest dressed up in their fashionable best and with our street style photographer there on the ground to capture it all, the result is plenty of sartorial moments to bookmark and reference year after year.

As per usual, guests at the Sydney event took a number of style risks. The day was awash with colour, with a palette of blue and pink being key trends on the ground. Bold prints were also having their moment at The TAB Everest, with stripes, checks and painterly prints all on display. A big trend this year was the tailored trouser suits, with a number of guests trying out a matchy-matchy two-piece approach. Jumpsuits also reigned supreme, with one pastel blue number in particular receiving ticks from the Vogue team.

Then there was the headwear. Given Sydney’s warmer climate, there were headpieces of every size and shape – with large-brimmed straw hats giving guests a welcome reprieve from the sun. Headband-style headwear is also a favourite this spring, whether adorned with pearls or colourful flowers. Bows were everywhere once again this spring too, seen nestled into the ponytails of a number of guests.

Also in the accessories department, shoes and bags complemented each look. A Dior Saddle bag could be seen draped around the wrist of one well-dressed guest, why the ever-practical cross-body bag still made an appearance, whether it was in a YSL or a Gucci iteration. Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Fendi also received mentions in the accessories realm.

Other show-goers let their accessories make a statement, with one carrying a box-sized clutch and another, a straw bag in the shape on an elephant. Weird and wonderful sunglasses were the other way to let your accessories do the talking – while also remaining a practical addition for the Sydney sun – with pearl-encrusted glasses and aviators a key trend.

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On the day, guests enjoyed a number of events, including stopping by the always inspiring Fashion Chute.

Here, keep scrolling through to see the very best street style looks from The TAB Everest race day at Royal Randwick.

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28th Oct 2019

This issue, featuring the gorgeous Bella Hadid, was brought together in the shadow of the next, the December issue, in which we will celebrate the 60th anniversary of Australia. But that doesn’t mean it was given any less consideration, love or care by the team; in fact, quite the contrary. Editing this edition has taught me the need to re-evaluate the past – not delete it – as we move things forward.

Australia was originally launched as a supplement within UK . It wasn’t until 1959 that we published our first independent, standalone magazine, with Dame Helen Mirren’s cousin on the cover, shot by the great Norman Parkinson.

While poring over those early issues at the State Library of NSW, where they keep a full collection (as does the National Library of Australia in Canberra), regular contributor Jody Scott came across an extraordinary account of Australia at the time, written by a visiting American journalist, Marilyn Mercer, and published for US audiences, titled Australia: a man’s world, for better or worse? It was reprinted in our in 1962 with an invitation for readers to write in with their reaction to her views, and five guineas was offered for the best letter on the theme.

Mercer reported that Australians were much like Americans: we were independent, friendly and intensely democratic (men sat in the front of taxis, we didn’t tip and even the rich didn’t have many household servants) but also “curiously apathetic”. She noted that no-one worked very hard in Sydney, we knocked off early and went to the beach, and were committed to the “good life”. “They are more given to appreciating culture dutifully than to creating it,” she added.

Her headline about a man’s world was largely drawn from her observation that sports dominated; that Australian women preferred the role of “pioneer women in the home” to independence; and her attendance at a cocktail party at a Sydney press club, where men and women were separated (at the time, it was the norm in drinking establishments and clubs).

She wrote: “Their aborigines, like our American Indians, largely cling to their own ways and take little part in Australian life.” No mention of the fact Indigenous Australians were only given the right to enrol to vote that same year, and so therefore were considered citizens for the first time, but in reality were still living under a form of apartheid.

While reading Mercer’s story today is fascinating, it is also rather uncomfortable. It might be easier to ignore both it and other stories, such as ‘How to Manage a Woman’ by Abe Burrows, which includes the advice: “never leave her cigarette unlit …”. Looking back at covers from the 90s, I’m bewildered to think we featured young teens. But I strongly believe that censoring the content of the past is a certain way to repeat mistakes in the future. I am also strongly opposed to artistic censorship of historic work.

In re-examining the social mores of the 60s, we reconsidered some of the work of the great photographers of the time, including Sam Haskins, specifically his book, . Sam retired to Australia in 2002 and passed away seven years later. While Sam did not shoot for , he did some of his last work with our fashion director, Christine Centenera, which was published by me because I was introduced to him by his friend and a regular collaborator, Alison Veness, who is today ’s creative director at large.

To be clear, Haskins was a talented artist and his pictures are a study in the sexuality and beauty of the time. There has never been, and there is not, any suggestion of impropriety. But I wondered if I would be bold enough to publish anything even slightly as risqué as his work today for fear of it seeming to objectify the subject. And so we sent creative boards to Bella and asked if she was comfortable referencing Haskins’s work to create a modern for this month’s issue. She was and found the whole creative process empowering. I hope that with these images and the accompanying story, we might start a conversation about resisting the temptation to wipe away years of past work because it doesn’t sit comfortably with today’s mores.

Victorians used a fig leaf to cover the genitals of a statue of cast so as not to upset the Queen, while Pope Paul IV decreed the use of fig leaves back in the 16th century. In the 1600s, Pope Innocent X went one step further, castrating nude sculptures throughout the Vatican. In the 1930s, the Spanish featured a Goya nude on a stamp, but the US postage service refused to deliver any letters carrying it. Nazis and religious zealots burned books. Artistic censorship has never served humanity well, nor created a more moral world.

Talking of publishing and forever protecting the extraordinary work of great artists, this month we sadly bid farewell to one of the giants of image-making, Peter Lindbergh. At Australia, we will be forever grateful for the work he did for us, including a groundbreaking cover of Naomi Campbell in 1997 and, most recently, for capturing Emma Watson for the issue dedicated to sustainability that she guest-edited in 2018. He was a kind man and a true artist; he made careers and supported friends. The legacy of his work should be forever admired and appreciated by future generations.

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This striking detached house was re-built by architect Marcus Lee, who worked on Heathrow’s Terminal 5 and the Lloyd’s building. Alex is my sister, and I remember her telling me about the house Lee had built nearby in Clapton, known as the Framehouse, and how she and her husband Chris were very inspired by it. When they found a detached but boxy and architecturally uninspiring new build, they went to Lee for help in transforming it into a more distinctive family home.

The exterior of the house is painted dark grey and covered with a wooden frame made from Douglas fir. The same wood is used inside to create the feeling of being in a Japanese or Scandinavian retreat. The open-plan living area is zoned by the use of rugs, sliding doors and pillars, with a galley kitchen functioning as a walkway between the dining room and TV/play room. Beautifully coloured sliding doors throughout the house contrast with the natural wood to create a bold and contemporary atmosphere.

We come from a Swedish family and Alex is drawn to both the practicalities of modern Scandinavian design and the more traditional Swedish style. There is a common misconception that all Scandi style is minimal and monochrome, when it can in fact be very colourful and decorative – as with the upholstered vintage Josef Frank chairs in the living room.

Alex’s home has Scandinavian elements such as the iconic String shelves, lined with memorabilia and items the children have made. This table and chairs set was inherited from an aunt. The chairs are upholstered in Swedish fabric, while the Marmoleum flooring is colour- blocked in a mid-century style.

Alex says that east London is her spiritual home: ‘This area is all about change, it’s exciting! The majority of people that we have met here are working for themselves and it has inspired us to do the same. We both work for ourselves and run our own schedules. This house helps us do just that.’

Alex and Chris built a cabin-style house in their garden which they use for guests. Below, see inside the cabin.

This house is an excerpt from East London Homes by Sarah Bagner, which is out now and published by Hoxton Mini Press

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28th Oct 2019

Hollywood’s most beloved Netflix heartthrob, 23-year-old Noah Centineo (To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before; The Perfect Date; Sierra Burgess is a Loser) is officially off the market, having shown up to UNICEF’s Masquerade Ball in West Hollywood with 22-year-old model Alexis Ren on Saturday night. And, though both celebrities have been a rumoured pair for some months now, it’s fair to assume this red carpet debut solidifies their relationship status as official.

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Arriving together to the annually celebrated ball, which took place at the Kimpton La Peer Hotel in Los Angeles over the weekend, Centineo and Ren confirmed their relationship status in what appeared to be coordinating outfits. While Centineo kept his style simple in a minimal black suit with a striped shirt underneath, his outfit worked as a blank canvas to perfectly complement Ren’s silver gown, which featured an open back and high slit, and matching metallic shoes. 

The 22-year-old model and former YouTube star, who has amassed 13.3 million followers on Instagram and recently appeared on the US edition of Dancing with the Stars, is believed to have been seeing Centineo for a while, with the up-and-coming actor allegedly spotted collecting her from the airport back in May. As per Us Magazine, the pair have been linked since and, in September, were spotted again leaving an eatery in West Hollywood together after what appeared to be a date, before being seen at Whole Foods together the next day. 

This follows Ren’s previous relationship with her Dancing with the Stars co-star 25 year old Alan Bersten, and Centineo’s reported links to actresses Angeline Appel and Kelli Burglund, as also reported by Us Magazine. 

Both based in Los Angeles, with Centineo slated to appear next in Charlie’s Angels and the sequel To all The Boys I’ve Loved Before: P.S. I Still Love You, it makes sense the 22 and 23-year-old are running in the same social circles. And, while neither Centineo nor Ren have taken to Instagram yet to personally publicise their relationship, it’s surely only a matter of time before the two take to the platform, where no doubt their combined 30.8 million followers are hard at work curating fan accounts for the pair as we speak. 

On October 23, Vogue Australia creative director Jillian Davison (above) was crowned 2019’s Outstanding Creative at the 2019 Australian Fashion Laureate Awards, which took place at the iconic Café Sydney. The honour, which served to highlight Davison’s achievements and creative contribution to the Australian fashion industry, was accompanied by eight other awards across categories including womenswear, menswear, retailer, accessories, modelling, and emerging talent.

Davison returned to the Vogue Australia family as the publications’s creative director just last year, after an impressive run internationally as the fashion director of Glamour US, fashion editor of Harper’s Bazaar US, and contributing editor at Teen Vogue, Vogue China, Vogue Germany and Vogue Japan. The ceremony also saw Vogue Australia cover star, Charlee Fraser, take home the award for Model of the Year.

After being judged by a panel of more than 30 industry leaders, the finalists from each category gathered together with fellow members of the Australian fashion industry at Café Sydney for a celebratory luncheon, where the winners across all nine categories were revealed and formally recognised for their achievements by IMG and the New South Wales Government. 

This year, perhaps symbolising an appetite for change, IMG introduced a new category for Sustainable Innovation, which aimed to recognise the Australian brands demonstrating leadership for best practices in sustainability. Husband and wife duo, Marnie Goding and Adam Koniaras of Elk, an Australian brand that is locally designed, independent and ethically sourced, took home the honour. 

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“The introduction of the Sustainable Innovation award category allows our industry to acknowledge the efforts and accomplishments of individuals and brands who are dedicated to lessening fashion’s impact on our environment, and to celebrate the most noteworthy innovations shaping our industry and its future,” Natalie Xenita, the executive director of IMG’s fashion events group for the Asia-Pacific region, explained via a press release.

For more, scroll on for the complete list of winners and a sneak peek at their portraits from the 2019 Australian Fashion Laureate Awards.

Marnie Goding and Adam Koniaras (not pictured) of Elk won the Sustainable Innovation award, presented by GlamCorner.

Charlee Fraser won the Model of the Year award.

Ilona Hamer (not pictured) and Peta Heisen of Matteau won the Best Australian Emerging Talent award, presented by Etihad Airways.

Lee Mathews won the Best Australian Womenswear award.

Mikey Nolan and Toby Jones of Double Rainbouu won the Best Australian Menswear award.

Sarah Gittoes (not pictured) and Robert Sebastian Grynkofki of Sarah and Sebastian won the Best Australian Accessories award.

Deborah Sams and Mary Lou Ryan of Bassike won the Best Australian Retailer award.

CHICAGO — 

The Justice Department investigation into the origins of its own probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election has morphed from an administrative review into a criminal inquiry, a potentially significant shift that gives the federal prosecutor leading the inquiry broader powers to compel testimony and the production of records.

How significant the new criminal aspect of the inquiry truly is remained unclear, however. Justice Department officials on Friday declined to divulge what prompted John Durham, the federal prosecutor handling the case, to ramp up his investigation.

The decision may stem, however, from a referral by the Justice Department’s inspector general, Michael Horowitz, about a witness who may have lied to his investigators, according to a person familiar with the matter. If so, that could mean the criminal aspect of the case is fairly limited.

Horowitz is expected to soon release a report on the Justice Department’s handling in 2016 and 2017 of secret surveillance of a former Trump campaign advisor.

A Justice Department spokeswoman, Kerri Kupec, declined to comment on the matter.

President Trump, who for years has prodded the Justice Department to investigate its own investigators, on Friday sounded confident that Durham would justify his calls for action.

“I can’t tell you what’s happening,” the president told reporters, but “I will tell you this: I think you’re going to see a lot of really bad things.”

Durham’s investigation is the most politically fraught of three inquiries digging into aspects of the Justice Department’s handling of high-profile investigations in 2016. Atty. Gen. William Barr personally tapped Durham, a veteran and respected U.S. attorney in Connecticut, to lead the inquiry and has kept close tabs on his progress, Justice Department officials said.

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Barr has even accompanied the prosecutor on overseas trips to press counterparts to provide information that may help the investigation.

The attorney general’s keen interest in Durham’s work has raised concerns that the nation’s top law enforcement officer is chasing conspiracy theories championed by Trump, who has repeatedly challenged U.S. intelligence and law enforcement assessments that Russia actively sought to assist his campaign.

Top House Democrats on Thursday night decried the decision to open what they called a “politically motivated investigation.”

Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, in a joint statement said the criminal inquiry “raised profound new concerns that the Department of Justice under Attorney General William Barr has lost its independence and become a vehicle for President Trump’s political revenge.”

“If the Department of Justice may be used as a tool of political retribution or to help the President with a political narrative for the next election, the rule of law will suffer new and irreparable damage,” they added.

The other two Justice Department investigations into 2016-related matters are being led by Horowitz and John Huber, the U.S. attorney in Utah, who had been selected by former Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions to conduct a broad review of the Russia inquiry and investigations related to Trump campaign opponent Hillary Clinton. Durham took over Huber’s Russia portfolio, Barr has said. Justice Department officials have declined to say whether Huber is still investigating how the agency handled Clinton-related inquiries.

Horowitz has told Congress that his team interviewed more than 100 witnesses and reviewed a million records, and he has submitted a draft report to Justice Department officials to review and declassify.

He has focused his attention on how the Justice Department and FBI obtained an order from the nation’s top spy court to eavesdrop on communications by a former campaign advisor, Carter Page. The FBI suspected Page might have been a Russian agent; Page was not charged with any crimes.

Former Justice Department officials have said they have confidence Horowitz is conducting a nonpartisan review. They suspect his report will fault how the Justice Department and FBI handled certain aspects of the case.

Barr apparently did not believe the inspector general’s investigation was sufficient and appointed Durham to conduct his own review. Durham appears to be focusing, in part, on the work of U.S. and foreign intelligence agencies, according to Justice Department officials.

WASHINGTON — 

President Trump, looking to make inroads with African American voters, touted the bipartisan sentencing reform legislation he signed into law last year during a speech Friday at a historically black South Carolina college.

Speaking to a conference on criminal justice reform at Benedict College in Columbia, S.C., where a number of Democratic hopefuls will also appear this weekend, Trump used an official White House event to make the political case for his reelection and to take credit for the First Step Act, which eased harsh minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders.

“Past administrations tried and failed,” Trump said. “They didn’t try very hard, I will say.”

Trump rarely speaks before black audiences and has been criticized for rhetoric that incites white rage. The White House had billed this speech as an opportunity to make his case directly to black voters, who oppose him by large margins.

“We’ve had so many people with empty political rhetoric. We’re doing the opposite. We’re acting, not talking,” he said, citing lower unemployment figures and higher wages.

In the end, however, not many black voters were there to hear his words. Only seven students from the college were seated in the small hall in which Trump spoke, college officials confirmed to the press pool traveling with Trump. About half the seats were reserved for administration allies and guests. News of the seating plan was first reported by McClatchy.

Trump cast the 2018 sentencing bill as a moment of “hope and optimism.” And he reframed his “America First” slogan as a promise to speak up for the voiceless, including African Americans.

“From the beginning, my vow has been to stand up for those who have been forgotten, neglected, overlooked and ignored,” he said.

Trump was less combative than usual and talked about the criminal justice overhaul in moral terms he seldom uses in speeches.

The bill was something bigger than politics and “was not a theme of my campaign initially,” he said.

“To this day, I’m not sure what I did was a popular thing or an unpopular thing, but I know it was the right thing to do,” Trump said.

Trump called three people to the stage, one whose sentence he commuted and two others who have benefited from the new law.

Alice Johnson, whose case was brought to Trump’s attention last year by Kim Kardashian, thanked Trump for her freedom.

“If it wasn’t for you, Mr. President, I’d still be serving five years in prison,” Johnson said, as Trump stood just behind her on stage.

Trump also made a point of praising Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), who was eulogized Friday by two former presidents at a funeral service in Baltimore earlier in the day that drew scores of prominent politicians, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

Trump told the audience he hoped to get legislation passed to lower the cost of prescription drugs in honor of Cummings, recalling his passion for the issue.

“I want to give my warmest respects, please,” he said.

Just three months ago, Trump had trashed Cummings, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee that was investigating him, in a tweet storm using racist language, describing the lawmaker’s majority-black district as “a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess” and a “very dangerous & filthy place” where “no human being would want to live.”

The president’s absence Friday at yet another political funeral underscored his isolation from Washington’s political class and his pariah status, especially during moments of national mourning.

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The funeral in Baltimore celebrated Cummings’ life with tributes which, like those delivered at other political funerals over the last two years, sometimes sounded as if they included veiled critiques of Trump.

As a member of Congress, Cummings was referred to as “the honorable,” former President Obama said in his eulogy. “This is a title we confer on all kinds of people who get elected to public office,” he said. “You’re supposed to introduce them as honorable. But Elijah Cummings was honorable before he was elected to office.”

“There’s nothing weak about looking out for others,” Obama continued. “There’s nothing weak about being honorable. You’re not a sucker to have integrity and to treat others with respect.”

The comments came the same week that Trump, on Twitter, compared the Democratic-led impeachment probe to a lynching, drawing sharp criticism from many African Americans. As he departed for Friday’s speech, Trump showed no regret.

“It’s a word many Democrats have used,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “That’s a word that’s been used many times.”

Toward the end of his speech, he compared the threat of impeachment to the disproportionate prosecutions of African Americans, who are incarcerated at five times the rate of white Americans.

“You know I have my own experience,” he told the crowd. “You see it’s a terrible thing going on in our country. It’s an investigation in search of a crime.”

Mary and Charles Lindsey went to sleep to the glow of the Tick fire, but they had seen wildfires before, and their two-story home in the Santa Clarita foothills seemed safe enough. All Thursday, they hadn’t gotten a reverse-911 alert, or an emergency email, or a phone call. All had seemed quiet since 11 a.m., when Southern California Edison shut off their power.

It wasn’t until 2:30 a.m. Friday that something — maybe the whir of helicopters or perhaps the providence of God — woke Mary up. She saw the unusual light creeping through the bedroom curtains. “That’s not right,” she thought, grabbing a flashlight.

Outside, a sheriff’s deputy cruising by noticed the flashlight in the window and flicked on his siren, then shouted into the home: “It’s a mandatory evacuation!” The deputy wondered why the occupants hadn’t gotten an alert. She told him that entire section of the Stonecrest community didn’t have a clue. They were all still in their homes. “Oh, my God!” the deputy replied.

What followed, by Mary Lindsey’s recollection the next day at an evacuation center at the College of the Canyons in Valencia, was a pitch-black rush to safety for the Lindseys and dozens of their neighbors — just a microcosm of the unsettling new abnormal confronting residents in California’s sprawling wildfire country: managing emergency evacuations without lights, electrical garage doors, internet-enabled phone lines or air conditioning.

In the Lindseys’ case, it was too smoky to open any windows. When they finally evacuated during the dark morning hours Friday, Mary Lindsey had to reach under the bed for the flashlight she’d stashed there. She also put an extra one in her purse.

“It was pitch black,” she said. “Pitch black.”

As fires still raged in Northern California’s wine country and close to the suburbs above the 14 Freeway in Southern California, evacuees described how getting out, and getting on, felt markedly more frightening because the state’s biggest utilities had cut power as part of wide “public safety power shut-offs.” There was no small irony in the fact that the discomfiting power outages had been ordered to prevent the fires in the first place.

California has built much of its emergency response system around the premise that alerts and evacuation orders will be received by residents with cellphones or landlines. But landline technology has changed, and telecommunications companies are increasingly relying on internet technology, which is subject to power outages, to serve households with voice calls.

More fire coverage

Utilities say they are working to address such challenges. A spokesman for Southern California Edison said a “critical-care customer” program offers advance warning to people who need further assistance in the event of an outage. But it’s unclear whether most customers in need of such service are aware that the program is available, or whether the warning time is enough.

Phil Herrington, Edison’s senior vice president of transmission and distribution, said the utility tries to give customers 24 to 48 hours’ advance notice of outages. “That gives customers time to make preparations — if they’re going to be out of communication, to identify other sources of communication,” he said. “We’re doing this for public safety, keeping in mind the trade-off.”

Asked about the evacuation challenges, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department did not respond to specific questions but issued a general statement: “There were several evacuation areas just south of the fire’s flash point,” the statement said. “In instances where there is a a fast-moving fire, no one method of emergent notifications can cover the need for public safety.”

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Even before this week’s fires, Californians have learned the difficulties of getting out without electricity.

Janice Bell, a Chatsworth resident who has multiple sclerosis, had to get out of her Porter Ranch home in a hurry in the predawn darkness Oct. 14 because of the Saddleridge fire. But Bell’s car was trapped inside her garage, behind an electric door, and she could not open it. After two hours of waiting, she flagged down a neighbor who helped her open the garage door, and she drove to her office in Woodland Hills.

Bell said she received no advance notice of the power outage. And she said there would have been no way of learning from Edison’s website, which had been down for two days.

“It was just crazy to me that that can be allowed to happen…. I guess they never thought of people getting their garage doors open,” she said.

Evacuations were particularly complicated at the Isis Oasis, an animal sanctuary in the Sonoma County wine country town of Geyserville, where operators had to exit with an array of exotic creatures. Stumbling through a darkened pen, deTraci Regula tried to secure two emus, aggressive 5-foot-tall birds.

“Just as we began to evacuate, all the power went out,” Regula said, adding that a warning from Pacific Gas & Electric Co. about a shut-off had been canceled earlier. “We didn’t know that we were going to have one.” She said the darkness “pretty much doubled the effort…. We literally could not see what we were doing, and there was heavy ash.”

In Southern California, an evacuee at the College of the Canyons, Judy Intenso, had faced an Edison power outage at her apartment a week ago. Though there was no fire emergency then, she recalled the difficulty feeling her way to the door, where she stores a battery-operated flashlight.

She couldn’t imagine the stress of dealing with a loss of power with flames approaching. “To try to gather your things and your dog, and do all that in the dark without hurting yourself,” she said, trailing off. “Very scary.”

So, knowing she might lose power Thursday, Intenso prepared for the worst. When she got home, Intenso, an electrical technician, parked outside her garage, knowing that she would need electricity to open the door. She also filled up her gas tank, knowing that she’d want to leave her car running so she could use it to charge her cellphone. She got away cleanly and seemed to be coping well at the evacuation center, where she was joined by her adult son.

The fear of lost homes and possessions loomed large for many at evacuation centers. It came with an abiding anxiety for many — fear of running out of power for their mobile phones.

Outside the College of the Canyons on Friday, one evacuee sat under a blazing sun, where a Red Cross volunteer suggested he’d be more comfortable in the shade.

The man pointed to an electrical outlet and said, “I need juice.”

Times staff writers Phil Willon, Anita Chabria, Joe Serna and Colleen Shalby contributed to this report.

By John Myers and Taryn Luna

SACRAMENTO — 

The money wouldn’t have gone far to help Californians who needed to replace spoiled food, those who fled to hotels or shopkeepers forced to buy generators and fuel during the power shut-off by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. earlier this month.

Still, Gov. Gavin Newsom urged PG&E to do something symbolic: Give a $100 rebate to each of its frustrated residential customers and $250 to every business with no electricity.

“Lives and commerce were interrupted,” Newsom wrote on Oct. 14 to William Johnson, the utility‘s president and chief executive. “Too much hardship was caused.”

But last week, PG&E refused. And in doing so, what could have been a goodwill gesture became a symbol of defiance and futility: California’s investor-owned utilities may be criticized for their efforts at wildfire prevention, but they’re also calling the shots.

For a variety of reasons — the limits of existing regulations, the off-season for lawmaking in Sacramento, challenges in finding political consensus on policy — the status quo isn’t likely to change anytime soon. Millions of Californians can do little more than watch as the lights go off, then on and maybe back off again during the blustery autumn of 2019.

“This is simply unacceptable,” a visibly angry Newsom told reporters in Los Angeles on Thursday. “It is infuriating beyond words to live in a state as innovative and extraordinarily entrepreneurial and capable as the state of California, to be living in an environment where we are seeing this kind of disruption and these kinds of blackouts.”

In some ways, the disruption is by design. State officials have long known that in the otherwise highly regulated world of utilities, they have little control over what is known as a “public safety power shut-off.”

Existing rules state that utility companies have broad discretion over when and where power outages will be imposed. Neither the California Public Utilities Commission nor local governments have a formal role in the decision-making process. CPUC officials can only weigh in after power is restored.

The events Wednesday in Sonoma County, where an energized PG&E transmission line failed near what’s believed to be the origin of the Kincade fire, offer a glimpse at how subjective the decision-making can be. Company officials said Thursday that PG&E’s own forecasters believed wind speeds in the area would require turning off only distribution systems, not transmission lines. Johnson, who became chairman of PG&E six months ago, told reporters only that the utility uses “a formula or an algorithm” to evaluate historical data on winds and fire danger, but did not offer further details.

State regulators have established guidelines for the types of anticipated weather conditions that should prompt utilities to turn off electricity service and the warnings that should be issued before an outage. But many actions are left to the discretion of the companies, an opaque process criticized by state Public Utilities Commissioner Genevieve Shiroma during an Oct. 18 meeting.

“I keep coming back to the Wizard of Oz, where smoke and mirrors and this and that,” Shiroma told PG&E officials.

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California’s other large utilities, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric Co., have the same relative autonomy over when and where to turn off power. Within 10 business days of an outage, a company must submit a report to CPUC officials explaining its decision to shut off power, including information on weather conditions in the outage area.

The report must include details on the types of customers affected and the advance notice they were provided, the location and duration of the shut-offs and an accounting of any wind-related damage to company equipment.

Regulators are supposed to use the report to determine whether the outage was reasonable. But the documents often provide only summary information, making their value unclear. Though CPUC officials can penalize companies for how they carry out wildfire-prevention blackouts, they never have. Even then, an administrative law judge would decide such a case under a process that could take several months.

Only the California Legislature can strengthen the CPUC’s power over utilities. And reaching consensus on expanding the agency’s operations could be tough — it has struggled with oversight of a vast and varied portion of the state’s economy, including electricity, telephone service, ride-hailing and limousine companies.

Even if lawmakers want to do something now, they can’t. The Legislature has adjourned for the year and isn’t scheduled to reconvene until January. The only way to engage more quickly is to convene a special legislative session.

History offers a lesson from California’s last energy crisis of almost two decades ago. In December 2000, then-Gov. Gray Davis promised to convene a special session to draft plans to help the state’s utilities. One key proposal — requiring the state to sign long-term energy purchase contracts with major utilities — went from introduction to law in just a month. Additional efforts to address the causes of the widespread blackouts were put in place that spring.

Laws passed in a special legislative session, even those requiring a simple majority vote, take effect 90 days after the end of the proceedings. Similar bills in a regular session don’t become law until the next calendar year. And unlike in 2000, when an election had just taken place and lawmakers had yet to take the oath of office, California legislators this year are in the middle of their terms and appear more inclined to act. Varying ideas have been floated, including incentives for clean energy that can be locally stored for broader outages and a broad investment in “microgrid” technology to better isolate power shut-offs to communities where fire danger is most extreme.

Action could be swift at the state Capitol, but only if Newsom convenes a special session.

So far, the governor has sounded unconvinced.

“To the extent that’s necessary, I would be open to it,” he told reporters in Sacramento on Oct. 17. “But in the absence of the necessity, I’m not sure. I think it’s more symbolic benefit than a substantive one.”

That leaves lawmakers few options other than convening informational hearings. Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) said Thursday that a “working group” would study blackouts, comprising state senators from many of the communities hit hardest. Atkins also announced a public hearing on the issue to be held next month, just days before Thanksgiving and probably after dangerous fire conditions have dissipated.

The state budget that legislators approved and Newsom signed in June sets aside $75 million to offset the effects of mandatory blackouts. Half of the money will be spent by state officials to ensure government services aren’t disrupted, with the rest allocated to grants to help affected communities purchase generators or other energy backup systems. But state officials haven’t said whether the money will provide widespread help over the coming weeks.

Perhaps the most difficult part of what happens next is deciding who ultimately bears responsibility with the public for the blackouts. The governor wrote to each of the state’s major utilities on Thursday to complain that they haven’t fully kept state emergency services officials in the loop on outage plans.

“They better step up,” he said of the utilities on Thursday.

But the key players, including Newsom, undoubtedly realize the danger in being seen as decision-maker when lights are turned off or homes and businesses are destroyed by utility-sparked wildfires. Johnson wrote in a letter to the governor last week that the state should consider taking over the responsibility of making the final determination when to shut off the electricity.

Newsom, who told reporters just last week that his advisors had considered the effects of broader government control over power shut-offs, rejected the idea after touring firefighting operations in Sonoma County on Friday and lashed out at the state’s most embattled utility.

“It doesn’t surprise me that PG&E is looking for a bailout,” Newsom said of the now-bankrupt company. “We will not bail out PG&E.”

Times staff writer Phil Willon contributed to this report.