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 Necklace, white gold, one 8.17 carats sapphire (Madagascar),
sapphires, emeralds, tourmalines, tsavorite garnets and diamonds
 CONTENTS

Regulars
31 Editor’s letter
38 Notices
Behind the scenes of the issue
120 Checklist
Golden rules for winter
168 ON THE COVER
Forces for Change
Meet the designers fashioning a
better world. Photographs by Eddie
Wrey. Styling by Poppy Kain
222 Stockists
Vogue trends
45 Essential mix
A standout blend of basics
46 Walking legends
Practical makes perfect
47 The long game
Ankle-skimming skirts
48 Zip smart
Fasten yourself in style
50 Maximum volume
Amplify your wardrobe with
a pair of wide-leg trousers
52 Knit parade
Give these cardigans a warm welcome
54 Over the rainbow “Skilfully tailored items
Looks on the bright side
with a relaxed edge are
56 The real thing
top of the agenda”
SCOTT TRINDLE

Ten commandments for timeless chic

Working capital, page 206
60 Vogue darling
Horticulturist Poppy Okotcha

Report Spotlight
86 In the zone
COVER LOOK 58 Fashion conscious
Can the industry change for good? War reporter Clarissa Ward talks
Dana Thomas investigates the family life and front lines with
state of sustainability Kathleen Baird-Murray

Jewellery & watches Viewpoint

Kristen McMenamy
wears hooded jersey 64 Jewel ambitions 91 Go your own way
sweatshirt, Gucci.
Get the look: Annabel Davidson highlights The path to creativity, by artist
make-up by Pat
McGrath Labs. the great diamond divide and designer Osman Yousefzada
Eyes: PermaGel
Ultra Glide Eye Arts & culture Self-esteem special
Pencil in Xtreme
Black and
Mothership V: 66 Lust for life 95 The Vogue guide to feeling great.
Bronze Seduction New year, new culture Edited by Kathleen Baird-Murray
Eyeshadow Palette.
Lips: MatteTrance
Lipstick in Divine Interiors special Archive
Rose II: Divine Rose.
Skin: Skin Fetish: 69 Vogue’s new house rules. 108 Strong profile
Sublime Perfection
Foundation. Edited by Julia Brenard #HairTests, by Guido Palau passes
Hair: Guido. with flying colours, says Jessica Diner
Make-up: Pat
McGrath. Nails:
Living
Jin Soon Choi. Tech
Styling: Carlyne 84 Life & style
Cerf de Dudzeele. Eco-friendly finds, from 110 High clicks
Photograph:
Steven Meisel Julia Sarr-Jamois Photographer Nick Knight’s digital life > 22

19
CONTENTS

“As sustainable
practices become
the norm for many
designers, how easy
is it being green?”
Fashion conscious,
page 58

Fashion & features

150 ON THE COVER
Return to splendour
As model Kristen McMenamy steps
back up, Vassi Chamberlain meets
her. Photographs by Steven Meisel.
Styling by Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele
164 ON THE COVER
The rise of resale
Second-hand is now fashion’s first
port of call, writes Ellie Pithers
184 Sustaining grace
Inside the London home of Kerry
Olsen and Federico Marchetti.
By Aimee Farrell. Photographs
by Simon Watson
190 Reflections on beauty
Casting director Michelle Lee
Above: crochet Mr Vogue introduces the East and South-East
sandals with
upcycled soles, Asian women changing the face of
117 Blue streak
Chloé & Ocean modelling. Photographs by Sharif
Sole. Right: Actor Rish Shah meets Radhika Seth
Hamza. Styling by Dena Giannini
Sustaining grace,
page 184 Beauty & wellness 200 ON THE COVER
126 Director’s cut All hail the king
Amber Valletta chooses her favourite Afrobeats superstar Wizkid speaks
sustainable beauty products to Chioma Nnadi about his sell-out
London shows, fame and fatherhood.
128 Pretty sleek Photographs by Micaiah Carter.
DAVID ABRAHAMS; SIMON WATSON

High-gloss go-tos. By Twiggy Jalloh Styling by Karen Binns

130 ON THE COVER 206 Working capital
Holistic hideaways Dressing for the city. Photographs by
Eco spas that make a difference, from Scott Trindle. Styling by Kate Phelan
Jessica Diner and Celia Ellenberg
132 Beauty musings
Vogue asks
Hannah Coates goes for newly 252 What would Aurora James do?
released fresh-faced essentials The fashion designer takes our quiz

22
Subscribe to Turn to page 134 for our fantastic subscription offer, plus free gift
%:% - 0 % & 0 )  %8  ( - 3 6  ' 3 1
 Shop at omegawatches.com
CONSTELLATION COLLECTION

KAIA GERBER’S CHOICE

Surrounded by fashion from a very young age, Kaia

Gerber is no stranger to the modelling world. While
following her famous mother onto the most exclusive
runways and photoshoots, she is now choosing to
walk a unique path, bringing her own sense of style
and personality to the role. It’s a family passion,
with a very bright future.
 EDITOR’S LETTER

Nineties model
Kristen McMenamy
talks fashion,
family and Instagram
fame, on page 150

As a new year approaches…

MERT ALAS & MARCUS PIGGOTT; STEVEN MEISEL

tradition has it that self-reflection and examination one that will purvey in fashion and beyond. But
are, once again, front and centre in our thoughts. In here at Vogue, we are determined to ensure that
many ways, 2021 passed in a blur. We began it in pragmatism does not become a byword for caution;
the middle of a strict lockdown, spent many months for shying away from bold choices and new ways
grounded, and then – thanks to the rollout of vaccines of thinking. It was important to me that the first
– saw the world open up again (though that world is, issue of this coming year did not step softly into
of course, one where shadows still remain). Can all the future. And so – as our cover declares –
this have really been during the past 12 months? a fashion revolution was born.
After an especially fraught two-year start to this Though the breakneck speed of social change in
decade, I sense 2022 will dawn with a new pragmatism, recent years may bring worry for some, I can’t > 34

31
6XOů^V
EDITOR’S LETTER

Left, from top: the

sustainable designers
making a difference
in the world, on page 168.
Below: Afrobeats superstar
Wizkid reflects on his
journey so far, on page 200
– he wears trouser suit,
Dior. Jewellery, his own

help but think how so much of the positivity we are more mindfully, and the new generation of designers
starting to take for granted in the industry is a recent and creatives who are rebuilding the industry right
phenomenon. Take this month’s cover star. Kristen from the start of their careers.
McMenamy is indisputably the model of the From the cover story shoot, featuring vintage and
moment, from her high-profile campaign and vault pieces in the mix, to a deep dive into the world
catwalk work, to her impactful cult Instagram of resale (page 164), as well as plenty of key items
account. She also just happens to be in her fifties, that earn the accolade “forever buy”, there’s much to
with a glorious, varied life filled with experience take in. On page 168, I’m especially excited to feature
under her belt, as well as being the perfect fit for the work of 15 incredible designers from around the
the January issue, a woman who can embody the world who have put respect for the planet’s resources
spirit of a revolutionary. at the heart of their practice. From By Walid and
Because mark my words: a revolution is under Conner Ives in the UK, to Bolivia’s Juan de la Paz,
way in fashion. There is no more crucial focus for India’s Ka-Sha and New York’s Bode, their work is
it than the conversation around sustainability. united by joy, hope, and a sensitivity that we would
Throughout this issue, you will find a great deal of all do well to embrace as we contemplate the coming
our focus is on the ways in which we can all consume months. Here’s to 2022.
MICAIAH CARTER; EDDIE WREY

34
B e e M y L ov e C o l l e c t i o n

E M B R AC E YO U R L I G H T
NOTICES

On page 91, Osman

Yousefzada recalls his
first intoxicating taste of
London as a student, and
the creative awakening
that put him on a path to
becoming a fashion
designer and artist.

Model Amber
Valletta takes
over as our
guest beauty
director for a
sustainability
special, on
page 126.

Ahead of his arrival

in London to perform at
his O2 Arena shows
– which sold out in just
12 minutes – Afrobeats
superstar Wizkid takes
Vogue.com editor Chioma
Nnadi (below) into his
world, with a sizzling
shoot in Miami by Micaiah
Carter (left), on page 200.

MEET & GREET

Introducing the faces

COMPILED BY AMEL MUKHTAR. KAI AVENT-DELEON; SHARIF HAMZA; EKUA KING; CRAIG MCDEAN; KIX SUAREZ
behind this month’s issue

“Nothing has
changed since
working together
in the 1990s,”
says Carlyne Cerf
de Dudzeele on
styling Kristen
McMenamy for
our cover shoot
with Steven
Meisel, on page
150. “Kristen is
perfect, and with
Steven, it’s always
the best team.”

“This shoot is a love letter to my Filipina mother,”

photographer Sharif Hamza (above) says of his striking
story, Reflections on Beauty (right), on page 190.
“When an elder Filipina woman was attacked in New
York’s Times Square last March, it moved me to use
my platform to talk about diversity, and shed light on
East Asian women’s stories and their beauty.”

38
 EDWARD ENNINFUL
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & EUROPEAN EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

GLOBAL NETWORK LEAD & EUROPEAN DEPUTY EDITOR SARAH HARRIS

FASHION DIRECTORS JULIA SARR-JAMOIS, POPPY KAIN
GLOBAL PRINT STRATEGY LEAD & EUROPEAN CONTENT OPERATIONS DIRECTOR MARK RUSSELL
GLOBAL NETWORK LEAD & EUROPEAN FEATURES DIRECTOR GILES HATTERSLEY
ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR TIMOTHY HARRISON
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & EUROPEAN EDITORIAL DIRECTOR ZARA BAROUCH
PERSONAL ASSISTANT ZOE EDMUND-JONES

CONTRIBUTING FASHION DIRECTORS VENETIA SCOTT, KATE PHELAN

DEPUTY DIRECTOR, GLOBAL FASHION NETWORK LAURA INGHAM
STYLE DIRECTOR DENA GIANNINI
JEWELLERY & WATCH DIRECTOR RACHEL GARRAHAN
FASHION & ACCESSORIES EDITOR DONNA WALLACE
FASHION CREDITS EDITOR HELEN HIBBIRD
ASSOCIATE FASHION EDITOR ENIOLA DARE
FASHION ASSISTANTS JESSICA GERARDI, THALIA METALLINOU,
REBECCA PURSHOUSE, HONEY SWEET ELIAS
JUNIOR FASHION ASSISTANT HOLLY CHAPMAN
CONTRIBUTING FASHION EDITORS JACK BORKETT, JULIA BRENARD, BENJAMIN BRUNO,
GRACE CODDINGTON, JANE HOW, JOE McKENNA, CLARE RICHARDSON, SARAH RICHARDSON, MARIE-AMELIE SAUVE
CONTRIBUTING SUSTAINABILITY EDITOR AMBER VALLETTA

FASHION BOOKINGS DIRECTOR ROSIE VOGEL-EADES

FASHION BOOKINGS ASSISTANT JANAY BAILEY
CONTRIBUTING CASTING DIRECTOR ASHLEY BROKAW

COMMERCE DIRECTOR NAOMI SMART

FASHION CRITIC ANDERS CHRISTIAN MADSEN

GLOBAL NETWORK LEAD & EUROPEAN BEAUTY & WELLNESS DIRECTOR JESSICA DINER
BEAUTY & WELLNESS EDITOR LAUREN MURDOCH-SMITH
ACTING BEAUTY & WELLNESS EDITOR HANNAH COATES
DIGITAL BEAUTY & WELLNESS EDITOR TISH WEINSTOCK
BEAUTY & WELLNESS ASSOCIATE TWIGGY JALLOH
BEAUTY EDITOR-AT-LARGE PAT McGRATH
CONTRIBUTING BEAUTY EDITORS KATHLEEN BAIRD-MURRAY, FUNMI FETTO, VAL GARLAND,
SAM McKNIGHT, GUIDO PALAU, EUGENE SOULEIMAN, CHARLOTTE TILBURY

FEATURES EDITOR OLIVIA MARKS

FEATURES ASSISTANT AMEL MUKHTAR
ENTERTAINMENT DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE JILL DEMLING
STYLE EDITOR GIANLUCA LONGO

ART DIRECTOR JAN-NICO MEYER

SENIOR DESIGNER EILIDH WILLIAMSON
DESIGNER PHILIP JACKSON
VISUALS DIRECTOR CAI LUNN
SENIOR VISUALS EDITOR JAMIE SPENCE

EUROPEAN PRODUCTION DIRECTOR VICTORIA WILLAN

COPY DIRECTORS HOLLY BRUCE, EMMA KING

VOGUE DIGITAL
DIGITAL DIRECTOR KERRY MCDERMOTT
EXECUTIVE FASHION NEWS AND FEATURES EDITOR ALICE NEWBOLD
WEEKEND & PLANNING EDITOR HAYLEY MAITLAND
AUDIENCE GROWTH MANAGER ALYSON LOWE
SUSTAINABILITY EDITOR EMILY CHAN
FILM & CULTURE EDITOR RADHIKA SETH
DIGITAL FASHION WRITER ALICE CARY
JUNIOR FASHION EDITOR ALEX KESSLER
JUNIOR FASHION FEATURES WRITER ENI SUBAIR
AUDIENCE GROWTH EXECUTIVE ELEANOR DAVIES
SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR LEXXI DUFFY SOCIAL MEDIA ASSISTANT HANNAH DALY
DIRECTOR, DIGITAL VIDEO PROGRAMMING & DEVELOPMENT MINNIE J CARVER
VIDEO EDITOR & POST-PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR JESSICA VINCENT
COMMERCE WRITER HUMAA HUSSAIN
DIGITAL CREATIVE DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE ALEC MAXWELL

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
ADWOA ABOAH, RIZ AHMED, LAURA BAILEY, SUSAN BENDER WHITFIELD, SINEAD BURKE, LAURA BURLINGTON, VASSI CHAMBERLAIN,
ALEXA CHUNG, MICHAELA COEL, RONNIE COOKE NEWHOUSE, JOURDAN DUNN, ALEXANDER GILKES, AFUA HIRSCH, PARIS LEES,
PATRICK MACKIE, STEVE McQUEEN, JIMMY MOFFAT, KATE MOSS, SARAH MOWER, ROBIN MUIR, DURO OLOWU, LORRAINE PASCALE, ELLIE PITHERS,
HARRIET QUICK, ELIZABETH SALTZMAN, NONA SUMMERS, DANA THOMAS, EMMA WEYMOUTH, CAROL WOOLTON, HIKARI YOKOYAMA

EDITORIAL BUSINESS MANAGER JESSICA BORGES

SYNDICATION ENQUIRIES EMAIL SYNDICATION@CONDENAST.CO.UK
DIRECTOR OF EDITORIAL ADMINISTRATION & RIGHTS HARRIET WILSON
 VANESSA KINGORI
CHIEF BUSINESS OFFICER, CONDE NAST BRITAIN
& VOGUE EUROPEAN BUSINESS ADVISOR

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO CHIEF BUSINESS OFFICER EMMA COX

VP VOGUE BRAND REVENUE & ACTING LEAD COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR MICHIEL STEUR

LEAD COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR, STYLE SOPHIE MARKWICK

VP BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS CLAIRE SINGER

ASSOCIATE COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR, FASHION ALEXIS WILLIAMS

SENIOR ACCOUNT DIRECTOR, FASHION ROYA FARROKHIAN
SENIOR ACCOUNT DIRECTOR, FASHION & JEWELLERY CHARLOTTE PENNINGTON
ACCOUNT MANAGER, FASHION ELLA NOBAY
COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR, BEAUTY MADELEINE CHURCHILL
ACTING COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR, BEAUTY KATHRYN FLOOD
ACTING SENIOR ACCOUNT DIRECTOR OTTILIE CHICHESTER
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COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR, JEWELLERY ANA-KARINA DE PAULA ALLEN
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The Spotlight Squad

Charlize Theron
Misty Copeland
Yao Chen
 Cuvée Rosé, chosen by the best.

Illustrated by Quentin Blake

Michel Roux at Le Gavroche

MAISON FAMILIALE INDÉPENDANTE

champagnelaurentperrier www.laurent-perrier.com
Photo credit: Iris Velghe / Illustration credit: Quentin Blake / Conception Luma
 Poloneck, £180.
TRENDS
SLUG
Leggings, £395. Edited by Naomi Smart
Both Raey, at
Matchesfashion.
Styled by Kate Phelan
com. Socks, £13,
Falke. Loafers,
£790, Prada
LUCY BURT. NAILS: JENNY LONGWORTH. SET DESIGN: JOSH STOVELL. DIGITAL ARTWORK: GRAIN
POST PRODUCTION. MODEL: KATIE CRAVEN. SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES WERE FOLLOWED THROUGHOUT THIS PHOTOSHOOT

Essential
MIX
For looks that
will never let you down,
reinterpret the classics.
Photographs by
Ben Weller
GUTTER
HAIR: CREDIT
ALFIE HERE MAKE-UP:
SACKETT. LIKE

45
TRENDS

“Functionality rarely feels more

polished than it does this season –
The Row’s Mary Janes will be
my everyday go-to”
NAOMI SMART,
COMMERCE DIRECTOR

Walking
LEGENDS
Slipping on a pair of
practical shoes – with
gently elevated touches –
is good for the sole

Shoes, from top: £775, Louis Vuitton. £395, Shoes, from top: £840, Hermès. £720, Miu
JW Anderson. £920, Jil Sander by Lucie & Miu. £740, The Row, at Net-a-Porter.com.
Luke Meier. Above right: £346, Labucq Left: £345, Hereu, at Matchesfashion.com

46
 Jacket, £730, Dries
Van Noten. Top,
from £370, Rosetta
Getty. Skirt, from
£430, Tibi. Shoes,
£465, Tricker’s “High-waisted and floor-
sweeping skirts are a chic
addition to any wardrobe”
LAURA INGHAM, DEPUTY DIRECTOR,
GLOBAL FASHION NETWORK

From £960, Proenza

Schouler. Left: £575,
Erdem. Below: £690,
Emilia Wickstead

MAX MARA RESORT ’22

SPORTMAX
BEN WELLER; GORUNWAY.COM; PIXELATE.BIZ

The long
GAME
Day or night, 24/7, the
maxi skirt has the power
to take you anywhere
47
TRENDS

DOLCE & GABBANA

GIVENCHY
COPERNI
Zip
Jacket,
£2,490.
SMART
Trousers,
£1,170. Both Zippers boast the
Alexander
McQueen. ability to whip up new
Necklace,
model’s own
silhouettes while adding
decorative detail

From far left: sweater, £675,

BEN WELLER; PIXELATE.BIZ

Sacai, at Net-a-Porter.com.
Earrings, £395, Balenciaga.
Trousers, £1,280, Bottega
Veneta. Dress, £1,900,
Dolce & Gabbana, at
Net-a-Porter.com. Clockwise
from above: top, £400,
Jacquemus. Corset top,
£800, Vivienne Westwood

48
 CATWALK CREDIT
BALENCIAGA RESORT ’22
RAF SIMONS

ETRO

Maximum
VOLUME
Teamed with sharp
tailoring or a slouchy
knit, wide-leg trousers
excel in versatility

£850, Fendi £580, Victoria £890, The Row,

Beckham at Net-a-Porter.
com

BEN WELLER; PIXELATE.BIZ

50
From left: look
TRENDS
SLUG
one, jacket, from
£292, The Frankie
Shop. Poloneck,
£200, Dodo Bar Or,
at Matchesfashion.
com. Trousers,
£2,500, Dior.
Loafers, £130,
GH Bass. Necklace,
model’s own.
Look two:
jacket, £3,200.
Shirt, £1,100.
Trousers, £2,500.
All Dior. Trainers,
£75, Adidas.
Look three:
sleeveless hoodie,
from £1,095,
Givenchy. T-shirt,
from £167, Rokh.
Trousers, £2,500,
Dior. Boots, £500,
Khaite. Necklace,
model’s own

51
TRENDS

CATWALK CREDIT

CHANEL

“I’ve always loved a

nanna cardie – go
one size larger and
button up for the
definition of snug”
ALICE NEWBOLD, EXECUTIVE
FASHION NEWS AND
FEATURES EDITOR
PRADA

ERMANNO SCERVINO

Clockwise from
top right: £220,
Weekend Max
Mara. £350,
& Daughter.
£545, Zankov, at
Net-a-Porter.com.
£1,550, Celine
BEN WELLER

by Hedi Slimane.
£655, R13.
£215, MHL by
Margaret Howell

52
 KNIT
parade
When it comes to
the season’s cosiest
cardigans, think
long and languid

Cardigan, £525,
Raey, at Matches
fashion.com.
Cropped cardigan,
£920. Cropped
polo shirt, £790.
Both Prada. Jeans,
£410, MM6 Maison
Margiela. Boxer
shorts, model’s own

53
TRENDS

“Soak up a spectrum
of euphoric shades
– your wardrobe will
thank you for it”
NAOMI SMART,
COMMERCE DIRECTOR

Shawl, £2,522.
Sleeveless top,
£1,139. Skirt,
£1,594. Trainers,
£502. All Chloé

54
 Above, from top:
sweater, £465, Paul
Smith. Earrings,
from £210,
Demarson. Dress,
COACH

£1,390, Etro. Ring,

£1,453, Suzanne
Kalan. Below:
sandals, £740,
Amina Muaddi.
Below right:
bag, £2,800,
Louis Vuitton

Over the
RAINBOW
Spark joy and wear every
colour imaginable. How
better to lift your mood in
the midst of winter?

Above, from top:

bag, £2,195, Jimmy
Choo. Necklace,
£1,695, Fry Powers,
at Net-a-Porter.com.
BEN WELLER; PIXELATE.BIZ

Sweater, £975.
Trousers, £1,025.
Both The Elder
Statesman, at
Matchesfashion.com

55
56
 TRENDS

4
DOWN TO A TEE
The best white T-shirt is
the Holy Grail of wardrobe
essentials. Head to the
men’s department at Uniqlo
for a smart thick cotton
and a slouchier cut.

The real
T-shirt, £13, Uniqlo.
Trousers, from £425,
Christian Wijnants.
Trainers, £290,
THING
Alexander McQueen. Elevate everyday dressing
BEN WELLER

Tote, £2,820, Jil

Sander by Lucie & with 10 contemporary
Luke Meier. Necklace,
model’s own takes on trusted staples
57
 Fine Mycelium, canvas,
and leather bag, to order,
Hermès. Sustainable
leather boots (produced
in a Leather Working
Group-certified tannery),
£1,050, Gabriela Hearst.
For stockists, see
Vogue Information

Fashion O
ne glorious September afternoon, along the banks of the
Seine, designer Gabriela Hearst held her first in-person
show for Chloé. For it, she made the collection and

conscious
presentation – spring/summer 2022 – as sustainable and
inclusive as possible. How so? Guests were seated on
cushions made of Chloé fabric remnants, atop benches of stacked bricks,
constructed by Les Bâtisseuses, a network that trains women refugees.
The clothes were conceived to be environmentally friendly, too. As
Hearst believes “luxury fashion has become overly industrialised,” she
introduced the Chloé Craft initiative: products handcrafted by independent
As sustainable practices become the artisans, such as the multicoloured sleeveless dress in recycled hand-
norm for many designers, Dana Thomas crocheted cashmere, or the white cashmere poncho with hand-painted
blue stripes. Chloé’s staples, such as its signature tote bag, Nama sneakers
explores how easy it is being green. and all of its denim, incorporated recycled and lower-impact materials.
Photograph by David Abrahams The soles of Chloé’s new footwear line, Lou, were made with Ocean
 REPORT
Sole, a social enterprise that upcycles flip-flops found on Kenya’s beaches.
Overall, Chloé increased its use of lower-impact materials to 58 per cent
“It’s a question of agility, and evolving with
versus 40 per cent for autumn/winter 2021. As for social impact – because the world and situations we face today,”
Chloé believes, rightly, that sustainability and social justice go hand-in-
hand – catering leftovers were donated to Linkee, a Paris-based NGO
says Hermès’s Olivier Fournier
that distributes food to those in need. Most democratic of all was how
passers-by could watch the show from the bridge above.
Luxury fashion has long been set in its ways when it comes to business. questions as, “Why are we here as individuals? Why does this company
And why not? The system worked well for brands and consumers alike. exist?” he says. He concluded that “growing the bottom line is not
But with climate change bearing down hard, and the industry’s goal to efficient or related to why any of these fashion companies were founded”.
achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 – as well as meet consumer demand What was needed was “a reframing of the entire economic growth
for greener practices – the industry is reshaping its methods, from field model and the relationship between company and society. We wanted
to form, dirt to dress. Many brands have already made changes, such as to instil purpose into the company at every level.” He chose four areas
incorporating LEDs in stores and using recycled materials for shopping to address: “People, sourcing, communities and planet,” because “social
bags. But there are other reforms being enacted throughout the industry, responsibility is as important as environmental responsibility”. He set
setting it on a course that will be more ethical, responsible and clean. up a sustainability board that includes two external advisers, social
For example, designers are using deadstock, as leftover fabric is known entrepreneur Amanda Nguyen, who was nominated for the Nobel Peace
– so much so that in April 2021, French luxury group LVMH launched Prize in 2019, and sustainable development consultant Elisabeth Laville,
Nona Source, the first online resale platform of deadstock materials, founder and CEO of Utopies. And he sought out a new creative director
collected from the group’s houses. Now designers can purchase remnants – someone with “a different view on how to interpret the values and
from the ateliers of Dior, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton and others at a fraction embrace this very purpose”. He found that in Gabriela Hearst, the New
of the original cost. Meanwhile, studio teams are sourcing hi-tech or York-based designer who launched her brand in 2015 with those similar
recycled fabrics. Prada is using Econyl, a recycled nylon made from principles. She joined Chloé in December 2020.
abandoned fishing nets, throughout its collections, and plans to eliminate In October, Chloé became the first luxury fashion company to receive
virgin nylon from its supply chain this year. Sarah Burton at Alexander B-Corp Certification – a standard of social and environmental performance
McQueen has fashion recycled polyester – known as poly faille – into for for-profit companies. It ensures that the company is “injecting purpose
dresses. Emporio Armani folded recycled materials and regenerated leather in everything we do,” Bellini says. Chloé is also a founding member of
fibre into its collections, and its eyewear has lenses partly made of bio- the taskforce within the Sustainable Markets Initiative, a global coalition
based material. Last spring, Stella McCartney unveiled a prototype corset launched by Prince Charles at the World Economic Forum in Davos,
and trousers in Mylo, a lab-grown leather-like material made of mycelium Switzerland in 2020, to work towards a sustainable future. Chaired by
– the root structure of mushrooms – developed by Bolt Threads in Silicon Federico Marchetti, founder of the Yoox Net-a-Porter Group, the Fashion
Valley. This spring, she is introducing the Frayme Mylo, a new handbag Taskforce is made up of representatives from dozens of brands, retailers,
made out of the same material. She debuted it during her spring/summer e-tailers and tech companies. The goal is to pull together the many projects
2022 show in Paris in October – the first mycelium to be presented on that already exist, and set concrete goals to align the industry. “As the
a runway. “It has no less durability or desirability than animal-skin leather,” world adapts to the ongoing challenges of a global pandemic and extreme
she explains. For now, Frayme Mylo will be available as a limited edition, climate change, fashion, among so many other industries, must avoid
but, she promises, there is more to come. “I’m hoping it’s the future of falling back into old habits,” Marchetti tells me. “The future is already
fashion, and that in five years, it will be absolutely the norm,” she adds. clear: survival of the fittest will mean survival of the greenest.”
Hermès, too, is about to launch a mycelium handbag: a limited edition While all of these changes are important, it is the investment in
of the Victoria, made with biotech company MycoWorks out of a material Mother Nature that may have the most lasting effect. LVMH has joined
they call Sylvania. The company plans to scale Sylvania’s use throughout Unesco within the Man and Biosphere programme to create “Act for
its product range. “The purpose is not to replace leather,” but to add to Biodiversity”, an initiative that includes a five-year, 5m contract to
Hermès’ variety of materials, explains the company’s sustainability chief combat deforestation in the Amazon. “It allows us to challenge the
Olivier Fournier. “It’s a question of agility, and evolving with the world status quo and have a positive, long-term impact beyond our own supply
and situations we face today.” On the beauty side, there are new approaches chain,” says Antoine Arnault, LVMH group image and environment.
to packaging, too, which has long been wasteful. For Hermès’s new beauty Chanel is helping to restore more than 22,000 hectares of rainforest in
line, it has refillable lipstick, and while its signature orange boxes have Sumatra, Indonesia, which is threatened by logging, and is supporting
long been made of recycled paper, the brand aims to ensure that all of its the conservation of 300,000 hectares of rainforest in Peru, recognised
packaging is a hundred per cent recyclable or reusable by 2025. by Unesco as a biosphere reserve.
For companies that own their factories, new outposts are being conceived In early 2021, Kering joined with Conservation International, an
as sustainable from the get-go. Last September, Hermès inaugurated an environmental NGO in the US, to launch the Regenerative Fund for
environmentally friendly leather workshop in Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, Nature, a 5m fund to award grants to farmers who produce cotton, wool,
on the outskirts of Bordeaux. Set on five-and-a-half hectares, the wood cashmere and leather for fashion. Last September, Kering unveiled the
and concrete building was designed by green-minded architect Patrick first seven projects (out of 73 proposals) to receive funding. Among them
Arotcharen to be as environmentally respectful as possible. Along with are The Good Growth Company, which works with cashmere producers
LED lighting, it has cisterns to collect rainwater for the gardens where in Mongolia; the Organic Cotton Accelerator in India; and Solidaridad,
the company planted a hundred trees, and solar panels, which supply more which promotes sustainable management of grazing lands in Argentina.
than 40 per cent of the workshop’s electricity. The building’s bay windows All of these good works are in response to a “deep-dive analysis of
face north, bathing ateliers with diffused natural, non-heating light. fashion’s footprint on biodiversity,” Helen Crowley, head of sustainable
SET DESIGN: DAISY AZIS

Beyond the modifications of existing practices, some brands are sourcing and nature initiatives at Kering, explains. “Where is the pollution?
rethinking how they do business – most notably Chloé, the 70-year-old Land-use change? Is there a rare frog? Are they cutting down all the
French luxury ready-to-wear company owned by Richemont. Chief forests? We can’t be wishy-washy. We have to protect and restore nature,
executive Riccardo Bellini was hired by the brand in 2019 “to make it support transitions, commit to systems and materials, really create
shine again,” he tells me. Shortly after, Covid-19 and lockdowns hit, resilience. It’s exciting,” she says, her eyes lighting up on the Zoom screen.
slowing everything down, allowing Bellini to ponder such existential “We are at the cusp – we have to be! – of a transformative change.” 

59
VOGUE DARLING
“Charlotte
“My partner Tilbury’s Full
and I drive Fat Lashes
around Mascara [£23] is
Europe in my Holy Grail.”
our van.
Going for
naked hikes
in Corsica
(it’s so empty
there) was
one of our
best trips.”

Poppy wears
sweater, Samuday
Studios. Bra,
Commando. Jeans,
“My most- Anna Sui. Boots
used emojis? and jewellery,
The little baby Poppy’s own.
“The best night out
plant emoji; Photograph: Juliette
is a good meal with
the pink Cassidy. Styling:
close friends, lots of
vibrating Eniola Dare
wine, and then
drum’n’bass or jungle heart; the red
music somewhere heart with
sweaty. Congo Natty the dot
is the best MC.” underneath;
and the
sunflower.”

“My hair gets dry, so it’s “I love Riverford Field

oil-hungry. I use the Cantu Kitchen because the food is
Shea Butter Deep Treatment local, agro-ecologically
Masque [£8] and add olive oil grown and seasonal.”
or coconut oil, depending on
what we have in the cupboard.”

HAIR: SARAH JO PALMER. MAKE-UP: THOMASIN WAITE. NAILS: MICHELLE CLASS. SET DESIGN: JO GOODMAN. PRODUCTION: SIAN PARRY-LEWIS.
SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES WERE FOLLOWED THROUGHOUT THIS PHOTOSHOOT. ALAMY. GETTY IMAGES. PIXELATE.BIZ. SHUTTERSTOCK
“La Réunion is a
Brooklyn-based
designer who
upcycles. I haven’t
bought anything yet,

Poppy Okotcha
but I spend a lot of
time looking and
loving.” Shirt, from
£320, La Réunion
As a model, London-born, South Africa-raised Poppy Okotcha
would find comfort away from the runway via gardening.
When she discovered that growing your own food can increase
biodiversity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (“When
you compost, carbon is held in the soil”), it inspired the
25-year-old to enrol in a Royal Horticultural Society course.
After spending seven years walking for the likes of Chloé
and Vivienne Westwood, she became an ecological grower,
climate activist and forager full-time in 2016. Now, she’s part
of Devon’s Transition Town Totnes, a community-led charity
that aims to lessen both energy usage and environmental impact
“Neal’s Yard – which, she says, is “aligned with my climate-change values”.
Pure Essence
No1 Frankincense eau Between presenting Channel 4’s The Great Garden Revolution
de parfum [£39] is and volunteering on community plots, Okotcha has grown
earthy and airy. I can’t
stand full florals.”
an edible and medicinal plot in her average-sized garden, proof
“Honeyland (2019)
transports you to
of “what you can do in an obtainable space,” she explains. “Part
“Vivienne Westwood another place. It follows of tackling climate change is acknowledging our power and
is my favourite designer. one of the last wild making small changes.” Her advice? “Gardens aren’t blank pieces
My modelling highlight beekeepers in the world,
was walking in her show and is just a really of paper – they’re home to a lot of life, so don’t be disheartened
and meeting her.” peaceful, beautiful film.” when things don’t go how you expect.” Amel Mukhtar

60
 A circular design story
Launching 9th December
 Jewel
ambitions
As the diamond industry searches for ways
to be more sustainable, Annabel Davidson
asks which is the kindest cut of all?
Illustration by Jaume Vilardell

E
xperimental Ukrainian jewellery brand Nomis only uses
laboratory-grown diamonds. Whether they’re scattered along
pencil-length pins designed to skewer the earlobe, or
clustered on “earovals” that encircle the ear and rest snug
against the skull, all the diamonds in Nomis jewels are man-
made. “We use lab-grown diamonds because it’s the logical choice,”
says founder and creative director Alyona Kiperman. “They’re cheaper,
but have the same characteristics as mined diamonds. We’re a new
jewellery brand, and they just feel more modern.” The former model
doesn’t like to say anything about sustainability. “It all feels like
greenwashing. My work is fast-paced and about linking fantasy and
reality.” It makes sense that Kiperman uses manufactured diamonds,
as well as similarly sourced emeralds and sapphires. She’s selling design
and, as with fashion, it’s all about the look.
At Homer, Frank Ocean’s NYC-based luxury brand, American lab-
grown diamonds are used in cartoonish, cryptic designs alongside silver,
gold and enamel. The Angry Man pendant, in 18-carat yellow gold, is
more than nine times pricier than the same necklace in rhodium-plated
silver – even though both feature lab-grown diamonds. It goes to show
that the value is really in the precious metal, not the stones.
Natural or cultured pearls; an original Matisse or a poster – the
analogies used to compare lab-grown diamonds with their natural
counterparts keep on coming, yet none of them quite fit. The war of
words between the two sectors, chiefly about which better answers the
consumer’s growing demand for a more sustainable product, hardly
helps clear things up, either. However, it needn’t be a competition –
they’re not the same thing.
Lab-grown diamonds – created in factories using one of two methods,
each of which requires extreme heat or extreme pressure – are marketed
with words such as ethical, sustainable and carbon neutral. Mined stones,
meanwhile, have moved on from De Beers’s 1948 tagline, “A diamond
is forever”, to promote positive social impact and natural provenance.
Pandora made waves in May 2021 when it announced the launch of
its first-ever sustainably lab-created diamond collection, Pandora
Brilliance. Set in sterling silver or 14-carat gold, the pieces are affordable,
easy, minimalist and the sort of thing you’d buy for yourself, your kid “Created diamonds fit the segment we are in – affordable jewellery
or your friend. As the mega-brand’s CEO Alexander Lacik put it, for the many,” says Mads Twomey-Madsen, VP for corporate
“Diamonds are not only forever, but for everyone.” communications and sustainability for Pandora. “Lab-grown has been
It’s that democratising of diamonds that most defines the lab-grown evolving over many years, and it has come down in price as the technology
sector for Paul Ziminsky, an NYC-based diamond-industry analyst. has become more widely available.” Now, synthetic diamonds tend to
“Luxury is an emotional purchase,” he says. “A manufactured product be about 30 per cent cheaper than mined diamonds. “Plus, lab-grown
that has infinite supply and is relatively low-priced just doesn’t pack means we can provide diamond jewellery that has very low impact on
the same emotional punch for consumers.” Ziminsky also sees a clear the environment. One of our smaller rings from the Brilliance collection
segmentation within the lab-grown diamond market. “I think people has a carbon equivalent to a litre of milk.”
will be willing to pay a premium for fully traceable, high-quality, lab- The Natural Diamond Council is an elite club of diamond miners,
grown diamonds made with renewable energy, compared to the cheapest whose seven members – including De Beers Group, Rio Tinto and Lucara
possible stones grown in factories in China.” Diamond – make up 75 per cent of the world’s natural diamond supply.

64
 JEWELLERY
an NGO specialising in aiding development in impoverished countries
and helping resource-dependent communities work more sustainably
and effectively. “Walking away from responsible miners in far-flung
communities and prioritising jobs in the global north is literally the
opposite of responsible sourcing,” she says.
Spearheaded by Feriel Zerouki, senior vice president of ethical initiatives
at the De Beers Group, GemFair is an initiative set up to support
artisanal and small-scale mining, almost always made up of people from
poor communities using basic equipment. Traditionally, too, artisanal
miners don’t receive fair prices and are at risk of being exploited due to
lack of more formalised industry connections. De Beers sees it as its
responsibility to help these miners access the international market to
sell their work legitimately, as well as to improve conditions on the
ground. The pilot scheme now has more than 150 mine sites registered
in Sierra Leone, providing equipment, training and ongoing mentoring.
It has been a labour of love for Zerouki. “There are no legitimate businesses
that source artisanal-mined diamonds,” she says. “We want to create a
route to market for these miners and ultimately see their stones in
jewellery.” In time, hopefully, we’ll have artisan-mined diamonds,
legitimately sourced and completely traceable, set in jewellery and sold
in stores. It could be the most ethical diamond story of all.
Hi-tech advancements, such as blockchain records, are to be expected
as diamond miners respond to demands for transparency. Tiffany became
the first major jeweller to provide traceability for all of its rough diamonds
in 2020. Anisa Kamadoli Costa, chief sustainability officer for the company,
describes how that initiative has expanded since. “Today, our Diamond
Craft Journey allows us to share not only the provenance, but also
information on where these diamonds are cut and polished, graded and
set. The journey of a Tiffany diamond is more than a map of where a
diamond has been; it represents the positive impact our operations have
on local communities, human rights and the environment,” she says.
Pandora’s lab-grown diamonds are made in factories in Europe and
North America, using on average 60 per cent renewable energy. “They
will be grown using one hundred per cent renewable energy when we
launch the Brilliance collection globally next year,” says Twomey-
Madsen. “This means no emissions from energy use.”
But, like every other brand I asked regarding how much energy –
renewable or otherwise – is used to create a diamond in a lab, Pandora
wouldn’t give me an answer. “We don’t have that kW figure,” replies
Twomey-Madsen. It also wouldn’t divulge which lab-grown diamond
producers they work with, for “commercial competitive reasons”.
Mona Akhavi is the CEO of Vrai, the consumer-facing arm of Diamond
Foundry, one of the first companies to create gem-quality lab-grown
diamonds at a viable scale. “I can’t give you a number as to how much
energy is used because the technology is always changing,” Akhavi tells
me over Zoom. Later, via email, I’m told that it’s because they don’t want
to disclose proprietary information. Its factory in Washington State is
carbon-neutral, using renewable energy powered by the Columbia River.
Vrai’s offering is aspirational, with shapes including half-moons and
baguettes, and an online build-your-own-engagement-ring facility that
can conjure anything from a dainty solitaire to a 3.44-carat Asscher cut
ring. A choker sporting more than 35 carats of lab-grown diamonds
retails for about £60,000. Its website uses statistics from natural diamond
The members are on a mission to “advance the integrity of the modern mining as a barometer, saying, “For every carat of our Vrai created
diamond jewellery industry, and inspire, educate and protect the consumer”. diamonds produced,we save 65kg of carbon dioxide, 57 kg of air pollution
Their detractors may say they’re trying to keep on making fortunes, and 227 tonnes of earth.”
but those fortunes are irrevocably intertwined with some impressive The arguments from either side of the divide – more of a ravine, to be
initiatives to do social good for many people. (And let it be said, the frank – don’t help consumers in any way. Mudslinging rarely makes things
lab-grown companies aren’t exactly charities – they’re like any other any clearer, but it can create healthy competition. “The remarkable rise
technology company out there to make money.) of lab-grown diamonds is putting pressure on the mined-diamond
Large-scale diamond mining, mainly on the continents of Africa and industry,” says Villegas. “What I would like to see is a ‘race to the top’
Australia, and in Brazil, Canada and Russia, does have negative among producers on social and environmental sustainability efforts. Now
environmental impact, but shifting the industry – and with it millions that would make for a truly beautiful sector.” Put simply, the diamond
of livelihoods – to lab-grown factories is not the answer, according to industry needn’t be about either zero carbon emissions (lab-grown) or
Cristina Villegas, director of the Mines to Markets programme at Pact, livelihoods (natural) – it can be about both. Let the games begin. 

65
 LUST
FOR LIFE
Embrace the New Year spirit
with our round-up of the books, films,
music and exhibitions to know now

BOOKS

COMING
OF AGE

MUSIC

BLACK CAKE
BY CHARMAINE WILKERSON
Spanning 60 years, estranged
brother and sister Byron and Benny
THE BEAT GOES ON
are reunited in adulthood, with London’s South Asian DJs, artists and record labels
secrets unravelled. Wilkerson
explores the nuances of racial are bringing their cultural heritage to the fore

W
identity and betrayal in a powerful
A VERY NICE GIRL novel soon to be adapted for the ith clubs and concerts off the cards for almost two years, speculation
BY IMOGEN CRIMP small screen by Oprah Winfrey’s
was rife over what the cultural landscape might look like upon
production company. Published
British newcomer Imogen their return. The answer arrives in the form of a bold renaissance.
3 February (Penguin, £15)
Crimp delivers a witty tale of In the 1980s and 1990s, there was a burst of creativity among
finance and romance. We
follow Anna, a 24-year-old British South Asian communities, who built underground scenes and held daytime
trying to make it as an opera events to allow its devotees to party without raising the eyebrows of traditional
singer in London while families. Today, decades later, comes a resurgence of that diasporic innovation.
navigating a complex Dance collective Daytimers, led by figures including Yung Singh, Provhat
relationship with an older,
wealthy man. Published on 3
Rahman and Darama, took shape during the pandemic with a name that nods to
February (Bloomsbury, £15) that inherited legacy. Since curating events at Boiler Room and Fabric, they teamed
with label Chalo, which put out records with a South Asian twist on jazz music,
SEND NUDES and No ID, who spotlight DJs in the community, to create a new South Asian-
BY SABA SAMS
focused festival, Dialled In in September. Performers and attendees alike flooded
A razor-sharp debut from a number of venues across Walthamstow, with a mix of streetwear and saris,
Saba Sams tackles the joys
and angst of teenhood in 10 traditional turbans paired with futuristic chains, and bindis crowning sultry lingerie
stories. From clubs and pubs looks. Periodic club night Cousins at Bar A Bar, run by pioneering DJs Manara
to home and school, there and DJ Basmati, returns bigger than before, clashing continental sounds for its
are pertinent lessons to be cosmopolitan audience, and artists such as Joy Crookes and Priya Ragu spice R&B
found on friendship, family,
dating, love and sex.
tracks with Bangladeshi and Tamil influences. Supported by new online platforms
Published on 20 January such as Diet Paratha, its founder Anita Chhiba further boosts the visibility of a
(Bloomsbury, £15) fresh, inventive scene mining its cultural heritage to build new worlds.

66
 ARTS & CULTURE

FILM

POWER PLAY
It’s all eyes on the female-led
stories lighting up the silver screen

I
n January comes a trio of films centring on women wrestling with and railing
against traditional ideas of family in thorny ways. First out is Maggie
Gyllenhaal’s electrifying directorial debut on 31 December, The Lost Daughter,
based on Elena Ferrante’s novel. When aloof academic Leda (Olivia Colman)
becomes fixated with a mother (Dakota Johnson) and her young daughter while
on holiday, she is forced to confront uncomfortable memories of her own youth
as a mother to two children. In Deep Water, out on 14 January, Ana de Armas
and Ben Affleck are a couple in a loveless marriage kept together through an
arrangement in which she can have limitless, conspicuous affairs. When those
lovers start to disappear, her husband becomes the prime suspect, in the first film
from Fatal Attraction director Adrian Lyne in nearly two decades. Meanwhile,
the latest from Pedro Almodóvar, Parallel Mothers, out on 28 January, focuses on
two first-time mothers-to-be who meet on the maternity ward. One, played by
Penélope Cruz, a middle-aged photographer, has unexpectedly conceived a child
as the result of an affair with a married man; the other, played by Milena Smit,
is a teenager from another world. It proves the catalyst for two close character
studies, in all their full and messy complexity.
COMPILED BY SOEY KIM AND AMEL MUKHTAR. CHISENHALE GALLERY; PARVEEN NAROWALIA; VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM; YG KPLUS

ART

SHOW & TELL SOHEE PARK, DESIGNER

“I’m looking forward to Hallyu! The Korean
Wave at the Victoria and Albert museum later this year.
It’s great to see Korean music, dramas, beauty and
fashion inspire others around the world and be
celebrated by an institution like the V&A. I contributed
to this special exhibition as a Korean designer.”
From September 2022. Vam.ac.uk

Clockwise from left: Production Image (2021), by

Rachel Jones; Bae Yoon Young models in Tchai Kim
Young Jin’s hanbok collection (2015); Market
Tavern, Bradford (1976), by Chris Steele-Perkins

PRIYA AHLUWALIA, DESIGNER

“Covid-19 has meant so many
moments of communion cannot exist
or ever be the same. Notting Hill
Carnival, the UK’s biggest black
RUSSELL TOVEY, festival, is one of my favourite
ACTOR & AUTHOR cultural moments. This moment of
“Chisenhale Gallery, one of black joy inspires so many things in
London’s most innovative forums for wider culture: music, fashion, art,
contemporary art, will house a solo and I’m really looking forward to its
exhibition for emerging British artist return in 2022. My brand Ahluwalia
Rachel Jones. Rachel’s practice is will also be featured in the V&A’s
one that I have been obsessively Fashioning Masculinities: The Art
following. Working predominantly of Menswear exhibition, which
in oil pastel on uneven canvas, her I’m also particularly excited about.
colour-saturated masterpieces, filled As a menswear designer, I have
with repeated texture and motifs, always been interested in how it has
allow us a stunning expression into defined ideas of masculinity within
the interior self.” March to May society and the value of men.”
2022. Chisenhale.org.uk From March 2022. Vam.ac.uk 

67
 INTERIORS SPECIAL
Edited by Julia Brenard

PLACES OF
INTEREST
From pops of colour in Danish design,
to the earthy materials of Japan, inspiration
can be found in all corners of the world

COPENHAGEN
Contrast, mixing, matching
– the fun-loving Scandi
aesthetic lifts any room.

Above, from top: trays, £850 for a set of

three, The Lacquer Company. Coffee
table, £1,151, B&B Italia. Ashtray,
£490, Hermès. Below: rug, from £670,
Nordic Knots & Campbell-Rey
ENOK HOLSEGAARD

69
HOME EMPORIUM
ARCHIVE_SDG
 From top: plate, £930,
Polly Fern. Candles, £22 for six, Cire
Trudon, at Matchesfashion.com. Below:
Vase, £620, Freya Bramble-Carter,
at Petersham Nurseries

BRUTON
Vintage finds
and cosy quilts
invoke a slower
pace of life in
the countryside.

KATE MARTIN; ANITA CALERO; PIXELATE.BIZ

Suffield Green No 77 paint,

from £52, Farrow & Ball &
Liberty. Above left: antique
side table, £1,920, Soane.
Above: hand-painted tiles,
£29 each, Balineum. Right:
quilt, £1,320, Gucci

72
 INTERIORS special

Above: bench, from £2,770, Haos, at

Theinvisiblecollection.com. Right: lamp, £895,
Danielle Cambray, at Thepeanutvendor.co.uk

Left: coat rack,

£179, Hay. Above:
wrapped stones,
from £55 each,
Momosan. Below,
from top: vase,
£350, LSA. Blanket,
£1,370, Toga, at
Pantechnicon

NAOSHIMA
Japan’s artsy town is
filled with museums
that connect visitors to
nature via minimalist
installations – take note.

73
¿QG
the
RQH
 INTERIORS special

“We both feel strongly

about supporting
women and diversity
in the industry”

HOUSE
PROUD
Meet the trailblazing
women of the interior
design scene. By
Julia Brenard

50 VYNER
WHO Having first met some 15 years ago, this year, long-time
collaborators Sophie Pearce and Laura Fulmine established a
shared two-storey, 5,500sq ft gallery space in east London. On the
first floor is Béton Brut, Pearce’s curation of “minimal, sculptural
and architectural” furniture, while on the ground floor sits MAH, Top: artwork,
Fulmine’s “visually dynamic and playful” art gallery. £1,250, Carla
Amaral Noronha.
USP As the pair explain, “50 Vyner is a completely unique
DIEGO PADILLA; OLLIE TOMLINSON

Left: vase, £1,200,

experience. Combining both our curated spaces has enabled us to AnnaLeaClelia
create an offering that has something for absolutely everybody.” Tunesi. Both at
THE PHILOSOPHY “We both feel strongly about supporting MAH. Above:
women and diversity in the industry,” says Fulmine. “At MAH, vintage Wilhelm
our artists’ roster boasts perhaps a 70/30 female majority.” Zanoth for Ingo
WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR Spot important pieces by Maurer light,
the heavy-hitting likes of Isamu Noguchi, Shiro Kuramata and £4,250. Vintage
Jane Dillon & Peter
Charlotte Perriand, alongside works by lesser-known artists
Wheeler chair,
and architects. 50vyner.com > £1,750. Both at
Béton Brut

75
INTERIORS special

Below: bowl,
£100. Vase,
£35. Both
Studio Arva

STUDIO ARVA
WHO In June 2020, mid-lockdown, set designer,
events producer and interior stylist Abisola Omole
decided to take her east London studio –
previously home to her extensive collection
of vintage furniture finds – up a gear. “I started
sourcing classic pieces and re-upholstering them,
and before I knew it, I had developed my first collection.”
Fast forward to today, and Studio Arva is officially a fully
fledged lifestyle store, and interior lover’s paradise.
KNOWN FOR An expert mix of design classics, from
Japanese and Scandinavian to mid-century modern. As
Omole puts it, “I just love pieces, fabrics and tones that
really evoke emotion – typically the feelings are of nostalgia,
calm and fun.”
DON’T MISS The French milking stools in various sizes, and
the onyx and alabaster fruit pedestals are enduring bestsellers,
but Omole suggests keeping an eye out for the studio’s latest
fabrics, too. “We have some incredible chairs and sofas from the
’60s that we’ve re-upholstered, which I know are going to be so
popular,” she says. Studioarva.co.uk

Left: chair, £4,200, Rooms Studio. Below:

artwork, £3,400, Joseph Goody. Vase, £425,
Dea Domus. All at Atelier LK

ATELIER LK
WHO New York-based artist Ruby Kean and London-based
founder of A Good Chair Lisa Jones were introduced by mutual
friends over lunch, and first began collaborating virtually during
lockdown. “We realised that we were both drawing similar
references in our work, and balanced each other with our
individual strengths, so it naturally evolved into us wanting to
work on every project together,” they say. Atelier LK was born.
THE AESTHETIC As their autumn exhibition, No 43 (at the
former home of Chinese-Lithuanian artist and dancer Ron
Hitchins in London Fields) proved, the pair blend 20th-century
furniture with contemporary art pieces to perfection.
ON TEAMWORK ”Together we are a perfect balance. Ruby
is very big-picture and instinctive, whereas Lisa is incredibly
detailed and considered. We both have learnt so much from
each other, which is exciting.”
FUTURE PLANS To name a few: an online store, a NYC
exhibition and residential projects on either side of the Atlantic.
Watch this space. Atelier-lk.com 

76
 Made in England
UCOWGNJGCVJEQO"UCOWGNJGCVJQHƂEKCN
Showroom at Design Centre - Chelsea Harbour
Landmark Pure shower in Matt Black Chrome
MODERN KITCHEN FURNITURE
88A Acre Lane, London, SW2 5QN
020 7095 1795 pluck.co.uk
 Below: Rocchetta Mattei
INTERIORS special
fortress in Bologna, Italy

Above left: candles,

£16 for four, Hay.
Below: espresso cup
and saucer, £120,
Marie Daâge, at

BALMAIN
Bonadea. Cushion,
from £130, Christina
Lundsteen
JASON WU

Top: wallpaper, from £85 a roll,

House of Hackney. Above:
candle holder, £180, Laetitia
Rouget, at Net-a-Porter.com.
Below: footstall, £450, Ceraudo

LUCKY
STRIPE
Energise any room
with a bold pattern
KIKO KOSTADINOV

straight off the runway

CECIL BEATON. ALAMY

Far left: bath towel, £48,

Dusen Dusen. Left:
lampshade, £180, Alvaro
Picardo. Above: chair,
£2,394, Buchanan Studio

79
INTERIORS special
CHECKLIST

Wallpaper,
£71 a roll,
Sanderson

Sofa, £3,395, Soho Home

Lamp, £175,
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Vinterior

Fridge,
£1,479,
Smeg

Pitcher,
£55,
Arddun
Stores

CONTEMPORARY
FUNDAMENTALS
When quiet sophistication is
something to shout about.
Edited by Itunu Oke
Vogue, September 2012

Vase, £195,
Oka
CRAIG MCDEAN

Table, £425,
Perch & Parrow
 The Claremont Collection
A range of luxury solid brass dressing table mirrors

armacmartin.co.uk | 0121 359 2111 | @armacmartin

Featuring The Claremont Panelled Dressing

Table Mirror & Crossways T-Bar
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CHECKLIST

Bucket,
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SPA
Vanity
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Martin

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Recreate a relaxing spa environment
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Loewe soap, £40

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The Garbstore

82
 VOGUE PARTNERSHIP
Below: 1970s Italian
Murano glass pendant.
Right: set of two 1980s
room dividers

Palm Bay Club

(1965) by Slim
Aarons print
SEEK THE
UNIQUE
With one click, Vinterior
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sheepskin
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The idea of vintage interiors shopping is
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– plus it also offers a more sustainable way to
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travertine
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to a home full of one-off pieces that
Above: 1970s hand-painted are sure to transcend trends. Q
ceramic leopard. Right: Shop the marketplace range at Vinterior.co
antique oushak rug
LIVING
“You’d never know, but
this twist necklace by
All Blues is made with
recycled materials.”
Necklace, £950, All Blues

“London-based
brand ELV
Denim prides
itself on being
zero-waste, turning
discarded denim
into cool new
manifestations.”
Jeans, £315,
ELV Denim

“I’m hypnotised by the graphic boldness of this

blanket by Tekla, which produces its throws
from Oeko-Tex and Woolmark-certified wool
from New Zealand.” Blanket, from £175, Tekla

LIFE &
STYLE Earth-friendly finds
“The One
Ocean Bioactive
from Julia Sarr-Jamois
Body Sculpting
Marine Cream [£89]
doesn’t just improve
muscle definition.
It is made using
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without disturbing
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“Ginori 1735 candles smell great

– and the pots are ripe for re-use
around the house.” Candles, from
£125 each, Ginori 1735

“Araks works with organic

and upcycled cotton to
produce its lingerie, allowing “The hoop is back, and who better
“Shopping at Gabriela for a clear conscience.” to get it from than Laura
Hearst is a win-win situation: you Bra, £105. Knickers, £72. Lombardi, who sources
PIXELATE.BIZ

know it’s going to be sustainable, Both Araks deadstock materials and uses
and her pieces – such as this recycled brass for her creations.”
oversize knit – are dreamy.” Earrings, £118, Laura Lombardi,
Sweater, £1,790, Gabriela Hearst at Matchesfashion.com

84
Shared Intimacy
Introducing Plural designed for VitrA by Terri Pecora

VitrA London Showroom

64 Turnmill Street, Clerkenwell, EC1M 5RR @vitrabathrooms / vitra.co.uk
 CLARISSA WEARS COAT, STELLA MCCARTNEY. SHIRT, DIOR. TROUSERS, HER OWN. EARRINGS, PIPPA SMALL

“I would never be
where I am today
without my mum,”
says Clarissa
Ward, CNN’s chief
international
correspondent.
“Never.”

XXX
 SPOTLIGHT

IN THE ZONE
From Afghanistan to Myanmar, her dispatches have turned CNN’s
Clarissa Ward into a star. She talks fear, family and the front line with Kathleen
Baird-Murray. Photographs by Charlotte Hadden. Styling by Julia Brenard

I
t is chaos at Clarissa Ward’s home. As Vogue’s shoot with In part, her strength of character can be attributed to a
the renowned war reporter and her children nears childhood that was privileged, growing up in London the
completion, rows of tiny shoes for tiny children, rails of only child of an American mother, an interior designer, and
larger sized clothes for their mum, and random pieces a British father, an investment banker. But it was, at times,
of camera equipment and kit boxes have all taken over what lonely, isolating and unconventional. She had 11 different
may or may not have been – I can’t tell – a dining room. Her nannies by the time she was eight and attended two boarding
two toddlers – Ezra, three, and Caspar, one – are ushered schools – feeling like an outsider, an experience that taught
out, little foot after little foot pitter-pattering down the her to be adaptable and self-reliant – before heading to Yale.
hallway on their way to a mini music class and a play date, There was no room in the Ward family for that oh-so-English
nannies in tow. Upstairs in the Notting Hill town house, Ward trait of self-deprecation. “I would never be where I am today
gets ready for the next shot. It is to take place in a playground, without my mum. Never,” she says. Driven to become a journalist
for which the stylist has picked out something a little more following 9/11, and with her career newly under way, she
casual: a pair of flared, pink Oscar de la Renta palazzo pants, once said to her mother, “I’m happy to be a producer.” Her
which are about a foot too long, and 2ft too wide at the mother had other ideas. “She’d say, ‘No you’re not. You’re meant
ankles. Clarissa is unsure. “I could always wear… jeans?” to be in front of the camera.’ She taught me to stop being afraid
She’s no stranger to chaos – you might even say it’s her to step into who I really am, which is harder than you think.”
comfort zone. As CNN’s chief international correspondent, We’ve met before, sort of. Ward’s biggest following on
the 41-year-old British-American multi-award-winning Instagram – even more than in London or New York – is
journalist is based in London. Not that she’s here all the time. from Yangon, the former capital of Myanmar, where several
In the past year alone, she has reported from Myanmar, leading months on from her visit, and with the crisis still far from
the first foreign news team permitted to enter the South-East being peacefully resolved, many remain indebted to her for
Asian nation and confronting the military junta as peaceful bringing their brutal repression to the world’s attention. Being
protests were violently suppressed. Afterwards, we saw her part-Burmese, I messaged her on Instagram at the time of
in crematoriums in Delhi and crowded Covid-19 wards in her report – with no friendly introductions from friends,
Uttar Pradesh as India experienced its second wave of associates or PRs – and ventured a request: would she speak
coronavirus. And, perhaps most memorably of all, by summer of her experiences for a fundraising event I was organising?
she was in Afghanistan covering the US withdrawal, arguing Sure enough, a few weeks later, she interrupted a rare and short
on camera with Taliban leaders about women’s rights while holiday in France, ignored the laryngitis she was suffering
being asked – as a woman – to step aside. The author of a from and spoke via Zoom to a London audience who were
memoir, On All Fronts: The Education of a Journalist, and the so touched by her stories that they donated generously.
winner of nine Emmys and a Peabody Award, in months her “Myanmar was extraordinary in some ways because I’ve
following on Instagram went from tens of thousands to just been in places with despotic regimes before, but I’ve never
under 300,000. But what her rapid rise in social media had people opposed to those regimes approach me when
popularity belies is 20 years of hard slog in parts of the world surrounded by security forces,” she says now, of her seven-day
most would avoid: spending time in Beirut during unrest in visit. “I mean, the courage that takes is just mental.” When
the early 2000s; covering military action in the Gaza Strip; she heard that some of those who approached her with the
reporting on the execution of Saddam Hussein; and delivering three-finger salute – symbolic of their call for democracy –
stories from Aleppo, Syria, in 2012, where she experienced were subsequently thrown into the notorious Insein Prison,
repeated shelling, morning, noon and night. she demanded the military junta release them, and they did.
The latter experience was perhaps the one that scared her “The military was saying, ‘We’re going to take you to the
the most. “Shelling is psychologically a very challenging thing Gems Museum,’ and I was saying, ‘I’m not going to any
to deal with,” she tells me. “I was just so scared to leave the museum until you release these people.’” Were the junta
safe house.” News reports take time to craft. “You can’t just perhaps naive in thinking they could present a sanitised
go bim bam boom – you have to get a shot from here, a shot version of their coup? “They don’t have a huge amount of
from there, build up a sequence.” Hanging around in Aleppo, experience with international media. They then took us to a
she would wait nervously in the car with the driver. “He was second market, which was next to a military base, and had
chatting to me, partly in Russian, and he gave me some stooges come up to us with two fingers. I was like, ‘What’s
chocolate. Just having that human moment, eating chocolate that?’ Still, in that second market, 15 minutes after we arrived,
together and talking about Russia, was soothing. And I we got mobbed again by ordinary Burmese people, waving
thought, ‘Well, if I go, this is kind of a nice time.’” Her voice three fingers at us, and saying they wanted democracy.’
drops. “You’re not really making peace with death, but at least The generals might also have been caught off-guard because
if you can give yourself the illusion that you could make peace she’s female, which Ward says has its advantages, such as
with it, then you get over the fear. Fear can be very crippling.” allowing her greater access in conservative cultures like >

87
SPOTLIGHT
Afghanistan, a country she visited twice in 2021 (at time of West, or the international community. And I can’t tell you
press). “Traditionally, in war reporting, women’s voices in how many people come up to me and say, “The international
some parts of the world were missing,” she says. “You have community needs to do more.” But all they can do is wring
two worlds in Afghanistan – and even ‘two worlds’ is to their hands on the sidelines and issue condemnations. If you
simplify it, obviously – but in the rural areas, as a Western don’t have China and Russia singing from the same hymn
woman, I’m very privileged because I get to go where the sheet, it is really difficult to have any effect.”
women and children are, which my male colleagues have zero Our conversation is interrupted as the Vogue team, now all
access to.” Confined to their compounds, with little or no packed up, are leaving, and Ward, ever polite, insists on running
education, Ward says that some of these women were downstairs to say goodbye in person. When she returns, she
“receptive to the Taliban taking over” because their presence confides she initially had doubts about the shoot. “I said to
would mean an end to the drones and airstrikes. But the fate the photographer, ‘Whatever happens, we cannot let this look
of women in cities such as Kabul, Kandahar and Herat was like, “She’s got her sweet little boys and her award-winning
altogether a different experience – and heart-wrenching. For career, she’s got it all,”’” she says. “Because it’s so damn hard.”
two decades they’d led independent lives, building careers And yes, she’s the first to admit that with her husband Philipp
and, as Ward puts it, “daring to dream”. “I interviewed one von Bernstorff, a fund manager whom she met at a 2007
woman, who worked at the United Nations. She was crying dinner party in Moscow and married at Chelsea Old Town
and crying, and I said, ‘Why are you crying, are you scared?’ Hall in 2016, often travelling for work, too, she has a huge
She said, ‘No… it’s because I have to tell my daughters that amount of help. “Does it take a village?” I ask. “It’s more like
all those things I told them they could dream of are no longer an army!” she says. “You’ve got five balls you’re juggling all
attainable to them.’ As a woman and a mother, you can’t not the time and it’s hard organising doctor’s appointments and
feel crushed when you see someone weeping like that – not playdates when you’re in the field. It’s hard missing important
weeping for themselves, but weeping for their daughters.” events. It’s hard trying to be fully present on certain elements
Does she find it hard not to scoop up that mother and her of my work when I’ve just had a baby or I’ve got a sick child.”
daughters? How does she walk away from the democratic She adds, “Women are so excited to get their foot in the door
protestors in Yangon? “It’s very hard,” she says. “You constantly and be major players in the workplace that they came up with
have to remind yourself that the way you help is by shining the big lie, which was that being a mother wouldn’t change
a light on what’s happening and by giving a voice.” Ward and anything, but can we stop pretending that this isn’t unbelievably
her CNN crew in Kabul managed to get two of their Afghan hard? We’re afraid that if we admit, ‘OK, having kids consumes
“I’m big on team out of the country with them; a female cook and a male a lot of my attention,’ others will think, ‘Does that mean you’re
mentorship. translator. “What was so crazy was that within 30 minutes not focused on your work?’”
of me asking our translator, Shafi, if he’d like to evacuate, he Is there female camaraderie now? Or is the newsroom still
I get messages was at our house with nothing but a little briefcase, which cut-throat ambition cloaked in Roland Mouret-esque dresses,
every day had his computer and some papers showing he’d worked with as portrayed in Bombshell (the 2019 film based on the scandals
the US military. And you just think, how much courage, at Fox News) or Apple TV+’s The Morning Show? After all,
and I always heartache, desperation, bitterness does it take to leave your Ward began her career as an overnight desk assistant at Fox
reply… you entire life within 30 minutes?” Ward acknowledges the sad in 2003, during Roger Ailes’s toxic rule. “When I started out,
truth that once the cameras are gone, so is the world’s it was all, ‘Why aren’t you wearing your hair down?’ Do you
have to pay it attention. “The reality is that no one is coming to save these know what the irony is? You stick to your guns, you wear
forward” people,” she says. “Not the UN. Not the Americans. Not the things how you like them, and afterwards, it becomes your
signature. ‘Oh, I love the way Clarissa wears her hair.’ I’m
like, ‘You know what? Shut up, because you were telling me
for years to cut it, curl it, wear it down!’”
The landscape is changing. “With the previous generation,
it was more about ‘pull the ladder up’, but with my generation,
it’s a bit different. I’m happy that I exist in a media ecosystem
that is much more diverse and vibrant than the one I started
out in 20 years ago. Before in the US, you had three middle-
aged white men on ABC, CBS and NBC telling you what
the world was like on any given day, and that was considered
to be neutrality.” Often likened to Christiane Amanpour,
whose role at CNN she took over in 2018, Ward – who speaks
six languages – admires women reporters such as Liz Palmer
at CBS and Martha Raddatz at ABC, “who were very gracious
to me coming up in my career”, as well as Isobel Yeung from
Vice, Alex Crawford from Sky News, and Salma Abdelaziz,
who is also a reporter with CNN. “I’m big on mentorship. I
get emails and messages every day, and I always reply because
it is so important – you have to pay it forward.”
Ward is off to Kabul again at the weekend; there is much
Clockwise, from above: Clarissa
to prepare. It’s been a long day, and there’s a house downstairs
writes up notes near the front line that needs tidying. More importantly, there is a little boy back
of the battle for Mosul; reporting from his playdate, who clambers on to her lap looking for a
from Iran’s capital, Tehran; getting
ready to fly over Greenland while cuddle. I can’t help but think that it’s true we might not have
two-months pregnant it all, but there is something to be said for trying. Q

88
 THIS PAGE: CLARISSA WEARS SWEATER AND TROUSERS, OSCAR DE LA RENTA. EZRA AND CASPAR BOTH WEAR
KIDSWEAR, LA COQUETA. SOCKS, THEIR OWN. SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES WERE FOLLOWED THROUGHOUT THIS
PHOTOSHOOT. SEBASTIAAN KNOOPS; SCOTT MCWHINNIE; CHRISTIAN STREIB

Woodward.
Hair: Ronnie

Jagger. Nails:
Michelle Class
the women and

Make-up: Sarah
have zero access
to,” says Clarissa.
– I get to go where

my male colleagues
children are, which
“I’m very privileged

89
 LOVE I S
A G I FT THAT LASTS

Stella & Pippa

Sisters
 VIEWPOINT

GO YOUR OWN WAY

Ahead of the publication of his memoir, artist and fashion designer
Osman Yousefzada reflects on what creativity and cultural identity mean to him

I
t’s called Grand Central now, with soaring sci-fi arches On my first day, I looked at the college bar and wondered
that make it feel like a modern cathedral, but the train if I should buy a Coke or not: did it matter that the same bar
tracks at Birmingham’s station are probably the same ones sold alcohol? Had my glass been washed well enough? Was
that, some 20 years ago, snaked me away from the centre it Haram? The girl behind the bar asked if I was a fresher.
of England – away from the city I’d lived in since I was born, Her name was Emma, in her final year studying politics, and
from my parents, my sisters, my brother, my ultra-orthodox she was beautiful: her skin glistened like butter, her brown
upbringing and community – to London. To a new life. ringlets made her look like Neneh Cherry, and on each bend
I remember that train ride vividly. I was leaving home to go to open the refrigerator door they would bounce. She exuded
to university, to the School of Oriental and African Studies cool: her Trinidadian accent, her oversized jumpers and white
(Soas), tucked away in the navel of Bloomsbury. Soas started jeans with cowboy boots, her laid-back ways.
life as an educational institution for British colonial officers, One evening Emma promised to take me out, somewhere
GETTY IMAGES

who were trained in the ways of the native in order to rule “special”, somewhere “magical”, and I put on my best T-shirt,
them successfully. Within its walls a revolution had slowly a pickleball raglan with a white body and sleeves in dark blue.
occurred, resulting in me, the son of an illiterate former “colonial She swept me imperiously through glittering dive bars, one
subject”, one of the “governed”, coming here to be educated. after another, where, for the very first time, I saw genders >

91
VIEWPOINT
become fluid, and love and self-expression taking different fashion marketing; Elias who was at the London College of
forms. Emma knew everyone: James and Ian, drag queens who Fashion; and Noah who worked at Jean Paul Gaultier’s store
wore blonde wigs and called themselves Victoria, “The Yvette”, in South Kensington. They all knew what they wanted to do.
or “Yvette the Conqueror”, warming up the crowds in their I had not grown up poring over pages of Vogue, visiting
sparkly or animal-print dresses – and all nearly 7ft tall. museums, or admiring my mothers Yves Saint Laurent
I went out again and again with Emma, each time dressing wardrobe. Mum didn’t even wear lipstick or perfume. They
up in clothes I mainly made by day for myself to wear out at both made things with their hands (Dad was a carptenter),
night. Sewing came easy – my mum was a dressmaker. Her but I didn’t know what being creative was. At primary school,
salon was hidden in our back room at home in Birmingham, I lost myself in paints and crayons, but as I grew older,
behind the damask lilac curtain, which divided the worlds picking up a pen to draw came with conditions: I could only
of men and women. I had been her understudy, but as puberty write the name of God or verses from the Quran, or draw
approached, the curtain defined it as a totally female space. and plan out the artwork – compositions of leaves, vines and
Now, though, the sewing machine from the halls of residence flowers – for Mum to embroider. Drawing animate objects
was firmly planted in my room, where synthetic poly cotton was forbidden, as on the day of judgement, God would ask
became Pathani pants at 50p a metre. I made beaded chokers me to put life in them. How could I? I’d have to show I was
that Lenny Kravitz himself would have been proud of; competing with him. My beliefs were saving me from the
embroidered mirrored hats that I could have easily worn to fires of hell, steering me away from paths for safe passage
the mosque on special occasions, but instead sparkled under to the gates of paradise.
strobe lights in another kind of Mecca. But in London, my perceptions had expanded. There were
Emma and I would emerge into the day still high from other paths with other stories. I longed to make my own,
Turnmills, eyes wide like prophets, and glide through Selfridges and to make my own markings. I learnt about Central Saint
and Liberty just as they opened, sniffing and spraying bottles Martins (CSM), said to be the best art school there was. I
of scents. “Feeling” the intense high in the soft silks, the furs put together a portfolio made up of borrowed friends’
of the cashmere, trying on the kohl and the coloured powders drawings (nudes in charcoal on expensive cartridge paper, a
from rows of open pots, and I would think back to those empty medium I’d never touched before) and my own, which were
ones I used to take home to my sisters. I found myself dancing coloured in pencil on photocopy paper, a riff on, or a homage
in clubs near Jean Paul Gaultier in his Breton top and walking to, Matisse. I turned up at CSM at their open day, and the
down the catwalk as a toy-soldier-boy at a ball where RuPaul tutor interviewing me said he liked the way I dressed. The
performed “A Little Bit of Love” and “Supermodel (You Better black Nehru jacket that I had bought in Camden Market,
Work)”. This became my new world, a world where the devil tied with a thick black belt, had won me a place on the
danced naked, as Dad would say, and I should be aware. part-time foundation course.
After a few months at Soas, I was mostly sleeping in the Throughout that first year, I looked over my shoulder at
day and roaming the clubs at night. I eased myself out of fine art and fashion students, with their first-year, white-shirt
university into a long sabbatical mostly by not turning up, projects, and at the senior students preparing for their final
except at the start of each semester to cash in my means- show. I could already make my own clothes, but I watched
Below, from left: tested grant, which I supplemented by working in a theatre and studied how they illustrated their ideas and had help
Yousefzada on bar. It was there that I watched Cate Blanchett on stage cutting patterns. I listened to this new language and
holiday in talking of a salmon sky, and served drinks to Nicole Kidman learnt their code. I knew my passage wasn’t going to be
Turkey in 1997;
as a student in and Lauren Bacall. When the intervals ended at 9pm, I would straightforward. I wasn’t going to step from one stone to
London, 1995 head out to meet my new friends: Heidi, who was studying another, privileged enough to waltz through decisions. There
were still walls blocking my path and ropes that I couldn’t
cut through. I had no traditional support structure, role
models, or representations of myself who I could look up to.
When I did finally crack through the wall, I was told with
good intention that I should hide the “ethnic” part of who I
was and focus on tailoring. Deny my heritage, put away my
background, lose my unique voice.
Even now, all these years later, the battle continues. There
are seasons when I embrace one part of me, then reject it to
try to follow accepted codes. I don’t know how to fit in. Today
my practice has evolved out of an eponymous label that I
started in 2007, expanding into an interdisciplinary one across
installations, moving image, sculpture and writing. What I
do understand is that I’m comfortable in the stories of the
marginalised, where I can merge autobiography with fiction
and ritual, creating work that opens conversations on domestic
violence and illiteracy: issues that are prevalent to my own
experience. I still make garments, but have begun to see that
practice as performance, with limited sustainable output.
Looking back over all this time, running back and forth across
“I’m comfortable in the my parallel worlds, from Birmingham to London, across the
stories of the marginalised, divisions of class, race, religion, I still search for the anthem
of my belonging and of my disorders to be cured. Q
where I can merge The Go-Between: A Portrait of Growing Up Between Different
autobiography with fiction” Worlds, by Osman Yousefzada (Canongate, £15) is out 27 January

92
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cν
Google
Phone
 PHOTOGRAPH: DANNY KASIRYE. STYLING: JULIA BRENARD. HAIR: JAY BIRMINGHAM, NICOLA HARROWELL. MAKE-UP:
MATA MARIELLE, PAINTED BY ESTHER, BIANCA SPENCER. NAILS: IMARNI. SET DESIGN: JULIA DIAS . WITH THANKS TO CLERKENWELL
GUTTER
HOUSE CREDIT
& AIR SPACEHERE
LOCATIONS.
LIKE SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES WERE FOLLOWED THROUGHOUT THIS PHOTOSHOOT

The

Edited by Kathleen Baird-Murray

step behind the camera
SPECIAL
LEOMIE, MUNROE & CLARA
SELF-ESTEEM

Google Pixel
Photographed with
Photographs by Danny Kasirye.
Styling by Julia Brenard

SELF IN
FOCUS
Can a photo ever really represent you? Is a picture truly
worth a thousand words? In a one-of-a-kind partnership
with Google Pixel and Vogue, we invited three modern
tastemakers to step behind the camera of the Google Pixel 6
to provide answers to these questions and share their
unique view on how authentic images connect us all

AT SOME POINT in all of our lives, we’ve hone in on, and amplify, authentic representations features such as Real Tone (a stunning update
all likely paused to ponder our self-worth. The of all cultures and creeds. that allows for an unparalleled portrayal of all
answers to big life questions – who I am? What This balanced intersection between true people and the beautiful nuances of all skin
makes me uniquely me? – have always been representation and technology has been integral tones), the resulting portraits are proof positive
complex mental terrain to navigate. However, to the creation of the Google Pixel 6 – dubbed of the smartphone’s abilities. What follows,
in the age of social media, these musings have “the world’s most inclusive camera” thanks to too, are discussions with Munroe, Leomie and
been taken to a whole new level. Unattainable its reimagined features, which allow for authentic Clara about how they reinforce their internal
beauty standards are far from new, though the visual representation from the core of the device. security, how they bridge the gap between
adverse impacts of our now perfectly pruned Powerful photos are vital, for they tie us to technology and true self – and the benefits of
selfie culture, on self-image and in turn self- memories and lovingly bind us to candid a robust self-esteem.
esteem, are now undeniable. Increased exposure representations of our truest selves. In a totally By changing up the dynamic between artist
to “perfected” images has provided a pipeline to unique portrait series, in partnership with and muse, these modern creatives delved into
unrealistic expectations, that oftentimes set us Google Pixel, Vogue invited three of the most an exploration of genuine individuality – a
up to feel self-critical or inadequate. inspiring creative minds to use the Pixel 6 to message that is at the heart of the Google
Despite the effects of this shift towards a capture one another. The inspirational line-up Pixel 6. Each of the project’s three muses have
hyper-focused grading of oneself, it would be – activist and model Munroe Bergdorf, model used their platforms to amplify their true inner
disingenuous not to acknowledge the role that Leomie Anderson, and broadcaster Clara Amfo voices, through the telling of stories both on
smartphones and the sharing of photos have – lent their unparalleled perspectives to this new and of the camera – all with the intention of
had on society’s relationship with personal creative endeavour – becoming the people both helping others and themselves to feel
imagery. Nevertheless, there is a plus side. behind, as well as in front of, the lens. authentically seen.
Armed with mini cameras nestled into the With the help of the most advanced Pixel Conditions apply. For full details, search for the
palms of our hands, now more than ever, we can camera ever, which includes ground-breaking Google Pixel 6 now at Store.google.com
 VOGUE PARTNERSHIP

CLARA AMFO
PHOTOGRAPHED BY LEOMIE ANDERSON
WITH GOOGLE PIXEL
MATCHESFASHION.COM. NECKLACE, JERYCO STORE. RING, MONICA VINADER. CLARA WEARS SWEATER, GAUGE81, AT SELFRIDGES. TROUSERS, EDELINE LEE, AT FENWICK.
EARRINGS, COMPLETEDWORKS. NECKLACE, TILLY SVEAAS. THIS PAGE: CLARA WEARS JUMPSUIT, GALVAN LONDON. EARRINGS, AKOJO MARKET. NECKLACE, MEJURI
PREVIOUS PAGE: LEOMIE WEARS JACKET, STELLA MCCARTNEY. TROUSERS, HOLZWEILER. EARRINGS, JERYCO STORE. MUNROE WEARS DRESS, BERNADETTE, AT

Though you’ll never see photographic proof

of her restorative reset days – spent alone, at
home, earnestly harmonising to Solange’s “Cranes
in the Sky” – for broadcaster Clara Amfo, safe
spaces are paramount for her public-facing work. “My
best photoshoot ever was definitely one last year, with
Ekua King – an all-female, all-black shoot that was
really healing and so necessary at that moment.
Authentic photos land in this sweet spot, where you’ve
captured people in their bliss – you can literally
see the happiness radiating through the photos.”
Communicating this ideal on social media,
however, is one that Amfo’s classifies as “a
double-edged sword, because on one hand you
can show your true self and connect with a community
you wouldn’t have otherwise met, but people have
begun to try and succeed in manufacturing it. Despite
this, I think that authentic self-love, both on and off
camera, comes from never pouring from an empty cup.” >
VOGUE PARTNERSHIP

For Leomie Anderson – British model and founder of LAPP – practicing self- LEOMIE WEARS DRESS, DAVID KOMA. SHOES, MANOLO BLAHNIK.

love has been non-negotiable throughout her career. “As a dark-skinned

model, I’ve learnt to discern whose words are worth taking in and what
criticisms I should absorb. As a model, you’re gonna go through times when
you feel great, but people will try to make you feel bad about yourself,
EARRINGS, JERYCO STORE. RING, TILLY SVEAAS

especially when you’re a black girl who’s really confident and self-assured.”
In terms of capturing photos themselves, perspective is everything according
to the model. “I love being behind the camera because it enables me to be
able to catch my friends in their truest form. External perspectives can
sometimes be so can be disjointed from the authentic moment. Take the
Victoria’s Secret shows – from the outside looking in it’s like, ‘Models together?
Catty, bitchy,’ and so on, but in reality it’s electric and one of my best
memories.” As for the bolstering of self-esteem within the industry at large,
Anderson, who hails from Wandsworth, advocates for a strong focus on
emotional aftercare. “I want to campaign for therapists and mental resources
– people that aren’t within the fashion industry – because the building of
self-esteem behind closed doors is vital.” >
 LEOMIE ANDERSON
PHOTOGRAPHED BY MUNROE BERGDORF
WITH GOOGLE PIXEL
VOGUE PARTNERSHIP

“Right now, I feel like I’m in the best place – self-esteem wise – that I’ve been in a very
long time,” muses the social activist and model Munroe Bergdorf. “I feel like I’ve
connected with my inner child and made them proud by being the person that I set
out to be at the beginning of my transition. I feel like I’m finally seeing in the mirror
who I always wanted to be. Recently, I walked the red carpet for the newest Bond
premiere. I was wearing Monique Lhuillier, Stephen Webster jewellery, along with
Christian Louboutins, and it just felt like the product of my own self-love.” However,
stresses the model, photographed moments like this are not always the case for
everyone. “We are now seeing a celebration of different types of beauty because
people want realistic portrayals of marginalised experiences,” she says. “They want
to feel enough as they are, and to see people expressing themselves in a real way,
but thanks to AI and some elements of technology, which have been written and
created by straight white men, they still have to contend with algorithms, essentially
coded to not be aware of the nuances we have.” 
MUNROE WEARS DRESS, GALVAN LONDON.
THIS FEATURE IS PART OF A PAID ADVERTISEMENT FOR GOOGLE PIXEL 6

WITH GOOGLE PIXEL

PHOTOGRAPHED BY CLARA AMFO
MUNROE BERGDORF
SELF-ESTEEM special

I
“SELF-ESTEEM IS MADE UP OF THOUGHTS WE’VE AGREED
TO ACCEPT. WE NEED TO GET TO THE POINT THAT WE
CAN ACCEPT NEW THOUGHTS ABOUT OURSELVES”

n The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the characters are all things all of the time, which would be unrealistic. Perfectionism is the
searching for something special. The Lion wants enemy of high self-esteem, while self-compassion, or “radical self-
courage, the Scarecrow wants a brain and the poor Tin acceptance”, as Kristina calls it, is more helpful. We’re all hung up on
Man wants a heart. They all think they need a sprinkle hitting targets, such as beauty and success, that we actually have very
of external magic to conjure these elusive qualities which, in fact, they little control over, and it can feel demoralising. “Whereas if you say, ‘I’ve
already possessed from the start. And it occurs to me, that even though been through tough stuff and I keep showing up, I’m funny and interesting,
Frank L Baum wrote the original novel in 1900, that perhaps there is sometimes I procrastinate, sometimes I lose my cool, and I’m OK with
a lesson here, as we emerge blinking into the light, from the tunnel of that,’ then you’re probably going to feel pretty good about yourself.”
the pandemic, feeling uncertain. We might want to click our heels and To nurture your self-esteem, you might want to dial down your social
scoot back home to hide under our duvet, but in fact we’re better off media scrolling, which can undoubtedly take its toll. Even the most
dusting off our self-image and reminding ourselves of all of our wonderful resilient of us can feel a little deflated by the 24/7 tsunami of filtered
inner qualities. As superpowers go, self-esteem – a positive opinion of images and #blessed supermodels, but for anyone grappling with a fragile
yourself – might not be first on your wishlist, but what other power self-image the effects can be devastating. Facebook recently delayed its
gives you not only courage and healthy, happy relationships, but also Instagram Kids app, amid fears of its impact on young people’s mental
the grit to keep going when the whole world is a little discombobulated? health. Research has revealed that one in three teenage girls experiencing
People with high self-esteem have all these advantages and more, but body image issues reported using Instagram made them feel worse, and
how can we nurture this sometimes elusive attribute? that some teens blame Instagram for a rise in anxiety and depression.
The bedrock of self-esteem is laid in early childhood, thanks to our “Social feedback has always existed. There’s always been social
experiences, but that doesn’t mean we can’t cultivate it as adults. “To begin judgement,” says psychotherapist Marta Jendrzejewska. “It’s something
with, self-esteem grows out of a dependent relationship with the principal every generation has had to deal with, but with social media there’s no
caretakers,” says co-founder of The Blue Door Practice, psychotherapist getting away from it. Pre-social media you might get told off or teased,
Jane Haynes, “but as we grow older it needs to be nurtured and watered and it might be a story that’s brought out at a reunion 20 years later,
and exposed to the universe rather like caring for a plant.” We must have but that was as far as it went. Now, especially when it goes viral, those
the courage to “individuate” and be fully ourselves, says Haynes, quoting mistakes and judgements are happening on an exponential level. It’s
Jenny Joseph’s poem Warning, “When I am an old woman I shall wear one hundred times bigger than it would have been in the past. And
purple. With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.” there’s no escape.” It can feel impossible for any young person to switch
And it takes work. As we grow older, the challenge is more about off – after all, online is also where they engage with friends and get
pushing ourselves beyond our well-trodden paths into new pastures positive feedback – but Jendrzejewska finds that sometimes it is the
where we can prove our worth – not so much to others, but to ourselves. only answer, particularly for those with eating disorders, at least for the
“It’s not that self-esteem has to be earned, but it needs to be created,” duration of treatment.
explains Vancouver-based clinical counselling psychologist, Julia Kristina. But what can we do if our self-image falters later in life, after we retire,
“Absolutely we can change it, because our self-esteem is made up of say, or when our kids fly the nest and we no longer feel relevant? Coming
thoughts we’ve agreed to accept. We need to get to the point that we to terms with ageing and accepting our mortality is one of the hardest
can accept new thoughts about ourselves.” pieces of “work”, says Haynes. She tells her clients to forget fretting about
Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as repeating positive affirmations, lost time and to take up one new activity they’ve never had time for
which typically don’t work. “We can’t just say. ‘I’m the most amazing, before, such as gardening or nurturing a house plant – “even if it’s only
super-smart, successful person.’ Because if you are feeling bad about a cactus”. Stepping back from the daily rush, slowing down and realising
yourself, your brain is going to disregard it,” says Kristina, who instead that nature is out there and needs to be witnessed will help us feel more
suggests that we focus on strengths and abilities that we know we do connected to the universe, she says.
have, but might need reminding of. It’s also about treating ourselves “Try to notice the moon and learn the difference between its waning
with respect. “Healthy relationships are based on trust and respect and and waxing. Become observant of what’s around you and you too will
people talking kindly to us. But if we’re sitting around saying terrible expand.” Rather than becoming too distracted by all the age-defying
things about ourselves, or saying we’re going to do something but then beauty devices available to us, Haynes directs us to “that wise old bird
not doing it and breaking promises to ourselves, how is that going to Sophocles, who insisted that instead of gazing in the mirror, we need
affect our opinion of ourselves? We can think, ‘Oh that doesn’t matter, to gaze into our hearts”. Doing something for someone else, finding
no one is watching,’ but our own brain is watching,” explains Kristina. the time to listen, will make us feel like nicer people. “The inner glow
It helps to think intentionally. While it’s impossible to turn off negative of self-confidence will do more for the way we are perceived than any
thoughts completely, we can choose to accept the pessimistic diatribe in highlights or extensions. We all place so much emphasis on our hair’s
our heads – or not. “We need to think responsibly and question the good and bad days, but in this brutal and increasingly random world
validity of what we are telling ourselves,” says Kristina, who suggests the Eureka verb must be: practice kindness.” Above all to ourselves.
keeping an inventory of our positive attributes. For example: “I can be And take a tip from Oz’s Glinda the Good Witch: “You’ve always
persistent. I can be generous. I can be kind.” We don’t need to be these had the power my dear, you just had to learn it for yourself.” 

102
SELF-ESTEEM special

1
Ravinder Bhogal
“Sweets are one of my great pleasures in life.
I find such comfort making the recipes in

2
Ravneet Gill’s Sugar, I Love You (Pavilion, £20)
– especially the custard-filled doughnuts.
Otherwise, if I feel in need of an overhaul,
there’s nothing better than checking in to Espa
Life at Corinthia for a scrub and a massage.
You leave there feeling as soft as cashmere.”

Val Garland
“I always feel better after a ramble
Laura Bailey through the countryside, or a
meditative bath with This Works
Deep Sleep Bath Oil [£48]. Facials
are also a pleasure – I frequent Cloud
Twelve, where I see Dr Lizzie Tuckey,
and The Dorchester Spa for Adeela
Crown’s Lift Off treatment.”

3
4
“My guaranteed mood-booster if I’m feeling blue is tennis. The adrenaline
and focus required for a hardcore match always get me back on track. I’m
also a letter writer, so I stock up on postcards from The Royal Academy of
Arts, and send them to loved ones. And if all else fails? There’s nothing better
than a few cosy hours in a British pub, such as The Royal Oak Ramsden.”

Emma Amber Valletta

“I got into meditation while pregnant with
Weymouth my son 21 years ago, and I’ve been
“ W h e n I ’m i n practicing on and off ever since. I have
L ondon, I go taken a few classes in LA and New York,
jogging around including TM, and a Vipassana-focused
the Serpentine at course named Onsight. Now, though, I rely
dawn. It’s a form on the Insight

5
of meditation for Timer and
me, and reminds me what Calm apps.
I’m capable of. I sometimes Nothing
follow that with a bit of brings me
lymphatic drainage or gua peace and a
sha. Otherwise, there’s sense of loving
nothing like a slick of detachment
Charlotte Tilbury lipstick in quite the
[£25] to pep you up.” s a m e w a y. ”
Journal, £25,
Papier

104
 Matilda
Goad

6 “Personally, I find the

best way to feel in
control at work is to keep
my desk tidy. Mine has to
be free of clutter – otherwise,
I’m stressed. A Cereus cactus or a bunch
of flowers from Scarlet & Violet also
goes a long way towards mentally
counteracting the haze of blue-light rays
and Wi-Fi signals, as well.”

Rosemary
Ferguson
“Getting into cold
water – even if it’s just
for a minute – calms
me down right away.
I can swim anywhere,
really, but I particularly
love the River Leach,
a tributar y of the
Thames. Adidas does

7
the best swimsuits,
and Wylding’s boiler
suits are amazing
for warming up
post-dip.” Boiler suit,
£160, Wylding

RESCUE REMEDIES
Pampering, perfume and British pubs – nine friends of
Vogue reveal their trusted pick-me-ups. By Hayley Maitland
CRAIG MCDEAN; HARRY CROWDER; TAMSYN MORGANS; VENETIA SCOTT;

8 Paula Sutton
“I’ve always relied on a ‘wardrobe’ of scents
to evoke different feelings. I wear my

9
mother’s favourite, Chanel No5 [£120],
“When I’m feeling low, I start my day with gospel whenever I need a shot of confidence, and
ALAMY; PIXELATE.BIZ

music. The chords and vocalists and lyrics are designed my aunt’s beloved Penhaligon’s Lily of the
to give you a boost. Doing a HIIT circuit is also perfect Valley perfume [£110] if I need to feel
– when I’m done, I feel like I can take on the world.” vivacious and sociable. Each smell holds a
distinctive memory, which cloaks me and
Ray BLK fills me with a sense of purpose.” 

105
SELF-ESTEEM special
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assistance, Shine’s aromatherapeutic blend of fragrance’s top note
essential oils is here to help. Panax ginseng, ingredient, mandarin,
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106
cν
Google
Phone
 “I want the images to raise questions, so that when people look at them,
they question the idea of beauty and see all aspects of it”
108
 ARCHIVE

Opposite: a selection of the portraits

from Guido Palau’s #HairTests.
Left: Zoë Kravitz, photographed by
Steven Meisel for Vogue, July 2019

STRONG PROFILE
How prolific hairstylist Guido Palau’s unique flair
has taken root in a new book. By Jessica Diner

I
t started fairly innocuously: a quick shoot models, friends and strangers in
snap on an iPhone, some six years side-view. No lighting, no make-up, no
ago, backstage at an Alexander styling: just Guido, his phone and his
McQueen show. The image was of model. “I have always loved profiles in
a male model’s side profile, and it was the style of classic portraiture or old
taken by Guido Palau, so that he could cameo brooches. I’m attracted to the
document the asymmetric chopped bob information you get from viewing
he had just created. The British-born, someone side-on and, for a hairdresser, Hair by Guido –
New York-based hairstylist decided to unless the hairstyle is really big, how as captured by
Steven Meisel –
post the picture to Instagram (it was else do you see what is going on at the in Vogue: above,
his first on the platform), and then he back,” says Guido, whose 30-year-plus from left, Naomi
shared some more. The remit was always career includes some of British Vogue’s Campbell in
March 2019;
the same: a model snapped from the most celebrated covers – among them Kaia Gerber’s
side against a neutral backdrop. Likes Lady Gaga, Naomi Campbell, Adele March ’18 shoot.
Left: Achenrin
poured in and soon the #hairbyguido and, this month, Kristen McMenamy. Madit, April
hashtag was born. Today, Guido’s feed Now, what began as a passion project 2021. Below,
documents the profiles of the myriad on social media is being immortalised from left: April
2020’s Jodie
models he has collaborated with, either in a book. #HairTests is a 132-page Comer story;
backstage at shows, on set at shoots or curation of his most-loved snaps, some another image
at tests in his studio. Search the hashtag of which have never been seen, each of Achenrin, also
from April ’21
and more than 6,500 posts reveal other with its own story. The images range
hairstylists recreating this format to from old Hollywood glamour to
showcase their own work in homage. androgyny, romance and more – all with
“Taking pictures backstage became his quintessentially British twist.
my way of scrapbooking,” Guido, who “I feel like my Britishness is what
is also a Vogue contributing beauty editor, defines my approach,” says Guido.
explains. “To me, these weren’t pictures. “It is always a punky idea of something
They were more like sketches or a diary, classic. I want the images to raise
quickly snapped before models walked questions, so that when people look at
the runway. It became a way of creating them, they question the idea of beauty
authentic new content for social media, and see all aspects of it. My work over
outside of editorial, that people seemed all these years has never really changed,
STEVEN MEISEL

to connect with.” What started as it’s just the medium on which it is

personal reportage, very swiftly became being seen has.” 
an everyday part of his hairstyling #HairTests, by Guido Palau (Idea Books,
schedule, with dedicated sittings to £65), is out now, at Dover Street Market

109
TECH

3
2

HIGH CLICKS
Photographer and founder of ShowStudio
Nick Knight focuses in on his go-to gadgets
COMPILED BY AMEL MUKHTAR. BRITT LLOYD; NICK KNIGHT

1. “I was recently impressed by the Fujifilm GFX 100S [£5,499] digital camera. It’s
incredibly fast, has brilliant auto-focus and is very responsive with fantastic definition.”
7 2. “As soon as I get to ShowStudio, I start live-streaming on a Logitech Mevo Start
Camera [from £370], which the public can manipulate and move around.”
3. My friend Kanye West created the Donda Stem Player [£200], which allows you to
download songs on to a small portable speaker and remix them using the different stems.”
4. “My wife and I bought an Audi A8 [From £71,745], a hybrid that projects the speed limit on
to the windscreen. It has lane positioning control, and you can turn the heating on in advance.”
2 5. “Every day since lockdown began, I have challenged myself to walk 10,000 steps. I use
the Pacer Pedometer app to keep track of my progress.”
6. “With the Scandy Pro app, you can use your iPhone to do a 3D scan. I’ve been taking
portraits of people and printing them as sculptures. Kendall Jenner used it to send her
data for the CGI Burberry campaign that we worked on together.”
3 7. “At ShowStudio, from six o’clock each evening, we use two Epson projectors
[from £4,111] to light up the back wall with people drawing live from Mexico, Manchester,
Mozambique – wherever. It’s the most amazing feeling.”
8. “When I make huge prints from phone pictures, I put them through Topaz Labs first,
an amazing AI program that sharpens pictures to an astonishing degree.” 
1

110
 Image simulated.
S Pen Fold Edition sold separately and is only compatible with Z Fold3 5G.

Unfold your world

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crowd-pleasing pizza at Azure Italia, luxurious destination – the Maxx Royal
Mediterranean-fresh seafood at Azure Bodrum Resort is set to open 2023, with
Fish, to the whip-smart gastro by top its villas opening next summer. As we
Italian chef Alfredo Russo, there is said, you’re truly spoilt for choice. Q
something to suit every mood. For more information, visit Maxxroyal.com
 VOGUE PARTNERSHIP

A SWEET ESCAPE
Let the picture-perfect Maxx Royal Belek Golf Resort transport
you and your loved ones to the holiday of a lifetime
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 MR VOGUE
Quilted wool jacket,
organic-cotton
trousers, and pearl
necklace, Vivienne
Westwood. Cotton
shirt, Cos. Leather
boots, Moschino.
Grooming: Roxy
Attard. Nails:
Jenni Draper

BLUE As the latest

Brit to enter

STREAK the superhero

universe,

W
hen Rish Shah found out he’d
Rish Shah is
be auditioning for the role of on the up, says
Kamran, the male lead in the Radhika Seth.
Disney+ series Ms Marvel,
he panicked. At the time, the Londoner had
Photograph
bleached-blonde hair, but his character didn’t. by Paul
“So I got some black hairspray and sprayed Wetherell.
my hair,” he says. “On the way, it started raining.
I covered my head with my jacket and saw Styling by
myself in a mirror just before going in. I Elgar Johnson
started laughing – it took away my nerves.”
It landed the 23-year-old a part in Marvel’s
first release to centre on a Muslim superhero:
Pakistani-American Kamala Khan, played by
Iman Vellani. Shah calls his co-star “fearless”
and, while he can’t reveal more about his own
character, he says that he felt the weight of
responsibility. “It means so much to a lot of
people. You want to make them proud.”
Raised in Enfield by parents from Mumbai
and Baroda, Shah is a self-proclaimed
“Gujarati boy” who visited India regularly
growing up. He studied English at King’s
DIGITAL ARTWORK: RABBIT RETOUCHING. SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES WERE FOLLOWED THROUGHOUT THIS PHOTOSHOOT

College London, but acted on the side, got

signed and went to auditions. “I analysed a
speech Riz Ahmed did as Edmund in King
Lear. I later worked with him [on The Long
Goodbye] and told him. I was freaking out!”
There was a role in Years and Years, plus
The Turbine Theatre’s Torch Song, where he
was spotted by a Ms Marvel casting director.
Next, he’ll appear in Geeta Malik’s India
Sweets and Spices, then Jennifer Kaytin
Robinson’s Strangers, playing a blue-haired
student alongside Maya Hawke. “It’s the first
time I’ve played a character where my ethnicity
isn’t really commented on,” he says, pleased.
In short, life is good. “In lockdown, I’d
wake up at noon,” he laughs. “My mum would
say, ‘You’re being such a bum!’” Now, he
couldn’t be busier. “I wouldn’t want to be
doing anything else,” he beams. Q
Disney+’s Ms Marvel is out in 2022

117
The circle
of life Taking its sustainability commitment
to the next level, BMW is eliminating waste
from its designs with a new approach

SO FAR, DISRUPTION HAS DEFINED the 2020s, The i Vision Circular is moving BMW closer to its goals
but it has also started important conversations about what of becoming the most sustainable manufacturer in premium
we want versus what we need when it comes to thinking motoring and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. “The
sustainably about our planet. Perhaps one of the most positive BMW i Vision Circular illustrates our all-encompassing,
changes from this time of upheaval is how we’ve transformed meticulous way of thinking when it comes to sustainable
our approach to manufacturing – and in the luxury market, mobility,” explains Oliver Zipse, BMW chairman of the board
we’re starting to see how brands are finally reconciling quality of management. “It symbolises our ambition to be a pioneering
with more conscious practices. force in the development of a circular economy.”
For BMW, its latest reveal might just be its biggest The BMW i Vision Circular – conceived as a compact electric
commitment to sustainability yet – as part of its aim to achieve vehicle – delivers on this ambition. The famed manufacturer
climate neutrality and reduce CO2 emissions throughout will employ new and improved technologies to build the car
the life cycle of a vehicle – with its newly revealed i Vision in the most productive way possible; it will use 100 per cent
Circular model. “We call this approach ‘Circular Design’,” recycled materials, fewer component parts, and materials that
explains Adrian van Hooydonk, senior vice president of BMW have already passed through at least one life cycle; it will have
Group Design, referencing the conceptual new car, which a fully digitised display to run the car efficiently; and no paint
was revealed at the IAA Mobility 2021 motor show in Munich will be used on the exterior, only heat treatments. Meanwhile,
in September. “We have included circularity in our concept not only is the battery and car itself also 100 per cent recyclable,
right from the start,” he adds, touching upon how BMW’s but the components of the BMW i Vision Circular can be
aim for this car was to create a vehicle that uses 100 per cent repurposed to make more vehicles after its life cycle, minimising
recycled materials, and in turn, can be recycled itself. the use of raw materials – truly the essence of ‘Circular Design’.
 VOGUE PARTNERSHIP

DRIVING IN STYLE galvanising in everything from

Fashion’s journey towards vehicle door handles to designer
sustainability has traced similar handbag hardware.
lines to other areas of luxury, A great example is the
with the explosion of ‘fast emergence of innovative nylon
fashion’ consumerism in the Econyl. Explored in fashion by the
1990s and 2000s in particular, likes of Prada, Stella McCartney
highlighting the industry’s need and H&M, the fabric features
to rethink. across the BMW i Series’ interiors
More than anything, fashion’s and its versatility has been
innate ability to interpret its explored further in the i Vision
environment made it no longer Circular. “Econyl, which is made
inseparable from ecological from old fishing nets and other
concerns. Solutions have proved nylon waste, is a good fit for our
as varied as fashion itself, often needs,” says BMW head of
pollinated by conversations sustainability design Daniela
across industry lines. Here, Bohlinger. “It features a wonderful
profits have been reaped on both range of colours and it is easy for
sides, with motoring and fashion us to design with. Of course, it
collectively exploring organic must also look flawless and
dying, alternatives to single-use provide outstanding quality.”
leather and eliminating chrome Well, naturally…

SOUND AS A BELL
Have you ever wondered how the
sounds inside a car are created,
from the clicks on a digital display
to the safety tones that alert you?
In the case of the BMW i Vision
Circular, iconic composer Hans
Zimmer – the musical genius
behind the scores of Pirates of the
Caribbean, The Lion King and
more – has worked with Renzo
Vitale, creative director sound
BMW group, to build an exclusive
sound design for the new model
using the theme of sustainability.
“The idea was to combine
different samples to keep injecting
new life into the sounds inside
the vehicle, in the same way its
materials get a new lease of life,”
explains Zimmer. “The concept
of objects potentially having an
almost infinite life span inspired
us to also use samples from
physical instruments from a
bygone age.” Each tone featured
in the i Vision Circular captures
the movements of the car, its
lights and materials. Q
For more information about the
i Vision Circular, visit BMW.co.uk
GILTY
PLEASURES
Gold or silver – why choose one when
you can wear both? Edited by Itunu
Oke. Photograph by Amy Currell

GOOD AS GOLD
Created by Van Cleef &
Arpels in the 1970s, this cuff
bracelet is inspired by
Etruscan jewellery in
hammered yellow gold.
Worn notably by Jacqueline
Kennedy Onassis, it remains
in the maison’s collection to
this day, an emblem of
elegance and fearlessness.
Bracelet, £31,400,
Van Cleef & Arpels
 CHECKLIST

Earrings,
£273,
Givenchy

Christian Louboutin
Beauty Tape A L’oeil
Metallic Eye Colour
in Andalusite, £41

Necklace,
£255,
Giovanni
Raspini

Dress,
price on
request,
Burberry

Vogue, June 2016

Byredo Eyeshadow
5 Colours in
Dysco, £56

Earrings,
£1,970,
Cartier

Sandals,
£435,
Michael
Kors
Collection
TIM WALKER

Watch,
£6,350,
Breitling
CHECKLIST

Pouch, £105,
Aspinal of
London

Mac Cosmetics
Dazzleshadow Extreme
in Discotheque, £18

Maison
Francis
Kurkdjian
Gentle
Fluidity
Gold eau
de parfum,
£165

Skirt,
£7,200,
Louis
Vuitton

Vogue, May 2013

Shane
Cooper
Hyaluronic
Vogue, August 2019

Boosting
Serum, £110

Ring,
£260,
Alexander
McQueen

Collar,
£14,500,
Hermès, at Shoes, £750,
Pragnell Jimmy Choo

Versailles: From Louis XIV to

PAOLO ROVERSI

Jeff Koons special edition Bag,

book, £3,800, Assouline £1,195,
Bao Bao
Issey
Miyake
What do you get
the person who
has everything?
Everything.

F O RTN U M A N D M A SO N .CO M
 STYLING: ENIOLA DARE. HAIR: NAOKI KOMIYA. MAKE-UP: NIAMH QUINN. NAILS: ROBBIE TOMKINS. DIGITAL ARTWORK: DTOUCH LONDON. MODEL: LING CHEN.
WITH THANKS TO KASIA BOROWIECKA AT COSMOS & PLUMS. SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES WERE FOLLOWED THROUGHOUT THIS PHOTOSHOOT

BETTER
Get acquainted with the

go more than skin-deep.

Photograph by Felicity Ingram
planet-friendly pick-me-ups that
NATURE

125
BEAUTY
Edited by Jessica Diner
DIRECTOR’S CUT Knit top,
Namita Khade

126
 THE BODY SHOP IZZY BEAUTY ZERO
ALUMINIUM BOTTLE, £2 WASTE MASCARA,
FROM £28
A certified B-Corp, The
Body Shop is offering This refillable vegan
refillable aluminium bottles mascara truly performs and
for shower gels, shampoos gives you maximum lashes
and conditioners. Saving with minimum waste.
the planet and your wallet
is a pretty look. SANA JARDIN
SANDALWOOD TEMPLE
EAU DE PARFUM, £95
STYLPRO BAMBOO
REUSABLE MAKE-UP Made with a promise to be
REMOVER PADS, £13 “beyond sustainability”, this
fragrance contains ethically
Stylpro’s brilliant reusable sourced ingredients.
remover pads will gently
help take away the day’s
make-up and greatly HOURGLASS
improve your waste impact. CURATOR
PALETTE, £156
Hourglass’s refillable
KJAER WEIS LIPSTICK palette, which can
IN AFFECTION, £44 easily be recycled
again, will help you
A true beauty pioneer, create endless looks
Kjaer Weis creates and keep packaging
luxurious refillable, out of landfill.
recyclable palettes and
containers for its make-up.
This sensual lipstick, in
the shade Affection, is
also a perfect neutral
colour for anytime.

CHRISTOPHE ROBIN
SHAMPOO BAR, £16

Christophe Robin’s shampoo

bar eliminates all plastic –
the only thing you’ll need to
recycle is the paper box
that the soap comes in.

ILIA TRUE NATURAL

BEAUTY
SKIN SERUM
FOUNDATION, £52

Ilia will recycle old

make-up containers from Vogue’s contributing
any brand to ensure all
components get safely
sustainability editor Amber Valletta
broken down. For a selects her go-to brands that
really beautiful glow, try
its easy-to-use True Skin
feel good and do good

S
Serum Foundation.
tart the year off with a new outlook on what it
means to clean up your beauty products. Today
TALIKA EYE THERAPY we know that there are more microplastic particles
REUSABLE EYE on earth than there are stars in our galaxy. Why
PATCHES, £51
FELICITY INGRAM; PIXELATE.BIZ

does this matter? Because plastic is made from fossil fuels

and it never disintegrates, meaning all plastic ever created
Great for those moments
is still somewhere on this planet. More plastic means more
when you need a little extra
self-care, Talika’s eye harm to the environment, animals and us, so look to brands
patches will last you that are taking back old or used beauty products to recycle.
multiple uses, and can be If your favourite brand doesn’t yet have a take-back
kept in the brand’s sleek programme, contact them and urge them to do more for
reusable compact. your beautiful world. 

127
BEAUTY

Pretty SLEEK
Illuminate your base, eyes and lips with the
season’s glossiest standouts, says Twiggy Jalloh.
Photograph by Leandro Farina

From left: Illamasqua Firework Loaded

Lip Polish in Fizz, £17. Chanel Sublimage
Le Soin Perfecteur, £212. Gucci Beauty
Eclat De Beauté Effet Lumière Gel Face
Gloss, £18. Saie Glowy Super Gel in Sun
Glow, £22. Victoria Beckham Beauty
Posh Gloss High Shine Lip, £26
128
WELLNESS

Holistic hideaways
Journey on a path to conscious wellbeing with an
eco-friendly and ultra-luxe spa holiday

One&Only Spa at One&Only Mandarina

Riviera Nayarit, Mexico

Among the nods to low-impact architecture at One&Only’s Pacific Coast location in

between the jungle and beach is the layout of its 27,000sq ft spa, which was designed
around a large fig tree. Like the rest of the property’s 105 freestanding villas and
treehouses, the spa, which is situated in a natural volcanic rock garden, follows the
property’s landscape and is made from local clay, cumaru wood and stone. Much of its
menu has been designed as an homage to the healing traditions of the area’s indigenous
Cora and Huichol cultures, including its standout feature: a traditional Temazcal. This
Mayan sweat lodge combines medicinal herbs, heat, steam and copal incense to
stimulate detoxification, heal the body and purify the mind. The wellness centre is the first
destination in the world to feature Sensorial Resets using Tata Harper’s line of organic
skincare. The Mystique Herbal Codex treatment begins with energy-balancing singing
bowls to open the chakras, and is followed by a full-body exfoliation, massage and
facial leveraging Harper’s totally natural serums and salves that are handcrafted on her
1,200-acre certified organic farm in Vermont. Celia Ellenberg.
From £809 for a double room a night, treatments from £175. Oneandonlyresorts.com

Vana Wellness Retreat

Dehradun, India

Derived from the Sanskrit word van, meaning forest, Vana sits within a 21-acre
lychee and mango orchard in northern India. Designed for switching off on arrival
(phones aren’t allowed in communal spaces), it’s impossible not to tap into the hotel’s
eco-friendly sensibilities during its custom-made programmes, from short stints to
month-long stays. The idea is to use nature to optimise wellbeing: morning yoga in
the Bodhi Tree Sacred Space is transcendental, outdoor treatments inspire – try the
four-hand abhyanga massage – and ayurvedic medicines are created locally. It was
given a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Platinum certification for its
green initiatives, such as responsibly sourced building materials, low-impact energy
consumption, rainwater recycling and solar heating. The modern architecture
complements the ancient wisdom passed on within its walls. Jessica Diner.
From £2,179 per person for seven days, including treatments. Healingholidays.com

130
 Six Senses
Ibiza, Balearic Islands

Drive to the northern tip of Ibiza and you will find the Six Senses carved into the
cliffs of the coast. Supremely deluxe and brilliantly bohemian, sustainability and
wellness lie at its core. With a sustainability manager on-site (there is one at
every Six Senses resort), integrated technologies are working hard to power your
R’n’R: almost 300 solar panels offset 40 per cent of carbon emissions, and a
geothermal-powered air conditioning and heating system keep you comfortable.
Single-use plastic is banned, while its Earth Lab concept offers eco-positive
workshops – learn how to make your own soap from natural ingredients, or
take a sustainability tour of the resort. A farm-to-table food ethos governs the
restaurants’ seasonal menus, and a zero-waste policy is in operation. Plus, 0.5
per cent of the resort’s revenue goes to its sustainability fund, which helps sustain
local ecological initiatives. A zen-inducing hideaway with extraordinary sea views
that combines holistic alchemy-led treatments with hi-tech biohacking therapies
such as cryotherapy and IV drips – this is modern wellness at its best. JD.
From £920 for a double room a night, treatments from £145. Sixsenses.com

Bamford Spa at
The Ritz-Carlton
Fari Island, Maldives

There is little more luxurious than relocating to a reclaimed sandbank in the

Maldives for a relaxing break. Visit this haven in the middle of the ocean, and
discover how to connect with waterlife. With a patented water-purification process,
drinking water in reusable glass bottles prevents microplastics from being absorbed
into the ecosystem, and all greywater is refiltered to hydrate the island’s greenery.
The Ambassadors for the Environment programme is the brainchild of Jean-Michel
Cousteau, oceanographer and environmentalist, who has long campaigned for the
protection of marine wildlife. The jewel in the resort’s crown is the halo-shaped
Bamford Spa – a heavenly sanctuary suspended above the water that is the result of
a partnership with eco-pioneer Carole Bamford’s eponymous brand. Using Bamford’s
organic product offering, the treatment menu is a mix of signature Bamford
experiences (think powerful massage combined with sound bowls and crystal
therapies), and traditional Maldivian rituals using products made from local
ingredients. The Bamboo Massage (a pressure massage using heated bamboo sticks)
and the Bamford After Dive Ritual are not to be missed. JD.
From £1,112 a night for a villa, treatments from £196. Ritzcarlton.com

The Edge Spa, The Lodge at Blue Sky

Park City, Utah

When developers Barbara and Mike Phillips opened The

Lodge on their private ranch in 2019, sustainability was
a guiding principle for the epic property that stretches
out across the Wasatch Mountain Range. The Earth Suites
– 22 luxe rooms, built into the hillside – were cobbled
from local limestone and cedar, while a treatment plant
refines the hotel’s wastewater before it is returned to the
earth. If you get tired of heliskiing or horseback riding,
you can indulge in a farming lesson at the on-site organic
farm, which provides eggs, produce, herbs and honey for
the hotel’s restaurant – and for its treatments at its Edge
Spa. Named for its high perch, the spa uses local
ingredients (a foot soak features salts from the Great Salt
Lake, wild-foraged sage and whiskey, which is made in
small batches at the hotel’s High West Distillery), while a
new partnership with German skincare brand Amala takes
its eco-commitment one step further: produced in a
carbon-neutral facility, Amala’s face and body treatments
leverage 25,000 medicinal plants that speak to the spa’s
bloom-to-bottle ethos. CE. From £889 for a double room,
treatments from £163. Aubergeresorts.com 

131
BEAUTY

SOFT TOUCH
From cold weather to sanitiser, our
hands have never needed more help
than they do now. Luckily, Sisley’s
Sisleÿa L’Intégral Anti-Âge Hand Care
Anti-Aging Concentrate, £109, contains
hexyresorcinol to tackle dark spots and
padina pavonica to hydrate and plump.
Fenty Skin’s Hydra’Reset Instant Recovery
Glycerin Hand Mask, £18, is packed
with glycerin to help restore dry skin.
And the cedarwood-scented Gloved
Instant-Absorb Hand Lotion, £28, looks
good and smells delicious, too.

MOOD FOOD
Banish winter blues with Karmacist’s
Mood Formulation capsules, from £30.
Developed by scientists, the star
ingredient is spirit-boosting saffron,
alongside turmeric and lavender.

BEAUTY
MUSINGS
Cultivate a natural look,
with the season’s freshest launches,
says Hannah Coates

BLUSH UP
NEXT-LEVEL SKINCARE

G
There’s nothing quite like an outdoorsy
one are the days when natural skincare involved mix-it-yourself flush during winter months. The quick
home remedies. Nowadays, we have trailblazing female founders, route to looking youthful and alive
such as Emma Lewisham, whose namesake brand offers planet- (a key requirement post-party season),
positive and ultra-luxurious skincare that marries high science the next generation of cream blushers
with totally natural ingredients. What’s more, Lewisham’s brand works with have mega staying power and melt
leading biochemists to create products that deliver next-level results, fast. seamlessly into the skin for a fresh glow
– even if you’ve barely left the house.
Employing a number of active ingredients, including plant stem cells,
Use fingers to dab one of these
each refillable formula is sustainably packaged, just one of the reasons it is blushing beauties on to the apples
also the first carbon-positive (meaning it offsets more carbon emissions of your cheeks.
FELICITY INGRAM; PIXELATE.BIZ

than it releases) beauty brand in the world. “By rethinking the traditional
model of beauty and creating refillable products, the whole system would From top: Milk Makeup Bionic
Blush, £19. Victoria Beckham Beauty
be much cleaner. You can be a bystander or decide that you want to do
Cheeky Posh Cream Blush Stick, £34.
something about them – I chose the latter,” Lewisham says. Rose Inc Blush Divine Radiant Lip &
For a luminous glow, look no further than the Illuminating Exfoliant, Cheek Color, £23. Chantecaille Rouge
£48, which contains natural AHA and BHAs to exfoliate dead skin cells, Perle, £66. Jones Road Lip and Cheek
while organic yarrow, hibiscus flower peptides and mallow work to stimulate Stick, £30.50. & Other Stories Pretty
collagen production for plump, firm skin. Peach Cream Blush, £15

132
Top, as before.
For stockist,
SLUG
see Vogue
Information

133
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Wash, which gently cleanses, resurfaces and polishes the skin to reveal a glowing, smoother complexion. Finish by applying the Vitamin C+ Skin Defence Daily
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*Offer closes January 18th, 2022. The offer and gift are subject to availability and limited to UK addresses.
 VOGUE PARTNERSHIP

1
GOOD HAIR DAY
Dyson haircare tools already
feature on Christmas gift
lists the world over, but
this season, there’s a new
colourway vying for our
attention. Get ready to
covet Prussian blue and rich
copper, which came straight
out of the Dyson engineers’
room to transform the
brand’s Supersonic Hair
Dryer, £300, and Dyson
Corrale Straighteners, £400,
(pictured) into newly sleek
propositions. Even more
tempting? The new-look,
world-class gadgets
come as part of gift sets,
comprising a matching
Dyson-designed brush
and combs (plus a fabulous
case to keep them in).
Find more on Dyson.co.uk

THE

WISH LIST
From offbeat fragrances to
cult beauty gadgets, acting
2022
retail editor Itunu Oke curates
a wishlist of the chicest gifts
to delight this Christmas.
Happy shopping!

Photographs by Baker & Evans

2
SPICE IT UP
Iconic Penhaligon’s perfume,
Halfeti Leather, £178 for
100ml, is the perfect gift
for the person in your life
who has everything.
Wonderfully classic, yet
totally transportive, the
British brand’s signature
fragrance starts off fresh,
with bergamot, hints of green
and aromatic artemisia,
before drifting into notes of
jasmine and spiced rose;
warming up with vanilla and
sandalwood; and rounding
out with the piquancy of
leather, oud, amber and
patchouli. Consider it an
intoxicating ode to far-flung
shores that’s ideal for the
beauty and travel lover in
your life during the season
of making wishes.
Discover more at
Penhaligons.com
 4
VOGUE PARTNERSHIP

3 5
Stacking rings, price
on request, De Beers

Bluetooth speaker,
£229, Bang & Olufsen
Beosound A1 Nordic Ice

Incense burner,

8
7
£16, Haeckels

Watch,
£16,620,
Hermès

Whisky, £300,

6
Glenfiddich presented
by Mr Porter

Estée Lauder
Double Wear
Stay-in-Place
Makeup in
Rich Ginger,

11
£35, at Net-
a-porter.com

Dress, £1,150,
The Vampire’s Wife Ashtray, £1,135,
Saint Laurent

9 Bag, £550, Chloé at

Matchesfashion.com

10
Facial sculpting wand, 13
Shoes, £790, Dior

12
£430, Shani Darden
 15
14
16
Hermès Les Main Rouge H
Enamel Nail Polish, £40

17
Shoes, £545,
Stella
McCartney

Earring, £1,236,
Maria Tash

18 19
Hair barrette, £575,
Robe, £560, Bernadette Chanel

Bag, £1,850,
Alexander McQueen

20 21
Earrings, £370,
Theodora Warre

Rare
champagne,
£210

22 Candlestick, £1,750,
Tiffany

24
Boy Smells Broken Rosary
Magnum, £100
Shoes, £925,
Manolo Blahnik

23
 VOGUE PARTNERSHIP

25
SAY CHEERS
For the ultimate gift this
festive season, look no
further than Johnnie
Walker Blue Label, £175 for
70cl. For those unfamiliar
with the depth of flavour
promised by this luxury
Diageo brand, remember
this: only one in 10,000 casks
made using the 150-year-old
recipe by master blender
Jim Beveridge becomes a
bottle of Johnnie Walker
Blue Label. The markers
of a great malt? The eight
distinct flavours – cigar,
sandalwood, dark chocolate,
apple, hazelnut, rose, sherry
and orange – that uniquely
marry together and become
the complex blend that’s
isn’t replicable. Now that is
the kind of beverage that
deserves a special occasion.
For more information,
visit Malts.com
PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY – VISIT DRINKAWARE.CO.UK
26
A TRUE ICON
For a one-of-a-kind fragrance
experience, Baccarat Rouge
cut cedar – is bright and
sleek, like wearing a whisper
540 Eau de Parfum Spray, of something fabulous on the
£215 for 70ml, is a special skin. Even more festive? The
meeting of two worlds: Baccarat Rouge 540 Candle,
Maison Francis Kurkdjian and £90, combines nature’s magic
Maison Baccarat. Created with master craftsmanship.
to celebrate the crystal Elevate your space or bring
manufacturer’s 250th light to a loved one’s home
birthday, its olfactory this Christmas.
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 27
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REMEMBER
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PHOTOGRAPH: DANIKA MAGDELENA. MODEL: JESSICA DINER, VOGUE EUROPEAN BEAUTY & WELLNESS DIRECTOR

SHOP.VOGUE.CO.UK
AVAILABLE NOW AT
 SELF STARTERS
From building businesses
to creating communities,
these YouTube stars from
across the UK have forged
their own distinctive paths

ON 23 MARCH 2020, as UK Prime

Minister Boris Johnson announced the
first national lockdown, Royal Opera
House (ROH) music director Antonio
Pappano posted a video to YouTube
explaining how the theatre would have
to shut down its operations. “But,” he
said to the camera from beside his piano,
“we don’t want you to be without our
music, without our opera, without
ballet.” And so – as so many did – the Mahalia isn’t the only one. When
ROH turned to YouTube to share some Irish personal trainer and mother-of-
of the many joyous and uplifting scenes two Caroline Girvan decided to upload
from performances that have taken place workouts to YouTube so her existing
on its stage, as well as in its rehearsal client base could exercise at home, she
rooms, for people around the world to realised many more people whom she’d
enjoy at home. In May of this year, the never met were watching them, too.
ROH celebrated one million subscribers. Soon, hundreds, then thousands, then
Of course, musicians have long used hundreds of thousands of people were
YouTube as a platform to find new following her high-intensity sessions
listeners and expand their reach. – in 2020, she was named the world’s
Take Mahalia, the Leicestershire-born second-fastest growing YouTube
singer-songwriter, who has won plaudits channel. At the time of writing, she has
for her fresh brand of British R&B. almost 1.36 million subscribers
When a live version of her track “Sober” There are countless other creatives
was posted to the platform – which has who have used the platform to launch
now been watched more than 55 million businesses and build communities in
times – it started racking up views from a vast array of areas. For example, Lucy
people all over the world, enabling Bella Simkims, the University of
her to grow international stardom. Westminster graduate who founded the
“YouTube was such an integral part of now phenomenally successful language
my journey,” says Mahalia. “It meant channel, English with Lucy, where she
that I could start building a live career. can be found teaching English in a fresh
I could go global.” and accessible way to millions of people.
 VOGUE PARTNERSHIP

Clockwise, from far

left: at the start of
lockdown, Royal
Opera House
screened incredible
performances via
YouTube; football
fan Robbie Lyle, aka
Don Robbie, on his
channel AFTV;
English expert Lucy
Bella Simkims;
fitness fanatic
Caroline Girvan;
R&B singer
Mahalia; and
vintage-fashion
lover Jessica
Kellgren-Fozard

Meanwhile, football fan Robbie Lyle, dressed in fabulous vintage fashion.

aka Don Robbie, has turned his passion For someone like Jessica, YouTube
for the beautiful game into YouTube offers an unparalleled opportunity to
channel AFTV (or Arsenal Fan TV) reach out to others, grow a community
– one of the largest football-fan and build a well-loved brand.
channels in the world and a But these creators are just a few
multimillion-pound global media examples of the many, many people
house that employs 10 full-time who have used YouTube to forge
members of staff. Then there’s Jessica diverse, successful businesses spanning
Kellgren-Fozard, who, from the home the worlds of music, sports, education,
she shares with her wife and child in technology, and more. Q
Brighton, documents the highs and To find out more about these creators and
lows of life with disabilities and chronic YouTube’s impact on the creative economy,
illness, plus LGBTQ+ history, all while visit Yt.be/impact
 ASPINALOFLONDON.COM | The Mayfair Collection

LONDON
DUBAI
SHANGHAI
 More
Than
Skin
Deep
HAIR: SHIORI TAKAHASHI. MAKE-UP: LYNSEY ALEXANDER. MODEL: IMAAN HAMMAM
WORDS: VICTORIA WILLAN. PHOTOGRAPH: EDDIE WREY. STYLING: POPPY KAIN.

IN HER INTERVIEW FOR THIS MONTH’S COVER STORY, model Kristen McMenamy – the undeniable
possessor of an extraordinary and charismatic beauty, who rose to fame in the early ’90s and three decades
later seems just as fresh (side note: she doesn’t visit beauticians or see a cosmetic doctor) – says of her
equally legendary portraitist Steven Meisel, “he makes a girl feel like a million dollars”. Feel like a million
dollars. If one phrase could capture the essence of our January issue, that would be it. Because beauty, true
beauty – the kind that lasts a lifetime – is the physical manifestation of a person’s character, their mental and
moral qualities, and in an issue that celebrates sustainability, what could be more fitting, more uplifting?
From A World of Our Own, Vogue’s portfolio of designers around the globe who are making sustainability
their focus, to The Rise of Resale, where savvy shoppers and sellers are enjoying the thrill – and feel-good
factor – of a circular fashion economy. And when designers themselves are rummaging their archives to
reissue the hits of previous years, well, then you know you’re on to a good thing.

149
150
Return to
SPLENDOUR
At 56, model Kristen McMenamy has found a new audience
in Generation Z-ers who adore her unfiltered, wildly
stylish social media posts. Here, the original 1990s sensation tells
Vassi Chamberlain how her love of fashion has
brought her back into the limelight.
Photographs by Steven Meisel.
Styling by Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele

“Kristen is the coolest,”

says her old friend,
Kate Moss. “We worked
together in Milan
for Kim Jones’s show
and she didn’t have a
dress to wear for the
after-party, so she
wore the Fendace
T-shirt with her lacy
turquoise tights and
high silver platforms.
It was major.”

Vintage Dior silk scarf,

Gabriel Held Vintage

151
 “Ah, Steven Meisel
makes a girl feel like
a million dollars,” she
says. “You know, I fell
in love with him back
in the day.”

Vintage Versace latex

dress, Albright
Fashion Library.
Crystal earring
(worn as ring),
Alessandra Rich

152
As the shoot ended,
she told the team
(including Pat McGrath,
Guido Palau and
Carlyne Cerf de
Dudzeele): “You know
guys, I don’t want to
leave, I want
to keep going.”

Jersey top, and

trainers, Collina
Strada. Jeans, Collina
Strada & Levi’s.
Belt and jewellery,
Erickson Beamon

153
 A
n imposing front door on a leafy red-brick
Chelsea square slowly opens. “Please come
in,” says a young woman, leading me up
antique stone stairs framed by heavy velvet
curtains to a landing where a tall, astral beauty,
all limbs and silver hair braids, stretches out
a bejewelled hand to elegantly shake mine.
Kristen McMenamy, 56, iconic 1990s model,
adored by the kings of photography from
Avedon and Lindbergh to Teller and Meisel,
ushers one of the two dogs at her feet into an
adjacent room and shuts the door. “Come,”
she says, as we all – Larry, the other dog, a
sleek blonde German Shepherd, the girl and
I – follow her down the corridor.
It figures. Over the course of the past few
months, the anomalous beauty – mother of
four, long-time Instagram refusenik, now its
brightest new star – has made a spectacular
return to the heart of fashion in the middle of
her sixth decade, once again the model of the
moment. Campaigns, runways, every hot ticket
in town, she’s down for them all, including
recently opening Donatella Versace and Fendi’s
Kim Jones’s Fendace show. “Kristen is the
coolest,” says her old friend, Kate Moss, who
has known her since the early 1990s. “We
worked together in Milan for Kim’s show and
she didn’t have a dress to wear for the after-
party, so she wore the Fendace T-shirt with her
She suddenly stops. “Oh, I nearly forgot,” lacy turquoise tights and high silver platforms.
she says, gesturing towards the other woman It was major,” says the British supermodel
in her distinct Pennsylvania accent, sounding approvingly. “The best look at the party.”
just like Kate Winslet does in Mare of McMenamy has just returned from New
Easttown, “this is Courtenay Moon. She was York, where she shot this issue’s cover story
hired to be my husband’s assistant, but I steal with Steven Meisel. “Ah, he makes a girl feel
her 50 per cent of the time.” She raises a like a million dollars,” she says. “You know, I
bleached eyebrow. “Courtenay, ask our guest fell in love with him back in the day. I once
what she’d like to drink, and be nice please!” told a therapist – I don’t have those anymore,
The pair laugh conspiratorially, like Mitford I’m done with all that – I used to dream about
sisters, as they walk past religious art, objets him, I just wanted to melt in his arms.” As the
trouvés, statues and sculptures, nudes and shoot ended, she told the team (including Pat
portraits, abstracts and masterpieces, all so McGrath, Guido Palau and Carlyne Cerf de
exquisite they take your breath away. Dudzeele): “You know guys, I don’t want to
McMenamy shows me into a dark and leave, I want to keep going.” There’s poignancy,
romantic drawing room (an original William but also joy to her words; that feeling of finally
Morris-print sofa and a Burne-Jones tapestry being home again with her fashion family,
stand out). “I’m so sorry it smells of weed,” she celebrated once more for the raw charisma and
says, tut-tutting, muttering something about subversive beauty that made her famous.
teens, as Moon reappears with two cups of There’s something so apposite about
English Breakfast tea. The contrast between McMenamy’s renaissance, 30 years on from
her otherworldly figure in bright-orange striped when she first caught the eye of fashion.
leggings and a brown hoodie emblazoned with From the out-there outfits to the bold nude
the words “Save the Unicorn” creates a beautiful shots (how many fiftysomethings do you see
visual dissonance with her backdrop. Just like naked on Instagram), she’s a much-needed
a Gucci set, I think to myself. No wonder tonic, reminding us all to be ourselves and not
Alessandro Michele cast her as the star of be cowed by the ideals of social media. It’s no
Gucci’s autumn/winter 2021 Aria campaign. surprise she resonates with a young > 161

154
 Crinoline dress with
hand-crocheted
patchwork, Matty
Bovan. Socks, Adidas

“I turned down
money if I felt a
job wasn’t cool.
I’ve always wanted
to be rock’n’roll, not a
businesswoman”
 Archive hoodie with
attached quilted
bag, archive suede
boots, archive bag (in
hand), archive leather
hat, and archive
jewellery, Moschino.
Shorts, Pangaia

156
 Hooded jersey
sweatshirt, and jersey
jogging bottoms,
Nike. Monogrammed
trainers and bags,
Louis Vuitton.
Balaclava (around
neck), Nina Ricci.
Vintage Dior
sunglasses, Albright
Fashion Library

“I had all
these
beautiful clothes,
but nowhere to wear them.
So I thought,
‘Why don’t I start
dressing up?’”

157
 “I really want to be
a responsible
grown-up, but I can’t.
I will always
be a child
in my head”

Recycled-polyester
and cotton track
jacket and
trackpants, Adidas.
Vintage Balenciaga
shoes, Albright
Fashion Library.
Balaclava, Nina Ricci

158
 . Vintage Stella
McCartney top, and
vintage Marc Jacobs
shoes, Albright
Fashion Library.
Recycled-polyester
trousers, and
regenerated-wool
cardigan (tied at
waist), Stella
McCartney. Jewellery,
Erickson Beamon

159
Upcycled jacket,
shorts, gloves, and
water bottle, Nicole
McLaughlin. Vinyl
boots, Christian
Louboutin. Beanie,
Los Angeles Apparel.
Tights (worn as
headwrap), We
Love Colors
“I like that you can get older, but still
feel good about yourself.
If I hear another person complaining
about getting old, I’m going to die”

generation of fashion fans who have been going to die.” I ask her about the menopause.
raised by the internet and are discovering She says she’s gone through it, but didn’t feel it.
McMenamy’s singular look for the first time. Her hair has been grey for years. “Oh, I just
She’s unapologetic, too, warts and all honest couldn’t be bothered anymore,” she says when
when recounting her wild roller coaster of a I ask why she stopped dyeing it. She bends her
life – the tale of a survivor where no wounds head down. “You see these bits here,” she says,
are hidden. Spending time with her is like pointing at the crown, “Josh Wood does them
observing a precious artefact in motion. She every three months, you know, to create
jumps up: “I know! I’m going to show you contrast.” She admits to rarely washing her hair.
what I bought today.” She rushes out of the “I use lots and lots of oil,” she says. “Leonor
door, returning with a huge, white paper bag. Greyl. It never smells.” Nor does she visit
“I’m not sure if I should tell you where I shop,” beauticians, have facials, or see a cosmetic
she says, ummming and ahhhing to herself. doctor. She takes cold showers, scrubs her face
“OK, I’m going to tell you: Sign of the Times, regularly, constantly moisturises, and uses
the best resale vintage store in London. I buy whatever products she’s been sent or are
70 per cent of my wardrobe there.” She pulls knocking around her bathroom.
out a black, cape-like trench coat, puts it on, Her husband, British art dealer Ivor Braka,
and gives me the full McMenamy walk. “It’s 66, whose gallery is the house we’re sitting in,
Yohji, isn’t it amazing?” Next is a green leather pops his head around the door. He too has long
bomber jacket, a green quilted puffer-like scarf, grey hair, and is wearing black leather trousers
a Marni housecoat dress in a typically vibrant and a matching waistcoat with a striped shirt.
print, and a pair of tan suede Saint Laurent He apologises for looking bleary-eyed, he’s just
platform Billy boots. Very Aladdin Sane, I tell had a siesta. “There’s been Frieze, then Fiac in
her. She likes that. And finally, an ordinary Paris, then Naples, non-stop parties,” he says.
black bucket hat. She puts it on. “You see,” We chat about art and a Juergen Teller shoot
she says, as she pulls down a little black veil. he once did with his wife for Self Service
She settles back on the sofa. Conversation magazine. “I was styled like my hero Alice
threads start up, new ones jump in. She is never Cooper,” he says. “I’ll go and get it for you.”
anything other than captivatingly charming. McMenamy smiles happily. The pair met
But there’s also a sense of vulnerability and 10 years ago at a dinner party hosted by Bryan
fragility to her. She fidgets constantly, playing Ferry. She fell in love instantly. Braka will tell
with her braids, which fall like ribbons to her me later he played hard to get, on purpose.
waist, twirling them like an overstimulated She shoved a note in his hand at the end of
child would. Or someone with ADHD, I ask? the night with her phone number on it, and
“Yes!” she screams. a little heart sign. On their first date, he took
Growing up, she always felt the freak, a her to a private screening of Bond’s Skyfall at
Martian among beauties. “I hated my face,” The Electric, and then to dinner with 20 of
she says. “I still do, I know I photograph well, his closest friends. They married five years
that I am a great model, but I’ve always looked later. It’s impossible not to notice her massive
at myself and thought: ‘God, I am so ugly.’” oval diamond. She apparently has Rupert
Why does she think she became so successful? Murdoch and a little male one-upmanship to
“It’s my energy and the way I think, the way I thank for that. “We had a double date with
understand clothes. I’ve never felt like one of Rupert and his fiancée, Jerry Hall, and she
those girls who can flirt and be all sexy, I always was showing us her ring,” she says. “So when
feel such a fake. I play a part when I’m on set.” we got engaged, I knew after that, Ivor couldn’t
She puts the current interest in her down to bear giving me a tiny little ring. He wanted
her age. I disagree – it’s because she still feels to show off, too. So, before our next Murdoch
so original. “I like that you can get older, but double date, we went shopping for rings, and
still feel good about yourself. If I hear another I was like, ‘What?’ I’d never owned anything
person complaining about getting old, I’m like this before.” > 223

161
 “I’m actually quite
a loner. I can’t
say I have friends,
I like to be
alone”

Stretch-lace
dress, stretch-lace
legging boots,
stretch-lace opera
gloves, and leather
bag, Balenciaga
Hair: Guido. Make-up:
Pat McGrath. Nails:
Jin Soon Choi.
Production: ProdN.
Digital artwork:
DTouch

162
 Embellished denim
jacket, Levi’s
& Miu Miu.
For stockists, all
pages, see Vogue
Information
SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES WERE FOLLOWED THROUGHOUT THIS PHOTOSHOOT

163
164
CRAIG MCDEAN
 The rise of
RESALE
The best pre-loved fashion is no longer discovered
only in IRL. Today’s savviest fans are finding
everything from vintage Alaïa to Zara in all
corners of the digital shopping space.
By Ellie Pithers

T
he best advertising campaigns make you want to in cavernous warehouses or auction houses, but online. Today’s well-
be the woman on the billboard. In 2013, I wanted to dressed fashion fans score gently used Alaïa dresses on The RealReal,
be Daria Werbowy in a pink, roll-top bath, naked worn-once Bottega Veneta Cassette bags on Vestiaire Collective, vintage
save for a rhinestone-studded collar necklace and Chanel bouclé jackets on Hewi, and pre-owned Hermès Birkins on
bracelets, in Céline’s spring campaign. Collector Square. They snap up sold-out BNWT (“bought new with
I dreamt about that sparkling choker, specifically, tags”, in internet speak) Zara leggings on Depop and second-hand Jean
for months, though it was wildly unaffordable – Paul Gaultier Cyber Dots mesh tops on eBay. They go to StockX for
upwards of £2,000 – on my peanut salary as a fashion reporter. Years like-new Dior Air Jordans and to Chrono24 for lived-in Cartier Tanks,
later, when its creator Phoebe Philo announced she was leaving the making a brief detour to Dotte for Mini Rodini cast-offs for their kids.
brand in 2017, I thought of the necklace again. Curious to see if I could They sell, too. After all, their original Dior Saddle bag from spring/
track one down, I hit Google. Fifteen minutes later, I had unearthed summer 2000 is worth a pretty penny since Maria Grazia Chiuri reissued
a German seller on the French resale website Vestiaire Collective, it in 2018 – making it far too lucrative to pass on to a daughter.
who was willing to part with theirs for £481.37, complete with its dust “People’s sense of ownership has changed,” says Rachel Reavley, a
bag and original box. Reader, I bought it. And then I bragged about it. former Vogue staffer and board member at Hewi, a family-run, UK-
“It’s spring/summer 2013,” I told admirers who enquired as to the based resale site with particularly affluent clientele. (Hewi is short for
necklace’s origin at a Vogue party. Hardly Ever Worn It; more than 30 per cent of stock on the site has
Time was when past-season designer wares would be pushed to the never been worn.) “When you’ve experienced shopping in a luxury
back of the wardrobe or donated to willing recipients after their moment re-commerce space, it really opens up your customer expectation. Then
in the spotlight. Now, pre-loved, pre-worn, used, thrifted and resale you start to look at things in your wardrobe, thinking, am I ever going
clothes and accessories could not be more desirable. “Vintage” is the to actually wear those Dior boots again? You go online, and as long as
term that covers all bases, though it makes the sticklers shudder: you’ve taken care of them, they’ve held their value. It’s a win-win – you
technically, it should only be applied to clothes made between the past have the financial reward, the feel-good factor of participating in circular
20 and 99 years. In any case, the second-hand market today is distinctly economy. Then, you might buy something else, and it feels guilt-free.”
evolved from the two categories that “vintage” used to denote: an Resale is big business. The second-hand market is projected to double
acid-free, tissue-wrapped couture dress acquired at an auction house over the next five years, growing 11 times faster than the broader retail
on the one hand, or a moth-ball-scented slip dress unearthed at a flea clothing sector to reach £67bn by 2025, according to a report by
market stall on the other. GlobalData and ThredUp. Why the boom? It must be said that women
For one thing, the pre-loved items that today’s savviest shoppers are have been buying pre-loved fashion for decades; as far back as 1928,
hunting down are often not that old. And the hunt isn’t taking place for instance, British Vogue was advertising 22 second-hand clothing >

165
 dealers who could be trusted to discreetly dispose of last season’s Chanel
suit. But the keyword there is “discreet”.
Generation Z, who are primarily fuelling the growth in thrifting, are
more likely to boast about their finds on social media than keep said EVEN IF AN ITEM
item’s second-hand status under wraps. “From the research that we did
in collaboration with Depop, if you analyse the youngest generation, WAS CREATED WITHIN
they don’t have that stigma anymore,” says Claudia D’Arpizio, luxury LIVING MEMORY,
goods guru at management consulting firm Bain & Company. “It’s clear
they are also buying a lot of ‘first-hand’ products. But I think the stigma HERITAGE IS HOT. IT’S
was more attached to previous generations.” ALSO LUCRATIVE
After all, eschewing the brand-new is cheaper and less intimidating
(in the case of luxury items) than hitting London’s Bond Street or New
York’s Madison Avenue, and more sustainable: according to a Farfetch
report, purchasing a pre-owned item on average saves 1kg of waste,
3,040 litres of water and 22kg of CO2, compared with a new item. hundred this year, and it’s the time to show everybody how beautiful
Then, there’s the thrill of the chase. As Camille Charrière, journalist it would be to give a second, a third life and more to old things that are
and influencer with an Instagram following of more than 1.2 million, the most beautiful.” Having successfully reissued the archival Jackie,
and who regularly shops resale platforms for past-season pieces, puts Horsebit 1955 and bamboo-handled Diana bags in recent years to
it: “I get a lot of kicks from wearing things that no one else has got.” monster sales figures, as well as revisiting 1990s hits from Tom Ford-era
Her most highly prized trophy is a one-of-a-kind John Galliano for Gucci for its centenary Aria collection, stepping into resale won’t feel like
Dior dress from the Noughties, a gift for a recent birthday. She relishes much of a stretch for Michele and CEO Marco Bizzarri. After all, it
the time spent acquiring one-off pieces. “You don’t need to buy the won’t have escaped them that Prada’s recent decision to reissue its
latest thing that’s just come out to be able to be well-dressed,” she says. signature nylon handbags from the 1990s and 2000s has resulted in the
The pandemic has changed our world in myriad ways – but perhaps originals increasing in value by about 174 per cent, according to Rebag.
its biggest legacy for fashion will be the shift in mindset towards pre- Reissued and archive-inspired looks, incidentally, were all over the
loved products. Farfetch, for instance, has been selling pre-loved clothing spring/summer 2022 catwalks. Guests leaving the Chanel show could
alongside brand-new luxury stock since 2010, but 2020 was a clear be heard joking that the latest collection resembled their watch lists
turning point: pre-owned views increased 151 per cent year-on-year, on various resale websites: creative director Virginie Viard had brought
with notable growth from March 2020 onwards, when the pandemic back a raised 1980s catwalk, sent a bevy of 1990s-inspired clothes and
took hold. Moreover, it noted a 506 per cent increase in sales of pre- accessories down it, and charged her models with giving their best
owned items valued at more than $10,000 (£7,253) from Q1 to Q4 of Claudia Schiffer impression. From the Chanel-branded white swimwear
2020. As Tom Berry, Farfetch’s global director of sustainable business, (a nod to Karl Lagerfeld’s underwear looks from spring 1993) to the
notes: “Our pre-loved curation isn’t necessarily targeted at a low-price pastel miniskirt suits (spring ’94) and the sequins-and-cycling-shorts
offer. For us, people come for unique items, for great fashion, and it combos (remember Linda Evangelista with the surfboard for spring
makes them feel better because it’s sustainable.” Customers have also ’91?), it was a typically shrewd bid to capture the attention of
been availing themselves of the “Second Life” service, where they can 1990s-obsessed Gen-Zers without alienating those who remember
resell their luxury bags in return for Farfetch credit. the hits from the first time around.
Net-a-Porter has been taking notes. Last October, it announced a Pierpaolo Piccioli went one step further at Valentino, issuing faithful
resale pilot with Reflaunt, the tech company behind H&M’s “Rewear” reproductions of pieces from archive collections alongside new-season
programme, offering customers the chance to sell well-preserved designer spring/summer 2022 creations. Look one, a flower-embroidered blouse
items in their wardrobes in exchange for store credit. And at Printemps and skirt, was a skimpier update on a look from Valentino Garavani’s
in Paris, a new 13,000sq m floor entirely dedicated to vintage and legendary White Collection for his spring haute couture collection in
thrifted clothing, as well as a new buy-back scheme opened in October, 1968, worn by Marisa Berenson for the Henry Clarke-lensed campaign
reportedly the biggest-ever space dedicated to second-hand fashion in shot in Cy Twombly’s Rome apartment. Look 16, a tiger-print maxi
a department store. Marie Blanchet’s Mon Vintage, a high-end vintage coat, was a recreation of one from the 1967 collection, worn by Veruschka
service, is the star attraction, with its racks boasting original Versace for a photograph taken in a Roman back street by Franco Rubartelli
bondage suits, Yves Saint Laurent safari dresses, and even the Jean Paul for Vogue. “This is how I used to relate to Valentino when I was a kid
Gaultier cameo necklace from his spring/summer 1998 Hommage à myself… I dreamed about it through seeing fashion photographs, never
Frida Kahlo collection, once worn by Madonna in the music video for the clothes or the shows themselves,” Piccioli told Vogue last October.
1998’s “Frozen”. “What we curate looks like it could be on the runway Olivier Rousteing didn’t plunge quite as far back as the 1960s for his
right now,” says Blanchet. She believes the pandemic has fundamentally spring/summer 2022 collection at Balmain, but he did mark his 10-year
shifted the way we feel about new clothes. “Now, it’s all about meaningful anniversary at the French house with a re-edition of 17 of his favourite
purchases. Vintage, in this sense, is a sustainable signifier. You are buying looks from his tenure; from the heavily embroidered Fabergé-inspired
into a story, feeling unique, and wearing pieces that were made to last lampshade minidresses from the autumn/winter 2012 collection to the
– the quality of fabrics on the whole is incredible.” liquid-gold chain-mail dress from his spring/summer 2017 offering,
Gucci wants in. Hot on the horsebit-adorned heels of Ridley Scott’s worn by Kim Kardashian at the show’s after-party. He did it partly out
House of Gucci – which stars Lady Gaga and is stuffed with throwback of pride, he explains over WhatsApp voice notes, to celebrate his greatest
Gucci looks sourced from the house’s vast archive in Florence, as hits, and partly to show off the house’s savoir faire. But he also wanted
well as vintage dealers, eBay and Etsy – in September it launched to make the styles available to a new generation of the Balmain Army
Vault. Billed as an online concept store, it is partly stocked with vintage who perhaps couldn’t afford them when they were debuted. “My Balmain
items acquired from Italian grannies and auction houses alike, customer has a great appreciation of my archive,” he says. He wouldn’t
reconditioned by in-house artisans, and in some cases customised by rule out launching a vintage Balmain hub. “The future could be bringing
creative director Alessandro Michele. back the past into the present. It’s kind of reassuring with all that we
Vault is a no-brainer for the vintage-obsessed Michele: the pre-loved are going through right now to buy something that you know will never
pieces reinforce the seasonless codes on which he has built his Gucci die. It’s more than a trend – it’s an iconic, timeless piece.” Even if an
reboot. As he put it in an interview at Vault’s launch: “Gucci turns one item was created within living memory, heritage is hot.

166
 It’s also lucrative. With so many brands reissuing archival styles, it’s LOOKS THAT
only a matter of time before they are controlling the resale of the originals,
too. “Luxury brands were more sceptical before, but now they are
NEVER GO
embracing the opportunity,” says D’Arpizio. “They see resale as a strong OUT OF STYLE
hook to really connect with this younger generation and also to create
a larger community… of passionate people around the brand that
gives it a longer life.” Execs only need look to outdoor clothing brand
Patagonia for encouragement. Worn Wear, its resale programme,
invites customers to trade in old products for credit, get them repaired,
share their stories and photographs of their long-loved items, and
purchase second-hand and upcycled pieces on its microsite.
It predicts that by 2023, Worn Wear will account for a double-digit
percentage of Patagonia’s overall revenue. Does D’Arpizio think that
brands that don’t engage with the resale opportunity are missing
out? “I think so. In reality, luxury products such as cars, jewellery
and watches have always had a secondary market. It’s embedded in
products that are durable, and luxury by definition is something that
should have a long life.”
It helps that new-gen tastemakers from Rihanna to Bella Hadid have
made vintage and past-season pieces key facets of their looks. Cherie
Balch of US-based vintage website Shrimpton Couture, who supplies Chanel s/s ’93
Rihanna with her 1980s Halston and ’90s Yves Saint Laurent, even
managed to persuade Katy Perry to don 1978 Pierre Cardin couture
for a recent Unicef gala in Capri, Italy. “She never wears vintage, so Chanel s/s ’22
having her wear it was a strong message to her fans and followers,”
Balch says. Pop star Olivia Rodrigo, who chose a pink and black tweed
spring 1995 Chanel suit for a visit to the White House in July 2021,
needed less encouragement. Like most of her Gen-Z fan base, Rodrigo
buys and sells her clothes on Depop, where 90 per cent of its active
users are aged below 26. Millennials are at it, too: Lily Allen’s worn
Gucci mules are listed on Depop alongside her gently bashed about
Céline Cabas tote (asking price: £110, “used condition as shown in
photos, but plenty more life in it,” reads the accompanying caption).
No surprises there: more than 36 million of us became first-time
sellers on the second-hand clothing market in 2020. “When faced
with many uncertainties, not just on the health side but also the
financial side, sellers have thought about ways to monetise their
wardrobes,” says Fanny Moizant, co-founder of Vestiaire Collective,
the Paris-based resale platform with 11 million active members and
more than 20,000 items listed per week. “They realised how much
money lies in their closets.”
Perhaps the price a fashion item can command on the resale market Balmain Balmain s/s ’22
a/w ’12
will come to be seen as the ultimate mark of success for a luxury brand.
Louis Vuitton’s Nicolas Ghesquière admitted as much at a New York
Times talk in September: “As an artistic director, my mission is to do
‘new’… And the challenge is really inspiring and I enjoy doing it, but Valentino a/w ’67
of course, like every artistic director, my real dream is to have timeless
FRANCO RUBARTELLI; CONDE NAST ARCHIVE; GETTY IMAGES; GORUNWAY.COM

pieces that last more than a season and that people will wear forever.”
Referencing the surge in interest from Gen-Z collectors in his early
collections for Balenciaga, over which he presided for 15 years as creative
director, he continued: “I am lucky enough and old enough now to have
the experience of collections I did more than 20 years ago and that,
because of the resale market, have become collectable and appreciated
by young people – have become ‘trendy’ again.”
The good news for those who missed out on Ghesquière’s enduringly
cool spring/summer 2008 neoprene florals? They’re just a few clicks
away. But be warned – the search can become addictive. Michelle Elie,
a Haitian-American designer and a fanatical Comme des Garçons
collector, has spent years truffling out pieces from past Rei Kawakubo
collections that she rues not purchasing at the time. She describes this
needle-in-a-haystack process as “torture”. On occasion, though, she
strikes gold on the second-hand market. “Driving to Paris to pick this
new baby up this weekend,” she emails, enclosing several photographs
of a Comme des Garçons gingham tube dress from the much-referenced
spring/summer 1997 “lumps and bumps” collection, which she has Valentino s/s ’22
just won at auction. “So excited! Rare, rare treasure.” Q

167
FORCES for CHANGE

A world of
OUR OWN
Across the globe, a new
generation of
independent designers are working to
bring fashion and sustainability together.
Photographs by Eddie Wrey.
Styling by Poppy Kain

168
 KA-SHA,
INDIA
“Change by design” is a
kind of mantra for Karishma
Shahani-Khan and her label,
Ka-Sha, based in Maharashtra,
India. The artisans she works
with across the country are as
central to Ka-Sha’s story as the
natural, hand-dyed fabrics and
zero-waste design methods.
“We use clothing to celebrate
handcraft and artisanal
techniques, new and old,”
Shahani-Khan explains. The
label’s capsule project, Heart to
Haat, is produced entirely from
leftover textiles and garments
destined for landfill, inspired
by the indigenous ideology of
reusing, repurposing and
reclaiming.” Emily Farra
Appliquéd cotton jacket,
Chanderi top and matching
skirt, and appliquéd cotton
sari, Ka-Sha. Vintage belts,
The Arc London. Suede boots,
Manolo Blahnik. Corsages,
and ribbon (in hair), VV
Rouleaux. Earrings, Al Arabia,
at Crowne Plaza Jordan

169
MOZH MOZH,
PERU
Mozhdeh Matin launched her
label in 2015, she explains, to
“work with local artisans and
preserve their techniques”. She
was motivated by the concept
of a circular economy, and
indeed, relying on homegrown
weaving traditions, her
colourful separates, dresses
and accessories – made from
alpaca, cotton and wool yarns
also native to Peru – have put
that wheel in motion. “All artists
take inspiration from their
surroundings,” she says, “and
the climate crisis is pushing a
lot of us to create inventive
ways to become more
sustainable.” Marley Marius
Alpaca shawl, alpaca jacket
with crochet trim, and cotton
trousers, Mozh Mozh. Vintage
belt, The Arc London.
Corsages, VV Rouleaux.
Earrings, Al Arabia, at
Crowne Plaza Jordan
 CONNER IVES,
BRITAIN
At least 75 per cent of
this Central Saint Martins
graduate’s designs are made
from vintage, deadstock
or sustainable materials.
“It’s always about finding
new materials to use and new
processes to develop,” says
Ives. “It’s a constant and
hungry evolution.” The
designer, who hails from
Bedford, New York, says living
in England has influenced the
way he sources and implements
second-hand materials. “When
I first got to London, I spent
most of my time with friends
going to charity shops,”
says Ives. “I so much enjoy
the hunt.” Christian Allaire
Spandex top, Conner Ives.
Earrings, and ring (on ring
finger), Alighieri. Ring (on
index finger), Emefa Cole

171
 MORPHINE,
ITALY
Morphine is an innovative
brand-slash-retailer based in
Reggio Emilia, Italy, selling
vintage designer items – think
’90s Comme des Garçons and
early-Noughties McQueen –
and upcycled pieces of its own
through its line, Compendium
01: Pazzesca. “Our process
lies in reawakening and giving
life to products that this industry
has produced and forgotten,”
says Morphine’s project
manager Sasha Payton.
“We produce one-of-a-kind
items by customising and
reassembling clothing, fabrics
and yarns from deadstock
and leftovers from across the
Italian supply chain.” CA
Vintage Dior by John
Galliano jacket. Fishnet
trousers, Compendium 01:
Pazzesca. Both at Morphine.
online. Corsage, VV Rouleaux.
Earrings, Al Arabia, at
Crowne Plaza Jordan.
Ring, stylist’s own

172
 VITELLI,
ITALY
Vitelli’s production is entirely
made of knitwear-industry
waste, much of it otherwise
headed to landfill, which is
then used to create the label’s
proprietary felted material –
dubbed Doomboh – which is
turned into crafty, tactile
pieces. “The atelier inside my
studio is called Organic Knitting
Theatre,” says Mauro Simionato,
Vitelli’s founder and creative
director. “Every day, we gather
and create.” His main source
of inspiration? The “music-
driven, post-hippie” Italian
counterculture movement that
grew up around the Cosmic
club on the Adriatic Riviera in
the late ’70s and early ’80s.
Vitelli’s taken this scene “as a
model of how to participate in
– and possibly inspire – the
current global cosmic scene”.
Laird Borrelli-Persson
Jacquard-knit dress,
Vitelli. Embellished satin
mules, Manolo Blahnik.
Earrings, Al Arabia, at
Crowne Plaza Jordan
JUAN DE LA PAZ,
BOLIVIA
Juan de La Paz was founded in
2009 by designers Juan Carlos
Pereira and Andrés Jordan,
who collaborate with artisans
in Bolivia and Peru to create
their vibrant designs. “We
learn from the ancestral
knowledge of these
communities to take care of
Mother Earth when making
fashion,” says Pereira. The
clothes – most of which feature
the label’s signature fringing –
are handmade using recycled
textiles (the line is also
made-to-order and practices
zero waste). Being Bolivian,
both designers say, makes
sustainability essential and
obvious. “Contemporary Latin
American design upcycles,
looks for alternative materials,
collaborates with indigenous
communities and values artisan
craftsmanship,” says Jordan. CA
Dress and skirt with
macramé and silk fringing,
Juan de La Paz. Earrings
and necklace, Noor Fares
 RAVE REVIEW,
SWEDEN
For Rave Review’s Josephine
Bergqvist and Livia Schück, the
way to a responsible future is
through the past. From the start,
the pair have worked only with
existing materials, which they
puzzle together into unique
pieces. “These fabrics are so
nice to work with – and in a
way it feels more ‘new’ to work
this way rather than to redesign
existing fashions,” Bergqvist
asserts. The designers often say
that, because their fabrics have
previous existences, their work
is nostalgic by default – but it’s
how these Swedes filter their
work through their own
childhood memories and
contemporary obsessions that is
drawing rave reviews. LB-P
Towelling robe, bikini top, and
trousers, Rave Review.
Earrings and ring, Alighieri

175
 MAISON ARTC,
MOROCCO
Maison Artc is the five-year-old
brainchild of Israeli-Moroccan
designer Artsi Ifrach, who
works as sustainably as he can
from his Marrakesh atelier,
morphing together his vast
collection of antique clothing
with local textiles, such as
handwoven blankets from
the Atlas Mountains. The
“as he can” is crucial here:
“Sustainability and industry,
production, fast fashion – none
of these are sustainable, unless
you do haute couture,” Ifrach
says. His solution is collectable
one-off pieces designed to keep
the past alive in the present.
Mark Holgate
Brocade and satin gown,
Maison Artc. Embellished
suede sandals, Manolo
Blahnik. Earrings, Carolina
de Barros. Bead necklace,
Al Arabia, at Crowne Plaza
Jordan. Collar, ring (on
right ring finger), and ring
(on left index finger), Emefa
Cole. Ring (on left ring
finger), Alighieri

176
 MARINE SERRE,
FRANCE
“The regenerating process
is complex, unique and
meticulous,” says Marine
Serre, whose brand hinges
on repurposing vintage fabrics
into new garments. Serre
constructed the dress seen here
from scarves found in French
markets to create a classic
silhouette from unexpected
materials. Using the old to make
new isn’t easy – especially when
producing on her scale. “We
had to rework the whole chain
of production,” she says.
“Eco-futurism is about a way to
live, a way to act, and a way to
get inspired. We want things to
make sense.” Steff Yotka
Silk dress and catsuit, Marine
Serre. Earrings, Al Arabia, at
Crowne Plaza Jordan
CHOPOVA LOWENA,
BRITAIN
Working between Bulgaria
and Britain gives Emma
Chopova and Laura Lowena an
advantage. During lockdowns,
the pair found vintage
tablecloths and tartan taffetas
in both countries, using them as
a base for their eclectic dresses
and skirts. “This look is made
from deadstock taffeta, which
is then printed and flocked by
us,” Chopova says. Working
sustainably is a “huge drive”
for the designers. “We collect
certain textiles,” Chopova says,
“and then make limited-edition
pieces when they fit into the
themes of the season – or
when we figure out how to
best show them off.” SY
Belted flocked taffeta dress,
and jersey rollneck, Chopova
Lowena, at Browns and Dover
Street Market. Jacquard and
leather boots, Gui Rosa, at
Vault.gucci.com. Earrings,
Carolina de Barros
YUIMA NAKAZATO,
JAPAN
At the Tokyo atelier of couturier
Yuima Nakazato, responsibly
sourced fabrics are as much a
part of the design story as
silhouette. In autumn 2021,
Nakazato marked the 10th
anniversary of his label with a
collection that included pieces
made from upcycled leathers,
organic cottons, laces and
linens hand-dyed with natural
Japanese indigo (a process
called aizome), along with
others that combined nishijin-
ori – a traditional kimono
textile – with a plant-based
synthetic inspired by spider
silk. Nakazato’s raison d’être:
“to make this world a better
place through garments”. MM
Lace top, lace and linen
scarves, and linen trousers,
Yuima Nakazato.
Corsage, VV Rouleaux.
Earrings, Al Arabia, at
Crowne Plaza Jordan

179
BODE,
AMERICA
When Emily Adams Bode burst
on to the menswear scene in
2017 with her upcycled quilted
jackets, the boyish shape and
the nod to craft resonated
instantly, but her reverence
for the objects and stories of
the past also carried through
with quilts, clothes, linens,
tablecloths and blankets.
She’s since introduced a
tailoring shop next door
to her Hester Street flagship
in New York, where customers
can bring items to be repaired,
or “preserved”, as Bode
tells it. “We’re teaching our
community how clothing
can last for generations.” EF
Wool jacket, and wool
trousers, Bode. Vintage
Alexander McQueen top,
and vintage belt, The Arc
London. Jewelled satin
mules, Manolo Blahnik.
Corsages, and ribbons
(in hair), VV Rouleaux.
Earrings, Al Arabia, at
Crowne Plaza Jordan
 LAGOS SPACE
PROGRAMME,
NIGERIA
Adeju Thompson’s work for
Lagos Space Programme rockets
between past and present, and
crucially, it is mission-based:
fashion is the vehicle through
which the designer, who studied
in Wales and England, explores
both their non-binary identity
and Yoruba heritage. “We are
aware of our responsibility as
inhabitants of the planet,” notes
Thompson, who often works
with precolonial silhouettes and
collaborates with skilled artisans
employing indigenous craft
techniques, such as natural
indigo dying. “My ancestors
left so much behind,” they say.
“I believe they expected
us to continue telling these
stories and building up on
what they left.” LB-P
Knit top, Lagos Space
Programme. Vintage
Alexander McQueen waistcoat,
The Arc London. Feather
headband (worn as collar),
William Chambers Millinery.
Earrings, as before

181
 DURAN LANTINK,
NETHERLANDS
Some designers have
moodboards for inspiration.
Duran Lantink, based in
Amsterdam, instead creates
some of his designs after
trawling the city during the
Tuesday night ritual when its
residents leave things out on
the street for others to take.
“I never understood using
new materials when there
are so many beautiful things
around me,” says Lantink,
who started designing as
a teenager, cutting up the
Gaultier and Margiela his
mother no longer wore.
More recently, he has
utilised a vintage Balmain
dress, a ‘60s fur coat and
a regiment’s worth of army
sweaters for his label. “You
get a pile of clothes and
start digging in,” Lantink
says, laughing. MH
Chain-mail and Swarovski-
crystal top, Duran Lantink.
Vintage Alexander McQueen
skirt, The Arc London.
Jewellery, as before

182
 BY WALID,
BRITAIN
Walid al Damirji structured
his brand By Walid around
a single principle: no waste.
“It would be disrespectful
otherwise,” the designer says
of the antique textiles, like
curtains, vintage clothing and
tapestries, that he transforms
into romantic blouses, jackets,
and even homewares such as
pillows and quilts. When it
SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES WERE FOLLOWED THROUGHOUT THIS PHOTOSHOOT

comes to finding these

materials, al Damirji says, “I
leave no stone unturned –
auctions, vintage fairs, car
boot sales – you name it!” His
deep care made him one of the
first in the luxury fashion
industry to take upcycling and
sustainability seriously. SY
Hand-embroidered silk coat,
and hand-embroidered silk gilet,
By Walid. Vintage Givenchy
Haute Couture dress, and
vintage belt, The Arc London.
Mules, corsages, ribbon,
and earrings, as before.
For stockists, all pages,
see Vogue Information.
Hair: Shiori Takahashi.
Make-up: Lynsey Alexander.
Production: Shades Of Grey
Productions. Digital artwork:
Art Post. Models: He Cong,
Imaan Hammam
 SUSTAINING
GRACE For Federico Marchetti and Kerry Olsen,
designing their dream penthouse in north-west London
meant finding elegantly eco solutions to modern
family life, finds Aimee Farrell.
Photographs by Simon Watson

W
hen British journalist Kerry Olsen and Italian in plush green suede and straight into the dining room, which, flanked
entrepreneur and Yoox Net-a-Porter Group by a sitting room, a fabulous bar and seating area, gives way to the

OPPOSITE: FEDERICO WEARS SWEATER, PANGAIA. TROUSERS, GIORGIO ARMANI. BOOTS, JIMMY CHOO.
founder Federico Marchetti first saw their new kitchen and wraparound terraces.
home in a secluded corner of London’s When it came to decorating, the challenge was how to enhance,
Hampstead, it was quite literally a hole in the but not overwhelm, those staggering, Shard-rivalling views. Driven

KERRY WEARS TUNIC AND TROUSERS, EMILIA WICKSTEAD. SHOES AND NECKLACE, HER OWN
ground. Out walking one autumn afternoon in 2018, the couple were by a desire to make the interior as sustainable as possible, the pair
not consciously looking for somewhere to live, but were intrigued by turned to Maria Speake, the co-founder of reclamation and design
the plot. “All our friends told us to forget it,” says Marchetti. A rare studio Retrouvius. Known as a queen of salvage, the self-described
development in an otherwise historic quarter, the project had been “scrap dealer” has an unsurpassed eye for reinventing reclaimed
beset by bureaucratic delays. Undeterred, the pair put in an offer – and materials. Speake worked with the designer Bella Freud, a collaborator
prayed. Their timing proved impeccable, things were progressing after for close to a decade on glamorous, vintage-filled interiors that include
years of pause, and in a matter of months the penthouse – with its Freud’s own London home, and her Chiltern Street store.
heart-stopping panorama across the capital – was theirs. Marchetti, who collects the artwork of her late father, Lucian, met
Not ones to shy away from an architectural challenge – their home Freud at an exhibition opening – and was struck by her generosity of
in Lake Como occupies a former silk-weaving factory created with spirit. The pair bonded over a Lucian Freud painting, acquired by
the Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino – the couple’s Marchetti, that hangs in their Milan apartment. “We’re very hands-
first act was to reconfigure the developer’s layout. “It’s based on the on in these projects, so personality is absolutely key,” explains Marchetti.
way we live our lives,” says Olsen. “We put a lot of thought into where Olsen agrees: “Bella has this incredible sense of style – she’s such an
we spend time in the house.” So, they switched the kitchen from east interesting but understated person.” Freud’s magnetic persona
to west, installing separate bathrooms (“A must for any couple,” insists combined with Speake’s sustainable design ethos meant the
Marchetti) and dressing rooms, to create a sprawling apartment that’s collaboration was something of a fait accompli.
conceived as a meeting place for friends and family. This happy quartet first came together at the Hotel Café Royal in
Communality and conviviality are written into the very configuration Piccadilly in March 2020. Little did they know that in a matter of
of this home. “It’s all about the flow,” says Olsen of the floorplan, days, however, the world would abruptly grind to a halt, forcing the
which mirrors that of their Lake Como property. “When friends come project into the non-tactile, non-tangible digital realm.
over we can start with an aperitivo on the terrace, and then wander “It’s the house that Zoom built,” laughs Olsen of the seismic shift
inside for lunch.” Guests are ushered into a panelled hallway swathed that ignited a laser-like focus among the group, whose weekly >

184
Federico Marchetti and
Kerry Olsen in their
living room – behind
them hangs Victor
Pasmore’s Linear
Construction in 2
Movements (1969).
Hair: Paula McCash.
Make-up: Alice
Howlett. Nails: Robbie
Tomkins. Sittings
editor: Gianluca Longo

185
 In the master bedroom,
Circus Cycle Rider (2001) by
Colin Self, an aerosol work
on a Yorkshire tea carton,
nods to Olsen’s home county,
while the Laudomia Pucci
rug celebrates Italian design.
Below: the dining table
combines parquet panels
with an old museum
handrail as the base.
Opposite: a 1940s André
Derain tapestry looks over
a serene seating area

186
online gatherings became a much-anticipated interruption to
the couple’s stripped-back routine of work, home-school and
ART FORMS THE
promenades. Grounded in Como, they’d field frequent video FOUNDATION
calls from a masked Freud, phoning in from the penthouse with her
latest art wonder in hand.
THROUGHOUT,
“I felt in the middle of many women,” smiles Marchetti of the all- INSTILLING THE SPACE
female ensemble charged with bringing their collective vision to vivid
life. Olsen certainly relished the free-flowing creative exchange,
WITH A DISTINCTLY
comparing it to an educational experience that enabled her to be BRITISH FLAVOUR
immersed in the worlds of art, artistry and interiors.
While there are constant temperature wars between the couple –
Olsen was born in the north of England and has the hardy constitution
of a Yorkshire lass, while Marchetti keenly feels the cold – when it bedroom, an aerosol work on a Yorkshire tea carton, by pop artist
comes to design, they are utterly aligned. The result is a thoughtful, Colin Self, is a nod to Olsen’s home county; a balletic portrait by
fun space, with a restrained elegance that stems from a muted palette Lord Snowdon titled Ravenna Tucker ties to Marchetti’s own
of greens and greys – albeit with high-octane dashes of ’70s drama beginnings in the Northern Italian city of Ravenna.
courtesy of Freud. The latter is evident in one of Marchetti’s favourite At the rear of the apartment, a long, ochre-hued corridor is decorated
rooms – a jewel-box WC, which is wrapped in rich red-lacquer walls, with a marble-topped Gio Ponti console, which magnificently sets
complete with 1940s Reggiani lighting and a colourful collection of off a trio of intimate portraits of Lucian Freud, shot by his longtime
prints by the Malian photographer, Malick Sidibé, showcased in highly assistant David Dawson. Bella had also found an etching by her father
decorative, reverse-handpainted glass frames. of his garden, which she has fond memories of him creating. The
Art forms the foundation throughout, instilling the space with a piece hangs in the lounge, and serves as a monochromatic counterpoint
distinctly British flavour that stems from an amalgamation of works to bespoke velvet seating and a series of sliding doors which, clad in
by everyone from David Hockney to the under-the-radar abstract art the creeping, large-scale foliage of William Morris’s Acanthus print,
pioneer Victor Pasmore and fledgling talents such as Georgie Hopton, are a clever cover-up for the television and library.
whose textural composition brings warmth to Olsen’s dressing room. One of the biggest balancing acts was creating a bedroom for their
Every piece has a very particular, personal appeal – in the master 10-year-old daughter, Maggie, which can outlast her tween-age >

187
 THE ENTIRE SPACE IS ILLUMINATED BY

ROLLNECK, THE ROW. SHOES, HER OWN. SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES WERE FOLLOWED THROUGHOUT THIS PHOTOSHOOT
FEDERICO WEARS CARDIGAN AND SHIRT, HIS OWN. TROUSERS AND BOOTS, AS BEFORE. KERRY WEARS TOP, DRESS AND
VINTAGE LIGHTS. “SUSTAINABILITY WAS AT THE TOP OF
OUR MINDS THROUGHOUT,” SAYS OLSEN

years. “She’s at an age when she wants to be grown-up, but she still scarves and Saint Laurent dresses from the archive of her mother-in-
enjoys playing with her toys,” explains Olsen. Their solution was to law, Lidia Zannoni, Maggie’s current tennis attire is an ’80s Björn
reconfigure her traditional doll’s house into a bedside table and light, Borg for Fila tracksuit that once belonged to her father.
and to wrap the room in a naturalistic trellis print. Set against this There was a similar focus on recycling in the interior. Speake sourced
backdrop are a palm-tree four-poster bed and an octet of canine portraits a spectacular pair of brass doors from a British university for the
by Hugo Guinness, which Freud hoped would feel like “family friends”. atrium, and ingeniously forged a vast dining table – the centrepiece
That familial feel permeates every aspect of the apartment. For of the living space – by combining Austrian parquet panels with a
their bedroom, Olsen asked her friend Laudomia Pucci to revive an repurposed handrail from a London museum as the base. The entire
archive print for a specially commissioned rug, which recalls a vintage space is illuminated by vintage lights. “Sustainability was at the top
beach bag by the Italian fashion house that Olsen found at a flea of our minds throughout,” says Olsen.
market on her first visit to Ravenna with Marchetti. Its bold, linear It’s a sensibility close to Marchetti’s heart. He’s currently chairing
design vivifies the space, drawing the eye to a curvaceous 1940s Prince Charles’s Sustainable Markets Initiative Fashion Taskforce,
armchair by interior designer and architect Carlo Mollino. established to tackle issues of textile toxicity and waste, and to
For Olsen and Marchetti, who spent many of their early dates at ultimately decarbonise the industry. It’s all part of the next eco-
local Japanese restaurant Jin Kichi, the realisation of this interior conscious chapter in Marchetti’s stratospheric career (he stepped down
represents something of a Hampstead homecoming – one that’s been from his role at Yoox Net-a-Porter Group in July), which
executed with the same slow, sustainable principles that are ingrained also includes a professorship exploring environmentalism and
into the Italian way of life. entrepreneurship in the digital age at Bocconi University.
“Things are just a little slower there,” says Olsen, who has lived in One of the more surprising elements for the family now able to spend
Italy for more than 15 years. “There’s much more of an appreciation time in their freshly finished home is the sense of peace. The inclement
and a care for things – even down to the way people dress.” Olsen London weather is still a novelty for Maggie, who enjoys sleeping with
and her daughter have been beneficiaries of that compulsion to her windows open to listen to the rain. “Otherwise, all you can hear is
preserve. While Olsen has inherited vintage table linens, Gucci the birds and the church bells,” says Olsen. “It feels like a dream.” 

188
The plant-filled
wraparound terrace offers
views across London.
Opposite, from left:
Marchetti and Olsen
before the sliding William
Morris Acanthus screens;
the marble kitchen table
is a 1970s find, with ’60s
chairs designed by Vico
Magistretti for Heal’s

189
 From left: Varsha Thapa,
Chloe Magno, Yumi Nu,
Ling Tan, Serguelen
Mariano, Ngoc Minh Ngo,
Nuri Son, Manami
Kinoshita, Fernanda Ly,
Atikah Karim and Aida
Buarat all wear clothes
and jewellery by Chanel,
unless otherwise stated.
Yumi wears body, Area
Couture. Ling Tan wears
sequined top, Prabal
Gurung. Serguelen wears
earrings, Tasaki.
Bracelet, Bulgari. Ngoc
wears ring, Van Cleef &
Arpels. Nuri wears vest,
Commando. Manami
wears poloneck, Wolford.
Pearl necklace, Tasaki.
Atikah wears rings,
Van Cleef & Arpels

Reflections on
190
BEAUTY
Compelled to answer the ugly rise in anti-Asian sentiment,
photographer Sharif Hamza picked up
his camera to record contemporary East and South-East
Asian beauty. Here, casting director Michelle Lee
and the models tell Vogue why representation
such as this is so important. Styling by Dena Giannini
191
 ATIKAH KARIM,
MALAYSIAN
“Growing up in
Malaysia, colourism was
an issue for me.
I found we always
looked up to Western
beauty standards.”

Tuxedo jacket,
Halpern. Turban,
Jennifer Behr.
Brooch, Bulgari

192
T
here are stories that are considered “just a The idea for this shoot, featuring a cast of Asian women,
job” and then there are stories that hold a came from the passion of photographer Sharif Hamza. As
deeper resonance and meaning. Having a rebuttal to the exponential rise in Anti-Asian sentiment
worked as a casting director for more than and hate crimes in 2020 and 2021, Sharif, whose mother is
two decades, I have been so fortunate to Filipina, felt a responsibility to utilise his craft – our craft –
work on fashion shows, campaigns and to empower and appreciate the beauty and voices of the very
editorials for some of the biggest brands demographic who were (and are still) being brutally targeted.
and creative teams in the industry. But I had not had the It was crucial for him to have a team on this story who
pleasure of being involved in a project with as much personal could truly understand the importance of the project and
significance as this one. embody a sense of duty
As a Korean-American to it: from the models
woman, I grew up rarely whose heritage spanned
seeing a beautiful all- the Asian continent –
Asian cast in Western from Malaysia to
publications. From a Mongolia – to the Asian-
young age, my mother American make-up artist
was pretty much my Grace Ahn, we came
only beauty inspiration, together to collaborate
because I never saw any on a shoot in which we
version of myself in could see the faces of our
magazines. Of course, I mothers, sisters, relatives
could always turn to and friends reflected
Asian publications, but back to us and portrayed
having subscribed to in the way that we
Western titles since I was wanted to see ourselves:
a pre-teen, I have never elevated and beautiful.
identified with a fashion Each of the women in
shoot quite like the one this story is made to look
we see on these pages. like their most beautiful
When I got into the self. Grace had the
fashion industry in the understanding and
late 1990s, there were very sensitivity to celebrate
few visible Asian models. their features and not
By the 2000s, Ling Tan exaggerate them into
(who appears in this caricatures. Their
story), Natane Boudreau, uniqueness and the
Kimora Lee Simmons, individuality that they
Irina Pantaeva and Jihae bring to the narrative is
were the few exceptions. what truly makes these
I found myself idolising por traits special. It
them at that time, YUMI NU, JAPANESE-AMERICAN a l l ow s e a c h o f t h e
alongside a handful of women a chance to
Asian visionaries such as “I would tell my future self that everything you are worried about or be humanised and
want is possible, and that you are worthy enough to have it.”
Anna Sui, Cecilia Dean, acknowledged, and that’s
Gayle Dizon, Nian Fish, Jacket and necklace, Chanel. Body, Area Couture why this feature is
Rei Kawakubo and Vera meaningful – not only to
Wang, because, for the the models in the story,
first time in my life, I was exposed to all different types of but also, I hope, to every Asian woman who looks at it. Our
glamorous and powerful Asian woman in fashion. While there point of view is finally validated. Had I been exposed to
has definitely been progress in terms of Asian representation this as a pre-teen – or, for that matter, at any point in the
in modelling, especially with the promotion of Chinese and 35-plus years since – I would have felt truly empowered.
South Korean models in recent years, there is still work to While I understand this is only one shoot, the more we see
be done when it comes to broadening our eye and embracing and hear ourselves represented brilliantly and beautifully,
the depths of East and South-East Asian beauty, their many and the more others are exposed to us in such a way, I hope
shades of skin tone and their unique and varied features. the less stigmatised and marginalised we will be. Q

193
 SERGUELEN MARIANO,
MOZAMBICAN-MONGOLIAN
“As a biracial woman in the modelling industry, I feel very unique,
and I’m proud to be representing two different countries.”

Dress, 3.1 Phillip Lim

194
 NGOC
MINH NGO,
VIETNAMESE
“You have to be
confident in yourself
and show the world
what your beauty is.”

Dress, David
Koma. Jacket,
Adrienne Landau.
Earrings, Bulgari

195
 CHLOE
MAGNO,
FILIPINA-
AMERICAN
“I love seeing
Filipino people being
represented. Growing
up I didn’t see much
of that – I’m glad that
I can fill that role for
people now.”

Jacket and top,

Anna Sui

196
 LING TAN, MALAYSIAN-CHINESE
“Beauty is how you feel inside: inner happiness, self-confidence, joy and peace.”

Dress and corsage, Peter Do. Gloves, David Koma

197
 FERNANDA LY, AUSTRALIAN-BORN CHINESE
“I want my fellow Asians to understand that we don’t have to
conform to beauty standards that another culture has set for us.
We should choose how we want to be seen.”

Dress, Brandon Maxwell. Brooch, Cartier

198
 NURI SON,
SOUTH KOREAN
“I think we should show
more of our strengths
and our beauty.”

Dress and earrings,

Bottega Veneta.
For stockists, all
pages, see Vogue
Information.
Hair: Evanie Frausto.
Make-up: Grace Ahn.
Nails: Shirley Cheng.
Production: Honor
Hellon Production.
Digital artwork:
Art Works Post
Production
SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES WERE FOLLOWED THROUGHOUT THIS PHOTOSHOOT

199
 ALL HAIL
THE KING
On the eve of his sold-out London shows, music royalty Wizkid – the Grammy
Award-winning Afrobeats superstar with more than a billion
album streams to his name – granted an audience to Chioma Nnadi.
Photographs by Micaiah Carter. Styling by Karen Binns

I
t’s almost showtime at the Tabernacle, the hundred-year-old Wizkid’s fourth studio album, continues to smash one industry record
church-turned-concert-hall in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, after another, including the one set posthumously by 1970s Afrobeats
where Wizkid is set to perform to a sold-out crowd. Though legend Fela Kuti in the late 1990s. The album’s success – it has been
the 31-year-old Nigerian megastar himself has yet to arrive, streamed more than one billion times – has been largely buoyed by the
preparations are being made for him backstage. Steaming trays colossal triumph of “Essence”, a lilting Afrobeats love song. Originally
of jollof rice are lined up on the bar next to bottles of Hennessy; recorded as a duet with rising Nigerian Alté singer Tems, the track
a fresh batch of performance outfits is being arranged by his caught the ear of Justin Bieber who jumped on the remix as the song
stylist Karen Binns, who has flown in from London for the last leg of became inescapably popular over summer.
the American tour. A member of his entourage scurries in wearing But British music fans have been mesmerised by Wizkid’s sweet
head-to-toe tie-dye and schlepping a royal blue Goyard duffle bag, melodies for quite some time. It is a testament to his ultra loyal fanbase
stuffed to the gills. He unpacks it hurriedly, pulling out box-fresh pairs in the UK, or the Wizkid FC as they are known as a global collective,
of slip-on shoes – Balenciaga slippers, Gucci mules, Rick Owens’ much that the O2 stadium recently sold out all of its 20,000-plus seats for
sought-after Birkenstock clogs – like rabbits out of a hat, and lines three consecutive tour dates in a matter of minutes. Thanks in no small
them up on the floor. Moments later, Wizkid ambles through the door part to its thriving diaspora communities, London has become a home
in a cloud of smoke, dressed in the kind of loungewear that would look away from home for Wizkid and a generation of fresh young Nigerian
right at home in Liberace’s mansion: a pyjama set cut from vintage talent – Burna Boy, Davido and Rema, to name a few – that cross-
baroque-print silk, Chanel sunnies and furry red Balenciaga slides. Even pollinates R&B, dancehall and potent palm wine beats. Now, that proudly
in the half-light of the green room, it’s impossible to ignore the two African sound is being rapidly exported across the globe in a moment
gigantic diamond-encrusted Jesus-piece chains that are glistening around when we need its feel-good music the most.
his neck or the sizeable diamond hoops tugging at his earlobes. “London has always been a special place for me,” says Wizkid when
“Back home, we dress comfortably, it’s everything for me,” says Wizkid, we catch-up on the phone a few days later – much like any rock star
born Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, with an accent that falls somewhere who’s routinely trailed by hoards of screaming fans, Wizkid can be a
between east London and Lagos. He inspects the rack of clothes with hard man to pin down. About to board a plane to the next leg of his
an intensity that suggests he understands the devil is in the detail, and tour, he sounds weary but sanguine, his three-year-old son, Zion,
wastes no time in picking out his favourite things: two looks that have babbling in the background. “From the moment I landed, it was love
been created especially by British menswear designer Bianca Saunders, everywhere I went,” he continues. “It’s crazy because the first time
a pair of slouchy, black, patent-leather trousers that he rules out (“they I was actually booked for a show in London, I couldn’t get the visa to
need to be tighter”) in favour of a beige-pleated pair. “This is it,” he go. I remember I filmed a video to apologise to my fans – and they went
says, buttoning up the matching short-sleeved shirt and serving his best in on me!” A few months later and the fresh-faced singer, then only
blue steel in the mirror. He douses himself with a mystery fragrance, 21, would play his first international gig at the HMV Hammersmith
one he refuses to name, like it’s holy water. One shiny pair of black Apollo. Even grainy YouTube videos of his set prove he had the makings
Martine Rose slip-on loafers later, and he’s ready to go. “It’s funny of a star.
because now you see all the guys wearing slippers and tight pants,” To see Wizkid perform is to comprehend his prowess as an entertainer.
Binns says, racing after Wizkid as he heads towards the stage door. The atmosphere at his mid-week show in Atlanta is nothing short of
“The impact he has beyond that, well, it’s just huge.” ecstatic, somewhere between Sunday service and Saturday-night rave.
In the past year alone, Wizkid’s sphere of influence has exploded. The moment Wizkid starts performing, all three tiers of the hall are
Released in October 2020, the critically acclaimed Made in Lagos, on their feet singing in unison. > 204

200
 “Being away from
Nigeria and my family
for so long brought me
to my darkest point.
That’s why I feel this
album means the same
thing to me as it does to
a lot of other people.”

Cotton tank top,

Rick Owens.
Twill trousers, MM6
Maison Margiela.
Jewellery, throughout,
Wizkid’s own

201
 Organdy coat, Rick
Owens. Tank top
and trousers, as
before. Sunglasses,
Wizkid’s own

202
 “I’M MESMERISED
BY HOW MUCH
PEOPLE LOVE HIM.
IT’S A BEAUTIFUL
THING TO
WITNESS,” SAYS
NAOMI CAMPBELL

Alpaca/cashmere
sweater, Tom Ford.
Trousers, as before

203
 “LONDON
HAS ALWAYS
BEEN A
SPECIAL PLACE
FOR ME” HE

the city’s bright-yellow auto rickshaws, or keke

maruwas, are always bumper to bumper in
traffic, and street vendors peddle their wares
on every corner. “There are no amount of words
I can put together to make you understand
what Lagos is, to explain the hustle, or the
political injustice, the strength of the people
or the number of amazing creatives,” he says.
“To fully understand it, you have to experience
it for yourself. Go to Lekki, go to Ojuelegba
[a particularly vibrant area of Wizkid’s
neighbourhood], go to the clubs and you’ll see
what the music does to the people.”
In fact, “Ojuelegba” was the title of the 2014
hit that put his local-boy-done-good origin
story to song and celebrated the place that
shaped him (he came to music at the age of 11
as a choir boy and formed a boy band a few
years later with friends from church). The tune
caught the attention of Drake – on whose “One
Dance”, the Afrobeats-inflected anthem heard
around the world, Wizkid appeared two years
later. “There is a cultural shift happening, where
people here are beginning to embrace artists
“As soon as he came on to the stage, I just got it,” says Naomi outside of the norm of Western culture,” says longtime friend and
Campbell, self-confessed Afrobeats fanatic and friend of Wizkid, over sometime collaborator, Virgil Abloh. “For me, he’s a vital representation
the phone from her home in London. She is recalling his headline set of a young African creative experiencing success on a global level.”
at Homecoming, a festival co-conceived by British-Nigerian creative However Wizkid defines the parameters of “crossing over”, he hasn’t
Grace Ladoja as a celebration of Lagos’s vibrant cultural scene, which lost sight of where he came from. “I’m unapologetically Nigerian, I’m
the model attended with grime legend Skepta and actor John Boyega unapologetically Lagosian, and that’s something I’ve stuck to from the

SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES WERE FOLLOWED THROUGHOUT THIS PHOTOSHOOT

in the summer. “He’s very much loved by the people in Lagos,” continues beginning of my career,” he says. “And when I say I’m here for my
Campbell. “Whenever I’m there with him, I’m just mesmerised by how people, I mean it.” Last October, the musician took to the streets of
much the people on the street love him. It’s a beautiful thing to witness.” London to march in solidarity with the thousands protesting Nigeria’s
The album Wizkid is currently touring has come to symbolise a sort Special Anti-Robbery Squad, or SARS, in Lagos. “For Nigerian youths,
of post-lockdown euphoria, but it’s easy to forget that Made in Lagos don’t let anyone tell you you don’t have a voice,” he says in a viral video
was released when many places in the world were in the throes of a clip, his fist raised. “It was very important for me to be direct and vocal
second wave. The musician found himself stranded in London during because I’ve always been direct and vocal about political injustice in
lockdown. When I ask him about that time, his voice takes on a different Nigeria,” he explains. “To see that conversation happen and know that
tone. “Being away from Nigeria and my family for so long brought me we’re one step forward from where we used to be, that’s amazing to
to my darkest point. That’s why I feel this album means the same thing me. And there’s no question I’ll keep speaking out loud.”
to me as it does to a lot of other people – it really helped me through a Not since the late great Fela Kuti has an artist waved the flag for
tough time,” he says. It was only earlier this year that the singer was finally African pride with quite the same fervour. As it turns out, Wizkid
able to return home and introduce Zion to Boluwatife, his 10-year-old grew up within skipping distance from Kuti’s storied Afrika shrine
son from a previous relationship, for the first time. “To see the two of and a tattoo of the home-town hero is etched on his right arm – though
them playing together, that almost made me cry. It was a blessing.” he’s wary of any comparisons. Whatever the similarities or differences,
Blessed is without question the adjective Wizkid uses most often to Wizkid’s fate as a cultural icon has long been sealed, both at home
describe his extraordinary path (it’s also – surprise, surprise – the title and abroad. “I know there is a saying that if you make it New York,
of the song he sings with Damian Marley on the latest album). Raised you can make it anywhere, but shit, that’s a lie. If you can make it in
by a Muslim father and Christian mother, Wizkid and his seven siblings Lagos, you can make it anywhere,” he says, pausing to reflect on the
grew up in Surulere, the bustling middle-class enclave in Lagos. Here, thought. “And I’m living proof.” 

204
 Opposite: velvet
tuxedo jacket, and
silk shirt, Gucci.
This page: tank top,
and wool trousers,
Ludovic de Saint
Sernin. Leather
loafers, Lemaire.
Sunglasses, as before.
For stockists, all pages,
see Vogue Information.
Grooming: Gianluca
Mandelli. Production:
The Production Factory.
Digital artwork:
Picturehouse &
Thesmalldarkroom

205
 Co-ordinate your
commute in lacquered
red Louis Vuitton.

Vinyl coat, cotton/

cashmere shirt, and
viscose/wool shorts,
Louis Vuitton. Socks,
Falke. Leather
loafers, Prada

WORKING
Capital
According to the resort collections, skilfully
tailored items with a relaxed edge are top
of the agenda. Time to hit the pavement.
Photographs by Scott Trindle. Styling by Kate Phelan
206
207
 Pretty in pink? With
gently oversized
and slightly
slouched tailoring,
Valentino toughens
things up.

Wool trouser suit,

and georgette
shirt, Valentino.
Rollneck, Kettlewell

208
 Saint Laurent’s slick
suiting is a sure-fire
reason to get back to
the office, stat.

Gaberdine trouser
suit, Saint Laurent by
Anthony Vaccarello.
Cotton shirt, The
Frankie Shop.
Rollneck, Kettlewell.
Holdall, The North
Face. Loafers,
as before

209
 Stella McCartney’s
ballooning cover-up,
and Dior’s booties
present a weatherproof
elevation of
the everyday.

Poncho, and vinyl

tote, Stella McCartney.
Leather shirt, Joseph.
Silk trousers,
The Row. Rubber
boots, Dior

210
Dolce & Gabbana’s
pinstripe patchwork
takes traditional tropes
into new territory.

Cotton and silk shirt,

Dolce & Gabbana

211
 Prada’s slim-cut
tailoring will put a
spring in your step, no
matter your start time.

Satin jacket, cotton

shirt, and wool
trousers, Prada

212
Bold flashes of colour
transform a staple
silhouette – look to
Bottega Veneta for
standout saturated
accessories.

Alpaca coat, rubber

boots, and leather
clutch, Bottega
Veneta. Cotton
shirt, Dior. Wool
trousers, Gauchere.
Rollneck, as before

213
 Burberry’s graphic
knits and twisted
tailoring disrupt
convention with
elegant ease.

Car coat, silk/wool

intarsia sweater,
stretch-nylon body,
wool trousers, leather
shoes, and leather
bag, Burberry

214
 Overblown
sculpturalism has
become a Loewe
hallmark. Married
with utilitarian flair,
it appears more
convincing than ever.

Drawstring cotton
jacket, and cotton
skirt, Loewe. Viscose
rollneck, Dodo
Bar Or, at Net-a-
Porter.com. Leather
shoes, Chanel

215
 No matter how many
times you press snooze,
Prada’s loafers ensure
you never need miss
a bus again.

Cashmere coat, hooded

scarf, sweatpants, and
leather basket bag,
Balenciaga. Scarf,
(inside bag), Extreme
Cashmere. Loafers,
and socks, as before

216
 A Chanel suit will
never, ever go out
of style. Here, a
case in point.

Silk-crêpe skirt
suit, silk-crêpe
blouse, and leather
bag, Chanel. Rubber
boots, Balenciaga

217
 Giorgio Armani puts
a fresh spin on a
blank canvas. Don’t
spill your coffee.

Linen waistcoat,
cotton shirt, and
linen trousers,
Giorgio Armani.
Rubber boots, Dior

218
Dior’s flashy lining offers
a discreet upgrade on
the classic trench.

Trench coat, sleeveless

cotton shirt, wool/silk
shorts, and rubber
boots, Dior. Canvas
bag, MM6 Maison
Margiela & Eastpak

219
 SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES WERE FOLLOWED THROUGHOUT THIS PHOTOSHOOT

Tradition with a
twist — nobody does it
better than Sacai.

Tweed skirt suit,

Sacai, at Net-a-Porter.
com. Rubber boots.
Balenciaga. Leather
bag, Kenzo.
Hair: Ryan Mitchell.
Make-up: Petros
Petrohilos. Nails:
Charly Avenell.
Production: North Six.
Digital artwork:
IMGN Studio. Model:
Georgia Palmer

220
 Miu Miu’s two-piece
will immediately
inject glamour into
your day. The perfect
British accessory? A
sizeable umbrella.

Velvet jacket and

velvet trousers,
Miu Miu. Cotton
shirt, Prada.
For stockists, all
pages, see Vogue
Information

221
 VOGUE INFORMATION
The merchandise featured editorially has been ordered from the following stores.
PUBLISHED BY CONDÉ NAST
Some shops may carry a selection only. Prices and availability were checked at the time of going CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
to press, but we cannot guarantee that prices will not change or that specific items will be in stock Roger Lynch
when the magazine is published. We suggest that before visiting a shop you phone to make sure it
has your size. In case of difficulty, contact Vogue’s Merchandise Department (020 7499 9080). Global Chief Revenue Officer & President, US Revenue
Where unspecified, stockists are in London or general enquiry numbers are given. Pamela Drucker Mann
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Anna Wintour
& Daughter And-daughter.com Emiliawickstead.com Morphine.online President, Condé Nast Entertainment
31philliplim.com Erdem.com Moschino 020 7318 0555 Agnes Chu
A Erickson Beamon, New York Mozhmozh.com Chief Financial Officer
Jackie Marks
Adidas.co.uk 00 1 646 479 0777 N
Chief Marketing Officer
Adriennelandau.com Etro.com Namita Khade Deirdre Findlay
Albright Fashion Library Extreme-cashmere.com @namita.khade Chief People Officer Stan Duncan
Albrightnyc.com F Nicolemclaughin.com Chief Communications Officer Danielle Carrig
Alessandrarich.com Falke.com Nike.com Chief of Staff Elizabeth Minshaw
Alexandermcqueen.com Farrow-ball.com Noorfares.com Chief Product & Technology Officer Sanjay Bhakta
Alighieri.com Fendi.com Nordic Knots & Campbell- Chief Data Officer Karthic Bala
Allblues.se Thefrankieshop.com Rey Nordicknots.com Chief Client Officer Jamie Jouning
Alvaropicardo.com G Thenorthface.co.uk Chief Content Operations Officer Christiane Mack
Aminamuaddi.com Gabriela Hearst 020 3214 1017 O
Annasui.com Gabriel Held Vintage Oscardelarenta.com CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD
Araks.com @gabriel_held_vintage P Jonathan Newhouse
The Arc London @thearclondon Gauchere.com Pangaia Thepangaia.com
Area Couture Area.nyc Ghbass-eu.com Pantechnicon.com WORLDWIDE EDITIONS
B Ginori1735.com Paulsmith.com France AD, AD Collector, GQ, Vanity Fair, Vogue,
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> 161 KRISTEN MCMENAMY

Braka rolls his eyes when I ask him if he takes Working with Richard Avedon, she says, was they own two pubs, The Gunton Arms and
his wife’s Instagram images. McMenamy says a career highlight, as was meeting Prince on a The Suffield Arms. With two such strong
she resisted joining the platform for years. “I Versace shoot. “Everything had to be painted characters, there must be conjugal fights, I
basically thought it was for losers. Why would purple for him, even his dressing room. He was suggest. “Ha,” says McMenamy. “Because of
you want to show yourself to everyone, your this tiny, tiny person in very high heels, but my Net-a-Porter and Matches orders.” She tells
personal life? But I had never thought about perfectly proportioned. We shook hands, and me how one day Braka stormed into their
it in a business way.” During lockdown, she I thought, ‘Oh my god, this is Prince!’ bedroom while she was lying in bed. He was
had a lightbulb moment. “I had all these She says she never experienced any sexual holding a pair of large scissors in one hand,
beautiful clothes, but nowhere to wear them. harassment. “One or two tried to kiss me, but and her credit cards in the other. “He chopped,
Fashion has been my career, showing myself, there was never any forceful sexual behaviour.” chopped, chopped them up and threw them
so I thought, ‘Why don’t I start dressing up?’ In Paris she fell in love with nightclub king on the floor. Do you know how hard it is to
It started extremely randomly, no picture is Hubert Boukobza, who founded the legendary cut a credit card?” Another time he refused to
planned.” Bar a few images taken by her Les Bain Douches nightclub. They had a take delivery from a driver of some packages
reluctant children, Moon is her principal daughter, Lily, now 27, and also a successful she had ordered from Net-a-Porter, but she
photographer. What began in April 2021 model, who lives at the top of the house. managed to intercept them just in time. “But
has become a masterclass in how to use the Then, on a W magazine shoot in 1996, she now that I am making my own money again…”
platform in a clever but authentic way. It’s met her first husband, British photographer she says, trailing off. How much does she care
McMenamy the kooky model, never the Miles Aldridge. Lagerfeld gave her away and about money? “Zero,” she replies. “When money
person herself. Going by the comments on Naomi Campbell was her bridesmaid. They came into my hands, out it would go, woop,
her posts, she probably has the highest had three children, Rita, 23, Arthur, 19, and woop, woop. I gave it to friends, I gave it away,
fashion-centric following (76,500 at the time Eddy, 15. Then, she surprised everyone by I bought clothes, I once stayed at The Mark
of writing) in the industry. “We can’t believe cutting herself off from fashion to be a mother. Hotel in New York for months. I turned down
it. Courtenay and I look at each other and go, The marriage lasted 16 years. She refuses money if I felt a job wasn’t cool. I’ve always
‘How did that happen?’” to be drawn on its demise, other than wanted to be rock’n’roll, not a businesswoman.”
McMenamy, who was born into an Irish- elliptically concluding: “Never marry a fashion Speaking of this famous wardrobe, I ask if
American Catholic family in Buffalo, New photographer… unless he’s gay.” I can see it? “I have to find the key first,” she
York, but spent time growing up in Pennsylvania, We head down to the kitchen. There is a says. “There are so many teens and their friends
is the third of seven children. She fixated on sofa, two Tracey Emins on the wall, and a large running around, I have to be careful.” As the
becoming a model from an early age, dropping Aga. McMenamy starts preparing the dog’s mother of a now 20-year-old, I sympathise.
out of college and travelling daily to New York food, chopping chicken and cooking it on the “Come,” she says. We go back upstairs, and
City on go-sees while working nights in a hob. “Sometimes I cook for the dogs, but pass a Degas on the way. She rummages around.
pizzeria. “Where I moonlit as a drug mule,” forget the children,” she laughs. Braka walks Nothing. She can’t find the key. “I know,” she
she says. What? “Yes, I met a girl whose in and pours himself a glass of white wine. says, “I’ll show you my shoe room.” Once we’re
husband was a kingpin in the area. I would What’s your drink of choice? I ask. She inside, I stroke a pair of gold Saint Laurent
pick up a kilo of cocaine in bags and walk them hesitates. “A non-alcoholic one,” she finally says. platforms, blue silk Pradas and iconic
across the parking lot, hand them over, look “I came to a decision, we all came… I don’t 1970s-style Ferragamo rainbow ones, which
around and walk back.” On other occasions, want to be an alcoholic lush. But I do have the were made especially for her.
she would drive in a borrowed Mercedes to occasional drink, a little bit, it helps me through, She rings the next day. “Look,” she says,
deliver drugs across town. “I never crossed state to enjoy myself, calm my nerves.” She missed “you know when you asked me about best
lines,” she adds, laughing. “But I did earn the adrenaline of the fashion world when she friends and I gave you a few names? I’m actually
enough money to buy clothes and pay stopped working. “My life was too normal, and quite a loner. I can’t say I have friends, I like
photographers to do test shots.” then I would have too many nights where I to be alone. I am socially phobic.” She had
Eileen Ford rejected her on sight. Other didn’t quite remember how it ended. And then reeled off a list of fashion friends, colleagues
rejections followed, but then in 1991, the you wake up and think, ‘What did you do? Oh from a lifetime in the business. But perhaps,
agency Legends took her on and sent her to god, did I do that?’ and you know it wasn’t in reality, her life is an altogether quieter one.
Paris and Tokyo, where she lived in tiny worth it. And now that I’m working again, The extraordinary career – and charisma –
apartments with 10 other models. Peter I have to be professional.” When I ask her if aside, in private you find a thoughtful, gentle
Lindbergh was the first to see her beauty, anyone told her to stop, she says: “Yes, yes, person who metaphorically hides under the
followed by Karl Lagerfeld, who cast her in a everyone did.” floorboards like a mouse.
couture campaign in 1992. But it was when The Brakas’ lives can appear deeply “I really want to be a responsible grown-up,
she cut her long, pale-red hair short and glamorous on the surface: famous artists at their but I can’t,” she says. “I will always be a child
dyed it blonde, and François Nars shaved off table, such as Paula Rego (I’m later shown in my head.” And with that, her mind starts
her eyebrows, that she became the poster girl into another drawing room where five of her to roam once more. She tells me she’s off to
for 1990s grunge and grew close to Helena canvases line the walls); nights with Nick Cave a Prince’s Trust dinner tonight, hosted by the
Christensen, Kate Moss, Linda Evangelista, and Susie Bick; dinners at Windsor Castle. Yet, Duchess of Cornwall at Windsor Castle. In
Amber Valletta and Naomi Campbell. “There the reality – at least for McMenamy – is a more typical McMenamy style, she asks: “Is it OK
needs to be more Naomis in the world,” introspective and family-centric one. She says to wear a pink feather and lace Dolce dress
she suddenly says. “You know – eccentrics.” she spends most of her time reading and tonight, or does black tie mean I have to wear
She remembers nights running around The listening to music. When not in London, the black to a royal event? It sheds feathers
Ritz Paris, going from room to room, drinking couple, who have six children between them wherever I go.” After a short deliberation, we
champagne. “Paris was crazy. I drank so much (some are apparently home, but none appear decide that a few pink feathers strewn across
champagne, I’m not sure I even liked it, but I while I’m there), spend days at their folly in Windsor Castle are, relatively speaking, not
liked being a girl from Pennsylvania drinking Norfolk, where Braka has planted 800,000 going to upset anyone. On the other hand, an
champagne. I did drugs, but I didn’t do tons; trees, for which he has just won The Georgian iconic model, I tell her, who shows up dressed
I drank a lot and partied a lot, but I didn’t let Group Architectural Award for best restoration like a lady who lunches, might well. She goes
it get in the way of my profession.” of a Georgian garden or landscape, and where for the feathers. 

223
VOGUE ASKS
Name an art book
that you love.
“Tim Walker: Story
Teller [Thames &
Hudson, £35].”

Do you have a favourite

scent? “I mix my own,
or Tom Ford Oud
Wood [£178].”

How would you spend

a day with your friend
Bethann Hardison?
“Gossiping by the
pool at Los Angeles’s
Sunset Tower Hotel.”

What’s the
ultimate party shoe?
“My Brother Vellies Bike
shoe is comfy enough
to cycle home in.”
Sandals, from £359,
Brother Vellies

What would
Aurora James do?
Advice on life and style from the Brother Vellies designer

COMPILED BY TIMOTHY HARRISON. CHRISTIAN CODY; GETTY IMAGES; PIXELATE.BIZ

I’m in LA for the weekend, what should I do?
“Visit the botanical gardens in Pasadena If you were allowed to raid anyone in the You have five minutes to get ready,
and the Getty Museum, and try the lavender
ice-cream at Mashti Malone’s.”
world’s wardrobe, whose would it be? what do you put on?
Diane von Furstenberg’s, for a buffalo-print A vintage Dior Bar Jacket and
wrap dress. over-the-knee boots.
Name the chicest How do you lift any room in a house?
place for dinner Vintage paper lamps by Ingo Maurer.
in New York? Do you have a scented candle of choice?
Altro Paradiso Cire Trudon Abd El Kader.
Describe your in SoHo for the Someone’s imitating my style, what do I say?
beauty routine. cacio e pepe. It depends if they’re copying you in your high
“Dr Barbara Where do you go school, or they’re copying you at Zara.
Sturm Darker
Skin Tones for one-of-a-kind What was your greatest-ever fashion purchase?
Foam Cleanser furniture? My Tom Ford Gucci bamboo watch.
[£45], Vintner’s
Daughter Active
Galerie Half in LA. Is there a piece of jewellery that’s suitable
Botanical Serum Describe your go-to for every occasion?
[£175], Nars How did you keep your cool winter outfit? A gold-mesh collar necklace.
Blush [£26] and at September’s Met Gala with
Dior Addict Lip Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez?
I love a minidress with What’s the worst cliché in fashion?
Glow [£30].” “Really deep breaths.” thigh-high boots. “Get the look for less.”