British Vogue - November 2020 PDF
British Vogue - November 2020 PDF
British Vogue - November 2020 PDF
Regulars
33 Editor’s letter
38 Vogue.co.uk
Coming up on Vogue Video
44 Notices
Meet the faces behind the issue
120 Checklist
Dark magic for winter nights
190 Forces for Change
To mark the 20th anniversary of
her ethical fashion brand, trailblazer
Stella McCartney talks to Dana
Thomas. Photographs by Campbell
Addy. Styling by Poppy Kain
228 Stockists
Vogue trends
50 ON THE COVER
Go grey
Steel your wardrobe for winter
“Juergen Teller
52 Take the long route
Cosy, maximum-length coats captures the
55 High & mighty Bellamacina sisters
dressed in
Walk tall in knee-high boots
56 Block party
Unmissable colour combinations this season’s best
58 Easy rider
cottagecore”
JUERGEN TELLER
21
CONTENTS
Right: Nabhaan
Rizwan – this
month’s Mr Vogue
(page 114) – wears
suit, from a
selection, Emporio
Armani. Shirt,
from £2,190,
Rochas. Belt, £830,
Hermès. Watch,
£15,200, Cartier
28
Subscribe to Turn to page 130 for our fantastic subscription offer, plus free gift
EDITOR’S LETTER
profoundly desirable. So perhaps it in her interview with Olivia Singer, on Loafers, £395,
Tricker’s.
was inevitable that this yearning for a page 164 – a vocal advocate for justice Left: Ganni’s
more fundamental reality and a less of many years standing. Talk about Ditte Reffstrup
embellished take on life made its way clarity of vision. at home in
Copenhagen,
on to the pages of our November issue In the accompanying shoot, you will on page 212
– from the pared-back precision and note that Serena is channelling the
emphasis on wearability in the Trends fashion mood of the moment: clean
section (page 50 onwards) to an ever- lines, crisp silhouettes and a classic
more conscious eye on sustainability palette that feels almost seasonless, yet
in our fashion choices. gives a fresh take on minimalism that
Then there is this month’s cover not only looks wonderful on the body
star, the irrepressible Serena Williams. but also feels right for the soul.
At 39, the sports icon has a career that, It really is all about the fundamentals
for longevity and impact, is almost right now. On page 198, photographer
without parallel. Hard-won victories on David Sims and stylist Joe McKenna
the tennis court, one match after another showcase that most enduring of fashion
over a quarter-century career, have left hues, and a defining trend of > 36
33
EDITOR’S LETTER The enduring appeal
of black, on page 198.
Merlijne Schorren
wears sweater, £1,450.
Shorts, £3,150. Both
Balenciaga. Tights, £27,
Wolford, at Selfridges.
Shoes, £185, Aeyde
36
Alhambra, celebrating luck since 1968
MINNIE J CARVER; TOM GILFILLAN; FLORIAN JOAHN; JESS KOHL; EMILY McDONALD.
SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES WERE FOLLOWED THROUGHOUT THESE FILM SHOOTS
38
NOTICES
In Pitch Perfect,
on page 198,
stylist Joe McKenna
joins forces with
photographer David
Sims to redefine
the rules on how to
wear black.
This month’s
cover star, Serena
Williams, was
photographed by
Zoë Ghertner in Los
Angeles earlier this
year. “We wanted
to see another side
of Serena’s strength
in these pictures,”
she explains. “Not
an obvious strength
but something softer,
an inner strength.”
IKE MUOTOH; THURSTAN REDDING; INEZ VAN LAMSWEERDE & VINOODH MATADIN
COMPILED BY TIMOTHY HARRISON. JOANNE BANKS; POPPY KAIN; HELENA KRIGE;
For this month’s interiors story,
on page 212, writer Kate Finnigan
found the Copenhagen home of
Ganni’s Ditte and Nicolaj Reffstrup
just as colourful as their much-loved
brand. Her personal takeaway?
On page 174, “I now want to spray all my
contributing fashion furniture with shiny car paint!”
director Venetia Scott
styles the Bellamacina
sisters in a story
featuring the season’s
cosiest knits, colourful
day dresses – and a
pair of llamas. “We
asked for one, and Ahead of her eponymous label’s
when the lady showed 20th anniversary, Stella McCartney is
up she had a wagon photographed – along with pieces from the
load,” Scott recalls. “It brand’s archive and spring 2021 collection
turns out llamas can – by Campbell Addy on page 190. So how did
only work in packs.” he hope the designer would feel in front of
the camera? “Sophisticated and beautiful –
two things Stella and her work stand for.”
44
EDWARD ENNINFUL
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
VOGUE.CO.UK
EXECUTIVE DIGITAL EDITOR KERRY McDERMOTT
SENIOR DIGITAL NEWS EDITOR ALICE NEWBOLD
WEEKEND & PLANNING EDITOR HAYLEY MAITLAND
AUDIENCE GROWTH MANAGER ALYSON LOWE
DIGITAL BEAUTY EDITOR HANNAH COATES
MISS VOGUE EDITOR NAOMI PIKE
STAFF WRITER SUSAN DEVANEY DIGITAL FASHION WRITER ALICE CARY
NETWORK EDITOR ELLE TIMMS AUDIENCE GROWTH EXECUTIVE ELEANOR DAVIES
SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR LEXXI DUFFY
SENIOR VIDEO PRODUCER & COMMISSIONER MINNIE J CARVER VIDEO ASSISTANT JESSICA VINCENT
DIGITAL PICTURE EDITOR & CONTENT PRODUCER PARVEEN NAROWALIA
DIGITAL PICTURE ASSISTANT POPPY ROY
COMMERCE WRITER HUMAA HUSSAIN
DIGITAL CREATIVE DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE ALEC MAXWELL
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
ADWOA ABOAH, RIZ AHMED, LAURA BAILEY, JACK BORKETT, SINEAD BURKE, LAURA BURLINGTON, VASSI CHAMBERLAIN, ALEXA CHUNG,
MICHAELA COEL, RONNIE COOKE NEWHOUSE, CLAUDIA CROFT, TANIA FARES, FUNMI FETTO, ALEXANDER GILKES, PARIS LEES, PATRICK MACKIE,
STEVE McQUEEN, JIMMY MOFFAT, KATE MOSS, SARAH MOWER, ROBIN MUIR, DURO OLOWU, LORRAINE PASCALE, MAX PEARMAIN,
HARRIET QUICK, CLARE RICHARDSON, ELIZABETH SALTZMAN, NONA SUMMERS, EMMA WEYMOUTH, HIKARI YOKOYAMA
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO PUBLISHING DIRECTOR & SUPPORT TEAM LEAD EMMA COX
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CALIBER RM 72-01
SALVATORE
STELLA McCARTNEY
JIL SANDER
HERMES
CHANEL
GABRIELE COLANGELO
ISABEL MARANT
THE ROW
COPERNI
PRADA
50
TRENDS
Edited by Julia Brenard
Styled by Jack Borkett
GO
GREY
In slippery silk, cashmere
and softest leather, grey
tailoring feels anything but
corporate. Photographs by
Valentin Giacobetti
HAIR: JOSEPH PUJALTE. MAKE-UP: KARIN WESTERLUND. NAILS: ANATOLE RAINEY. SET DESIGN: GIOVANNA MARTIAL.
SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES WERE FOLLOWED THROUGHOUT THIS PHOTOSHOOT. GORUNWAY; PIXELATE.BIZ
PRODUCTION: KITTEN PRODUCTION. MODELS: ALVA CLAIRE, ANA JORGE, MICHELLE LAFF, KENNAH LAU.
Take
the long
ROUTE
Mid-calf or ankle
skimming, this season’s
longline coat oozes style
THE ROW
BURBERRY
MIU MIU
LOEWE
52
TRENDS
Left: quilted
jacket, £1,363,
Atlein. Corset,
£4,450, Giorgio
Armani. Belt,
£345, Isabel
Marant. Skirt,
from £530, Zadig
& Voltaire. Boots,
£1,500, Celine
by Hedi Slimane
GABRIELE COLANGELO
High &
MIGHTY
In rich shades of conker, tan, olive
and black, the knee-high boot is the
OSCAR DE LA RENTA
chicest way to walk into winter
VALENTIN GIACOBETTI; JASON LLOYD-EVANS;
MITCHELL SAMS; GORUNWAY; PIXELATE.BIZ
£1,175, Jimmy Choo £725, Joseph £800, Jil Sander £995, Gabriela Hearst £1,695, Sweethearts of the Rodeo
by Lucie & Luke Meier
55
Coat, £2,345. Polo
neck, £395. Both
Alberta Ferretti.
Culottes, £750. Belt,
£450. Both Victoria
Beckham. Bag,
£3,320, Bottega
Veneta. Earrings and
ring, to order. Both
Tétier Bijoux
Block
Clockwise from PARTY
OSCAR DE LA RENTA
above: sandals,
from £375,
Brother Vellies.
Skirt, £910,
Fenty. Clutch, Full-on colour in considered
£2,260, Prada.
Shirt, from combinations and refined silhouettes
£320, Bevza
will deliver sophisticated optimism
TRENDS
MAISON MARGIELA
PRADA
Clockwise
from left:
trousers, £350,
Pleats Please
Issey Miyake.
ALBERTA FERRETTI
Bag, £850,
Acne Studios.
Ribbed-knit
shirt, £2,185,
Bottega Veneta.
Sandals, from
£540, Nodaleto
57
TRENDS
Top, from
a selection.
Trousers,
£1,810. Both
Louis Vuitton
EASY rider
VALENTIN GIACOBETTI; GORUNWAY; PIXELATE.BIZ
autumn/winter collections.
In real life? Go for glamour
RAF SIMONS
KHAITE
FENDI
lipstick-red leathers
58
TRENDS
Gold-plated chain,
from £1,030,
Ambush. Silver
chain, from £1,615,
Le Gramme
BOTTEGA VENETA
Belted coat with
chain detail, from
£1,740, Rokh, at
Modaoperandi.com.
Dress, £629, Alyx.
Bag, £760. Gloves,
from a selection.
Both D’heygere, at
Ssense.com. Large
silver link necklace,
£4,500, Hermès.
White necklace,
from £490, ALBERTA FERRETTI
Off-White. Small
silver link necklace,
£1,500, Charlotte
Chesnais & Byredo
VALENTIN GIACOBETTI; GORUNWAY; PIXELATE.BIZ
Linked IN
The most direct
way to connect with the
season’s toughest look?
A heavyweight
curb-link necklace
61
TRENDS
SWEET
SPOT
Racy, big-cat prints
are never out of style – go
head-to-toe for the win
Dress, £2,450,
Celine by Hedi
Slimane. Sandals,
£765, Miu Miu.
Earrings, £280,
D’heygere, at
Dover Street
Market
EDITED BY DONNA WALLACE. VALENTIN GIACOBETTI; GORUNWAY; PIXELATE.BIZ
BURBERRY
MIU MIU
ALYX
63
Jacket, £599.
Trousers, £349.
Both Boss. Shirt,
from £310. Tie,
from a selection.
Both Rokh. Ring,
£315, Alan Crocetti,
at Mytheresa.com
MARGARET HOWELL
TOGA
ROKH
Suits
YOU
Slouchy trouser suits, skinny
neckties and oversized blazers are
a smart choice, says Osman Ahmed
I
n fashion, everything comes full circle – even,
it seems, your school uniform. What was once
our canvas for detention-worthy customisation
and rebellious acts of self-expression has now
been translated into a thoroughly contemporary
composite of smart shirts, sharp tailoring,
traditional waistcoats and ties, too.
Back in February, designers set an autumn
curriculum of super-luxe uniforms and masculine
silhouettes – but thankfully there wasn’t a Teflon
coating in sight. Miuccia Prada opened her
show with broad-shouldered blazers, weighty
herringbone overcoats and slinky cashmere
sweaters; almost every look layered over neat shirts
with whippet-thin, Windsor-knotted neckties.
From left: jacket, £2,150. At Dior, we saw nipped-in Bar jackets, white
Waistcoat, £740. Trousers,
£690. All Celine by shirts and black tulle ties – a vision that Maria
Hedi Slimane. Jacket, Grazia Chiuri reiterated, pairing her looks with
from £2,140. Trousers, long blazers, double-breasted waistcoats and
from £930. Both Peter
Do, at Joseph schoolyard satchels slung crossbody. The new
64
TRENDS
Clockwise from left: boots, £845,
Bottega Veneta. Shirt, £420, Ralph
Lauren Purple Label. Tie, £160, Gucci.
Earring, £598, Hirotaka. Bag, £1,250,
Burberry. Watch, £23,000, Cartier
Pair with
BOTTEGA VENETA
LOUIS VUITTON
CHLOE
ALYX
in a crisp white shirt, burgundy satin tie, Martine Rose. “For me, as a designer and a bespoke service. An entirely personalised
pinstripe waistcoat and matching mile-long woman, I enjoy the subversion of wearing experience that takes two to six weeks,
trousers (all by London-based designer menswear,” says Rose, whose perpendicular- from the initial consultation to the selection
Dilara Findikoglu). Just a few days prior, shouldered tailoring is technically for men, of Loro Piana fabrics to the final fitting,
she had closed the Alyx show in – you guessed but attracts just as many dapper female it brings the notoriously macho world of
it – a crisp white shirt, black leather tie and devotees (“almost 50-50”), including Rihanna bespoke menswear to a fashion-savvy female
black cigarette pants. and Hailey Bieber. “Nowadays, if men are customer. “Your £4,000 won’t take you far on
The hallmarks of a masculine wardrobe have wearing suits, they’re not wearing them in Bond Street, but investing it in a bespoke
walked back into the frame with wide legs conventional ways,” she adds. “There’s an made-in-London suit is an investment
and comfortable strides. But gone are the days interesting twist when women do.” that lasts a lifetime,” she explains.
when women had to dress like this to be taken Besides, is there really anything worse Eagle is also quick to point out her favourite
seriously in positions of power; there is a self- than the contrived femininity of a “boyfriend benefit of a two-piece uniform – namely that
determined liberation and a knowing irony in fit ”? Sometimes a woman just wants a it sees you from avo toast at breakfast to an
the new approach. In 2020, you can choose straightforward, straight-cut suit. At Celine, end-of-evening nightcap, leaving more time
to wear a frothy dress one minute, but relish where the tie-fastened tailoring is arguably for, let’s just say, extracurricular activities.
the rigour of a three-piece suit the next. It Hedi Slimane’s speciality, everything is As she puts it: “It makes it so much less
helps that nothing is as comfortable as a gender-fluid, which means those cigarillo- stressful to get dressed, and to be honest, I’d
perfectly tailored suit, or as sharp as a shirt, thin, ever-so-slightly sequinned pinstripes rather be shagging my husband than faffing
or – come to think of it – as intellectually sexy in the menswear shows are waiting in-store about accessorising in the morning.” n
65
VOGUE DARLING
“A hundred
squats every
morning will
change your
whole body.
I always wear
Nike when
I’m training.”
Leggings, £60.
Top, £32. Both “My friends and I go
Nike, at Net-a- “I use African black to Satay Bar in Brixton,
porter.com soap to wash my face. And I love and I’ll dance till I can’t
natural sea moss face masks.” dance any more.”
PuretŽ Nature Alata Samina soap, £8
Shaina
wears leather
dress, £6,490.
Earring, £650.
Both Alexander
McQueen.
Photograph:
Laura Bailey.
Styling: Julia
Brenard
HAIR: CHARLOTTE MENSAH. MAKE-UP: BERNICIA BOATENG. NAILS: ROBBIE TOMKINS. DIGITAL ARTWORK: JOHN HEYES. SOCIAL
DISTANCING RULES WERE FOLLOWED THROUGHOUT THIS PHOTOSHOOT. ALLSTAR/GOLDEN WAY FILMS; TCD/VP/LMKMEDIA
Shaina West
“In good time, I will be a superhero.” That’s
what Brixton-born Shaina West promised her
“I idolise bedridden 20-year-old self after she totalled
Jackie Chan – he
revolutionised her motorbike, was dumped by a boyfriend
action and and lost her job – all in the space of a month.
martial arts.
I love Drunken Fast forward six years, and West – now a self-
Master and Rush taught martial artist and stunt person – is set
Hour. I’m inspired to make her big-screen debut in Marvel’s
by the female
characters in Black Widow, alongside Scarlett Johansson
Kill Bill, too.” and Florence Pugh. “Martial arts were like
this golden elixir,” she says of teaching herself
daring sword-twirling antics and eye-popping
“No expense knife tricks. She would post videos to
spared? The
motorbike of Instagram, where she quickly amassed in excess
my dreams of 300,000 followers, among them an agent
is the BMW S
1000 RR [from
who helped her land the role as one of a team
£15,585].” of black widows – villainous Russian assassins.
“There I was, this fresh-faced girl who just
had this big dream, trying all these crazy
“The Avengers soundtrack
is great workout music. things,” she says of being on set. Like any true
There’s nothing better than superhero, she’s pure determination: “Mark
running on a treadmill,
feeling like you’re in a movie
my words – I will have amazing things for you
fighting for the world.” to see in the near future.” Timothy Harrison
66
JEWELLERY
IN FINE FORM
Meet five black, British-based designers working
to reshape the world of haute jewellery.
By Rachel Garrahan.
Photographs by Ronan Mckenzie.
Styling by Poppy Kain
T
he fine jewellery industry can seem an intimidating one to those looking
up at its exquisitely gem-set ivory tower from beyond its walls.
Entry is a particular challenge for anyone who lacks the finances or
industry connections to break through its high-security doors. And if
you are a black student or jeweller, there is a chance you will also encounter racial
discrimination along the way. A mixture of systemic racism, unconscious bias and
overt prejudice means that many people of colour lack the opportunities to enter,
let alone thrive, in the trade. Few schoolchildren are aware it is even an option.
Jeweller Melanie Eddy says that no black jewellery student has graduated from
the MA jewellery design programme at Central Saint Martins (of which she
herself is an alumna) in the six years that she has been teaching on the course.
“It breaks my heart that they aren’t coming through,” she says.
There are positive signs, however, that long overdue and lasting change is on
its way. As Black Lives Matter protests surged with reinforced urgency this year,
following George Floyd’s death in May, so too have demands from within the
global jewellery industry to create a more inclusive, nurturing future for anyone
with the necessary passion and talent. In Britain in June, activist and jeweller
Kassandra Lauren Gordon established a fund – in collaboration with the
Goldsmiths’ Company’s charity team – to provide immediate financial relief
to 21 black jewellers struggling in the aftermath of Covid-19.
Californian jeweller Lauren Harwell Godfrey is among the independent jewellers
to have turned to fundraising through sales of their jewellery – so far, her black
onyx, diamond and gold heart pendants have raised more than £74,000 for the
American civil-rights organisation NAACP. Hers is also among the jewellery
brands that established the Art Smith Memorial Scholarship Fund (named after Gold, golden-rutile and
the New York mid-century modernist black jeweller), to support black jewellery smoky-quartz necklace,
students at Manhattan’s Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). Jacqueline Rabun &
Carpenters Workshop
And if young jewellery enthusiasts would like further inspiration, they need look Gallery. Gold hoop earrings,
no further than Vogue’s pick of the black jewellers in Britain who have beaten the smoky-quartz ring, wide
odds, to establish themselves with their sheer talent and design eye. One such gold band and gold pinky
ring, Jacqueline Rabun.
designer is Jacqueline Rabun, the American-born, London-based jeweller whose Gold bracelets and gold
eponymous brand this year celebrates 30 years of effortlessly sensual, contemporary stacking rings, Jacqueline
design. When she was growing up in California, Rabun’s parents would polish her Rabun for Georg Jensen.
Dress, £1,190, Jil Sander, at
and her siblings’ shoes with Vaseline. “People could judge you on the colour of your Matchesfashion.com
skin but if you always looked shiny and impeccable, that was the one thing they
couldn’t judge you on,” she says. She acknowledges that racism in the industry is Hair: Charlotte Mensah.
an issue, just as it is in so many walks of life, but she puts her heart and soul into Make-up: Ammy Drammeh.
Nails: Pebbles Aikens.
her work so that it can speak for itself. “My work is my weapon and my activism,” Set design: Kim Harding.
she says. “Colour is not the issue. It’s your talent that shines.” Amen to that. > Digital artwork: Post Apollo
70
JACQUELINE RABUN
Jacqueline Rabun established her
jewellery brand in 1990, after
moving to London from Los Angeles,
and her powerful aesthetic
champions elegance and simplicity.
Rabun’s This year she celebrates 21 years of
powerful aesthetic
collaboration with design house
Georg Jensen, and this month she
champions elegance
unveils her latest solo project,
Metanoia, at Mayfair’s Carpenters
71
JEWELLERY EMEFA COLE
The daughter of an Ewe chief
in Ghana, Emefa Cole moved to
London when she was 12. The
strength of her African heritage
lives large, however, in her bold
and sculptural jewels. In recent
years, since her father and
grandfather passed away, the
40-year-old has a renewed
passion for her home country,
and recently studied lost wax-
carving techniques with
Ghanaian goldsmiths.
Recognition in the UK has also
come, with one of her rings
entering the permanent jewellery
collection of the V&A. “It’s my
favourite collection in the world,”
says Cole, “and to be a part of
that is an amazing feeling.”
72
MELANIE EDDY
“Multifaceted” neatly describes
both Melanie Eddy’s career
and her jewellery aesthetic.
Rarely have you seen a CV so
packed – from handcrafting
her architecture-inspired jewels
to teaching at Central Saint
Martins and supporting
Afghan goldsmiths for the
Turquoise Mountain foundation.
The 41-year-old came to
London from Bermuda in 2004,
and has been here ever since.
“Thanks to the people who
believed in me, I was able
to enter the industry through
an unconventional route,” she
says. She hopes to do the same
for others: “It’s not just about
providing opportunities, it’s
about inspiring confidence.” >
73
SIMONE BREWSTER
During this summer’s enforced
pandemic pause, it occurred to
Simone Brewster, 37, that she
should describe herself as an
artist. The child of Caribbean
parents, she’s a graduate of the
master’s programme in product
design at the Royal College of
Art. A polymath who designs
furniture and objects, as well
as jewellery, during lockdown
she added painting to the list.
It was also then that she saw
that exploring womanhood, in
all its forms, is what drives her.
“I work in so many disciplines,
I realised it’s the ideas behind
them that carry them through,”
she says. And she wants her
jewels to empower their wearer:
“Femininity isn’t just about
softness but about strength.”
Gold-vermeil earrings,
£300. Gold-vermeil pendant
necklace. Gold-vermeil
rings, from £320 each. All
Simone Brewster Jewellery.
Dress, to order, Dior
Exploring
womanhood,
in all its forms,
is what drives
Brewster
74
JEWELLERY
JEFF AWAH
The refined work of Jeff Awah
– who is known to all by his last
name – belies the fact that he
is a relative newcomer to the
jewellery scene. He acquired
his creative chops as a product
designer and illustrator before
branching out into stained
glass, and it was that transition
that made him realise jewellery
was his true destiny. “Just as
with glass, I love the play of
light on facets of metal,” says
the self-taught jeweller, 35.
Awah established his brand,
Laud, two years ago, and his
unisex collection – which
embodies the rawness and
texture of the furniture and
sculpture of his childhood home
in Kumasi, Ghana – is already
stocked at Browns, Mr Porter
and Dover Street Market. n
Gold, multicoloured-
sapphire and ruby ring,
£17,000. Gold ring set with
multicoloured-sapphires
and rubies, £8,500.
Gold bracelet, £6,000. All
Laud, at Browns. Shirt,
£385, Bianca Saunders, at
Matchesfashion.com.
Prices on request unless
otherwise stated.
For stockists, all pages,
see Vogue Information
75
WATCHES
ORE
From top: steel and yellow gold,
£2,920, Tudor. Steel and
gold-plated, £2,000, Tag Heuer
STRUCK
Why settle for steel or gold when you can
have both? These super-chic two-tone watches
channel the ’80s in the best way possible,
says Rachel Garrahan
GREGORY HARRIS/TRUNK ARCHIVE
77
DO
LOOK
NOW
From a new gallery
opening to the latest must-
reads, autumn’s cultural
checklist is full of delights,
finds Olivia Marks
READ
F
a life in a world in which they are
or Phoebe Saatchi Yates and her husband had built up an online following and community made to feel they don’t belong. In her
debut novel, White Ivy (out on 5
Arthur Yates – founders of the soon-to- by live-streaming his painting process,” explains November), Susie Yang’s protagonist,
open Saatchi Yates gallery on Mayfair’s Phoebe. “We luckily stumbled across his world Ivy Lin, is desperate to assimilate
with her wealthy American classmates
historic Cork Street – the search for new in the depths of the internet and fell in love.” after moving to Boston from China.
artists is all about “looking in the wrong places”. Speaking of, what is working as a married couple As an adult years later, Ivy chances
“With Instagram and TikTok, you can find like? “If you were a psychiatrist, you’d probably upon her high-school crush, the
waspish Gideon Speyer, and works
strange corners where artists are making fantastic think there was something very wrong with us,” her way to the centre of his world.
work,” says Arthur. After all, their USP is to “break laughs Arthur of their “co-dependent” relationship. But is this life the one she truly
brand new stars into the market”, by giving unseen “But it’s fun, it works.” Indeed, it’s a family affair wants? Meanwhile, in We Keep the
Dead Close (out on 12 November),
and emerging artists a chance to exhibit in a huge – Phoebe’s father, Charles Saatchi, is working Becky Cooper masterfully uncovers
space (the gallery is 10,000sq ft) before they’ve alongside the couple as adviser. “We’re very the story of Harvard undergrad Jane
Britton, who was found bludgeoned
shown anywhere else. “What’s important for the traditional, very close,” smiles Phoebe. to death at the university in 1969.
artists we’re showing is that they’re doing something Even though they are opening their doors
completely original and new,” says Arthur. “All the during a wildly uncertain time, the pair are fearless
art we show needs to be radically different.” about the future. “We’re really positive and I think Above left: Phoebe
Take Swiss-born, London-based Pascal Sender, people will be looking for something like this,” Saatchi Yates and
her husband and
who will be the first artist to be exhibited at Phoebe says. “We want to be a shining light gallery co-founder
Saatchi Yates when it opens this month. “Pascal in the doom.” Arthur Yates
78
ARTS & CULTURE
Mackenzie
Davis and
Kristen
Stewart star
WATCH in Happiest
Season
I
n Happiest Season, Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis opportunity to tell a universal story from a new perspective,
star as Abby and Harper: a newly engaged couple who one that will resonate with anyone who has been in love,
are spending Christmas with Harper’s family. Abby is who has struggled with themselves and/or their family,
keen to announce their impending nuptials, but there’s and who has braved the holidays.” While prepping, DuVall
a hitch: Harper has not come out to her conservative parents. looked to romantic comedy classics. “I am very accepting
“I’ve always been a fan of holiday movies, but I had never when it comes to holiday movies,” she says. “There’s
seen my own experience represented,” says Clea DuVall, something about immersing myself in the spirit of the
the movie’s director and co-writer, of the inspiration behind holidays that disables the critical part of my brain. I love
the film. “If there is an LGBTQ+ character they are usually that during them everyday life feels a little bit different.”
in small supporting roles. Happiest Season felt like an In cinemas on 27 November
VISIT
EXHIBITIONS COMPILED BY TIMOTHY HARRISON. RORY DCS; FLORIAN KLEINEFENN; NICK KNIGHT; MING SMITH; THE ESTATE OF ANTONIO LOPEZ
5 In Strange Attractors at
Tate St Ives, Haegue Yang
will present sculpture on
a show-stopping scale
(right) in the celebrated
South Korean artist’s
largest UK exhibition.
From 24 October
to 3 May 2021
79
Welcome to Wedgwood
wedgwood.com
ARTS & CULTURE
Rouge
agent
There are two sides to every
story, as Karen Elson’s first
book – a blend of fashion
photography and memoir
– proves to powerful effect.
By Giles Hattersley
I
n her debut book, an intoxicating
weave of memoir with megawatt
photography, Karen Elson – the
fin de siècle model from Bolton –
describes herself as “a dutiful student”
of the masters who have chronicled her.
Certainly they are all here: Avedon,
Penn, Meisel, Lindbergh… And yet,
transformed every which way over a
STEVEN MEISEL; TIM WALKER; HARLEY WEIR
81
LIVING
“Because I’m a
big fan of pearls,
it’s key to me
that any I buy
are sourced
sustainably
– like the ones
used in these
earrings.”
Earrings,
£65, Mejuri
“Maison Commune
LIFE &
sources amazing, eco-
conscious homewares,
such as this soap dish,
which is made from
recycled gold marble.”
STYLE
Soap dish, £95,
Maison Commune
“‘Everything we do,
Home and fashion hits,
we do with the planet
in mind,’ says Riley
selected by Julia Sarr-Jamois
Studio of its brand
ethos, which only
makes me love this
recycled-cashmere “With its smart
sweater even more.” temperature display,
Sweater, £280, this sleek flask
Riley Studio from Loumann is a
seriously clever way
to stay hydrated.”
Water bottle, from
£45, Loumann
OLIVER HADLEE PEARCH; NADINE IJEWERE
83
ON SALE 6 NOVEMBER
From pregnancy to parenthood and beyond, Mini Vogue returns to
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FOOD & DRINK
Edited by Olivia Marks
IRVING PENN, STILL LIFE WITH WATERMELON, NEW YORK, 1947
CHIC EATS,
HOT TABLES,
GLORIOUS COCKTAILS
TRUE SIMPLICITY
Our eggs are patiently laid by traditional breed birds originating from rare breed ancestors.
It’s our heritage that gives them their unique flavour. Demand the best - look for the crown.
clarencecourt.co.uk
FOOD & DRINK
I SMOOTH MOVE
s there really such a thing as a roast chicken with a cult
following? If you’ve been to NoMad – the New York
hotel named after the Manhattan neighbourhood where
it was founded, nearly a decade ago – you’ll know that,
yes, there very much is.
New York’s NoMad Hotel is getting ready to put down
Roasted with foie gras, black truffle and brioche, that roots in Covent Garden, says Timothy Harrison
4
chicken is now winging its way to Covent Garden, as NoMad’s
long-anticipated London offshoot finally opens its doors in
December. It’s housed in the Grade II-listed former Bow
Street Magistrates’ Court, opposite the Royal Opera House,
and the interior design follows an elegant formula of
layered dark reds and greens with plenty of bohemian curtains
and cushions. A collection of European and American
contemporary art dots the walls, paying special attention to MORE TO KNOW
Martin Parr’s photography, and upstairs there are 92 rooms.
In the restaurant – a light-filled atrium that could pass for Morning-till-night bakery and restaurant
an Edwardian greenhouse – other favourites from the original Big Jo (right), on Hornsey Road, is the latest
sustainably minded opening from Westerns
menu will get a British-inspired refresh. “We want to put Laundry founders David Gingell and Jeremie
good food on the plate, but we don’t want it to be something Cometto-Lingenheim. Its in-house flour mills
that you have to think about,” executive chef Ian Coogan, and pastry ovens are used to delicious effect.
whose CV lists a tenure at three-Michelin-starred Eleven
Madison Park, tells Vogue ahead of the opening. The team behind This month, the
star Italians Gloria duo behind Native
Meanwhile, a bar located off the main dining room, aptly
PATRICIA NIVEN; SIMON UPTON
89
FORBIDDEN FRUIT
For the young Yemisí Aríbisálà, now an author, desire was transmuted into creamy
Boursin and sugary-sweet Eccles cakes, but her appetite for true love was not to be sated
T
he language of our hearts was caboose-patois, because so much fool.” I always wanted to get that off my chest. But by then, it was too
of our brief affair was spent in the kitchen. This was either late to talk about the things we were really talking about.
coincidence or a desperate attempt to reconcile Pentecostalism Food was how we articulated the things that were too volatile to pass
and brimming sensuality. We met, you see, at a Christian through lips. In caboose-patois, cooking was love, while hot pepper was
prayer group hosted by a Caribbean couple on the Cardiff University sometimes desire, sometimes strong disagreement, and all too often a
campus. It started in spring but had been in the air for longer – since pool of fire that a British man refused to cross. Pudding was heavy,
winter, maybe. I stole the first kiss in my room. I was forward like that, warm sweetness and a contemplative wrestling of spoon, tongue and
then. Fearless, not a very good born-again Christian. Kiss-stealing was soft material… consolation for everything from terrible news headlines
a no-no. As were premarital sneak previews and hors d’oeuvres such as to silent dismay over the expanding bulge around my mid-region.
feeling for knots in shoulders and backs. Everything was forbidden. And We were not fluent in the language we had invented. If he had said,
because it was forbidden, we nervously craved and fantasised and salivated “It’s the heat of those brutal stews! How can I eat that every day, for
over it. After that first kiss, we decided we needed the presence of other the rest of my life? And African chicken and glue soup! And you’re no
people. The kitchen had the soothing mood of a thoroughfare. So we better, you hate fudge and Eccles cakes, all the sweet things I hoped
stayed in the kitchen because we were safe there. Sweaty palmed and I would have in common with the person I’m with… That time I took
without privacy, but safe. Eating was a much-needed detour from desire. you home to meet my parents – you didn’t have to go and eat almost
We weren’t ever going to be sated but there was thickly spread garlic the whole quiche in one sitting. It wasn’t helpful.” This quiche was the
Boursin on fresh French bread and on sunny days we downed cold Belgian one his mother had left in the fridge as a welcome meal. In my opinion,
beer in the shade until we were wheezing with mysterious fevers. There it was a small quiche considering the length of our train journey there.
was an underlying chill to the summer days after the sun set late at night I could easily have eaten two quiches rather than three-quarters of one.
that never failed to catch me by surprise. I’m from Nigeria, a country In hindsight, the problem was not eating an inappropriate portion of
where the sun sets at around 7pm throughout the year. I was fascinated a small quiche but my unwelcome presence in his family’s home.
by this realm where evening and night were negotiable premises. Our last notable days together were spent in Hull, rather than the
We shopped for food at the local Sainsbury’s with the same seriousness kitchen where we had made custard for cake (to his astonishment,
as we attended our church and prayer groups. We cooked and we ate I left the sugar out. To me, the cake already had enough) or split a pie
together. We spoke often about getting married. It felt like a done deal, we had bought (my half sprinkled aggressively with pepper). It was in
so much so that we naively voiced the desire for children. The kissing Hull I discovered that I didn’t like Eccles cakes. I loved the way they
was potent yet familiar, like the sliding melting mannerisms of Yoruba looked, but they were too crowded-sweetness for my Nigerian palate.
stews, fragrant and hot as the hellfire we were At the end of one evening, maybe the last that counted,
playing with. But our small world’s universal we lay in the tall grass looking up at a star-peppered
understanding forbade direct dialect about many FOOD FOR THOUGHT sky. As I lay there, I held on to the view and the night,
fundamental things. It was as if we placed a pot to our secret recipes and the forgiveness of human
with half its bottom on the hob fire; his colour, Nigella Lawson’s weakness and British pudding, and to those things
Cook, Eat, Repeat
my colour, our backgrounds, all were topics we is a new collection that can’t be marred by prejudice, such as the universal
anxiously circumvented. In the end he was the of recipes based language of a well-cooked meal or a grace said in any
one who brutally reneged, bringing up Andalusian on her favourite language of any people in the world. It was there in
ingredients,
paella and African chickens, saying that if I had interwoven with the grass that he refused the nickname I offered him.
been from the right side of the Strait of Gibraltar personal essays. He had asked me for a name that was just between
Out on 29 October
his parents would love and accept me. He ended (Vintage, £25) the two of us. I offered him “Moin-moin” and he
the relationship by saying very plainly, very declined it. He didn’t want to be some soft, steamed,
dejectedly, that there were uncharted gorges For her memoir, savoury bean cake that I loved.
Hungry, restaurant
between Lagos and Bournemouth. If I had been, critic Grace Dent Moin-moin was important, I wanted to say, because
for example, Spanish, he said, then our cultures reviews her life in it was food you asked a love interest to cook for you.
would be similar, the plane journey shorter, food, from mince If it turned out well, if it held together, then there
in 1980s Carlisle
Euro-channel accessible, waters meeting in the to Michelin-starred was hope. And I had hoped what was between us
Mediterranean, skin tones complementing in meals. Out on 29 was like a brilliant moin-moin hack in a cold, foreign
October (Harper
temperate sun. It was so heart-rendingly dreadful, Collins, £17)
country, where desperate cravings call for desperate
I wanted to riposte in eardrum-bursting Nigerian measures, where half of the crucial ingredients
intonation, “What about Melilla fish stew… In Restore, are missing, and there is no pot for steaming the
drowned migrant souls fleeing for their lives, chef Gizzi Erskine wrapped blend of beans, onions, pepper and oil,
offers more than
whose bodies and yearnings have closed up any a hundred new
no thaumatococcus-daniellii ewe-eran leaves, but you
gaps between our continents. There is no such recipes that are make it anyway, just for two, and it is good. n
thing as an African chicken. Nor West African, as good for the In the Kitchen (Daunt Books, £10), an anthology of essays
planet as they are
West Coastal African, Sub-Saharan chicken, you to eat. Out on 29 about food and life, is out now
October (Harper
Collins, £25)
FOOD & DRINK
91
VOGUE PARTNERSHIP
Celebrate
IN STYLE
Leave the sparkling wine to the traditionalists:
the best way to celebrate in 2020 is with a glass
of beautifully presented Glenfiddich Grand Cru
– a luxurious single malt whisky for the most stylish
of nonconformists. Photographs by Amy Currell.
Styling by Kelly-Ann Hughes
FESTIVE SPIRIT
It’s no secret that any truly festive occasion
requires a well-chosen party dress and
lashings of elegant jewellery. This year,
however, the most coveted accessory
of the season might just be served on the
rocks. After all, Glenfiddich – the creator
of the world’s most-decorated Scotch
– has been renowned for its maverick-like
whisky innovation for more than 130
years. With notes of apple blossom and
sandalwood, candied lemon and pear,
its 23-year-old single malt Glenfiddich
Grand Cru is the essence of celebration:
wonderfully decadent and impossible to
forget. Go bold and savour its distinctive
flavour neat – or raise a coupe of whisky
and soda in honour of the holidays.
On right hand:
from left, diamond
ring, £1,520,
Patcharavipa. Gold
and diamond ring,
£27,200, Cartier.
Rose-gold, topaz and
diamond ring,
£9,000, Pomellato.
On left hand: from
left, vintage ring,
£45, Gillian Horsup.
Gold and citrin ring,
£6,900, Boucheron.
On left wrist:
bracelet, £350,
Alighieri. On table:
from left, ring, £210,
Alighieri. Bangle,
£1,310, Pomellato
SET DESIGN: PENNY MILLS. OPPOSITE; GLASSES, MIXOLOGIST’S OWN. THIS PAGE; FLUTED DOUBLE OLD FASHIONED TUMBLER,
£75, RICHARD BRENDON, AT THE CONRAN SHOP. MERCER COPPER WEIGHTED BAR SPOON, £14, DIVERTIMENTI
THE
boxes of the yummiest delights – it’s a treat you
want to have every night of the week.”
The ideal Jackson Boxer
accompaniment
MATCH
“Happy Endings ice-
for a vermouth cream sandwiches
over ice with a slab (left) became my
treat at the end of
MAKER
of citrus? Salty,
a long day. I’ve had
oily, meaty Ortiz to wean myself off
anchovies. Aged them, but I put a
in saltwater for a stash in deep-freeze
minimum of six at home to keep
months, these are Restaurant consultant the affair alive.”
Glacial waters
off the coast of
Alaska are some
of the cleanest in
the world
APPLE GALETTE
Ingredients for dough
175g unsalted butter
225g strong white bread flour
12g caster sugar
5g fine salt
70ml ice-cold water
Method
Cube butter into 1cm pieces (irregular is fine) and chill well
– either 20 minutes in the freezer or overnight in the fridge.
Mix the flour, sugar and salt together in a bowl. Add in the
butter – slowly mix until it resembles breadcrumbs but leave
Ravneet Gill (left) and Nicola Lamb a few big pea-sized pieces of butter. Add in the ice water,
(above) went from feeding mouths
at their cult bakery, Puff, to teaching
mix quickly to form a dough. Handle it as little as possible,
the world to cook and feed others bring it together on the bench. Add in a fold to make it
extra flaky: form into a rectangle and roll out to double its
length and then fold dough into three, like a letter. Shape
into a disc, wrap tightly and rest in the fridge for a minimum
of two hours, or overnight. Cut your apples into thin slices,
Baking new
toss with lemon juice to stop from going brown. Toss with
melted butter, zest, sugar and any spices you’d like.
Meanwhile, roll out your flaky galette dough to approximately
ground
23cm long and 0.5cm thick. Arrange the apple slices in a
pattern on the dough, leaving a 4cm border around the
edge. Fold the edges of the galette dough in on top of the
apples, overlapping slightly to close. Brush crust with
egg wash and sprinkle your galette with demerara sugar.
Bake at 180C fan for 30 to 40 minutes until golden,
Meet Nicola Lamb and Ravneet Gill, puffed and beautiful. Brush with a little apricot jam or
the bakers mixing things up with something shiny and clear when it comes out.
I
Ingredients for cake
f lockdown has taught us anything, it’s that we truly are a nation 2 large eggs (Vogue recommends
who loves to bake. We have found solace in sustaining our Clarence Court’s Burford Browns)
2 blood orange zests
sourdough starters and buried our heads in loaf after loaf of banana 115ml olive oil
bread, endlessly documenting our culinary successes (although 80g yoghurt
not so many failures) on social media. But some intrepid home cooks 50ml blood-orange juice
are hungry for more. Cue chefs Nicola Lamb and Ravneet Gill, who 15ml lemon juice
opened the doors to their virtual pastry school back in April, and now 140g caster sugar
95g plain flour
have more than 2,000 committed pupils learning how to make such 4g baking powder
delectable delights as choux buns filled with hazelnut crème mousseline, 1g bicarbonate of soda
buttery palmiers, dark chocolate and mascarpone millefeuille, and
gorgeous fruit galettes. A banana bread tutorial, this is not. Ingredients for syrup
75ml blood-orange juice
Pre-pandemic, Lamb and Gill were the stars of cult bakery pop-up 75g caster sugar
Puff, but when that became unfeasible they quickly realised “if we
ISSY CROKER; SOPHIE DAVIDSON
couldn’t feed people in real life, we wanted to give them the skills so Method
they could feed their neighbours and loved ones,” Lamb tells Vogue. For the cake, mix all of the wet ingredients together.
The pair are serious about it, too – they devised two curriculums Separately mix all of the dry ingredients together. Mix
everything together to form a batter. Bake in a round tin or
(split into volumes), record a weekly theory podcast and hold a live loaf tin for 45 minutes to an hour (170C or 160C fan) until a
Q&A once a week to answer any students’ pastry-shaped problems. skewer comes out clean when inserted. Make a syrup by heating
“It’s so amazing to see the evolution of the students,” enthuses Gill. the two ingredients together then brush over the cake. Allow to
“Some of them are better than me.” Think you’ve got what it takes? cool before serving with more yoghurt or mascarpone.
Head to Puffthebakery.co.uk to enrol. Olivia Marks n
96
VOGUE PARTNERSHIP
A MODERN WAY
Cocktails, from top:
the bourbon-based
Breathless Charm
at American Bar,
TO CELEBRATE
The Savoy; gin and
grapefruit liquor
make for a sweet
combination in
the Cabo Verde
at Oriole Bar
As the official partner of the World’s 50
Best Bars, Perrier knows the finest places in
London to sample superior cocktails
GONE ARE THE days when the verdict on cocktails was the stronger, the
better. Now, the ideal beverage is refreshing rather than overpowering, allowing
the nuanced flavours of ingredients to shine through (and preventing overindulgence).
Enter Perrier, whose premium sparkling water has been a key ingredient in
some of the best-loved cocktails of the last 100 years – and is the secret to staying
fresh and hydrated throughout party season. With its high carbonation and low
minerality making it the perfect dilution for world-class tipples, it’s no wonder it
has a place on virtually every leading cocktail menu in London.
Among the elegant places to sample a Perrier-based cocktail? The legendary
American Bar at The Savoy, home to some of the world’s finest mixologists who
have been serving up cocktails for over 130 years, including the Breathless Charm
– a delicate combination of bourbon, orange blossom water and Perrier. The hotel’s
Beaufort Bar, on the other hand, combines tequila, celery bitters and Perrier in
its newly developed The Founder. While a mile away in Soho, the team at stylish
watering hole Swift are mixing up the invigorating Mountain Spring with vodka,
saké, Perrier and jasmine tea syrup. For a more avant-garde vibe, head to the tiny
Three Sheets bar in Dalston for a restorative Fizzy Peach, in which Perrier is used
to dilute Chivas Mizunara whisky; or linger over an invigorating gin and Perrier-
based Cabo Verde at the darkly romantic Oriole Bar near Smithfield Market. n
Visit Perrier.com for more information
VOGUE PARTNERSHIP
RAISE A
GLASS
In this season of celebration,
Rémy Martin XO is the perfect
luxurious accompaniment
to any occasion or feast
Measure up
New to the scene, The Dandy Bar
is the perfect excuse to revisit
classic cocktails. By Olivia Marks
O
nly the unimaginative can fail to find a
reason for drinking champagne,” said
Oscar Wilde, playwright and notable lush,
whose penchant for the sparkly stuff was
renowned. In fact, his alleged favourite – AR Lenoble
Brut Champagne – will be readily available at The
Dandy Bar, which opens next month in The Mayfair
Townhouse (the latest hotel from the people behind “Cocktails are usually
Cliveden House). Situated on Half Moon Street – the served before meals,
but have one whenever
setting for Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest the impulse hits you,”
– its interior (silk-pleated lampshades, ample marble wrote food and drink
and brass) and drinks menu both pay homage to the connoisseur Henry
golden age of cocktails and the dandies who drank McNulty in his 1982
volume, Vogue Cocktails
them. “You need a modern twist, but you want a good (Conran Octopus, £10).
cocktail and you want it quickly,” Andrew Stembridge, “The objective in
executive director, tells Vogue of the bar’s ethos and serving them to friend
its “clubby, home-from-home” feel. The classic but or foe is relaxation
lesser seen Dandy cocktail – whisky, triple sec, and enjoyment – not
to knock them out.”
Dubonnet – will be a stalwart, with a nuanced update Here are three
for now. This is a bar unconcerned with the “over- forgotten, punchy
embellished” – it’s a place for a perfectly made drink classics to mix at home
and elegant people-watching in the heart of town. n – just remember to
heed McNulty’s advice…
Below, from left: coupe, Below, from left: coupe, £90, Below, from left: Rémy Martin XO, £137. Moët & Chandon
from £158, Yali. Whitley Richard Brendon. Glenfiddich Brut Impérial Champagne, £38, at Clos19.com.
Neill Original Dry Gin, £24 Grand Cru, £220 Wine glass, £65, Lobmeyr, at Matchesfashion.com
101
Plate, £45,
Themis Z at
Matchesfashion.com
Linen napkins,
£65 for a set of four,
Matilda Goad
Dinner
Laurent-
Perrier Cuvée
Rosé Brut
champagne,
£62, at
Waitrose
Coupe glasses,
£210,
DRESSING
Ensure your table looks as delicious as
Campbell-Rey
your dessert. Edited by Holly Tomalin Napoleon III
Macarons,
£21.50, Ladurée
Veuve
Clicquot
La Grande
Dame x Yayoi
Kusama
limited-edition
champagne, Shaker set,
£150, at The £125, Aerin
Selfridges
Corner Shop
102
FOOD & DRINK
CHECKLIST
Plate set, £98,
La DoubleJ
Champagne
flute, £15,
Villeroy & Boch,
at Harvey Nichols
Garden
VARIETY
Jug, £65, The
Glass, £150, Dior Conran Shop
Candle,
£279, Baobab Bowl, £305,
Collection Gucci
Jessica wears
VIEWPOINT
dress, £895, The
Vampire’s Wife, at
Matchesfashion.com.
Hair: Lotte O’Shea.
Make-up: Zoë Taylor
Spiritual
awakening
SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES WERE FOLLOWED THROUGHOUT THIS PHOTOSHOOT
D
o you accept Judaism to the exclusion of all other that these were the last moments of a past existence, following
religious faiths?” “I do.” “Do you accept Judaism which I would be reborn into a new faith and a new life.
and all its laws?” “I do.” “Do you commit to To be honest, waiting for an appointment in a robe was
establishing a Jewish home and raising a Jewish not something I was a stranger to. As beauty and lifestyle
family?” “I do.” I was dressed in a robe in a side room of a director at Vogue (then beauty editor), trialling spa treatments
small synagogue in the depths of north-west London for is part of the job, but this was an altogether new arrangement.
a moment a long time in the making: three years of study My fast-paced life, endless travelling and packed diary were
preceded by two years of careful reflection, and before all all hallmarks of a dizzying passage of time known to many
that, a lifetime of subconscious preparation for something women in their twenties and thirties, yet they gave no
I didn’t know was coming, but now made perfect sense. It indication of what lay around the corner. Though always
all brought me to this: an uncharacteristically sunny Wednesday spiritual, I had never previously considered myself religious.
morning in November 2013, and the final ceremony in my Deeply introspective, I’d always felt there was a higher
conversion to Judaism; a wedding ceremony of sorts. About “something”, I just didn’t know what that something was
to take a plunge in a mikveh (a Jewish ritual bath), I was aware and hadn’t felt compelled to search hard enough to find it.>
105
My conversion process became almost like a coming of age, as my to the next phase – living with an Orthodox Jewish family. A wonderful
developing maturity opened up new ideas and possibilities. “mother” and “father” and their seven children – strangers to me, and
I was born in New York, and when I was four my family relocated I to them – would take me in and treat me as one of their own.
to London for my father’s work. Newly arrived in Hampstead Garden I lived with them full-time for the better part of a year. In bed on
Suburb – a stone’s throw from Golders Green and Hendon, the heartland the first night, I remember it feeling surreal, maybe even slightly scary,
of north-west London’s Jewish community – I was immersed in a new but also exciting. I am a glass-half-full person – I will always see the
way of life without even knowing it. With almost exclusively Jewish positives in any given situation – so I just went with it. Commuting
neighbours, and no friends or extended family to speak of, we were every day from my new home in Hendon to Vogue House in Hanover
immediately taken in. For as long as I can remember, I’ve attended Shabbat Square had fresh meaning. I was still working in my dream job, but
dinners, Jewish New Year celebrations and Passover meals. Because of aligning my priorities in my personal life, too.
where we lived, the school I went to and the company we kept, my I cannot overstate the kindness they showed me. Absorbed into their
friends were predominantly Jewish. I was always considered “honorary”. family and their customs, I understood the necessity of this part of the
U
process – the part that had always been the most daunting to me. This
nsurprisingly then, I found myself with a Jewish boyfriend, was where I would walk the walk. It surprised me how quickly it felt
Edward. On the same social circuit, we first met at 15 normal to live with them – a testament to how welcoming they were.
(he remembers it, I don’t, we argue about it to this day), As a 30-year-old woman, at the time living with my best friend in
and oscillated in and out of each other’s lives until, at 24, central London, had you told me I needed to move back home,
a group trip led to a holiday romance that continued long I couldn’t have done it. But because this had a wider purpose, it felt
after we returned home. From early on in our relationship, the Jewish doable. In fact, this was when things really started to fall into place
factor was always a… factor. Modern Orthodox, Ed and his family and cement my love for the faith.
followed Jewish traditions such as keeping kosher, Shabbat meals and I still carved out time to see close friends and family after work or at
observance of religious festivals. As the relationship became more serious, weekends, but I made an effort to go home to my newly acquired family
so did the conversations around faith. It was always a given that he’d as much as possible, to observe, bond and absorb. I learnt the nuts and
marry someone Jewish. So where did that leave us? Six months in, I bolts of what it takes to run a Jewish household, but the relationships
found myself wondering if I should call things off, because surely it had formed in that time are just as deeply ingrained as the customs.
no future. But as time passed, it became clear that neither of us wanted The warmth of the wider community was touching as well, with a
it to end, so something had to change. And it would be my faith. constant stream of invites for meals, offers of help and advice. It was
Ed never asked me if I would convert, though, which I always feel history repeating itself from when my family had moved to London
compelled to clarify. I wanted to do it, and have my desired “Jewishness” some 25 years before. There were my Jewish studies teachers, a
be accepted by rabbinical authorities and our children be considered relationship with one in particular so profound that she remains one
Jewish in the Orthodox Jewish community (the Jewish heritage line of my closest friends. There was my own family, who, in spite of their
is matriarchal). And so I chose to do an Orthodox conversion – a support, must have found the whole experience strange, but never
process that you have to want to embark on from the depths of your made me aware of it. And then there was Ed, the anchor to it all,
soul. It requires dedication and desire beyond any relationship. The unwaveringly supportive, constantly by my side, unknowingly affirming
love of a person can definitely be part of the equation, but not its sum. for me every day that I had made the right decision.
In Judaism, you talk about things being beshert, or destiny. As dramatic The conversion process itself had many practical applications that
as it sounds, this was my destiny. soon came into effect: eating according to kosher food rules, observing
I was brought up Catholic, in a traditional family. My parents taught the Sabbath and dressing more modestly. Having previously always
me to be open, loving and accepting, and when I told them that been that girl in the T-shirt and skinny jeans, taking on modest dressing
I wanted to convert, they were full of support for whatever made me wasn’t necessarily easy. But I packed all my jeans into a suitcase and
happy. The conversion began three years after Ed and I first started put them in the attic at my parents’ house, fashion and spirituality
dating. What followed was three more years of intense study, meeting in a rite of passage that I can still vividly recall. But here’s the
immeasurable patience and immense love. A conversion to Judaism thing: it stuck. I had studied philosophies behind modest dressing – to
sees you learn and live all aspects of Jewish life. There is no masking be attractive, but not attracting – and quite naturally reached a tipping
the fact that it is a huge transition. I was still maintaining my job at point of change. I packed away the “old” me and bought a whole new
Vogue, and the continuity of work that I adore grounded my experience wardrobe. Almost seven years later, I wouldn’t wear anything else. It
– a typical week could see me going from backstage at London Fashion has become such a part of who I am.
Week in the day to three hours with my Jewish studies teacher that Friends now call me Dress Diner and what started as an everyday
night. I studied two evenings a week, with Sunday mornings dedicated affirmation of faith in how you get dressed very quickly became my
to learning to read Hebrew (which, I hasten to add, was no easy matter, signature style. Online shopping involves a click of the “midi/maxi”
and I count as one of my biggest achievements). filter, and anything floral immediately grabs my attention. I feel infinitely
After two years, the London Beth Din (the rabbinical body that more feminine and put-together, not to mention the practicality of only
oversees conversions), satisfied with my level of Jewish knowledge, needing to consider one item of clothing in the morning and not having
considered me ready to put what I had learnt into practice and move on the pinching waistband of jeans dictating my sense of wellbeing.
Observing the Sabbath in the early days of the conversion seemed
like such an insurmountable notion, too. Downing tools and going
I packed all my jeans into a offline for 25 hours each week? An impossible task for someone with
suitcase and put them in the a busy work and social life. But as with every part of the process, it
slowly infused into my everyday. The Sabbath is a time for self-reflection
attic, fashion and spirituality and to connect exclusively with friends and family. No matter how
meeting in a rite of passage hectic life has been, Ed and I will get the headspace to download the
week uninterrupted. Family and friends come to visit and there are
that I can still vividly recall no distractions from phones, iPads or television. When people find out
106
VIEWPOINT
the collective joy from all March 2014. Left: celebrating Hanukkah
with their children. Above: modest dressing
who had been so invested has become Jessica’s signature style. Dress,
£410, Batsheva, at Matchesfashion.com.
I have converted, they are always intrigued about what they perceive continue to be spread on social media – including by British rapper
to be restrictions, not realising the positive reinforcement that these Wiley earlier this year. It brings a mixture of shock, sadness and
traditions bring. I genuinely can’t envisage life any other way. confusion. This is new to me, but something experienced and never
Looking back on my conversion, it’s hard to register how something forgotten by generations before. The kindness and gratitude that was
that took up every thought of every day, is now so seamlessly intertwined – and still is – shown to me by the Jewish community is a debt that I
into my life that I barely need to acknowledge it. We have two children, feel I can never repay, and so I feel strongly that part of the trade is to
Noah and Jacob, and are raising them as Orthodox Jews. Of course, speak out against injustices in the hope that we can break the mould.
when children come into the equation you become more acutely aware Because in the end, love conquers all. I am testament to that.
of the world you are raising them in, which hasn’t been without its Getting to the point when I said my I dos in the plunge pool seemed
tribulations for modern-day Jews. My son’s Jewish primary school like it took forever, yet it came around so quickly. I will never forget the
has security guards and surveillance at the gate; I am fearful for my moment I found out I had completed my conversion. I’d just landed
husband and oldest son walking to synagogue on Saturday mornings from a press trip to Venice when Mama G (as I came to call my adoptive
wearing their kippahs; and the community has security walk-throughs Jewish mother) phoned me. We had received a letter from the Beth Din.
in advance of significant Jewish holidays in case of an attack – all I was being given a date to go to the mikveh to finalise my journey. I
poignant reminders that the world we live in now, for all its wokeness, remember people on the plane staring at me as we disembarked
MISAN HARRIMAN; DAVID PULLUM PHOTOGRAPHY
still poses a simmering threat to the Jewish community. and I burst into tears. Delighted, proud, relieved, in awe.
I now have an understanding of why Orthodox families are protective The following week, standing on my surrogate Jewish family’s doorstep
over their children, wanting them to marry within the faith. Years, before heading to the conversion ceremony, I vividly recall Papa G
decades, generations of persecution will draw a community closer saying to me, “The sun is shining especially for you today.” Three dips
together. Even in my conversion ceremony, the final oath in my series in the mikveh (as is customary) and I was a Jew. What followed thereafter
of I dos was: “Do you agree to take on the Jewish faith despite was a series of meals and celebrations – as Jews do – and, four months
persecution and discrimination?” At the time it seemed like such later, Ed and I were married. The wedding was a blur, but what was
a jarring question to ask at such a joyous moment. But now I know. tangible was the collective joy from all who had been so invested in our
It is because anti-Semitism is always looming. journey. Standing under the chuppah (the Jewish wedding canopy) the
As a Jew by choice, it was more than unsettling to see the anti- first words from our rabbi were, “We made it!” And we had. Ed’s speech
Semitism reported in Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party, and, among the opened with Nelson Mandela’s words, “It always seems impossible until
many other daily affronts, to see a proliferation of anti-Semitic tropes it’s done.” And it was done. n
107
The art of the
MODERN ICON
VOGUE PARTNERSHIP
On the
money
Actor Nabhaan Rizwan’s latest
expert turn is an exploration of
excess, finds Amel Mukhtar.
Photograph by Adama Jalloh.
Styling by Dena Giannini
G
iven his growing list of screen credits, you’d
be forgiven for thinking Nabhaan Rizwan,
23, always wanted to be an actor. But it
wasn’t a straight path. As a child in Ilford,
his mother often encouraged him to perform, which
he found, he says, “kind of annoying”. His comedian
older brother would drag the whole family into his
popular YouTube videos. “I was really embarrassed
about that.” Rizwan’s mother, on the other hand,
got scouted as a result, landing parts in Bollywood.
Cricket was Rizwan’s rebellion. But at 18, not
quite pro-level and with university an unappealing
option, he found himself open to trying the “creative
thing”. As he explains, “It runs in my family pretty
deep, so I figured I’d try as much as possible.” When
he and some friends put on an acting showcase, he
was spotted by an agent, and that led to his first
audition and a starring role in the 2018 Bafta-
nominated BBC drama Informer.
After a memorable turn in Sam Mendes’ film
1917, Rizwan is back on the BBC this autumn in
Industry – a dive into the high-stress, high-stakes
(and high on coke) world of finance, part-directed
by Lena Dunham. The actor plays Hari, a Jordan
Belfort (Wolf of Wall Street) obsessed banker, who
114
VOGUE PARTNERSHIP
RUNNING
START
As a world-class sprinter, Bianca Williams
knows the importance of dedication and
strength. With the Nike (M) range, she’s
ready for her next challenge – motherhood.
Photograph by Danika Magdelena
PHOTOGRAPH: DANIKA LAWRENCE
Bianca
wears Nike
(M) Pullover,
£69.95. Nike
One (M)
Tight, £54.95
ARCHIVE
H
elmut Newton would have been a hundred years evening suit) and fashion editor Grace Coddington. As she
old on 31 October. He is readily associated with recalled it, “Around Helmut, I’ve always thought it was
Vogue Paris, which in the 1970s gave him the important to dress appropriately, which, during this particular
freedom to explore themes that would preoccupy shoot on a sweltering day in the south of France, meant a
him for the rest of his long career. (He died in 2004 at 83, black bikini, sunglasses and a pair of my favourite Saint
still working). These were often erotically charged narratives, Laurent heels… Next thing I knew, he had persuaded me to
encompassing an affection for the excesses of the European spend the rest of the night floating in the pool.”
jet-set and its “bourgeois glamour”. Based in Monaco for To his detractors, Newton’s images were cold, bloodless
many years, he was attuned to his subjects’ migratory shifts, and misogynistic. To his admirers, he subverted the fashion
habits and predilections – what Cecil Beaton, an admirer of page like no one else – liberating it from the constrictions
Newton’s work, once referred to as “odd happenings around of decorum and conformity, offering up instead the white
a swimming pool at night”. heat of sexual audacity. In short, whatever presented itself
Perhaps Beaton had this shoot in mind, the pool being as a code of good conduct he would find the means to flout,
that of the Hotel Byblos in Saint-Tropez. Here a cocktail subtly or blatantly, giving rise to one of the most sustained
party, an exclusive one later titled In the Limelight Now for fashion, portrait and beauty oeuvres of the era. n
British Vogue, is in full swing. Guests included models Karin Helmut Newton: High Gloss is at Hamiltons Gallery, W1, from
Feddersen, Barbara Carrera, Uva Barden (in an Albini velvet 16 October to 8 January
119
THE
MIDNIGHT
HOURMake after-dark dressing
effortlessly opulent. Edited by
Holly Tomalin. Photograph
by Baker & Evans
DARK MAGIC
This calfskin Devotion bag from
Dolce & Gabbana serves decadence
and elegance in one perfect accessory.
Thanks to its sumptuous texture and
glimmering gold hardware, it promises
to stay totally chic, night after night.
Diamond
earrings,
price on
Ring, £90, request,
Pandora Vanleles
Blouse, £1,400,
Giorgio Armani
Shoes, £780,
Ermanno
Scervino Watch, price
Skirt, £3,780, on request,
Michael Kors Chaumet
Bag, £1,630,
Collection Prada
MAX VADUKUL
Earrings,
£690,
Dior
Shoes, £139,
Kurt Geiger
London
Vogue, January 2011
Boots, £415,
Russell &
Bromley
Dress,
£50, The
Vampire’s
Kimono, Wife &
£176, H&M
Kleed Earrings,
£650,
Alexander
McQueen,
at Flannels
DANIEL JACKSON
Lancôme
Hypnôse
Mascara in Noir
Hypnotic, £27
BEAUTY
Edited by Jessica Diner
BLURRING
THE LINES
ZOE GHERTNER/ART PARTNER
MAISON MARGIELA
Left: Charlotte Tilbury Cheek to Chic blush
in Ecstasy, £30. Below: Dior Backstage Glow
Face Palette in Rose Gold, £36
GUCCI
Right: Byredo
Colour Stick in
Ultramagnetic,
£26. Below:
Glossier Lidstar
glistening eye
glow in Lily, £15
MISSONI
Right: Chanel
Rouge Coco Flash
lipstick in Freeze, Lancôme Hypnôse Eyeshadow
£31. Below: Palette in Bleu Hypnôtique, £42.50.
Clinique Chubby Below: Mac Cosmetics Powder Kiss
Stick Shadow Tint Soft Matte Eyeshadow in Ripened,
For Eyes in Big £17.50. Powder Kiss Liquid
Blue, £18.50 Lipcolour in Crossfade, £19.50
Painterly perfection
Introducing “watercolour make-up”, the artistic, playful and
softly colourful way into a/w 2020. By Jessica Diner JAMES COCHRANE; ANTHEA SIMMS/CAMERA PRESS; PIXELATE.BIZ
L
ooking at the make-up on the models walking the or retro, and it’s those fresh, plump washes of colour that
autumn/winter runways, you could have been allow you to be more playful.”
forgiven for thinking that you were seeing a show Be it a halo around the eye, a new or unusual experimentation
from the wrong season. Pops of blue, flashes of in lip colour, or a gentle tonal clash on both eyes and lips,
orange and pink, dustings of yellow, green and lilac… the using products in this way gives an end result that is much
painterly palettes chosen by make-up artists backstage at softer – and this is, according to Barber, the easiest and most
shows such as Dries Van Noten, Gucci, Maison Margiela flattering in-road to exploring technicolour choices. “Veils
and Missoni were decidedly springlike. of colour that bring out the features rather than enclose them
And so, too, was their application, which was as important are the unsung heroes of make-up,” he says. So what to make
as the spectrum of colour itself. Sheer watercolour washes of this more romantic approach? “It’s a good time to break
gave the look a very accessible appeal. “Transparency the seasonal rules and not resort to the classic earthiness of
automatically makes colour more beautifying on the face,” autumnal beauty,” says Barber. “Instead celebrate the colours
explains Terry Barber, director of make-up artistry for of optimism and freshness. Can we say spring/summer is the
Mac Cosmetics. “It takes away the fear of looking garish new autumn/winter?” It’s a resounding yes. n
126
WELLNESS
Fraîcheur Ice Globes, £55, give you a
cryotherapy facial at home. Cool down
as blood rushes to the skin, helping to
rejuvenate and tighten.
Home improvement
While lockdown had many pining for the gym, it also gave Bumble & Bumble Prêt-
à-powder Post Workout
a boost to a new generation of fitness tech: streamed, smart Dry Shampoo Mist,
£24, is effective on
and on a screen near you. By Lauren Murdoch-Smith damp hair when you’ve
worked up a sweat.
W
hen fitness-apparel giant more video content for his members, but
Lululemon bought Mirror, lockdown accelerated his programme, with
a start-up, at-home fitness regular Instagram Live workouts and one-
tech company, for £380 on-one training via Zoom: “I’ve reconnected
million earlier this year, and right in the with previous members who’ve moved to
middle of a pandemic, it confirmed that other countries, which has further validated
exercising at home is not going anywhere. my thoughts on creating more accessible
Nike Metcon 5 trainers, £115, are made
Lockdown saw a marked rise in demand exercise content to reach more people, more for HIIT and weight training. They’re the
for bespoke, hi-tech workouts and easily.” Mullins goes on to explain, “Gyms perfect all-round gym shoe.
equipment. “The acquisition of Mirror is can have a limited captive audience as Power Plate Roller, £100, is a step up
an exciting opportunity to build on our it’s capped due to location and people’s from a foam roller. With four vibrating
‘sweatlife’ vision and enhance our digital lifestyles, but if we create content to sit on settings, it helps to relax tight muscles
and interactive capabilities,” explains our website for educational purposes and and encourage blood flow and flexibility.
Calvin McDonald, Lululemon CEO. then added assets for clients we work with
“We’re looking forward to learning from to support them individually, it’s helping
and working with Mirror to accelerate the both the client and the business. It also GET THE GEAR
growth of personalised in-home fitness.” allows people to train with a brand they
The appeal is obvious: Mirror is a two- trust if they can’t logistically or financially
way interactive mirror that allows you to access the gym.” Lululemon In Alignment
see yourself training in its reflection while Tonal, a wall-mounted device similar to Bra, £58, is super-soft
and comfortable, with
watching a class instructor on screen, Mirror, is a vertical flat-screen synced up all the technical
bringing professional fitness directly to you, to various integrated, strength-training specifications you’d
in the least intrusive way. Switch off the weights that are controlled by electricity expect from the brand.
device and you’re left with a wall mirror and magnets, and will automatically adjust
that gives no evidence of its digital power. according to the programme you are
The monthly subscription model allows streaming. Forme Life looks like an
you to sign up to stream live and on- expensive mirror but is in fact a touchscreen,
demand classes. A smart piece of gym kit. voice-activated, wall-mounted studio that
Another recent winner, and also offering also has attachable equipment. Its content
at-home virtual gym classes, is Peloton, library has a variety of classes such as yoga,
which has seen a surge in its membership ballet and strength-training for a full mind By Terry Hyaluronic
since it extended its free trial period for the and body offering, and the equipment is Pressed Hydra-
app from 30 to 90 days in March. In just cleverly concealable so that it won’t clutter Powder, £38, will
mattify without
six weeks, it had 1.1 million sign-ups up your home. Tempo’s home gym is drying out skin – good
globally. Lockdown also saw Vogue launch a little less home-decor friendly, but is a for on-screen training.
its #WorkoutWednesday Instagram series petite gym housed in a small locker
– 10-minute workout videos from experts with an oversized phone-like screen Manta Mirror Brush, £28.50,
in the field, which now regularly reach more that displays the on-demand workouts. has soft silicone bristles that
are gentle on the hair and a
RAYMOND MEIER; PIXELATE.BIZ
128
DIRECTOR’S CUT
MATT WORK
Looking to enhance radiance but dial down
excess shine? Meet the clever breed of fluid
foundation formulas, says Jessica Diner
131
BEAUTY
Hair tech
G
adgets as part of our
facial routine isn’t
new, but tools with
hair health at the
core? We’re listening. Réduit
One’s Haircare Applicator,
£189, uses fine magnetic
misting technology for less
mess and more absorption,
delivering a concentrated PATCHWORK
treatment to hair in just 30 We all suffer from aches
seconds via its Precision and pains but it’s not always
Conditioner, Volume Mist, easy to see a specialist.
Thankfully, Ross J Barr,
Shine Diffusion, Colour acupuncturist and wellbeing
Protect and Vapored Strength expert, has developed herbal
hairpods, from £23. Healing Patches, £15 for five.
Akin to fabric plasters,
they’re infused with menthol,
cinnamon and clove to
soothe and relieve the point
of pain, whether it’s a muscle
ache or menstrual cramps.
Also try Vitabiotics’s Jointace
Patches, £9.15 for eight, with
aromatherapy oils such as
BEAUTY MUSINGS
ginger, eucalyptus and clove,
along with cooling menthol,
for 12 hours of pain relief.
Housed in a chic bottle, Valentino Voce Viva, As the retailer of the most
£54, is the latest perfume from the fashion shampoo bottles worldwide,
house. A floral woody fragrance, it’s inspired L’Oréal Paris has pledged to be
by Valentino’s codes: colour, cool and plastic neutral by 2025. Starting
couture. New eco-friendly choices include with Elvive shampoo and
Lancôme Idôle L’Intense, from £54, which conditioner bottles, £3, which
features sustainably sourced chypre, vanilla will be 100 per cent recyclable
essence, roses and three types of jasmine; and and made from recycled
Floral Street’s refillable Arizona Bloom, £24, materials. This alone will save
made from Balinese coconut and salted musk 38 million bottles a year or
scents, which comes in recyclable packaging. 7,000 tons of plastic globally.
132
From left: Jimmy Choo Iris Crush
eau de parfum, £175. YSL Beauty
BEAUTY
Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils
Radical, £28. Hourglass Ambient
Lighting Edit Mini Sculpture
Unlocked palette, £57. Tom Ford
Black Orchid eau de parfum, £98.
Marc Jacobs Eye-conic Multi-Finish
Eye Palette in Extravagance, £40
GOLD
STANDARD
DIGITAL ARTWORK: JAN CIHAK
Purely Powerful.
TM
noblepanacea.com | Available at Harrods Think Beautifully
BEAUTY EDITOR: JESSICA DINER. HAIR: ANNA COFONE. MAKE-UP: NAMI YOSHIDA. NAILS: MICHELLE HUMPHREY. MODEL: GISELLE
NORMAN. DIGITAL ARTWORK: DTOUCH LONDON. SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES WERE FOLLOWED THROUGHOUT THIS PHOTOSHOOT
Skincare
Edited by Lauren Murdoch-Smith.
Photograph by Felicity Ingram
SPECIAL
Skincare SPECIAL
W
plasma pen, which prompts collagen and elastin
With Britain’s hile the collective appetite for
aesthetic treatments has been
fibres to shrink, resulting in skin tightening. “It
is made for the little lines that are difficult to
non-surgical aesthetic- steadily rising, recent factors treat by injections, such as the upper lip and under
treatment market set including “the Zoom effect” and the eye,” says Dr Benjamin Kauffholz, an aesthetic
to be worth £3 billion restrictions caused by the global pandemic have
ensured that demand is accelerating. “Neither the
doctor at the Dr Dray Clinic in London.
Practitioners are also using existing cutting-edge
by 2024, Georgia Day industry nor customer demand works in isolation, technology for even better effect. Ultherapy, the
looks into the latest and new trends are often driven by a close
ANTONIO TERRON/TRUNK ARCHIVE
138
Stronger,
together.
Discover the power of Dr Sebagh’s potent, award-winning skin care ritual. For an
instant, radiance-restoring treatment, apply Deep Exfoliating Mask, which boosts
cell turnover. Follow with a rehydrating, plumping and firming mix of Serum Repair
and Rose de Vie Serum. For a brightening boost, mix a dose of the patented and
highly concentrated Pure Vitamin C Powder Cream with your mask or serums.
Power up
W
hether you have a multistep skincare routine or
take a more stripped-back approach, supercharging
one of your products will give a real boost. By Terry
Baume De Rose Beauty Toner, £36, is packed with
rose petals, rosehip oil and rose extracts, adding moisture as well
as removing make-up and plumping skin. Chanel Le Gel Anti-
Pollution Cleansing Gel, £32, is a gel-to-foam formula that uses
marine extracts to keep skin hydrated and build up resistance to
stress caused by pollution. Dior Capture Totale Super Potent Serum,
£60, re-energises skin using a blend of four flowers (longoza, peony,
jasmine and white lily) that tap into the skin’s cells, helping them
fight dark spots, wrinkles and dull complexions. Finally, bioscience-
led Codex Beauty’s Bia Facial Oil, £86, is a dry oil with rosehip
and rosemary that works with your skin’s natural oils to protect it
from environmental stresses while also reducing pore size.
SKINCARE MUSINGS
Winter sees the launch of hi-tech
formulas and new product trends,
says Lauren Murdoch-Smith
BRIGHT SPARK
Sometimes you come across
a hero product that has an
exceptional, instant effect
on dull skin – Lixirskin’s Peel
Express, £31, is one of those
finds. Using acids, enzymes
and humectants blended
into a waterless jelly, it’ll
leave you with fresh-from-a-
facial skin in just 20 minutes.
We can’t get enough.
and macro hyaluronic acid in a new skin overnight with its mix
fluid-to-balm known as Emulium, of salicylic acid and retinol,
treating the eye area and keeping targeting breakouts while
the rest of the face hydrated. soothing and smoothing, too.
140
Below, from left: Ren Ready
Steady Glow Daily AHA Tonic,
£27. The Light Salon Boost
LED Décolletage Bib, £445
I’ve always been quick to blush – I was a terrible I follow with SkinCeuticals CE Ferulic as
liar as a child because my cheeks gave me away, my antioxidant, which is effective but not
and an awkward teenager who went puce at the inflammatory. Morning and evening, I also
sight of a crush. But now I’m in my thirties and use Neostrata Restore Redness Neutralizing
still prone to redness, a dermatologist recently Serum – perhaps my key redness battling
diagnosed me with rosacea. Mine, thankfully, tool – then follow that with SkinCeuticals
is mild, but until recently I didn’t realise I could Brightening UV Defense SPF30, which I find
exert any control over it. I do still blush when I’m works for my pores, since they’re prone to
From far left:
La Roche-Posay nervous, and look like a beetroot for at least an clogging. As often as I can I visit The Light
Effaclar H hour after exercise, but I’ve found some products Salon – its quick treatments have a really
Hydrating and treatments that are helping me keep things calming effect on my skin, and my general
Cleansing Cream, under control. I generally don’t like to use a lot mood! I’ve also recently started a course of
£12.50. NeoStrata of products, and I find keeping it simple is the IPL light therapy at the Cranley Clinic under
Restore Redness best. I use a soothing and gentle cleanser from the advice of Dr Ophelia Veraitch, and have
Neutralizing La Roche-Posay, a brand I absolutely love as a lot high hopes for a further reduction in redness
Serum, £47 of its products are fragrance- and paraben-free. and an overall boost to my skin tone.
142
Skincare SPECIAL
From far left:
Zelens Daily Defence
Sunscreen SPF30, £55.
MANAGING HYPERPIGMENTATION
CBII Full Spectrum CBD
TWIGGY JALLOH, BEAUTY & LIFESTYLE ASSISTANT Immune Capsules, £34.
Glamglow Flashmud
Since the first spot emerged on my previously blemish-free teenage skin, Brightening Treatment,
I have dealt with hyperpigmentation. These seemingly harmless darker £44. The Glowcery Clean
patches have affected my self-esteem in ways I wouldn’t have expected. Greens Superfood Facial
I remember staying up talking into the night with friends at university. Oil, £33. Below: Odacité
As we settled in, the host would usually pass around face cleansing Rose & Neroli Hydra-
wipes. In those moments, panic would engulf me and I would make a Vitalizing Treatment
swift getaway back to my halls, where I could remove my make-up Mist, £39
without fear of judgement or unsolicited advice from well-meaning
friends. Like many (often black and brown) people who have suffered
from hyperpigmentation, I have frequently reached a point of impatience
with my blemished skin, and I’ve debated using quick-fix bleaching and
lightening creams. I would try to convince myself that their lists of
questionable ingredients, known
to potentially thin and damage
skin, were worth a try. But instead
I’ve taken the safer and
longer-lasting road. I’ve whittled
down my arsenal of products so
I’m left with ingredients that have
been proven to be effective. Since
I’ve nailed my routine, my skin has
thanked me for it. I wear less and
less make-up for my weekend
picnics in the park and morning Left: Medik8
Zoom meetings as the weeks go R-Retinoate
by. As the marks fade and I learn Intense, £210.
to love my bare skin again, it has Right: Bea Skin
kept its life and luminosity. This Care Brightening
skin freedom feels good. Cleanser, £39,
and Serum, £54
OVERCOMING ACNE
ELLIE PITHERS, DIGITAL DIRECTOR
Cream, £17.50
here. My advice would be: slow down. Stop throwing
products at your face. Keep hydrated. Ask for samples.
Everyone’s skin is different, and there will be a “miracle”
product out there for you – you just have to find it. n
143
ISTANBU L KIEV KUALA LUMPUR MOSCOW PORTO R I YA D H
VOGUE PARTNERSHIP
SKIP
CARE
Skip-care is the latest
skincare trend offering
greater results using
fewer products – and
L’Oréal Paris have the
perfect product
for the job...
LÕOrŽal Paris
Revitalift Filler
Eye Cream For
Face, £20
CREATING a skincare regime that is both time efficient and penetrating deeper for (clinically proven)
effective is a must for many of us. As dermatologists attest, healthy instant plumping and hydration that
skin doesn’t require a complicated eight-step routine, but rather really does last all day.
hardworking, multi-purpose products that do what they say on the True to its hardworking claims, the
label. In fact, the Korean-beauty skincare trend “skip-care” has made formula is also packed with other active
a pared-down skincare regime de rigueur. Borne out of this is another ingredients to impart the healthy glow
innovation making waves in the Asian beauty landscape: “eye cream we all dream of. This brightening formulation
for face”. with vitamin Cg is expertly blended with
Enter L’Oréal Paris’s new Revitalift Filler Eye Cream For Face, the caffeine and kombucha, for skin that feels
ultimate multitasking cream, with the concentration of an eye cream but energised and soothed. The powerhouse
for the entire face, which will slot seamlessly into your skincare regime. of actives produce radiance and make it a
In fact, the product – which sits in the same range as the brand’s perfect one-stop shop for robust, happy skin –
equally brilliant Revitalift Filler 1.5% Hyaluronic Acid serum – can and one that you can rely on to help skin function
be used both around the eyes and on the face. The formula houses (and look) at its best as skin ages. n
a mix of both micro and macro hyaluronic acid, meaning the Shop now exclusively at Boots.com and in Boots
lightweight cream works on the top layer of the skin as well as stores nationwide
Skincare SPECIAL
Your year
in skincare
How best and when
to deliver your skincare,
a guide by Hannah
Coates. Photograph by
Felicity Ingram
ARTWORK: DTOUCH LONDON. PIXELATE.BIZ. SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES WERE FOLLOWED THROUGHOUT THIS PHOTOSHOOT
BEAUTY EDITOR: JESSICA DINER. HAIR: ANNA COFONE. MAKE-UP: NAMI YOSHIDA. MODEL: GISELLE NORMAN. DIGITAL
DAILY SACHETS
Forgo clunky packaging in
favour of travel-friendly skincare
sachets, which give your skin its
daily allowance of just the right
amount of product. Noble Panacea’s
The Absolute Active Replenishing
Moisturizer, £330 for 30, delivers a
dose of retinol, hydrating microalgae
and brightening goji berry – all within FOUR-WEEK RESET MONO DOSING
a recyclable aluminium pod that’s The health of our skin depends on our Hit skin with a pure shot of the
designed to keep the formula fresh. cells’ ability to regenerate and repair good stuff with these one-ingredient
themselves, a process that inevitably wonders. The Ordinary’s 100%
declines as we get older. Formulated Niacinamide Powder, £5, can be
QUARTERLY CAPSULES added to any water-based product to
to reactivate our ailing skin cells, Sisleÿa
Is your skin periodically not playing ball? Get it back on track with a 10-day L’Intégral Anti-Age La Cure, £775, is help minimise pores while bolstering
treatment. Designed to accompany skin on a short – but by no means a four-week system of products (one the skin barrier. Not strictly single
unimportant – journey, these capsules deliver fresh ingredients to skin bottle per week) that infuses cells with ingredient (but near enough)
when it needs it most, making them a no brainer pre-event or wedding. the energy they need to get in top Elizabeth Arden’s new Hyaluronic
Omorovicza The Cure, £205, is broken up into three ampoules per three shape. Cue plump, healthy and luminous Acid Ceramide Capsules, £45 for 30,
days: from phase one, which resurfaces and brightens with glycolic and skin. Darphin’s Intral Rescue Super house a hefty portion of hyaluronic
mandelic acid, to phases two and three that take down inflammation and Concentrate, £95, addresses stressed acid alongside ceramides to hydrate,
nourish with squalane and barrier-restoring oils – nine days is all it takes skin in four weeks, deploying botanicals firm and plump skin daily. And lastly,
to see a difference. While Sarah Chapman’s cleverly considered Skinesis such as chamomile and omegas 9 and Exuviance’s Vitamin C Capsules,
Radiance Skin Recharge System, £145, reboots skin with a combination of 6 to improve the skin barrier, soothe £56, use the power of vitamin C to
a lactic acid micropeel, vitamin C, niacinamide and hyaluronic acid. irritation and restore balance. brighten skin and boost collagen.
149
Skincare SPECIAL
TOOL BOX
At-home facial gadgets are
more sophisticated than ever
Clockwise from top left: before. It’s time, says Lauren
Ziip Beauty Nano
Current Skincare Device, Murdoch-Smith, for some DIY
£425. Foreo Bear Facial
Toning Device, £279, complexion improvements.
at Currentbody.com.
Pause Well-Aging Fascia Photograph by Mitch Payne
Stimulating Tool, £99.
Angela Caglia Vibrating
Rose Quartz Sculpting
Roller, £154. Nurse Jamie
Eyeonix System, £80.
All at Cultbeauty.co.uk
unless otherwise stated
151
COLOURING
BOOK
by Iain R Webb
ON SALE NOW
£10 ISBN 978-1840917406
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SECRETS
Vogue uncovers the
secrets of Japanese
skincare with Shiseido
and Clé de Peau Beauté
WINTER SUN
Wearing SPF all year round is a
must for skin. Stay protected with
dermatologist favourite, La Roche-Posay
The glow
must go on
Consumers are ushering in a new era
of star-powered beauty: celebrity skincare.
Funmi Fetto investigates
T
his month, Kylie Jenner finally launched her eponymous Left: Fenty
skincare line this side of the Atlantic, and during the summer, Beauty Fat
Water Pore-
Rihanna released Fenty Skin, the highly anticipated follow- Refining Toner
up to her wildly successful make-up line. Gwyneth Paltrow’s Serum, £25.
Below: Kylie
Goop Beauty continues to be favoured by insiders for being clean Skin Face
and high-performance, and Honest Beauty, the organic make-up and Moisturizer,
skincare range from fellow actor Jessica Alba, has a similar raison from £18
d’être. Last year, when Victoria Beckham expanded into skincare, Sarah
Creal, co-founder of Victoria Beckham Beauty, was ready for the
challenge. “We knew that as two seasoned skincare junkies dissatisfied
with clean skincare formulas on the market, the range had to deliver,” eman dnarB
dednetxE ereh
she says. A canny collaboration with revered stem-cell scientist noihsaf
professor Augustinus Bader and a hands-on approach ensured it did. siht ni stiderc
This authenticity, along with gold-standard results and .ecaf epyt
eman dnarB
formulations, is a non-negotiable ingredient for success, explains eno roF
Lisa Payne, senior beauty editor at trend forecasting agency Stylus. ylno nmuloc
“Consumers are now much more aware of celebrities not having
a hand in developing their brand and it lessens the appeal.
These celebrity skincare brands absolutely have more kudos than
the celebrity fragrance trend of old. The brands appear more personal
and are closer to their beauty ideals.”
Like Beckham, Jenner has been instrumental in developing her
namesake brand, but admits to an awareness of naysayers questioning
her legitimacy. “It’s easy to doubt yourself, but I always try to
stick to what feels right, and that’s really translated into my brand.
The ingredients were very important to me; the more I researched,
the more I was able to identify ‘clean’ formulations that offered Above:
great results.” This focus on quality and efficacy, reveals Rihanna, Honest Beauty
was also the driving force behind Fenty Skin. “There were certain Hydrogel
Cream, £25.
must-haves I wanted right from the beginning: clean, high- Right: Goop
performance ingredients.” Beauty 15%
Nowadays, of course, astute brands understand the necessity of Glycolic Acid
Overnight
clean ingredients. However, Kora, the organic skincare brand Glow Peel, £40
launched in 2009 by model Miranda Kerr, was inspired
by Kerr’s childhood and industry experience, not the
changing beauty landscape. “Growing up in a family
that prioritised health and wellness, and modelling for
20 years – where I tried nearly every beauty product out
there – taught me what worked and what didn’t. I wanted
certified organic skincare that delivered powerful results.”
Clearly, this cadre of famous beauty founders are not
shills. Unlike some previous incumbents, they are
GETTY IMAGES; PIXELATE.BIZ
uninterested in building a brand that relies solely on their From far left:
fame. Rather, they are driven to create products with Victoria Beckham
Beauty by
gravitas and, fundamentally, says Kerr, credibility. Augustinus Bader
“I invested all my own money to launch Kora. It’s my Cell Rejuvenating
baby, one that I’ve nurtured and grown, not something Priming Moisturizer
in Golden, £92.
I just put my face to. And that really resonates with Kora Organics Noni
customers because it’s truly authentic.” n Glow Face Oil, £22
155
Skincare SPECIAL
CHECKLIST
Dr Barbara
Shine ON
Sturm Glow
Drops, £110
Glossier Super
Glow, £24
Sunday Riley
CEO Glow
Vitamin C &
Turmeric
Face Oil, £68
Tan-Luxe
Super Glow
Body, £35
Vogue, May 2020
Rhug Estate Wild Beauty Active Treatment Serum With Hyaluronic Acid, £120
Skincare SPECIAL
CHECKLIST
Augustinus
Bader The
Facial Oil,
from £65
THE
Estée Lauder
Advanced
Night
Repair, £82
CLASSICS Garnier
Micellar Rose
get an update
Water, £7
Foreo Cannabis
Seed Oil mask,
£18.99. Foreo
Bulgarian Rose
mask, £18.99
Mask
Brazilian Acai Berry mask to turn back
the hands of time – all you have to do
is take your pick.
appeal
The range pairs with the Foreo
UFO 2 device, a hi-tech skincare tool
that produces professional treatment
results akin to that of a spa facial
It’s not just your skin that benefits from treatment, but from the comfort of your
own home. When the Cannabis Seed
a face mask, it’s your wellbeing, too. Oil mask is secured into the device (and
Foreo’s latest offering is the ultimate in you’ve connected to the app) all you have
to do is massage the formula across skin
professional-level soothing skincare using a circular motion. When paired
with the UFO 2, the mask delivers its
antioxidant-rich formula to skin to
help combat environmental
damage, while the formula
hydrates without clogging
pores, regulates oil production,
and calms and soothes.
Follow the app-guided
treatment for a unique blend
of T-Sonic Pulsations, green,
cyan and blue LED light
therapy as well as cooling cryo-
therapy for a gentle facial massage
treatment to calm irritated skin and
reduce inflammation. Alternatively,
Foreo UFO
2 Power
AS MUCH AN act of self-care as it leaves skin less red, calmer and more manually choose from a number of LED
Mask is skincare, there has never been a better balanced – cue a refreshed glow for lights or thermo-therapy to further allow
& Light time to incorporate a face mask into all skin types. the mask essence to fully submerge into
Therapy
Device,
your routine. As leaders in the skincare In fact, if it’s a healthy glow you’re the skin for gloriously glowy results. Two
£249 and wellness market, Foreo know a thing after, look to the brand’s wider Farm to minutes is all it takes for professional-
or two about at-home wellness. Its new Face collection – a range of different level results – and you can reap the
Cannabis Seed Oil mask is not only masks that utilise specially sourced benefits as much as you like, wherever
effective at calming your skin, but your natural ingredients from around you are. Happy masking. n
mind, too. Not forgetting its vegan and the world. From the rose-water and Discover the complete Foreo collection
cruelty free credentials, and the fact it jojoba seed oil-infused Bulgarian Rose at Foreo.com
WHERE TO GO IN 2021
CONDÉ NAST TRAVELLER’S 21 FAVOURITE PLACES TO VISIT NEXT YEAR,
FROM CHARLESTON TO COSTA RICA VIA THE SHETLAND ISLANDS AND VIETNAM
SEE THE FULL LIST AT CNTRAVELLER.COM/GALLERY/2021
Model Anastasiia
Berezhna, the face
of Wild Beauty
Into the
The Protecting Day Cream
With a complete skincare line-up designed With Blue Tansy Oil, £95,
to suit everyone’s needs, it’s hard not to has been developed to
WILD
discover your hero product. The Purifying deeply nourish skin.
Cleansing Lotion With Dandelion, £55, Packed with hyaluronic
is gentle but powerful, breaking down acid, the foraged heather
impurities, leaving skin clean and balanced, and yarrow blended with
and features dandelion flowers picked fresh raspberry and plum seed,
from Rhug Estate. plus blue tansy oil, help
DEEPEST, DARKEST, INKIEST BLACK. When it comes to power dressing, little else can rival it. And in times of uncertainty,
taking back control and feeling self-assured is good for the soul. This season, designers offered black in abundance, running
the gamut from classically chic to tantalisingly provocative and avant-garde – it can really take you places. This is what
the power of fashion means: when it can shift your mood, your perspective, your performance even, whether your arena is
a boardroom, a WFH kitchen table or, where our cover star Serena Williams is concerned, a tennis court. Her boundary-
pushing fashion credentials – on and off court – are well documented. In this issue, she segues from eveningwear to
athletic, body-con to flounce, and plays it the only way she knows how – like a total pro. Photograph by David Sims
163
History-maker, record-breaker,
businesswoman, mother…
Serena Williams is in full
swing. Olivia Singer meets her in LA.
Photographs by Zoë Ghertner.
Styling by Julia Sarr-Jamois
Belted wool/silk
dress, £5,570, Dior.
Hair: Vernon
165
“TENNIS IS A SMALL PLAY IN THE WHOLE
SCHEME OF THINGS. IT WAS MY WAY OF GETTING
RECOGNITION TO PUT OUT SUCH A BIG MESSAGE”
I
t’s a balmy March evening in Los Angeles and, goes unreported, and that speaks to the systemic racism
high in the Hollywood Hills, Serena Williams is that has plagued Serena’s country since, she points out, the
curled up on a velvet chair in the basement of her transatlantic slave trade began centuries ago. “Now, we as
family home, hair wrapped and pink Hello Kitty black people have a voice – and technology has been a huge
sliders dangling from her feet. She has just put part of that,” she says. “We see things that have been hidden
her three-year-old daughter, Olympia, to bed for years; the things that we as people have to go through.
(there is a sweetly written Post-it on the front This has been happening for years. People just couldn’t
door imploring any late-night delivery drivers pull out their phones and video it before.” Then, she recalls,
not to ring the bell and risk waking her), and the remnant “At the end of May, I had so many people who were white
paraphernalia from a busy afternoon is scattered around the writing to me saying, ‘I’m sorry for everything you’ve had
living room: unboxed Amazon packages, half-dressed dolls, to go through.’ I think for a minute they started – not to
a tumbled game of Connect Four, and two smalls dogs, understand, because I don’t think you can understand – but
Lauralei and Chip, wandering among it all. they started to see. I was like: well, you didn’t see any of
In such a setting – and ignoring the fact that Williams’s this before? I’ve been talking about this my whole career.
loungewear is paired with a staggeringly sparkly diamond It’s been one thing after another.”
W
ring, and that imposing security protects the compound – there
is something disarmingly ordinary about sitting down with illiams has faced a shocking barrage of racism
one of the world’s sporting superstars during a rare off-duty in the decades that she has been playing
moment. She’s tired (she and Olympia flew in from Florida professional tennis: from her successes – which
earlier in the afternoon, and her daughter refused to nap on have seen her drug tested with far more regularity than her
the plane), and I am acutely aware that this might not be peers, while her celebratory dance was condemned as
how she wants to spend her Friday night while her husband, glamourising gang culture by those who termed it a Crip
Alexis Ohanian, sits upstairs watching television. But she is Walk – to her defeats, where her impassioned rebuttals have
charmingly hospitable nonetheless and, once she relaxes into been derided as those of an “angry black woman”. She has
conversation, my somewhat awestruck anxiety dissipates been paid consistently less than her male, or white female,
and it feels curiously like having a night in with a girlfriend. counterparts, while being held to a different standard – so
“See, I don’t bite,” she laughs later. “I’m really low-key.” much so that the innumerous bad calls made against her by
Low-key isn’t the first phrase that springs to mind when umpires contributed to the implementation of video replay
you hear the name Serena Williams. She is commonly by the United States Tennis Association. “Underpaid,
understood to be not only one of history’s foremost athletes undervalued,” she says. But, “I’ve never been a person that
but also a fearless force for change, consistently and vocally has been like, ‘I want to be a different colour’ or ‘I want my
contesting the sexism and racism that she has faced her entire skin tone to be lighter.’ I like who I am, I like how I look,
career. “Tennis is a small play in the whole scheme of things,” and I love representing the beautiful dark women out there.
she says. “It was my way of getting recognition to put out For me, it’s perfect. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
such a big message that wouldn’t have been put out otherwise.” The life that Williams now lives certainly has the veneer
While our first conversation takes place in what feels like of perfection. Beside her remarkable roster of awards (four
another universe – before coronavirus was declared a global Olympic golds, 23 Grand Slam singles), she operates a fashion
pandemic; before the death of George Floyd; before people label (an explicitly inclusive line for all body shapes) and a
of all races woke up more fully to the injustices faced by venture capital firm (dedicated to lifting up unheard voices),
African-Americans and black people everywhere – it comes and has earnt an estimated $93 million in career prize money
to resonate with devastating urgency in the year that unfolds. alone. She married Ohanian, the multimillionaire co-founder
Williams is one of the last people I see before I end up of tech behemoth Reddit, in a ceremony she describes as a
sequestered in my London flat, and our catch-up calls fairy tale – their first dance was to a portion of Beauty and
throughout lockdown are coloured by our respective the Beast, and her engagement ring cost a rumoured $2 million.
experiences (for the first time in her life, Serena chooses to Ohanian made headlines after he demonstrated an exceptional
take a break from training; for the first time in mine, I try commitment to allyship when, in the wake of Floyd’s death,
to start). But as the months progress, our discussions evolve. he stepped down as a board member of Reddit, imploring
“People are locked down, people have Covid; there is more his colleagues to replace him with a black candidate “to make
anger and more time to reflect. And then you throw in that a better world for Olympia”. He gave his first interview about
this man was killed publicly. Everyone was forced to look the decision via his wife’s Instagram, and pledged any future
and think,” she says. George Floyd’s death was horrifying stock dividends to “serve the black community, chiefly to
in the way that millions watching the killing of an unarmed curb racial hate”. (That’s estimated to reach up to $50 million.)
black man should always be. (“For the record,” notes “I was happy because I’d never been a fan of Reddit,” laughs
Williams, “I’ve never watched a single one of those videos, Williams later, alluding to the intense pockets of racism and
because I can’t. It’s demoralising and it’s dehumanising. It’s sexism that proliferated on a site built on the principle of
my life. It’s something that could truly happen to someone hosting uncensored free speech. “I felt really bad as a wife,
close to me.”) But it was not exceptional: it was one event and I never told him because it’s his company – but I was like,
in a ceaseless, global stream of police brutality that often ‘Thank goodness, now I can tell you how I really feel.’” >
166
Crêpe top, £585,
Emilia Wickstead.
Fluted skirt,
to order, Alaïa
168
Embellished wool
coat, to order. Crêpe
dress, £1,200. Both
Dolce & Gabbana.
Leather loafers,
£395, Tricker’s
T
he world that Williams grew up in looks entirely
different to the one that she inhabits today. The
youngest of five sisters, who shared one bedroom and
two beds in Compton – the same area of LA where one of
her sisters, Yetunde, was tragically killed in gang crossfire in
2003 – she learnt to play tennis on glass-strewn local courts
to a backdrop of bullets. Her father, Richard – a security firm
owner who decided to turn his two youngest daughters into
tennis stars after watching a match on TV and hearing one
player made $40,000 a week – largely taught himself the
game, and crafted a 78-page training manual for Serena and
her sister, Venus, from books and tapes, while enlisting local
kids to jeer at the sisters as they played. “He always said, ‘You
have to learn to play through things because you never know
– the crowd might not root for you,’” she recalls. “He was
like, ‘You’ve got to be able to stay focused’, which obviously
played a huge role in my life, in the beginning of my career,
where I was able to block out a lot of things.”
Richard’s plan worked. By the time Serena was nine, the
Williams sisters had raised enough money from sponsorship
deals to move the family to Florida and its more hospitable
environment. But, reflects Serena, the spaces she first learned
to play in were – despite their issues – more than sufficient.
“I think perception is different when you’re growing up and
you’re not told you’re poor. I was covered so much in love
that I didn’t notice my house,” she says. “And the courts?
They were courts that built character, strength and endurance,
that built Serena. That’s what the courts were.” > 173
169
Knitted dress
with metal sphere
detail, £2,290,
Alexander McQueen
“HOW AMAZING THAT MY BODY HAS BEEN
ABLE TO GIVE ME THE CAREER THAT I’VE HAD.
I ONLY WISH I HAD BEEN THANKFUL SOONER”
Cotton/cashmere
dress with flared
hem, £1,115,
Salvatore Ferragamo
171
Wool coat with
leather shawl collar,
£1,415, JW Anderson.
Loafers, as before.
For stockists, all
pages, see Vogue
Information
“SOMEONE IN MY POSITION CAN SHOW
WOMEN AND PEOPLE OF COLOUR THAT WE HAVE
A VOICE, BECAUSE LORD KNOWS I USE MINE”
What is so extraordinary about Williams is that, given breastfeeding) she was back playing tennis. (“What the heck
the tenacity that has marked both her career and her was I thinking?” she wonders in retrospect.) During the
dominance on the court, where the power of her serve and period after giving birth, she struggled with her mental
forceful strokes characterise her play (“it’s the grit and the health, concerned that she wasn’t good enough to be a mother,
fight,” she says), she’s incredibly sweet-natured in person. that she couldn’t be “around as much as I would like to be”.
“No one ever guesses Serena Williams’s favourite thing to “I don’t think I got postpartum depression, I think I got
wear is tutus, since forever,” she smiles. “Growing up, I loved postpartum real,” she says. “It’s the most amazing feeling,
being the princess. I always wanted to be the princess. but also – especially for someone like me, who gets angry,
And I don’t think a lot has changed.” She describes herself who could win a match and still find something wrong – I’ll
as the girliest of her sisters and, while she’s regularly always find the one mistake that I made.” The first time we
acknowledged as a force to be reckoned with on the court, met, she explained that she’d just rushed through Olympia’s
some of her hardest hits have been served while dressed bedtime: her daughter was overtired, driving her crazy and
with radical femininity: she has worn hot-pink leopard-print she didn’t want to read her a story. “I was like, ‘Please don’t
dresses and denim miniskirts; Swarovski Nike Swooshes ask, please don’t ask,’” she sighed. “And she didn’t ask. Then,
and, most famously, a Virgil Abloh-designed Off-White I didn’t make it down two flights of stairs before I was
& Nike tutu for the 2018 US Open – after her all-black depressed: like, ‘Oh my god, I can’t believe I was so mad at
catsuit was banned at the French Open earlier that year. her.’ She had a long day, she’s a kid. Like, why was I angry?”
(“I think that sometimes we’ve gone too far,” French Tennis Regardless of the juggling it requires – as she resumes
Federation president Bernard Giudicelli said at the time. training again for competitions, her schedule comprises four
“One must respect the game and the place.”) workouts a day, mainly undertaken while Olympia sleeps or
“I don’t want to go into a room and blend in,” Williams during the mornings when she is looked after by her father
asserts. “The tutu made me feel amazing. I just never wanted – her daughter, she explains, has only galvanised her resolve
to take it off. I felt like I was a kid again, and we were in the to continue her own ascent. “They tell little boys that they’re
yard and I was the princess.” For Abloh, “Designing her look a future leader or future whatever on the six-month-old
for the US Open was a career highlight for me.” He continues, clothes. But for girls, it’s ‘Daddy’s little princess’ or ‘You’re
“Serena has an amazing personal sense of style and grace, so cute’,” she says. (The day we spent on set, Olympia was
and is an icon for the modern black voice that influences dressed in a T-shirt reading “Self-made”; she raced around
culture on the biggest stage – in sports, and beyond sports.” the studio only stopping to gasp, “Oh, Mommy, wow,” when
Despite her love of fashion, she hates shopping, describing Serena stepped out dressed in an Emilia Wickstead gown.)
her reluctance to try on clothes in stores as a hangover from As well as being a job she loves, tennis has given Williams
her younger years when she never found anything to fit. a global platform to speak out about injustice. “In this society,
“I mean, I got boobs and I got legs and I got butt,” she women are not taught or expected to be that future leader
laughs. “When I was growing up, what was celebrated was or future CEO. The narrative has to change. And maybe it
different. Venus looked more like what is really acceptable: doesn’t get better in time for me, but someone in my position
she has incredibly long legs, she’s really, really thin. I didn’t can show women and people of colour that we have a voice,
see people on TV that looked like me, who were thick. There because lord knows I use mine. I love sticking up for people
wasn’t positive body image. It was a different age.” and supporting women. Being the voice that millions of
“As is the case with most women in the spotlight, irrespective people don’t have.”
of their field, Williams’s physique has been subject to scrutiny Right now, that voice feels more vital than ever. “You can’t
– and in a torrent of racially charged remarks has heard her expect something to change overnight. I think that’s what
muscles characterised as masculine, accusations of steroid abuse a lot of people are expecting, but I don’t know if that’s the
and the president of the Russian Tennis Federation referring truth,” she says. “So many people have been murdered or
to her and her sister as the Williams brothers, describing them humiliated publicly for centuries. There’s always one who
as “scary” to look at. But, “How amazing that my body has changes things. Is [George Floyd] the one? I don’t know.
been able to give me the career that I’ve had, and I’m really Will it ever happen again? I think so.”
thankful for it. I only wish I had been thankful sooner,” she In recent months, Williams has leant into her faith – she
says. “It just all comes full circle when I look at my daughter.” was raised a Jehovah’s Witness, and has used lockdown to
Observing Olympia grow has been instrumental in dive back into the Bible, explaining that, “I’m not putting
Williams’s own evolution; she beamingly refers to Olympia’s my faith in any government or anything like that. It’s very
strong arms, which she loves so much that they made her important for me to understand what the Bible says.” But
reconsider anxieties about her own. “She came out looking for those of us on a different path? “You can do your best
like a little baby that’s been to the gym,” she giggles. “Her to be your best. Some people are doing really great. Other
legs are like she just finished 20 quad sets on a machine.” people can try to change their mentality, try to think about
Since Olympia was born, the two have never spent a day how they approach things. Be aware. Make their unconscious
apart, quite a feat considering the demands of Williams’s biases conscious.” Whatever the future holds, says Serena,
jobs. And despite the difficulties she experienced in labour “I’ve never been like anybody else in my life, and I’m not
(she nearly died after an emergency C-section and an going to start now.” And not only tennis, but the world, is
abdominal haematoma), within six months (and still a better place for it. n
173
Perfectly patterned,
bold, oversized
layers are a seasonal
staple. Four of the
best, at your service.
A month in the
COUNTRY
Juergen Teller captures the four
Bellamacina sisters exploring Cornwall’s
pastoral pleasures while dressed in this season’s
best cottagecore. Styling by Venetia Scott
175
The prettiest pink
Miu Miu coat finds
insouciant attitude
when partnered
with patchwork
leather booties.
Coat, £2,850.
Cardigan with
brooch, £860.
Knitted jumpsuit,
£995. Boots, £860.
Belt, £225. All
Miu Miu. Socks,
£18, Falke
JW Anderson’s
ballooning volumes
imbue easy
knitwear with
gorgeous glamour.
177
Don’t hide your
Chanel under
a bushel.
Blouson jacket,
£2,995, Chanel
In the world of
Gucci, eclecticism is
key: peasant styles
worn with ripped
jeans or cardigans
give cottagecore
modern edge.
179
Sweetly nostalgic
floral tiers can be
pretty practical:
add rubber booties
and you’re good
to go anywhere.
Dress, to order.
Boots, £1,040.
Both Louis Vuitton.
Socks, £55,
Isabel Marant
181
Bundles of colour
and texture will
enliven the most
ordinary autumn.
Blouse, £650,
Victoria Beckham.
Jeans, from £1,070,
Maryam Nassir
Zadeh. Boots,
£395, R Soles
183
Channel the lo-fi
cool of grunge with
Burberry’s mix-and-
match plaids.
This page:
reconstructed
shirtdress and
cut-out dress, to
order, Burberry
Dungarees are
officially back. Layer
atop an opulently
frilled blouse for a
touch of polish.
Sleeveless jacket,
£1,200. Shirt,
£1,550. Jeans,
£910. Boots, from
£990. All Dior.
Belt, £320, Tod’s
How to impress
while tending to
your brood?
Moncler’s lemon-
drop outerwear.
Coat, from
a selection.
Sweater, £690.
Both 3 Moncler
Grenoble. Boots
and socks,
as before
187
Roksanda’s eye for
colour combinations
is well documented.
This season’s
masterpiece is
testament to it.
Patchwork gown,
to order, Roksanda
The ultimate misty-
morning llama-
walking wear in this
part of the county?
A peacock-coloured
cape… worn as a skirt.
Dress, £905.
Cape, £1,630. Both
Dries Van Noten.
For stockists, all
pages, see Vogue
Information.
Creative partner
to Juergen Teller:
Dovile Drizyte.
Production: Johnny
Bamford. Models:
Camilla, Cosima,
Greta and Sylvie
Bellamacina.
Digital artwork:
Quickfix Retouch
189
FORCES for CHANGE
LEADER OF
190
Next year, Stella
Opposite: wool
jacket, £1,575.
McCartney will
Bra top, £895.
Wool trousers, £625.
This page: s/s 2002
celebrate the 20th minidress and shoes.
Clothes and
trailblazingly McCartney.
Hair: Soichi Inagaki.
archive and
Northwood and
Kirstin Piggott
THE PACK
FORCES for CHANGE
W
hen Paul and Linda recalls. “Or we were on tour, surrounded Lacroix. Afterwards, she finished her
McCartney welcomed by 200,000 people. Extremes.” A levels, and enrolled in a foundation
their second child into “I remember seeing one of the course at Ravensbourne College of
the world in 1971, they McCartney kids [Stella’s older half- Design and Communication. “I thought,
named her Stella, for Linda’s grand- sister, Heather] under the piano in ‘When I’m done, I’ll be a fashion
mother, and Nina, for one of Linda’s Let It Be, the Michael Lindsay-Hogg designer!’” she recollects with a laugh.
college chums. “Stella Nina means star documentary about The Beatles, when The British fashion designer Betty
girl,” Sir Paul explains by telephone from I was a teenager,” Stella’s friend Bono Jackson, who was a friend of Linda’s, sat
his home in the Hamptons. “And she is.” begins. “And I was, like so many, worried Stella down and imparted some wisdom:
Indeed, she is. This month, Stella about how those kids were gonna grow “You think you want to be a fashion
Nina McCartney is kicking off the 20th up under the glare and glaring of so designer because everyone thinks they
anniversary celebrations of her brand many. My first memory of Stella is of want to be a fashion designer. But you
– which she launched in 2001, aged that same feeling. Not realising, of course, might want to be a pattern cutter. Or
29. In those two decades, Stella, a that they would grow into some of the do knitwear, or production, or press. My
lifelong vegetarian, has grown from finest people you could meet: a) on the advice is that you intern in different areas
being considered the industry kook, street; b) at a gig; c) at a club after the and see what you like.” And so she landed
for refusing to use leather and animal gig; d) in a boardroom the next morning; at British Vogue, under Liz Tilberis’s
fur, to becoming a driving force for and e) at a protest at lunchtime.” editorship, while Sarajane Hoare was the
sustainable and conscious fashion. All The McCartney kids did survive the fashion director. “It was the early 1990s,
as well as marrying the love of her life, glare – in large part because Paul in the thick of the Karl Lagerfeld at
the creative brand consultant Alasdhair and Linda encouraged them to fulfil Chanel and Versace-supermodel time,
Willis, in 2003, and with him raising their dreams. Stella’s was to be a fashion and we were all in Chanel and red
their four children, who carry on the designer. It made sense. Both her lipstick,” Hoare tells me. “Stella was
McCartney family’s vegetarianism. parents were fashion icons. Her father very quiet, quite subdued, looking at
“Twenty years – that’s a big number,” dressed in Tommy Nutter and Edward everything and taking it in.”
she says, in genuine disbelief, over Zoom. Sexton suits. “My mum wore Chloé “All the editors’ assistants were very
She looks like a grown-up teenager, in the ’70s, so I had that floating well-to-do,” Stella confirms. “And I was
barefoot and make-up free, wearing one around the house,” Stella told me a country girl who had come up on the
of her signature jumpsuits, in sand- when I met her in 1997 in Paris, train. It was such an eye-opener.”
coloured organic cotton. “I didn’t even during her first days as creative director Realising quickly that media was not
notice the time flying,” she says. “I have of Chloé. “Stella and her sister Mary her calling, she enrolled in the fashion
such high hopes and aggressive goals were always dressing up in Linda’s stuff, design course at Central Saint Martins.
for change that time passes me by. like little girls would,” Paul remembers. The school “encouraged the out-of-the-
But, obviously, time is critical. There’s “They particularly loved the platform box, creative-thinking side of my mind,
lots to be done.” Like getting fashion boots that went up to Linda’s knees, which I could deliver on,” she says. “But
to take circularity – the reuse or recycling so up to the kids’ waists.” I was lacking in the technical skills.” To
of garments and accessories – seriously. When Stella was 12, she and her hone them, she moonlighted at Edward
After selling a stake of her company mother were on a plane, when her Sexton on Savile Row. Her degree
to LVMH last year, she now serves as mother said, “If you really want to be a collection in 1995 “was a mix of bespoke
sustainability whisperer to chairman designer, you should go and talk to that tailoring and these fragile, feminine,
and CEO Bernard Arnault. “To be guy sitting over there.” Linda pointed bias-cut slip dresses, all from vintage
the personal adviser to Mr Arnault to an ageing aristocratic-looking markets,” she explains. Everything was
on sustainability? That can make man across the aisle. It was Erté, the vegan – even the shoes. Famously, she
meaningful change,” she says. “I feel very renowned art deco artist and designer. had her supermodel pals walk the show
privileged to have that opportunity.” Stella sat with him the entire flight, and – to a song her father wrote for the
How Stella got to this point of peppered him with questions. Later, occasion, “Stella May Day” – and her
unmatched power and influence in the she interned in his London studio. Her parents sat in the front row. “When we
world of fashion is, to steal from her collection for autumn/winter 2020 saw it, we thought, ‘Boy, she knows how
Beatles father, a long and winding road. featured soft suits and flowing tunics in to do it. She’s not a stumbling amateur,’”
In the early 1970s, Paul and Linda ethereal prints from the Erté archives. her father remembers. “It was very
McCartney whisked their young family “I loved the theatricality and drama of convincing, had a panache to it.”
off to the Sussex countryside. As is Erté’s work – the absolute glamour,” she The collection was bought by cool
clear in Linda’s Polaroids of that time, said backstage after her show at Paris’s London boutique Tokio. “Then Bergdorf
it was a simple, rustic life. “We were Opéra Garnier in March. Goodman wanted my stuff, and
very protected, isolated really, in the At 15, Stella interned in Paris with Browns wanted my stuff, and Madonna
middle of forests, vast landscapes,” Stella the much-lauded couturier Christian was wearing my stuff,” Stella says. >
Stella McCartney,
photographed at her
London offices
193
McCARTNEY NOW SERVES AS SUSTAINABILITY WHISPERER
TO BERNARD ARNAULT. “I FEEL VERY PRIVILEGED TO HAVE
THAT OPPORTUNITY,” SAYS THE DESIGNER
194
FORCES for CHANGE
She sewed it all herself in her dad’s later. Today, Stella has a foundation for was a real talent,” Ford says. “She also
basement, and, later, in an apartment breast cancer awareness, and through addressed a different customer than our
in Notting Hill. Her assistant was it offers organic lace, double mastectomy other brands did, and I knew that she
Saint Martins classmate Phoebe Philo. bras of her design to post-op patients could and should have her own label.”
“I’ve always wondered who got those for free. “Everything we do regarding De Sole agrees: “She had an incredibly
dresses,” Stella notes. “Nobody knew breast cancer awareness sadly comes good sense – instinct – of what young
that I made them.” Chloé president from losing the most precious creature people wanted, and that is one of the
Mounir Moufarrige called, asking to see ever. We want to empower women things that made her collections so
her collection. “At the same time,” she who have gone or are going through successful. She knew her customers
says, “other houses [such as Givenchy] it,” she explains. Most important is early and designed with them in mind.”
started to sniff around.” Her friend detection. “Get your mammograms!” Though Ford and Stella’s working
Alexander McQueen landed that gig, (As someone who caught a malignancy relationship came to an end when he
but Moufarrige offered her the job at early, thanks to screening, I agree: do and De Sole left the group in 2004, they
Chloé. She was 25. “I thought, ‘I’ll go not put it off.) are still so tight that she is godmother
to Paris, get some knowledge and some In the late 1990s, Bernard Arnault to his son Jack. “Stella is driven, and
space.’ And that’s what I did.” launched a creeping takeover of Gucci. I mean that only in the most positive
I remember her first Chloé show, in To fend it off, Gucci’s creative director way,” Ford adds. “She was way ahead of
October 1997, in the same Paris opera Tom Ford and CEO Domenico De Sole the game with regards to sustainable
house where she shows today. There enlisted French tycoon François Pinault and ethical fashion. She has really led
were sharp 1970s-style suits, like her to underwrite the formation of Gucci that movement and, of course, it has
mother used to wear, and fresh, breezy Group, now known as Kering, with now become mainstream. Stella was a
dresses. “Little nothings,” is how then Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent Rive visionary and still is. She is a completely
International Herald Tribune fashion Gauche as its cornerstones. Ford became modern woman and a wonderful mother.
critic Suzy Menkes described them. creative director for the entire group, as How she does it all amazes me.”
Looking back at it now, you can see the well as for Saint Laurent, and he talked “Multitasking at its best!” her friend
roots of all Stella has created since – in to Stella about her potentially assuming and client Amal Clooney confirms.
the line, in the attitude. “The masculine the role at Gucci. When she objected “Stella is a great talent. Her work is a
and the feminine; the hard and the soft; to using animal skins – a stumbling reflection of herself: daring, instinctive,
the city and the countryside – those block, obviously, since Gucci is a leather purposeful, ethical and fun. She is a
extremes have been very present in goods brand – Ford kept the Gucci job caring friend, a devoted mother and an
everything I do since day one,” she says. for himself, and suggested she create activist who cares about the world and
The show was dedicated to Linda, her own label in the group. “I loved is committed to making it better.” Stella
who was fighting breast cancer; she what she did, I thought that she had a is able to achieve so much, and do so
succumbed to the disease six months completely original take on fashion, and seemingly effortlessly, because of her >
Silk dress, £2,325.
Jewellery, model’s own.
For stockist, all pages,
see Vogue Information
196
FORCES for CHANGE
unwavering focus. “Fashion is all my She’d driven over to her sister’s because, moment of clarity. “I was afforded time
life, really, outside of my babies, and she said, “I haven’t seen her during this to pause and re-evaluate why I do what
family and friends,” she says. whole period of confinement. She’s a I do, and why it’s important,” she begins.
First, her “babies”: who are tweens and good one, Mary. It’s nice to have a sister “And the answer was, I have this mission
adolescents now, and are unquestionably who’s also your best friend. I always say that I’m on. I’ve never just done fashion.
her priority. Each season after her Paris that to my kids when they’re fighting: What I create has always had to have
show, which is always scheduled in ‘You’re going to want to be best friends. a meaning and a value system. I wrote a
the morning, she heads directly to Gare Because it really is good.’” personal manifesto, and from that I
du Nord and jumps on the Eurostar Third, friends: she doesn’t see them realised I didn’t want to work in the same
for dinner en famille. “And when I come often, but she’s always in touch. “During way as I had been. I wanted to reduce
home from work, the sweet music lockdown, she would send me texts what I produce. This idea of reduction
of children fills the air,” she says. “My like, ‘What are you learning right now?’” is more sustainable and feels much more
husband and I, we’re those sort of says Mellody Hobson, president and precious, human and right. I’ve been
parents who, after putting the kids in co-CEO of Ariel Investments and wife wanting to have a new set of codes of
bed, look at pictures of them when they of filmmaker George Lucas. “She has language around sustainability. I wanted
were little and say, ‘Oh my god, where educated me on sustainability, helped to work on what words are important
did the time go? It seems like yesterday.’” me understand how clothes are made, to me and then put them into clothes.”
Most weekends, the family head to how to be more thoughtful about things.” And so she created A to Z, a 26-look
their farm in Wiltshire, where they ride “She has an immediate kindness that limited-edition collection in which each
horses, tend the kitchen garden, collect flows from a genuine interest in other letter of the alphabet represents a word
eggs from the henhouse and look after people, and authentic empathy,” adds – A for accountable, B for British, C
their eight sheep – “Itsy, Bitsy, Teeny, Apple’s former chief design officer Jony for conscious, D for desire… – and each
Weeny, Yellow, Polka, Dot, Bikini,” Ive, who is also a regular text recipient word has a corresponding outfit. The
Stella says, counting on her fingers. – though he’s quick to say, “texting is pieces are made from leftover stock.
She wants to ensure her children avoid very nice, but it’s not enough. I wish I “I don’t like how we always have to
the glare, and are country kids, too. saw an awful lot more of Stella.” change things up so quick,” she explains.
Her husband helps her at every turn. “She’s the kind of person you want As it happened, “because of lockdown,
Tall, dashing and elegant, Willis discreetly to hang out with on a Friday night, we couldn’t get any fabrics anyway.
orbits her – at parties, backstage at her but with whom you can also have an So my idea of using existing things
shows – and drops in when needed. They intelligent conversation,” shares Amber became a necessity.” The collection,
met in 2001, when he pitched to design Valletta, who has modelled for Stella she says, is “real and honest”.
her company logo. She laughs, “I was like, since the Chloé years. “She knows what Which brings us back to Paul and
‘Hmm… Interesting.’” She hired him, she wants but is also very collaborative, Linda. Everyone I spoke to – including
then, two years later, married him. Today, and that’s what’s going to change the Stella – says the reason she has not only
along with sharing parental duties, he sits industry: collaboration.” Kate Hudson succeeded as a designer, but become the
on her company board. “He’s incredibly counsels, “If you have the chance to have standard-bearer for ethical fashion, is
SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES WERE FOLLOWED THROUGHOUT THIS PHOTOSHOOT
loyal, honest and supportive. I believe him a girlfriend like Stella McCartney, do it.” because her parents were able to keep
and trust him, and he makes me feel In the spare time Stella has – aside it real and honest, and imbue their
safe,” she says. “And if he thinks I made from practising “very active yoga” and children with a sense of purpose.
a wrong choice, or should be doing biking to her Shepherd’s Bush office – “My mum used to say, ‘Could, not
something in a better way, he’ll tell me. she indulges two of her passions: theatre should.’” If there is one thing Stella
He’s got the courage to not ‘yes’ me.” and art. A few years ago, when we met could have done, and didn’t, it’s music.
“That relationship is very grounding for tea in Notting Hill, she had come “She’s a really good singer,” her father
for Stella,” says her friend Kate Hudson. from the David Hockney retrospective says. “I have inherited a musicality, yes.
“She cherishes her husband, and the at Tate Britain – Hockney, of course, It’s the only thing I think: ‘What if
longevity of that relationship says a lot being an old family friend. “You must I had done that?’” she admits. “But I’m
about her. That unit is number one.” go!” she said, and organised a visit for really glad I didn’t. I made a decision
Second, family: Stella adores her father, me the next morning. I ask what she early in my life not to do that.”
and he her. But her partner in crime is missed most while in lockdown. “I can “Wisely, she pursued fashion,” Paul
her older sister, Mary, an accomplished do without everything else,” she says, concurs. “It’s difficult to follow your
photographer, like their mother, and now “but I want to go to the theatre, and parents’ professions. But she certainly
the host of Mary McCartney Serves It Up, I want to see some art.” holds a tune, and we do threaten to pull
a vegetarian cooking programme. We When Covid-19 hit, Stella withdrew her into the studio and get her to record
talked about Mary during another chat, with her family to the farm. At first, she something.” I ask how he’ll succeed.
in July, as Stella sat in her car, parked found it hard to stop working cold turkey. “I’ll write a song called ‘Star Girl’ for
in front of Mary’s home in London. But then she had what she calls a her. That’s what I’ll do.” n
197
High drama or highly sophisticated, black is back.
Photographer David Sims and stylist
Joe McKenna capture autumn/winter 2020’s
dark stars, while Harriet Quick pens an
ode to fashion’s most faultless – and seductive – shade
Jacket, £5,070.
Leather cap, to order.
Both Louis Vuitton.
Hair: Duffy. Make-up:
Diane Kendal. Nails:
Ama Quashie. Production:
Art House. Digital
artwork: Skn Lab. Models:
Malaika Holmén, Harriet
Longhurst, Elisa Mitrofan,
Merlijne Schorren
198
Pitch
PERFECT
199
A trench and an
Alaïa dress make
for an invigorating
combination.
Trench coat,
from £1,390,
Eckhaus Latta.
Wool dress, £2,690,
Alaïa. Tights,
£27, Wolford, at
Selfridges. Leather
shoes, £185, Aeyde
200
Doesn’t it make you
reconsider latex when it’s
served up oh-so-politely
in a full-skirted ladylike
dress, à la Balenciaga?
201
All hail Julien Dossena,
whose Joan of Arc-esque
pieces boast modern
heirloom status.
202
Looking for
fashion that ruffles
conventional
feathers? Saint
Laurent’s latex dress
has you covered.
Dress, £3,955,
Saint Laurent by
Anthony Vaccarello
203
Buffalo stance – it says
something about a
style movement when
it looks as good now
as it did back then.
204
205
With elegant necktie and
all the femininity of silk,
the surprise when it
comes to Fendi’s blouse
is that it’s crafted in
whisper-weight leather.
Wrap blouse,
£3,950, Fendi
206
Drama will always
follow Loewe’s
animated cape sleeves.
Our advice? Give them
something to look at.
207
How to shoulder social
distancing? Rick
Owens’s pumped-up
leather jacket might
just be the answer.
Jacket, £3,020.
Asymmetric-shoulder
dress, £945. Both
Rick Owens
208
Valentino’s knife-pleat
cape seems a super-
modest approach to night-
time dressing – until it
catches the light.
209
nhappy, darling?” asks Gomez Addams. “Oh yes. Yes, completely,”
answers Morticia, glancing at her husband and smoothing the glistening
black of a corseted gown with a vampire’s collar. Black is to the Addams
family what red shorts are to Mickey Mouse – a uniform that signals
an identity, a perspective on the world and a way of occupying it.
Black – serious black, gothic black, seductive black, restrained black,
sculptural black – is back in fashion. At the turn of 2019, when designers
were preparing their autumn/winter 2020 collections, the chic noncolour
appeared an elegant proposal, suited to the growing taste for restraint
and simplicity as we counted the environmental cost of overconsumption
and grew weary of ricocheting trends. Who knew a global pandemic,
societal upheaval and the jagged edges of a worldwide recession lay
lurking in the wings? What a difference a year makes – today, dressing
in black seems both a pragmatic and poetic choice. In these turbulent
and transitional times, black has gained a poignant new edge.
There are as many ways with black as there are designers and brands.
“Although surges in black’s popularity can be attributed to periods of
economic decline or political and social unrest, as a display of austerity
and rebellion,” says Andrew Bolton, the Wendy Yu curator in charge
at The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York
City, “its fashionability also follows artistic and cultural trends. Black
can be an expression of modernism, minimalism or abstraction, and its
“BLACK IS PURE, CLEAR, rise has also been driven by subcultural styles – by beatniks, punk,
CLEAN AND STRONG; IT grunge and streetwear.” This autumn sees the delayed opening of About
DETERMINANTS SHAPES Time: Fashion and Duration. The exhibition juxtaposes black and white
garments from 1870 (the year The Met opened) onwards, highlighting
AND FORMS, AND IS the time-warping similarities across many decades. It opens with a
NOT FRIVOLOUS,” SAYS mourning dress from the period. “The prevalence of fashionable
mourning attire during the 19th century – which was often described
CARLA SOZZANI as alluring or becoming – paved the way for the increased use of black
in fashion,” continues Bolton, who includes Yves Saint Laurent’s Le
Smoking, Chanel’s black tweed, lots of Comme des Garçons, and
Balenciaga’s Infanta dress – which was inspired by the paintings of
Diego Velázquez – in the exhibition. “The strength of black, and its
potential to amplify the dramatic effect of a silhouette, contributed to
its lasting appeal with modern designers.”
This season, the black silhouette is dramatic and tender. Consider
Pierpaolo Piccioli’s line-up for Valentino, which opened with a rope-
tied black cashmere midi-coat over a high-necked sequinned polo neck
and lug-soled boots, with glossy black lambskin poncho capes and tunic
gowns to follow. “The collection stems from the desire to focus on the
humanity of individuals, to depict and exalt their feeling and emotions,
despite age, gender, race and disposition,” says the creative director,
who looked to Marlene Dumas’s soulful black ink portraits, to the codes
of classicism, and the black, blue and grey of tailored uniforms.
Weigh up Celine’s tribute to Jane Birkin and Catherine Deneuve in
the shape of giant, floppy felt hats, sheer polo necks and A-line skirts.
Black can also be devout and valiant: view JW Anderson’s priestesses
in trapeze-line silk-satin dresses with billowing sleeves and clerical
necks, and Paco Rabanne’s medieval princes in lean trouser suits set off
with pure white lace collars and cuffs. “I wanted to either structure a
silhouette – to sculpt it and focus on shape, giving black an austere,
mystic presence – or to work it really lightly, like smoke, to express the
sensation of a darkness around the body,” says the latter’s Julien Dossena.
“When I watch somebody wearing black in the street, it’s like a drawing,
an abstract shape in the space. You can focus more on the movement
and attitude, there is a speed involved that I like a lot.”
Black is quintessential to a handful of designers. Coco Chanel sought
to perfect the little black dress and little black jacket throughout her
210
career. The noncolour and the minimalist shapes of her nouveau pauvre black dye continues to be prized. “I love a really deep black, so you have
chic provided go-anywhere clothing that could be livened up with to find the right surface that drinks the colour better. I hate washed
costume jewels. “Women think of all colours except the absence of blacks, so you have to be precise in that choice,” says Dossena. Ink- and
colour. I have said that black has it all. White, too. Their beauty is jet-black are most revered. Ink-black for writing originally came from
absolute,” she proclaimed. the lamp-black residue of burning candles and lamps. The best jet came
Inky black and polar white characterise Chanel’s packaging, store from mines in Whitby. Jewellery made from the mineraloid was
interiors and even its collection of artworks, which includes Agnes championed by Queen Victoria, who set the trend in mourning style.
Martin and Erik Lindman. This season, Virginie Viard gave black a Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen skilfully plays the scales of
leisure spin with soft, popper-sided trackpants, bra tops and blousons. black. One standout dress is cut from a woven length of degradé silk
Cristóbal Balenciaga amplified the drama of black with the that shifts from cobweb sheer at the hemline to pitch-black with a
architectural silhouettes of his bubble gown, trapeze dress and numerous red heart emblem embroidered on the chest. By contrast, Anthony
iterations of the lace cocktail dress. Demna Gvasalia, currently at the Vaccarello revels in the fetish allure of black in glossy latex, sequins
helm, seized upon the power of obsidian with spooky pleat-back capes, and leather that Yves Saint Laurent first made outré in the late 1960s
spiky fetishistic rubber sweat tops and leather pants that the Addams with Le Smoking and his sheer blouses. In Tokyo, Comme des Garçons
family would adore. protégé Kei Ninomiya has made his love of black the focus of the
Japanese designers Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo made their label he launched in 2012. You will always find a great black leather
mark in Paris in the 1980s with what became known as “scarecrow” jacket and ruffled T-shirt at Noir, alongside extraordinary runway
style. Voluminous black gowns and raw-edged tailoring repudiated the pieces that are feats of construction. His latest collection is about
bourgeois allure of the little black tailleur and challenged the very black, too. “I was thinking about how black gradates, and how if you
bedrock of Parisian chic only to become assimilated by it. go into the deepest end of the scale you discover red – that’s it – a
Indeed, black in the 1980s became a way of life, a status symbol that kind of colour study,” says Ninomiya.
signified discretion and sophistication in a decade that revelled in excess, New shades of black continue to emerge. The deepest, darkest
bling and the pulsating colours of MTV. The fashion and creative synthetic example known to man appeared in 2014. Vantablack was
worlds took to it in droves. Black Yohji jackets and turtlenecks (purchased originally created for use in the aerospace industry, and Surrey
from black-clad sales assistants at Manhattan designer store Barneys) NanoSystems, its manufacturer, says that “it is often described as
became the default uniform of musicians and film directors, while the the closest thing to a black hole we’ll ever see”. But perhaps Kassia
sheer black Alaïa dresses immortalised in Robert Palmer’s “Addicted St Clair describes it best, in her book The Secret Lives of Colour: “Seeing
to Love” video represented the apex of sexually empowered style. In it, words fail: it is akin to looking at a piece of sky from the dark side
offices and homes, glossy obsidian marble, lacquer and jet-black silk- of the moon.” And, “It is so black other black things glimmer murkily
satin sheets became de rigueur. by comparison.” This uncommonly dark material triggered a storm
Black represented a philosophy. In 1991, Carla Sozzani opened her in the art world when Anish Kapoor signed an exclusive deal with its
Corso Como store in Milan – a temple of elegiac monochrome clothing, maker. A slew of blacker-than-black pigments then entered the market,
photographic exhibitions by black-and-white masters including Helmut but Vantablack remains the optimum.
Newton and Richard Avedon, and graphic Fornasetti ceramics. The Black also continues to bewitch. “To me, black clothing is the epitome
flaxen-haired Sozzani – rarely spotted in anything but black – appeared of chic and sophistication,” says fashion PR Daisy Hoppen. “When I
like a dark angel in the Italian sun. think of the most iconic fashion images by Norman Parkinson, Edward
“There is black and there is black; there are so many intentions Steichen, Irving Penn and Richard Avedon, the models are often wearing
one creates in black,” says Sozzani. “In the ’70s, I followed Sonia beautifully cut black designs that still resonate with me today.” Her
Rykiel’s philosophy ‘Black is beautiful.’ In the ’80s, I embraced Rei own choice of outfit is often inspired by film wardrobes, too. “Audrey
Kawakubo’s vision of the woman I felt I was. And now, I am in accord Hepburn in Sabrina or Breakfast at Tiffany’s, the gothic romanticism of
with Azzedine Alaïa’s thoughts on black. ‘I like black because it is The Craft, The Addams Family… I like nothing more than a mid-length
a joyful colour,’ he said. All have had their time. But the black pieces black lace dress, boots and thick socks,” says Hoppen, who wears styles
I would ideally keep forever? One Comme des Garçons, one Alaïa, one from The Vampire’s Wife and Simone Rocha.
Martin Margiela,” she says. “Black is pure, clear, clean and strong; it Over time, new black acolytes have risen and will continue to rise.
determinants shapes and forms, and is not frivolous. It gives the mind Such as Albanian-born Nensi Dojaka, who debuted her first collection
the opportunity to open up in space and time. And, as it is all colours of skinny graphic slip dresses and tailoring at Fashion East. “Many years
mixed together, it will support and highlight everything else we bring back, before I even started studying fashion, I went to the Tate in London
into contact with it.” to see a Rothko show. There was one particular piece that was in different
In the mid-1990s, Helmut Lang pushed the obsession to its extreme shades of black, and all the nuances of it mixed together to form these
and produced his staple denim jeans in 12 shades of black that were shapes. It felt so powerful to me, almost drawing you in. Black has both
displayed in-store like holy vestments. “Black is enduring in fashion strength and vulnerability that I love. For me, it’s about stripping it
because it holds a wide range of meanings,” explains Bolton. “Prior to back to the power of the design, the fabric and the woman wearing the
the mid-19th century and the introduction of black chemical dyes, clothes,” says Dojaka, whose attention-grabbing mesh bodysuit and
black dye was very costly. So, a garment made from a deep, rich black trousers were worn by Bella Hadid at the VMAs in September.
fabric, especially silk, was a symbol of luxury and refinement. That’s the magic of black. It can be seductive as well as restrained,
Black became associated with mourning in the West because it could an architectural statement as well as a cloud-like spectre, it can be silent
also be seen as humble and sober.” or, as the Addams family knew well, delightfully black-humoured. The
There is a vast difference between that happy, inky pitch-black that paradoxes are many. “It is the colour of the sound around the words:
Alaïa favoured and the “sad” black of cheap tailoring. The quality of black is poetic and we need poetry in our lives now,” says Sozzani. n
211
Ditte and Nicolaj
in the hallway of their
Copenhagen home.
Interiors styling: Sofie
Brunner. Fashion
editor: Julia Brenard
NICOLAJ WEARS CLOTHES AND ACCESSORIES, HIS OWN
DITTE WEARS CLOTHES AND ACCESSORIES, GANNI.
213
T
he first thing you see in the hallway of Ditte and Nicolaj reading under as a child, folky woven rugs and mid-century botanical-
Reffstrup’s Copenhagen home is a football table. The print fabrics by Josef Frank. “I think our home reflects how we are as
second is a nipple fountain by the artist Laure Prouvost. a family, and also how we work at Ganni,” says Ditte. “It’s about contrast,
The third is the glossy sky-blue banister that snakes mixing and matching, and new paired with old vintage pieces. There
through the centre of the house. Colour, art, fun: the are a lot of things here that I have found in flea markets.”
trinity of design principles that contribute to the aesthetic The couple bought the house in 2018, after selling their majority stake
of their womenswear label Ganni, and this, their forever family home. in Ganni the previous year. Cleverly, they threw a big house-warming
It’s situated in Østerbro, a residential area in the city centre, known party and then spent 18 months renovating, keeping the main structure
for its many parks and green spots. The small neighbourhood is the but replacing floors, building the new eye-catching staircase and adding
oldest villa quarter in Copenhagen, built in 1865 in what is known as a light-filled extension. “We tried to respect the story of the house,”
the historic style. “It’s a schizophrenic time period, but the architects says Ditte. “We didn’t want to tear any walls down to make big rooms.”
back then had a great admiration for local crafts,” says Nicolaj. “So They then set to work filling the house with art and design by friends
the house has exposed brickwork and you can see all the joints. It’s a and collaborators. “Most of the art and furniture we have collected over
modest house that focuses on craftsmanship.” the years is driven by the notion of relationships rather than skill or
Like most Scandinavian buildings, the house has a large number of knowledge,” says Nicolaj. “We collect things from friends in our life
big windows and glass doors to bring in as much natural daylight as who mean something to us. We’re not professional art collectors.”
possible. “Europeans spend a lot of money on going out and having Perhaps not, but their shared eye for all things beautiful and witty
good food,” says Nicolaj, “but in the Nordics we spend a lot of money makes for a distinctive space, as entertaining as it is welcoming. Fanlights
on our houses, because we spend so much time here during winter.” above the door in the hallway have been replaced with pastel-toned
The couple, who have three children – Betty Lou, 10, Jens Otto, glass by Nina Nørgaard, an artist with whom they have previously
eight and Rita Sophie, three – had a clear vision to make “the most collaborated for Ganni. In the living room, there is a pair of photographs
liveable house ever for a family of five,” as Nicolaj puts it. With yellow by Casper Sejersen, best known for his “orgasm portraits” of the cast
brick and dark-green paintwork on the outside, inside, the mood is of Lars Von Trier’s film Nymphomaniac, a balloon installation by the
playful, with a masterful sense of colour. “Well, that’s very much Ditte’s Danish artist Jeppe Hein that seems to tie in all the colours of the house,
universe,” says Nicolaj, with admiration. “She started Ganni to show and a tapestry-like oil painting that is pure, accidental art – it’s the old
that there was a more colourful side to Scandinavian fashion.” worktop of an artist friend, which Nicolaj spotted in his studio and
There’s a theme of pink and blue in various tones and depths on the asked to buy. “We see a lot of nice interiors in magazines that are super-
walls (they favour Farrow & Ball paint), and floor surfaces are in terrazzo clean,” says Ditte. “I think it makes some people feel calm but for me
or coloured tiles. These form a backdrop for both contemporary and it just feels cold. I always think you have to do what feels right for you,
classic Danish design, such as the Le Klint lamps Nicolaj remembers instead of decorating the way someone tells you.”
214
The artwork
that hangs behind
the living-room
door is the former
worktop of an artist
friend. Left: a new
extension holds
the dining room
sold the majority sharehold in Ganni, they still run it, and the global
pandemic has affected them. “This time has been a roller coaster – lots
of ups and downs,” says Ditte. “The business part, I have to say, has been
a lot of down, because we had to let some people go, which was terrible.
But in another way, suddenly you feel closer to people. You take time
to ask them how they are now instead of being so busy. I’ve become
closer to my colleagues. I hope we can keep that and take it with us.”
They regularly throw parties in their dining room, around a mid-
century table by the Danish cabinetmaker Børge Mogensen. They bought
it second-hand from the parents of their friend, the jeweller Sophie Bille
Brahe. “The table’s a complete mess in many ways, but that means
you’re never worried about it, which is comforting when there are three
kids sitting here,” laughs Nicolaj. It’s surrounded by mismatched chairs
– some from their friends at the Danish design company Hay, a couple
of Italian steel-mesh designs that Nicolaj bought from a restaurant and
various vintage finds. “This room sums up who we are,” says Ditte. “We
love having guests and we want it to be a welcoming home. It’s all about
not trying to be too perfect; mixing colours and fabrics and textures – the
same approach that I have to fashion. If you sense that people feel relaxed
about their home then as a guest you feel welcomed into it.” n
215
Stella McCartney’s
traceable-alpaca-wool
sweater provides
comfort for the body,
mind and soul.
Sweater, £775,
Stella McCartney.
Recycled gold
hoop earrings,
worn throughout,
from £660,
Ali Grace Jewelry.
Hair: Teddy Charles.
Make-up: Michal
Cohen. Production:
Connect The Dots.
Digital artwork:
Studio RM
Natural
WOMAN
Amber Valletta, Vogue’s contributing sustainability
editor, shows us the best of autumn/winter 2020’s ethical
fashion – backdropped by the raw beauty of California.
Photographs by Zoë Ghertner. Styling by Julia Sarr-Jamois
216
Vivienne Westwood
expresses her love for
the environment
in many different
ways – these roomy
trousers are one.
Organic-cotton
T-shirt, £65, Another
Tomorrow, at
Matchesfashion.com.
Wool trousers,
£2,075, Andreas
Kronthaler for
Vivienne Westwood
Mixing South American
merino wool and French
botanical dyes, Ssone’s
patchwork knit champions
the natural world.
Organic-wool
sweater, £995, Ssone.
Suede sandals, £70,
Birkenstock
218
Alexander McQueen is
synonymous with
heritage and craft. This
coat was inspired by
an old Welsh quilt, and
will last a lifetime.
Patchwork flannel
quilt coat, to order,
Alexander McQueen
The idea of supporting
Guatemalan craftspeople
is knitted into Luna
Del Pinal’s brand DNA.
Need proof? Try this
handmade Lake Atitlán
crochet on for size.
220
At Maison Margiela,
old becomes new via
some clever cuts and a
wealth of imagination.
Finish with simple white.
Embroidered organza
shirt, from £318,
Bode. Denim jeans,
from £75, Studio 189
222
Kenneth Ize’s
impeccable craft and
sustainable credentials
are worth many
moments in the sun.
Woven rayon/
cotton/silk jacket,
£1,998, Kenneth Ize,
at Browns, Machine-A
and Matchesfashion.
com. Swimsuit,
£250, Bondi Born.
For stockists, all
pages, see Vogue
Information
SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES WERE FOLLOWED THROUGHOUT THIS PHOTOSHOOT
223
The Stories
OF US
224
From left:
Malachi Kirby
wears jacket,
£995. Trousers,
225
“I JUST WANTED TO
GIVE OPPORTUNITY TO
UNDOUBTABLE TALENT,”
McQUEEN TELLS VOGUE
I
and the police brutality that sparked this year’s global Black
Lives Matter protests, Small Axe feels all too timely. McQueen
n north London, polite laughter rings through a photo has dedicated the films “to George Floyd and all the other
studio, where five ascendant stars of Small Axe – the black people that have been murdered because of who they
first television series from Turner- and Oscar- are”, but the series was not commissioned in response to
winning visionary Steve McQueen – are gathered 2020; McQueen first started conceptualising the show in
for a Vogue shoot. Malachi Kirby, 31, and Sheyi Cole, 2009. “The inspiration was stories I felt needed to be told to
21, sit at a table, chatting, grazing on granola pots. illuminate and rewrite black history in the UK,” he tells me.
Tyrone Huntley, 30, hovers nearby, while side-by-side at That these stories – some half a century old – continue to
the mirrors, having their hair and make-up done, sit Amarah- resonate decade to decade, only highlights Britain’s lack of
Jae St Aubyn and Tamara Lawrance, both 26. progression when it comes to issues of racial justice.
There’s a formality in the air that feels strange for a group Nor was John Boyega’s casting as Leroy Logan in the
who have just wrapped a major series. Yet, in actual fact, episode Red, White and Blue a response to the vocal role
none have filmed a single scene together. Each episode of the actor played in Britain’s BLM movement. Logan, now
the show is its own film, focusing on a different story from a retired superintendent and MBE, joined the police force
the post-Windrush generation in London – the one determined to change racist behaviours from within, after
McQueen, 51, was born into. Taking its name from an witnessing his father being assaulted by two officers. Tyrone
African proverb popular in the Caribbean – “If you are Huntley plays Logan’s best friend, musician Leee John, a
the big tree, we are the small axe” – four of the five films man who in contrast to Logan is full of self-assurance.
are based on the true stories of notable people (campaigners, Huntley himself is getting there, growing to fully embrace
a musician, a policeman), against which issues including his Jamaican and Guyanese heritage. Growing up in Lincoln,
police brutality, resistance and protest are explored. Huntley’s parents took for granted that “some people
But it’s a small world, and most of the actors’ paths have wouldn’t appreciate living on the same street as a black
crossed at auditions, awards shows… or after-parties. Take family,” he explains, and as the only black person in his
Malachi Kirby and Sheyi Cole, who struck up a friendship school, he experienced microaggressions that he only learnt
at Vogue’s Bafta party last February. Afterwards, Cole the vocabulary to express recently.
messaged Kirby for tips before his Small Axe audition. Kirby’s “It will be an eye-opener for people who shy away from
advice (“Just present your artistry, your truth and be ready the notion of injustice and pretend discrimination doesn’t
to take notes”) clearly worked, and the bright-eyed Cole exist. That there’s always been an equal playing field and you
landed the role of Alex Wheatle, the celebrated novelist just need to work harder and blah, blah, blah,” says Tamara
who, as a teen, was imprisoned for his role in the 1981 Lawrance of her episode, Education. She plays the sister of
Brixton riots. “He was the only black child in Shirley Oaks,” a boy sent to a school for the “educationally subnormal”,
Cole says of Wheatle’s time at the infamous Croydon which were often used by the authorities as a dumping ground
children’s home, which was later exposed for its horrific for West Indian children. It was a scandal that sparked the
abuse of thousands of young people. The episode charts start of Saturday schools – parents taking their children’s
Wheatle’s experience of social care and his adolescence in educations into their own hands. “It starts with kids,” she
turbulent south London. Cole’s childhood home was not says. “If you get the youth, that’s how you change the future.”
far from Shirley Oaks. Listening to Wheatle’s life story, As the only black student on her Drama Centre London
Cole could immediately picture it all – he thought, “I know foundation course, Amarah-Jae St Aubyn had such an
that place. I know that place. I know that place.” uncomfortable time that she almost abandoned acting.
In the episode Mangrove, Kirby and Letitia Wright (“She’s Fortunately, she persevered. Her episode, Lover’s Rock –
like my little sister, man,” he says of his Identity School of fictional, though rooted in reality, and a shining celebration
Above: Small Acting classmate) portray civil liberties campaigner Darcus of black love – sees her play Martha Trenton opposite actor
Axe’s creator and Howe and leader of the British Black Panthers, Altheia Micheal Ward. I struggle to think of another female actor
director Steve
McQueen on set Jones-LeCointe. Howe and Jones-LeCointe were two of of her hue or darker playing the romantic lead in British
with Sheyi Cole the Mangrove Nine – the group of activists tried in 1970 film or television. “I never would have thought I’d get this,”
226
she says. “What’s beautiful is that young girls are going to
see this and be like, ‘Rah, I can be a beautiful young black
woman on screen in a love story.’”
It’s a reminder of the effect Lupita Nyong’o had after
McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave – not only for her multi-award-
winning acting but for her dark skin (she was virtually the
only woman of her shade, at that time, to have her beauty
widely celebrated). “I just wanted to give opportunity to
undoubtable talent,” McQueen tells Vogue, of his casting
process. “Just like Michael Fassbender or Lupita Nyong’o,
it was nothing different.”
It’s an approach that follows in his decision to take Small
Axe to the BBC, “one of few collective spaces that still unites
us,” says Rose Garnett, executive producer and director of
BBC Films. It allows access to the widest possible audience,
which the BBC agrees the show needs. “Small Axe is as
meaningful, as wide-scale, as important as something like
His Dark Materials or Game of Thrones,” she continues.
“These are stories that will catapult into your living room.”
McQueen was given free rein to create his vision. “At the
BBC, you have to earn Steve’s trust. Part of your job
sometimes is just getting out of the way.”
Trust is a word that comes up a lot when the cast talk
about McQueen. He inspires reverence. Tyrone, though
jocular, is the most reserved of the group, and his apprehensive
eyes light up when conversation turns to the director. As
Tamara puts it, “This is Picasso, you know?”
“He was a conductor,” agrees Kirby, “and we were
each instruments; he was waiting for the symphony of each
scene. He would tap each of us like, ‘What happens if
you…’,” he mimics the brushstrokes of focused conducting.
“‘OK, play, play, play.’”
That musicality was at the heart of the process. As
Leee John, Tyrone describes “dancing non-stop”. Cole
demonstrates a motorcycle-revving dance he learned from
Wheatle, who was a sound system DJ in his youth (“I hope
they keep it in!”). St Aubyn says her episode is one “you
can dance to”. She learnt the era’s earthy moves from a
choreographer (a natural dancer, she instinctively moves
when she speaks, expressing each word with her body).
Kirby filled the set with 1970s Island tunes to get into
character, as it “changes your inner rhythm, how you walk,
how you talk, your gestures”. And despite the heavy subject
matter, the young actors had a lot of fun. “We knew how
BBC/McQUEEN LIMITED; WILL ROBSON-SCOTT; PARISA TAGHIZADEH; KIERON McCARRON
SAME TODAY”
Amarah-Jae St Aubyn in Lover’s Rock; episode four features Sheyi Cole as
Alex Wheatle, the novelist imprisoned for his role in 1981’s Brixton riots
227
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CISMIGIU
Retreat in the
heart of the city
W
hen buying a family house, Ockwells Manor in Cox Green, Berkshire
often it’s the added extras is another property that would be perfect
that make it really special. for a large family, and is steeped in history.
Leisure facilities such as a Selham House in West Sussex already has a Pevsner described this 15th-century
swimming pool, a tennis court, a spa or a head start when it comes to amenity value, as dwelling as ‘the most refined and the most
cinema room can, depending on your own it’s situated in the middle of the South Downs sophisticated timber-framed mansion in
family’s preferences and habits, become as National Park. Surrounded by an expanse England’, and it has some remarkable period
much of a well-loved hub as the kitchen or of open countryside, it’s perfect for walkers, features, from the Jacobean staircase to the
the living room. Obviously, there’s always horse-riders and cyclists. Set on nearly 20 17th-century panelling.
the possibility of installing these features acres of land, the imposing country house The great hall, with its high vaulted ceiling
yourself, but having them already in situ also has an outdoor swimming pool and a and imposing stone fireplace, is a wonderful
saves money, time and e . tennis court. space for entertaining on a grand scale. The
THE GRANGE, SURREY
A seven-bedroom Regency
country house with 15 acres of
stunning gardens and paddocks,
conveniently located within two
miles of Cobham village and train
station. There’s a walled garden, a
pool, croquet lawn, stables, and a
tennis and basketball court.
£5.5 million.
Sotheby’s International Realty:
01932 860537
LEA HOUSE,
HAMPSHIRE
With views across the
Solent towards the Isle of
Wight, this Georgian-style
house is half a mile from
Lymington town. It comes
with a state-of-the-art spa
complex, with an indoor
pool, Jacuzzi, sauna and
air-conditioned gym.
£8.5 million.
Savills: 020 7409 8881
EARLS TERRACE,
W8
Despite being in the
middle of London,
there’s no shortage of
outside space at this
Kensington townhouse.
There’s a 90-foot rear
garden as well as access
to the communal
gardens of Edwardes
Square. It’s also close to
both Kensington High
Street and Holland Park,
so there’s lots to do
close by. £10.25 million.
Russell Simpson:
020 7225 0277
ALDERBURY HOUSE,
HAMPSHIRE
Three miles from Salisbury,
this Grade II*-listed Georgian
house is surrounded by
33 acres of landscaped
gardens and parkland.
With a swimming pool
and tennis court, it also has
a separate three-bedroom
cottage on the grounds.
Offers over £5 million.
Savills: 020 7016 3820
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HEART OF MARYLEBONE
A range of luxury 1, 2 & 3 bedroom apartments and penthouses
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ART IN RESIDENCE This spectacular modern villa is set in La Zagaleta, a private
For the ultimate in industrial chic, The Pickle Factory launches this month nature reserve spread across the foothills of the Ronda
at London Square Bermondsey – a range of highly individual apartments Mountains, just a few kilometres from the coast of Marbella.
occupying the buildings where Branston Pickle was once made. A short walk Winding mountain roads connect the residents to the estate’s
from fashionable Bermondsey Street and London Bridge, this substantial new many amenities, including two golf courses, tennis courts, fishing
development is set in landscaped gardens, which will also include art studios lakes, and a heliport. This property is the jewel in the crown – at
and galleries for Tannery Arts, a local charity working with emerging artists. An over 14,000 square feet, it has nine bedrooms, vast entertaining
exhibition celebrating the talent nurtured by the charity is currently being staged and living spaces, elegant gardens and its own infinity pool with
in the sales suite at London Square Bermondsey. Apartments from £670,000. stunning views of the Mediterranean. €23 million.
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Contact our team for more information on our award winning homes and service.
Is there a secret to
escaping a boring
party? “If you
feel great, every
party will be
the best party.”
Where can I
meet new people?
“Claridge’s is more
fun than Tinder.”
Which book
should be on
my coffee table?
“Dior Hats:
From Christian
Dior to Stephen
Jones [Rizzoli,
from £45].”
Who is
the most
glamorous
woman in
the world?
“It’s a toss-up
between the
Queen and
What would
Rihanna.”
Where should I start when planning If I only buy one hat, what style should it be?
a fabulous outfit? A beret, definitely.
A hat, hands down. Sorry Manolo! Is there really such a thing as bad taste?
GETTY IMAGES; RIZZOLI NEW YORK; PIXELATE.BIZ
What is the best advice you’ve As Diana Vreeland said, “No taste is what
ever received? I’m against.”
Don’t look before you leap. I’m in Paris, where should I go for a chic dinner?
Tell me how to make a major Prunier’s l’oeuf Christian Dior is reassuringly
entrance at a party. expensive.
Phone the caterers, ask what time How can I break into fashion?
How can I overcome they’re serving the first course. Be a party whore. Your friends will be
first-date jitters? Is there a trick to working with fashion your first clients.
“Wear a veil. It’s
very beautifying, designers when they’re under pressure? Is there any way to prevent hat hair?
and a topic of There’s always vodka and a cigarette. Don’t wear a hat that’s too small for you.
conversation.”
Hat, £510, Stephen
What do you do if someone’s late? What is the highest praise in fashion?
Jones Millinery Call them incessantly. “I’ll buy it!” n