Dispatch Issue: Quiet Words Spoken Loudly
Or as Gen Z would say, "saying the quiet part out loud"
As two Zoomers writing about one of the most Boomer topics around, Ishaan and I often find ourselves using Gen-Z slang to describe trends being led by Boomers.
“That’s the problem with these new clubs,” one of us remarked in an editorial meeting. “The leadership, staff, interiors, there's simply no rizz.” Ok, it was yours truly. Ishaan would never use a term like rizz. Ever.
It’s Dispatch Week here at Clubland USA — and do we have some fodder for your Club Table chats from our friends across the pond.
Mayhem on Mayfair?
The Leconfeld, the new members club venture launched by former U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss, can be called many things. Well, she and the club’s backers want you to call it anything but a club.
Here’s what it won’t be: a heaven for fossilized WASPs. That’s because she’s insisted that the club is not for leisure. This is a club for “networking” (known to the banker types as jamming business cards in your face) and “making deals” (ask your nearest friend in private equity or worse, crypto, what this actually means).
As Truss and her backers are shedding the club identity, they’re also shedding much of the sort of unspoken rules of club etiquette. This was most clearly seen in their efforts to wander the halls of the Mayfair Club in search of members to poach to their new club. Tsk, Tsk, my co-writer Ishaan Jajodia would say if he weren’t back home in India — probably in the bosom of some poor club bartender.
If one needs more evidence of this, look no further than the recruiting process. Prospective candidates receive a black, lacquered box that plays a video of Truss inviting them to join a “nexus of a global network of leaders, of entrepreneurs, of technologists, based in the former MI5 headquarters.”
The price tag — yes, unfortunately the British sensibility around discussing money is out the window— is around $500,000 USD dollars. This is Clubland USA, after all.
All jabs aside, there’s something that’s admirable about The Leconfeld to us: they’re saying the quiet part out loud. It’s a club for the mega-wealthy who want to stay (or become even more) wealthy.
In this club, there won’t be any pretending to care about golf, tennis, or squash so you can “network” your kid’s way into the nearby prep school. Or, land a realtor a few blocks away from the club.
Newer clubs in major metropolitan markets, such as New York and Washington, D.C. which is home to Ned’s Club and Executive Branch, have adopted this model. It’s a model that says that yes, we’re still cranking after 5pm and if you want peace and quiet, you can go elsewhere. Maybe even across the street where we poached a few members and hired their interior designer — well below budget.
De-alcoholized fun at the Penn Club: Penn Club of New York started the year strong — dry January style! It hosted a dinner last night that featured de-alcoholised wine, which is wine that has alcohol taken out of it through a process, instead of just regular grape juice. Our source did not disclose the food menu, but raved of the wine. Take that as you will.
“Intelligent Leisure”: Two sisters have founded a new club in Midtown Manhattan focused on “intelligent leisure” although the glossy photos in the pages of The Post seem to not show a book in sight. Are we falling for the latest from the marketing gurus?
Could it be true?: It has been reported that SoHo House has began culling members who don’t fit the “creative “ label. Clubland USA is offering a cash prize to anyone who can find someone who was in fact removed from the club’s membership list. We’ll throw in an extra $50 finder’s fee if they’re willing to go on the record. - LR
Thanks for your continued readership of Clubland USA. Our next issue will be on Tuesday, January 13.