85 minute read
The 6th Annual Fashion Media Awards
And the winners are…
IRINA SHAYK
Fashion Icon
hailey baldwin
Fashion Media Personality
JON KortAJARENA
Male Model of the Year
nina garcia
Magazine of the Year, ELLE
cecilia bÖnstrÖm
Fashion Innovator, Zadig & Voltaire
stephEn gan & mario sorrenti
Cover of the Year, V Magazine
ashley graham
Fashion Force
winnie harlow
Breakthrough Model of the Year
nicola formichetti
Visionary
law roach
Style Curator presented by sunglass hut
&
stefano tonchi
Lifetime Achievement
fashion icon
can’t shayk
this feeling
For the past decade, Irina Shayk has held steady as one of fashion’s top talents—and no wonder, given her intelligence, verve, and all-around gorgeousness. The Russian-born model, represented by The Lions, reflects on her favorite moments and reveals her plans to continue pushing her career forward.
BY eddie roche photography BY rowan papier
stylED BY rUshka bergman hair by brent lawler makeup by tatyana makarova
irina wears: Red leather mini dress and white leather coat with green bag, all by MIU MIU
You’re receiving our Fashion Icon honor! How does it feel? I mean, I never dreamed of it. It feels cool, it really does. I just worked hard, and I thought that maybe one day, success will come. You’ve been in the business for quite a while. What have been some of your favorite moments? Every time I go to work—it doesn’t matter if it’s a “money job,” catalog, or a cover shoot—it’s a different experience and perspective. I learn so much that every day is a highlight. Of course, being the first Russian girl on the cover of Sports Illustrated and doing a Steven Meisel shoot were important. I’d never dreamed of working with [Meisel], and he was one of my favorite photographers. Peter Lindbergh is another. The highlights of my career have been life experiences, traveling, growing, and learning. What was it like to look at the collage of all your work on the wall during our shoot? How did that feel? I’m very critical, so I looked at it and was like, “Oh, wow, okay, that’s good but….” I like to challenge myself to always be better. In my head I was like, “Okay, that’s what it’s missing. We need to do something more.” It’s all about never stopping where I am but always achieving more. Which photographers are you eager to work with, and what’s still on your bucket list? There are a lot of things on my bucket list! Yesterday, I shot with David Sims, whom I love. I admire his work, so he was definitely on my list. I want to shoot editorial with Steven Meisel. I have shot two campaigns with him, but I always wanted to do something editorial with him. And maybe I will do a line of my own. A fashion line? Maybe not; maybe something else. I can’t tell you yet. I’m working on it. You recently created a capsule collection for Ellen Tracy. What drew you to the brand? Ellen Tracy is famous for its work with supermodels in the ’90s, and girls from the ’90s are still working! It was a time when fashion celebrated one’s body, and now is also a delicious time in fashion. I also created a bag in collaboration with The Kooples. I love immersing myself in something new. This is a really cool chapter in my career: It’s more about the creative process than just being on set. Though it’s not like I’m not in charge on set. I love to control things in my head. I love to know the light and stuff. Which fashion icons did you love when you were growing up? I’m from a really small, remote coal-mining village in the middle of nowhere. We had a few schools, one road, and one movie theater. We didn’t have fashion magazines, so I never imagined that I’d have this job that I’m doing right now. My icons were definitely my mom and grandmom. When I was 15, my father passed away, and I grew up in an family of women. I learned that a woman can do anything she wants. Women are strong, and my icon now is a strong woman who can handle problems, who can handle herself, live powerfully and independently, and love her body. My true icon is a regular woman—not a model, not an actress— who can handle herself and deal with her life. Do you feel like we are living in a pivotal moment for women? Yes, of course. I’m from Russia, and 18th-century Russia
was ruled by women. Lately, there’s a big feminism movement, with what’s going on in modeling and the movie business. Change is always a good thing, and I see a change in how women handle themselves. We live in a time when a woman can raise her voice and stand up for herself. It’s a great change, a great time, and we should enjoy and celebrate it. Who are some of the supporters who have championed you throughout your career? Carine Roitfeld, definitely. She introduced me to Riccardo Tisci, and he hired me for my first Givenchy show. That was my first big fashion runway show ever. And Carlyne Cerf [de Dudzeele], who booked me for my first page in French Vogue, for a calendar on the 12 most beautiful, successful models. There were all these big names like Isabeli Fontana…and then me. Donatella Versace, too. She was the first one dressing me for parties and red carpets. She’s my biggest fan, always. Then she hired me for a campaign with Steven Meisel and to walk in the Versace runway show. Also, Edward [Enninful] gave me my first W cover. Those are pretty good champions. They don’t get much better than that! I’ve learned that in fashion, so many people are followers. Those people I named? They’re not followers. They’re not afraid to be judged. They took a chance on me, and said, “You know what? She is having a fashion moment,” when the rest of the world said, “She’s too sexy, too commercial.” It’s so wonderful that fashion gives more chances for the up-and-coming generation. Rowan [Papier] is an amazing photographer: When you open his books, there are no Vogue covers, but that doesn’t make him any less important than somebody else. He’s just taking chances. In this business, it’s really important to give people opportunities and to look outside the box. My supporters gave me a chance. How did you discover Rowan? Rowan’s my longtime friend. When I started to shoot with him for [Italian lingerie brand] Intimissimi, I was pregnant. Usually, I don’t talk about my personal life, but I really want to get this out. Intimissimi said, “Oh, we need to shoot you.” I said, “No, I’m not feeling like I want to go out there and take pictures. The only way I’m going to do it is if Rowan does it.” They were like, “Oh, we’ve never shot with Rowan.” I said, “Look, here’s thething. It’s either Rowan or nobody.” I’ve worked with Intimissimi for so many years, and I know them and I
IRRESISTIBLE IRINA Whether she’s on the red carpet with partner Bradley Cooper, gracing newsstands around the world, or hitting the runway, Shayk’s sensibility is entirely her own.
love them. They said, “You know what? We looked through his stuff. It’s not much, but let’s give him a chance.” We got the most beautiful pictures ever. They ended up doing billboards out of them. It was a huge success in Italy. That was a big moment for me and Rowan; it was the beginning of his career and my career together. Since then, we’ve shot a lot of stuff together. He really knows his stuff, and he’s open to trying anything. With Rowan, it’s about teamwork. You and Rowan worked with stylist Rushka Bergman on this cover story. She’s quite a force! Look, Rushka is known to be this creative, fantastic, fun, crazy woman. I’ve known her for so many years. I did a Kanye West video [2012’s “Power”] with her. She’s all about art and ideas. She brings cool, crazy, amazing, fun energy on set. She’s Serbian and I’m from Russia, so we connect. She definitely gave good ideas for the cover. When we were shooting, she was like, “Ask Jon [Kortajarena] to hold your head, like you’re showing her beauty.” It ended up being so cool and so out there…it was my favorite shot. To get a great picture, you need to have a bunch of creative people on set, to come together with ideas. You and Jon were a match made in heaven. You look so perfect together on the cover. What’s it like working with that hunk of a man? I’ve known Jon for more than 12 years. I shot my first Guess? campaign with him in Los Angeles, and I connected with him right away. When you meet him for the first time, you feel like you’ve known him from a past life. I’ve been working with him a lot—he has an amazing sense of humor, and all we do is laugh together. I remember we did a job in London and they were like, “Oh, Irina and Jon, you have to dance together.” It was so funny, because when we shot with Rowan, he was like, “Oh, you should dance together.” What is it with people asking us to dance? What I love about Jon is that he’s a really intelligent, smart person, and he works hard. I can relate to him as a human being; he’s a down-to-earth, hardworking guy. You’ve been working for more than a decade now. How has the business changed since you began? It’s changed a lot. It makes me really happy that
there are a lot of things that have been written about me that
designers are starting to use models of different shapes and sizes to celebrate a woman’s body. You can see sexy coming back, which is really exciting. There’s definitely a change in social media, too—social media and technology are taking over. It’s kind of scary, because you go out there and see people sitting at restaurants and scrolling through Instagram. I’m like, “Oh, my God. What’s going to happen in 10 years?” It’s a little bit scary, but on the other hand, you can use social media as a platform to raise awareness and stand up for something. It’s good and bad at the same time. Models used to only have a book; now you have a technological “book,” social media. Clients go on Instagram, they look at your followers and what you’re doing. I’m not a big social media girl, but you have to do it for work. We’re living in a new world. The old world does not exist anymore. I talked to my friend the other day and she said, “Oh, I didn’t post on Instagram for five days and all my friends hit me up, saying, ‘Oh, my God, are you okay?’ What’s going on with people? If I’m not posting on Instagram it doesn’t mean I’m not okay.” Some funny and weird things have been written about you over the years; The Daily Mail recently reported that you take three baths a day. Is that true? [Laughs] I don’t take three baths a day. I said, “I could literally take three baths a day,” because I really love my bath. Interviews can be funny, because English isn’t my first language. So sometimes maybe I’ll word something wrong, or make a joke and people take it seriously.
There are a lot of things that have been written about me that are not true, but I’m not the kind of person who goes out there like, “No! That’s not true!” I just let it go. What do you like to do for fun? Once a week when I’m in New York, I get together with my Russian friends, and we do the Russian bath. We go inside a hot sauna, this guy comes and he does this treatment that heals your soul and your body. It opens up your pores. It’s a ritual I grew up with. Then we cook and eat Russian food. Every week, I look forward to it. I feel like I’m back in Russia. I just hang out with my friends, too—we’ll go to Nobu to talk and eat; the fun stuff, go to the spa, do my nails…just something chill, nothing crazy. What do you watch on TV? Oh, my God. Don’t ask me that, because I’m literally about to cry. I’m on the last episode of The Handmaid’s Tale. I’m not a big TV person. I could literally name the five shows I’ve ever watched in my life: Scandal, which is over, then Revenge, which ended a couple years ago. My friend was like, “You have to watch The Handmaid’s Tale.” I got so addicted, it’s insane. I literally watched the first season in one day. Now, I’m on the last episode of Season 2: I’m watching 10 minutes at a time, because I don’t want it to be over. I’m praying Season 3 comes out soon. How do you want to be remembered? As a person who has a sense of humor. My friends know I love to make fun of things. In this world we live in right now, you need to have a sense of humor.
male model of the year
being
jon
kortajarena
Ridiculously good-looking model and actor Jon Kortajarena has captured the hearts of Tom Ford, Hollywood, and your Daily with…well, you get it. After watching him work his magic on-set during our cover shoot, we sat down with the Spaniard to get some tips on how he stays so beautiful, inside and out.
BY eddie roche photography BY rowan papier
stylED BY rUshka bergman hair by brent lawler makeup by tatyana makarova
jon wears: TRIPLE RRR burgundy velvet shirt
You seem to really love modeling. When you’re a model, people try to make you feel guilty for what you do. I don’t feel guilty at all. I’m enjoying it. I know it’s just an illusion that you’re selling to the world, but to really sell an illusion, you have to truly believe in what you’re doing. This is what I do when I work as a model. Now that I’m acting as well, I’ve gotten the confidence to feel more free as a model. It’s been important for me to become an actor—not only because I’m growing up and this is part of my evolution, but also because it’s letting me be more creative as a model. Do you create characters for yourself when you’re modeling? I have to, otherwise I feel really clueless. If I see myself doing different positions to look beautiful, I die. I’d rather have a character, so I can excuse what I’m doing. I imagine a story or a message that I’m trying to send. It’s intimate, because this only happens in my head. Sometimes you share with the photographer, but most of the time it’s just for yourself. As an actor, I feel like I can do it for the rest of the world. What kind of character did you create for our shoot? With Irina, I thought, “How would I take care of something so precious, and how would you do it in a fun, relaxed way?” When I was [shooting] alone, the stylist wanted somebody really free, who doesn’t give a
f**k about how he looks. With that theme, it was easy to allow myself to be creative. Modeling aside, you’ve had quite the acting career, beginning with your memorable role as Carlos in Tom Ford’s A Single Man. After A Single Man, I went to acting school for a few years. I’ve been doing TV series and movies, and I’m excited about that. I’ve been working on Quantico, and I also did The Aspern Papers, a movie with Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Vanessa Redgrave that’s coming out in a few months. I’m also signing on to a new project, but it’s still not public. It’s going to give me work as an actor for the next few years, and I’m happy about it. It’s not that common for models to transition to acting as successfully as you have. When you become an actor, you really want to tell stories. That has been my passion since I was 17. When I was younger, I couldn’t find a way to be an actor. I’m from a small town and a humble family, but things happened the way they should have happened. How has Tom Ford impacted your trajectory? He’s been my mentor; I learned everything from him. Before I started working with Tom, I was thinking about quitting modeling. He saw in me what nobody else saw before. He taught me about how the industry works, what people expect from a model, what masculinity means. He really introduced me to high fashion, but he also introduced me to a universe of masculinity, sensitivity, and creativity. It’s hard to explain in English, but he definitely has been a guide for me.
she’s a guide. My agents have also been important. What’s it like working with Irina Shayk? I met her when she was 17. We’re the same age, and I remember the first time I saw that face. I thought, “This is something special.” I knew she was going to be successful, because she has the most amazing face, but she’s also feminine, funny, and smart. Now, years later, when we work together, it’s always so much fun. It feels like a connection that doesn’t happen very often. How do you take it when people go gaga about your looks? Apologies, but I have to say it—you’re so handsome! [Laughs] I can always tell when it comes from the heart. That’s what makes it personal; it makes you sigh. There are very few times when people give compliments and you really feel what they’re saying. Do these compliments ever make you feel awkward? It’s funny—a friend and I recently went out to dinner, and we asked to sit at an outdoor table. The owner said, “No, we are fully booked. I’m sorry.” So I left, and somebody at a
SMOKING HAUTE Whether he’s dominating the newsstand, the runway, or the silver screen, Kortajarena is always happy to get into character.
table was like, “Hey guys, are you leaving?” We were like “Yeah,” and they were like, “No, no, no. Let me speak to the owner.” My friend told me, “Dude, they don’t know if you’re a good boy. They don’t know if you’re smart. They don’t know what your values are. They don’t know anything, but beauty can sometimes give you certain privileges that, if you use it in the right way, can be really fun.” But I always think that your values and the person who you are should never be based on your beauty or how you look. Then you lose everything. Did you ever go through an awkward stage in your youth? Please say yes! Nobody ever told me I was beautiful or anything special. When I started modeling, I was 18, and I was shocked that someone wanted to make me a model. I was a little fat, and my face didn’t have the right proportions— everything was big. After a few years, everything settled in the right place. What do you do when you’re not modeling or acting? When I’m not working an as actor, I’m taking a lot of acting classes. I also like to read, and I have a small boutique hotel in Lanzarote, Spain, called Casa Sua, where I spend a lot of time. The hotel also requires a lot of time and effort, to make sure that everything is done exactly as I want it to be. I also work with Save the Children —we’re planning an expedition soon—and Greenpeace. I try to balance a little bit of everything. I obviously spend time with my friends and family, too. Where do you live now? London. It’s a good place for me to work as an actor because there are many auditions and many
opportunities there. As a model, it’s a convenient place to be, because it’s close to all the European cities. I speak the language, too! It’s not like France, where I don’t speak a word of French. Congratulations on your anointment as Male Model of the Year. Did you ever win anything when you were younger? My life has gone further than my dreams. When I started modeling, I never thought this would be my path, or that this industry would impact my life so much. Everything has happened step by step; nothing came fast. In a way, it’s great, because it gave me time to put my success in the right place. I’ve had time to observe. I can’t imagine how it must be for guys who do one job, and suddenly, they’re super famous. That must be really hard. I feel grateful for how everything has happened. Sometimes, it was tough; I felt that because I couldn’t speak the language, people thought I didn’t have the capacity [to do the work]. Afterward, I realized that I don’t have to prove anything to anybody. I just have to prove it to myself. After 15 years of modeling, I’ve shown that I am more than a beautiful face, or someone who was in the right place at the right time. How do you stay in such good shape? I have to thank the universe, because I don’t do sports. I don’t really care about what I eat, but recently, I quit drinking soda and a few other things. Basically, I run a lot, so I guess it must be from that. I really like running to escape from my thoughts, and that also helps my body. From now on, I have to be more careful. Beauty is a gift. You have to take care of it, but even if you take care of it, you know it’s going to go.
fashion mediapersonality
All Hail
hailey
At just 21 years old, Hailey Baldwin has become a fashion media powerhouse with a blossoming career on the covers of magazines and in front of TV cameras. The IMG model (and future Mrs. Bieber) took a little time before heading to Shanghai (to open the Tommy Hilfiger show) to reflect on the best moments of her stellar year.
BY EDDIE ROCHE
photography by gilles bensimon
Let’s talk about the past year. What were your career highlights? It was such a good year! It was definitely my most accomplished year. My first Vogue cover was a really big deal for me. I wanted that for a long time. When it happened, then I got another one, and another one. It opened up a door for me. I got to walk cool shows, and to do this cool collaboration with Tommy Hilfiger, which was amazing. I’ve worked with Tommy for a couple of years, and now, I’m a global brand ambassador. You also entered the world of hosting! I did! I hosted The iHeartRadio Music Awards this year, which was so scary—and fun!—for me. The hosting stuff opened up a lot. It brought out a different confidence in me. Was being in front of the camera always a goal for you? It was definitely something I knew I wanted to do, but I didn’t know in what capacity. I didn’t ever think I’d be hosting a show. It taught me a lot about getting up in front of a live audience and speaking eloquently in front of a crowd of people. I get to work with a great team on [the TBS TV show] Drop the Mic. They are amazing. So much has happened this year, it’s hard for me to pinpoint my favorite part. Everything has been so good! I can’t pick and choose, because it’s been that good of a year. Nice! I wish everyone was able to say that. Right? I’m very grateful.
How did you end up scoring a co-hosting gig on Drop the Mic? I screen-tested for it. They had me in mind and when it came about, it seemed like the right time to take on something that involved more than modeling. I met executive producer Ben Winston and [co-host] Method Man, and it all fit in. They booked me for the show, and we pretty much started filming right away. It was a learning process. I had to learn how to read off a teleprompter, work with a co-host, and not be nervous in front of a crowd of people. It was a lot, but really enjoyable. I’ve had the best time. Who have your favorite pairings been on the show? We’ve had so many good ones! One of my favorites was Boyz II Men vs. Rascal Flatts. It was really funny, and I really like both of those groups. It’s awesome to have these people on the show. I’ve had friends come on the show, too. It’s nice to do a show with such a structured rhythm. Any desire to have your own talk show? I don’t know. My life has changed so much, even in these past six months. You think you want to do one thing, and then life happens. It makes you rethink certain things and your priorities become really different. I definitely want to keep modeling and doing Drop the Mic. I’m going to take things one day at a time.
Having a ball Baldwin, Tommy Hilfiger global brand ambassador, has hit the catwalk for an array of brands. She and Justin Bieber announced their engagement this summer.
Who do you look up to in media? James Corden is my boss, and I admire him so much. [Corden is Drop the Mic’s executive producer.] I think he’s so funny. He’s created something that no other talk show has, like Carpool Karaoke. Those things go so viral. He’s such an interesting, fun-loving dude. What would you still like to do in the modeling world? There are definitely a lot of photographers I’d love to work with, such as Luigi & Iango and Steven Meisel. I’m working with people I’ve always wanted to, which is really fun. There are certain magazines I’d like to shoot for, but I think things happen the way they’re supposed to happen. Everything falls into place as it’s supposed to. We met you backstage at the Zadig & Voltaire show in February, and you couldn’t have been sweeter. Have you always been so gregarious? First of all, thank you. My family or anyone who knows me well would say that. I think when I stepped into the industry, I struggled with being insecure and a little bit shy, which is weird for me because I’m so not that way. It was coming from a place of being insecure, not knowing people, and having a hard time meeting people professionally, because it was something that I had never really had to do before. I felt like I had to find my place in the industry before I could find my place being myself. I think a lot of people go through that. You’ve got to just find yourself. It’s what people are drawn to most of the time, anyway. I had to get comfortable, and go out of my way for people, and be sweet and not feel insecure about it. Which models do you admire? I’m a fan of the supers from the ’90s. I really love Christy Turlington and Claudia Schiffer, and Gisele Bündchen is the ultimate for me. She’s created such a career for herself; she’s married and has children. That’s always been the goal for me. I want to create a career for myself, and then take it to another stage of being married and having kids. She’s someone I look up to because she’s done that really well. What shows have been a blast to walk in? A lot of Tommy shows have been fun because they are such a big production. They always do super cool things. The Jeremy Scott shows are fun. I loved doing the Zadig & Voltaire shows, too. I love the shows of people that I actually work with.
You were the face of Zadig & Voltaire. What was that relationship like? I did the show, then I met them and shot the campaign, and it grew that way. [Creative director] Cecilia Bönström is fantastic! She’s so lovely, so sweet, so nice. A very easygoing woman, and so lovely to work with. You have more than 14 million followers on Instagram. When did you see a huge spike in your followers? There was never a crazy spike; it was more gradual. At certain times in life, it’s increased, like when I started on Drop the Mic, and certain campaigns that I’ve done came out. But there was never a crazy jump. Do you check Instagram often? I deleted the app off my phone. It was the thing I’d check before I went to sleep, and I want my attention to be on other things. It’s so easy to fall into these holes on Instagram. If you look, you’ll find things that will upset you. I read things that are obviously going to upset me or make me not feel good, so I ended up deleting the app. I’ll download it to upload a photo and scroll through to see what I’ve missed, but I’m trying to not be on it too much. It was too much for me. Do you think there is Instagram burnout? Do your friends feel the same way? I’m not really sure. I have talked about it with friends who feel the same way and think it takes too much of their time and attention. I know that it isn’t just me. What does your dad [actor Stephen Baldwin] think about your career? He’s been super supportive and happy. I ask him for advice a lot when I try to make decisions. I’ve always sensed that I have really good intuition. It’s helped me make sound career decisions, even when others disagreed. In 20 years, any idea where you might be? Oh, man. Obviously married with some kids, and by that time, hopefully relaxed! I think I’ll probably be retired from “my stuff” by then. Who knows? Maybe I’ll have done something with my business that stretches all the way to 20 years from now. You never know!
fashion innovator
destined to
design
After 15 years spent modeling in Europe for brands like Hermès and Armani, Cecilia Bönström unexpectedly switched gears to tackle design, without any formal training whatsoever. But not for just any brand: Bönström cold-called a hip, young French brand, Zadig & Voltaire, and scored an assistant gig in 2003. A decade and a half later, she’s the brand’s long-running artistic director, deftly melding her Swedish sensibilities of low-key simplicity with Zadig & Voltaire’s French insouciance.
BY ALEXANDRA ILYASHOV photography by alexandre tabaste
Why did you segue from a successful modeling career to fashion design? It’s an unusual career that I’ve had! I graduated from high school in Gothenburg, Sweden; I was a good student, I spoke five languages and had a good pedagogic childhood. But I finished my studies after high school graduation, because I wanted to be a model in Paris. I had a beautiful 15-year career modeling in Europe. Then, in 2003, I said to myself, “I’m 33, modeling is great, but I think my brain needs something else.” Life is about sometimes listening to yourself—being more aware and awake, to stop being in your daily routine, and asking yourself good questions at a good time. I had a brand in mind that I really admired, that popped up in 2000— Zadig & Voltaire—and I called them and asked if they’d take me as an assistant. They asked me, “But where do you come from?” and I said, “I come from nowhere, but I have a good eye for fashion and I modeled for many years.” They told me, “If you have a mood board and a speech, you can come and see us tomorrow.” How did that unconventional job interview go? Of course I was like, “What did I get myself into here?” [Laughs] But I did it. I was still a model at the time, and I carried this suitcase with me, which had this thinstrapped silk and lace top that looks like lingerie or pajamas, and I always wore it under my sweaters. My girlfriends would make fun of me for it, but I brought it with me when I gave my speech—today, 15 years later, that piece is still a best-seller. What I mean is, designing is a lot about research and shopping. They said I had a good speech, and that I fit well with the aesthetic of Zadig & Voltaire, so I became an assistant. That old lace pajama top is something that already existed in the history of fashion, but we built on it and redesigned it in a simple way. How did you progress from assistant to artistic director? I was an assistant for three years, and then they made me head of design. I loved starting from scratch, having no pressure. I don’t actually look for pressure, or to be in the limelight; I liked growing with the company. When they first proposed the head-of-design job to me, I actually turned it down. They sensed my energy, and I told them I couldn’t be an assistant anymore, because I didn’t feel useful enough, but I didn’t think I was ready to take on a whole design team. They said, “Well, we believe in you.” The brand’s name is taken from a book Voltaire wrote about a man, Zadig, who goes through life thinking he knows everything, then realizes that life is full of surprises and ups and downs. Voltaire as a philosopher is totally anti-rules and revolutionary. It’s funny that when the founder, Thierry Gillier, started the brand, he didn’t want to use his own name, so he made up Zadig & Voltaire. I think that name fits so well with the brand, because the founder was crazy and anti-system enough to invest in a girl like me who didn’t come from fashion school, who came out of nowhere. Were there any benefits to joining a younger, smaller brand versus a corporate, established house? I get goose bumps when I think about it! Thank God destiny was so good to me that I started at Zadig & Voltaire when they’d only existed for five years. First of all, they answered me when I called! Today, I’d have to go through human resources and be interviewed. It was a small group, just 12 people, when I entered the company, and it was a great advantage. I grew with the company. And there was no hierarchy. First, I started with knitwear, and then they gave me all the woven/fashion pieces, then I did accessories, and then I was part of choosing the models. Erin Wasson was my idea. It wasn’t like, “We’re meeting at 3 p.m. to choose the models.” No, no, no! We’d talk in the corridor, I’d say, “Hey, I’ve really been
EFFORTLESSLY CHIC Bönström’s ultra-cool designs, and the equally stylish front-row scene at Zadig & Voltaire’s shows.
looking at Erin Wasson,” and the decision was made. There was no pressure. It was like a family feel; everyone could bring in their own opinion, and you were not afraid to be judged. The customer understands the nonchalant, chic attitude through our advertising, and we always use these masculine-feminine girls, like Erin, Freja [Beha Erichsen], Sasha [Pivovarova] who wear the clothes effortlessly. How would you describe the brand’s vibe and design strategy? The brand is always trying to build the perfect
closet for a woman—how can we help women get dressed easily in the morning for work, or for a date. [Customers] always come back for the tank top, the men’s blazer with sequins on the back, the feathered fedora, so I’m working in a small pot. It’s all about this nonchalant, rock look. Every season when I start a new collection, I try to find a muse—like Patti Smith, Nico and the Velvet Underground, Carolyn Bessette- Kennedy—to find the vibe of the season, but I always start with what the Zadig & Voltaire woman is about. What we’re so innovative about is that no matter what
we’re creating, it has that chic, effortless attitude. We’ve also been innovative by being one of the first French contemporary brands to do collaborations, starting with Nike in 2005. Then, we hooked up with Pamela Love, before she won her CFDA Award, and then moved on to Gaia Repossi. Collaborations have become too common and crazy today, but at that time, brands were happy to do it. How have you evolved the Zadig & Voltaire look over the years? It had a strong identity that [Bönström’s husband] Thierry [Gillier] invented of making clothes as products that would last timelessly in a woman’s closet, instead of just as fashion items. He had a true vision of what those pieces were supposed to be—the perfect white T-shirt, the perfect military jacket, the perfect men’s sweater thrown on for an effortless look. When I entered the company, I got that vibe immediately. I was born with that aesthetic! I like things to look comfortable, effortless, but it was a look that’s made mostly for the weekends. I brought in all these silk tank tops, woolen blazers from the men’s wardrobe, and hats; it was much easier for me to introduce those pieces before the brand’s history was too established. Otherwise, there’s a long history to respect, such as at a brand like Chanel. If you’re a good, clever head of design, you always respect the story of a company; otherwise, you have to make your own company! I have to say, it was much easier to be part of a history, of writing a universe, and making sure every piece has our DNA. Talk us through your design process. My talent is through the fabrics. Heads of design often have assistants choosing the fabrics. For me, every person who comes from Japan, Italy, France, or Turkey to show their collection of leather, silk, denim, it’s my right hand that touches them. I need to touch them. Because I don’t know how to draw! So the way I express myself [when designing] is through images. I take a lot
of photos of women in the streets. I’ll see a movie, read an article, or look at Instagram, which is global and inspiring for me. What are some new staples you’ve added to the Zadig & Voltaire orbit? The woolen Alabama Foulard hat with feathers is one of my signatures. Also, I invented black leather dungarees. From that piece, I invented men’s underwear in wrinkled leather that you wear with a black lace top. I invented ideas about how to use leather on pieces that aren’t just jackets, like feminine dresses and blazers. But the leather dungaree is one of those pieces that will last through the history of the brand. How did you come up with the idea for that fateful pair of distressed leather shorts? It was a meeting between me and the fabric that gave birth in my brain. It’s destiny that one day, I found this thin leather, and I asked the [fabric purveyor] if I could wrinkle it so it looks like it’s been worn. You know when you wake up and have slept in your boyfriend’s T-shirt during the night, and the shirt has this wrinkly effect? I always want to have something authentic and alive in each piece. I’m lucky that he understood what I was talking about.
red haute An array of crimson looks from Zadig & Voltaire’s Fall ’18 show, plus Hailey Baldwin donning a glimmering getup.
Did 15 years of modeling help prepare you for the design side of things? I don’t think modeling has helped me at all, except that when you’re a model, you travel around since you’re very young and go to different destinations working with different teams, and you have to work with these people, eat with these people, live in the same hotel together, so that taught me how to adapt and become a true diplomat. When you’re the head of design, you’re dealing with young stylists under you and you need to have a certain way of speaking to people. Of course, when you’re in the process of creating a collection, there will be moments when you change your mind and tear things down. I learned to adapt to people and situations as a model, but modeling never shaped my eye for design; you’re born with that. Does your Swedish heritage seep into your designs? We’re a country of stores like Ikea and H&M; we’re practical people, not show-off-y people, and that aesthetic kind of naturally meets with Zadig & Voltaire’s effortless, masculine-feminine way of dressing. Effortless also needs to mean practical! Why do I design a blazer? So it can be worn with denim shorts in the day, and then I put on a beautiful silk dress in the
CAMPAIGN MAGIC The hip French label’s Fall ’18 ad campaign, starring
Eva Herzigová.
evening and go straight from day to night. Swedish people are all about being practical and simple! That’s something in our veins. What’s it like working with your husband? A nightmare! [Laughs] The highlights are that you don’t have to say goodbye to your husband in the morning and have no clue what he’s doing. Thierry and I, we share everything, so I know when he had a bad day and when he had a good day. I wake up in the morning and hear him on a phone meeting, so I catch so much information, and I always am a step ahead. When you’re head of design for a company and you don’t live with the owner, you can be in your own little studio, focused on a collection, and maybe you’re not aware they’re opening up new locations, you don’t hear the challenges of merchandising or the finance side. So when I design something, I know it’s not just about doing good collections. Also, sharing the passion of the man you love—that way, you’re never excluded, you’re always part of it. The negative side is that work never stops. No Saturdays or Sundays. I have no advice to give. [Laughs] I put all the eggs in the same basket, and I was naïve when I did it. I didn’t realize. People say to me, “I don’t know what you’re made of, or what your mother gave you in her milk, but you’re a strong person,” because
I handle the pressure and stress. I put stress in boxes, I close the box, and I forget and move on. But if you don’t have that capacity, I don’t advise this! Has your unconventional design background, or lack thereof, actually been an asset? I can’t say the name, but I met a big designer who went to the best fashion school, and we ended up sitting next to each other at a charity dinner. There’s always a certain snobbishness between contemporary brands and high-end fashion, and we’re drinking our wine, chatting along, and it was kind of the reverse. It was so beautiful; he admitted admiration, and I said, “Listen, why are you going to complicate things? To draw and draw, design things that wouldn’t even work on a woman in real life.” I’m just trying to create products that will aid me in my real life. That freedom has given me this security in my naïveté, of being able to do things practically, and in an easygoing way.
Cecilia’S fan club
charlotte bÖnstrÖm
Cecilia’s sister and zadig & voltaire brand ambassador
Growing up, did you sense that Cecilia would one day work in fashion?
Interestingly enough, we were never pushed to pursue specific careers. Subsequently, we did not receive much career advice from our parents, nor did we put much thought into it. Therefore, we were kind of lucky when the fashion industry chose us, and gave us the opportunity to pursue modeling. My sister wore sneakers with a white Alaïa dress at our high school graduation in 1988, 30 years before the streetwear and sneaker craze we are in right now, and went crazy to find the “perfect blazer” at the flea markets in Paris in the ’90s. I thought she was nuts on both occasions, but look at her now.
Zadig & Voltaire is all about effortless style. How does Cecilia nail this?
Her Swedish upbringing, and her recognition of beauty in simplicity. Both of us have an almost childish appreciation of the simple pleasures in life, where even the smallest things can make us happy. This value system guides her design decisions.
What are your absolute favorite Zadig & Voltaire pieces designed by your sister?
I would walk around naked if it was not for my sister and Zadig & Voltaire. There are so many pieces in my closet from the brand I couldn’t find anywhere else, that make up the foundation of my style.
CLAIRE THOMSON- JONVILLE
Creative consultant and editor in chief of Self Service
How would you describe Cecilia’s creative vision?
Cecilia has a clear vision and an inspiring work ethic. She’s a working mother balancing it all. She genuinely loves and understands the Zadig & Voltaire woman, is fearless and intelligent in her decisionmaking, and is passionate about what she does. Cecilia wants to empower young women and make them feel and look beautiful. She wears the pieces herself and is a great ambassador for her own designs.
What’s your favorite trait of Cecilia’s? I am drawn to strong women with strength and determination, who have singular vision, and persist in making that happen. Cecilia is one of those women. I’m so happy for her to receive this award from The Daily. Working with her is an extension of family.
magazine of the year
giving ’em
elle!
It’s been a year since industry vet Nina Garcia took over the top job at Elle. The Daily stopped by her office in the Hearst Tower to learn more about her vision, digital strategy, and thoughts on the everevolving newsstand.
BY eddie roche photography BY giorgio niro
What were the first changes you sought to make when you stepped into the EIC role? Elle has such an incredible history, and I wanted to preserve that. Elle is also so much about boldness—it’s provocative, innovative, democratic, colorful—and I wanted to amplify that voice. All those things needed to be amplified. How did you achieve this? The first thing that I wanted to do was update the visuals of the book; I brought in Stephen Gan as creative director. His strength is really in using the intersection between culture and fashion to amplify the fashion. Then I brought in Martin Hoops, our design director, to get the visuals to work and to make the magazine look clean, clear, and concise. Elle has so much content. We dig deep into fashion, beauty, culture, politics, design, and travel, and it can easily get cluttered. So we needed a refresh—we needed it to look clean, and we needed to understand where the sections are and for the images to take the importance they deserve. Elle has always stood up for being really modern, and it was an opportunity to update that. What were your other early moves? One of my first things when I came in was streamlining the communication and the integration among print, digital, and social media. That is important to this brand, and I think it was being overlooked before. When readers go to elle.com, will it feel more like the magazine? Yes. It’s [about] working together, between digital and print, and having the more collaborative working environment. I think that since I’ve been here, we’ve had some really good collaborations between digital and print that have been incredibly successful.
Was becoming the EIC of Elle always the goal? No, surprisingly not. I’ve done so many different things in my career: I’ve been a fashion editor, I’ve been a creative director, I’ve been able to write countless books on fashion, I’ve been on TV. I really did not see my ultimate goal as being editor in chief. However, when this opportunity presented itself, I couldn’t pass it up. What was your reaction when you were offered the job? How did it all come about? What is interesting about Hearst is that everything is so thoughtful and well-planned-out. They don’t really make a decision without thinking about it very, very carefully, many months in advance. Now that I look back at it, yes, I had a meeting with someone who subtly asked if I’d be interested. A few months later, another person [brought it up]. So it was a series of conversations that happened way in advance. Finally, last summer, the real offer came, so I was a little prepared. In which issue did you feel like you truly owned this role? I started with the January issue, but March was really the issue where I thought, “This is my issue.“ It was great to be able to broker the interview between Senator John Kerry and Angelina Jolie.
LATEST AND GREATEST Under Nina Garcia, Elle’s covers feature women with a range of talents and perspectives.
You’ve had Angelina, Kim Kardashian, and Nicki Minaj on your covers. You book the biggest stars in the world. It’s the power of the brand. We really can get the big names because it’s a phenomenal brand that stands for so many things that feel so relevant right now. It’s a smart magazine, and it’s also about great fashion. Really, it’s the power of the team we’ve put together. Martin is a phenomenal design director. Emma Rosenblum is a phenomenal executive editor, who has some of the best ideas—a real journalist. I’m just naming a couple—it’s really just this entire team, the combination of people. We work together very closely. Having worked in this industry for so long, and starting as an assistant, I think you have a real appreciation for what everybody does. Those old days of the editor in chief sitting in a tower with everybody scared of you— that’s not my approach at all. And I don’t think that works at all in this day and age, to be honest with you. I want to hear everyone’s voices. I want to hear from my junior editors, as well as my executive editor. Their opinions mean the same to me; I want to hear that younger voice.
FEMALE FOCUSED (Clockwise from below)
An intimate look at
Emma Stone, as seen on the magazine’s September 2018 cover; Garcia with
Nicki Minaj, Stephen Gan, and Kylie Jenner.
What have you learned from working with Stephen Gan? He has a crazy work ethic. Crazy. He’s just a special person. I can see why everyone’s in love with him, because I’m in love with him. He’s professional in the way he works. You never hear an unkind word about anything from Stephen. Whether he likes it or he doesn’t like it, he has a really beautiful way of communicating. He’s very professional in that way. I really enjoy working with him. Jennifer Lawrence interviewed Emma Stone for the magazine. Is pairing two notables together one of your stamps? I think so. In that case, we wanted to make a point of the friendship between women; the support that one actress has for another. That friendship is really special. When we photographed Ariana Grande, Nicki [Minaj] just so happened to be in the studio next door, and we all saw one another. It was interesting seeing the camaraderie and the friendship between Ariana and Nicki. Seeing them together, speaking about their boyfriends, their careers, their journeys, was really like, “Wow, these girls are really friends, and they watch each other’s backs.” We had the same feeling with Emma and Jennifer Lawrence. It gave the reader the opportunity to be a fly on the wall of two women who are so incredibly
—stephen gan
talented—and authentic, because that’s why we love them, right? You also kept E. Jean Carroll’s column, an Elle staple if there ever was one. Oh, my God, I adore E. Jean! If you think back, she has been a trailblazer. She’s just so perfect for this generation. Her voice is so modern, quirky, and cheeky. While everybody on Twitter thinks they could be the E. Jean, she is the E. Jean! How closely do you follow newsstand sales these days? I’ve always looked at them. It’s interesting to see what resonates. Do I obsess over them? No, not really. It’s a different tim e—we don’t really obsess over the newsstands like we did before. But it’s important to see what people gravitate toward. I’m not going to not have somebody on the cover because I don’t think they’re going to do well on the newsstands. I’m going to have somebody on the cover who I think it’s important for our readers to know about. Have you previously worked with Troy Young, Hearst Magazines’ freshly minted president? I haven’t. I’ve met him, obviously, several times. I’m excited about this appointment, because digital is as
important as print, and Troy has the vision to really connect print and digital. Why do you think print is still important? For starters, there’s a permanence to print that digital doesn’t have. Digital is so fast, so quick, so fleeting. They both have their pros and their cons. I mean, there’s something about the effort, curation, and quality that goes into print. How did you spend your summer? Work! I worked, but I also took some time off. I went to Spain, Ibiza, Majorca. I gained 20 pounds in the process! [Laughs] But it was so much fun. What are you looking forward to this fall? Are you kidding me? The shows. Even though they’re exhausting, they’re so worth it. You’ve been a front-row regular for many years. Why is Fashion Week still so important? At the end of the day, it’s all about the experience. Nothing beats the experience of being at the shows. I equate it with being at a concert. Yes, you can watch it on live TV, through your mobile screen, or on whatever you want, but the experience of being at a concert or of being at the shows…you can’t duplicate that.
cover of the year
VISION
QUEST
As magazine editors fight for footing in the ever-evolving media landscape, V Magazine’s Stephen Gan proved he’s a maverick. His latest coup? A Mario Sorrenti–lensed July issue starring Gigi Hadid as we’ve never seen her before. The longtime friend of The Daily tells us how he cooked up the most memorable cover concept of the year.
BY eddie roche
How did you devise this incredible cover concept? It came up when I was sitting at the Milan shows in February. I kept seeing all these logo mania clothes come down the runway. On the way to JFK to fly to Milan, a convertible pulled up next to me that was fully monogrammed in a fake Vuitton print. While watching the shows, I thought, “How funny would it be to do something where you express the idea of logo mania, but on something like a motorcycle?” At the same time, I was watching extreme-sports channels—when you’re in a hotel room in Europe, you end up watching all these random shows while getting dressed in the morning. I then came to the last and most important part of the equation: Who’s the perfect girl to do this? I imagined a James Bond heroine…almost like an athlete. I kept thinking, “There’s a girl out there who’s not just a model, she’s an athlete. She’s this really strong, powerful creature.” Enter Gigi Hadid! We’ve been shooting with her from the beginning. I’ve always known her, and watched her grow up in a way. There’s a larger-than-life quality about her. She can be the softest, loveliest human being, but at the same time, she could really kick someone’s ass if she wanted to. [Laughs]
THREE’S COMPANY V’s multiple covers were shot by Mario Sorrenti.
I say that lovingly. There’s this strong fierceness about her, just like a Bond girl or a superhero out of a comic book. How did you determine which photographer should shoot it? I ran into Mario [Sorrenti] at the Paris shows a couple of weeks later. I was having coffee with him and I said, “Mario, this is so unlike what you normally do, but…” He was talking to me about his enchantment these days with film and moving image. The covers really felt more like stills out of a film as opposed to what we’re all doing these days—99 percent of fashion magazines
these days are doing the opposite, “Let’s get good stills for the cover and when we’ve nailed that, let’s try to shoot the BTS around it.” That’s the way we’re all working right now. For this, I decided to try the reverse. What if Mario saw this as a film, and we almost extracted stills and ran them as covers? And so one thing led to another. It’s so different from most of the covers you see on the newsstand. Did you have any reservations about pursuing this direction? I closed my eyes and visualized it at the end of February,
DOUBLE DUTY Gan splits his time between V and Elle magazine, where he is creative director.
and by the time we were shooting it in May, Mario really captured what I saw in my mind’s eye. I had no doubt the results would be good, but I hadn’t realized the whole process would be so painstaking. Unlike the counterfeit monogrammed convertible next to me on the way to the airport, everything had to be real. I had to ask Karl [Lagerfeld] to design the Fendi life vest and Fendi bathing suit, and to turn the high-heeled boots into flats so she could get them onto the Sea-Doo. What were the other hurdles? We were on our way to shoot it in Miami and then a storm hit, so we had to cancel the shoot and regroup two weeks later. It was literally like filming an action thriller…with drama along the way. Parts of that were also costly. It was a six-month process. There were many moments I thought, “Let’s just get Gigi in the studio and do a simple magazine cover. Why are you killing yourself and everyone around you to make this happen?” The result is so different than just a model looking at the camera. How did you bring the idea to Gigi? By pure coincidence, I was sitting next to [IMG Models’] Luiz Mattos watching Gigi walk down the Moschino runway. I said, “She’s perfect for this.” Luiz gets any idea immediately, and he texted me the next day that Gigi was totally down for it! It was a strange convergence of events that I ended up running into Mario Sorrenti, too. The finished image was calculated, but not the process. Love that Gigi was immediately on-board. I think she might have said something like, “I’ll do it if I get to do my own stunts.” It’s such a Gigi reaction. You say, “Jump,” and she goes, “How high?” There’s a real competitive athlete in her. She’s really brave and dedicated to her craft; that’s what I love about her. She’s not one of those models who goes, “Ooh, I don’t know, the water’s too cold.” She’s on a mission and I love that. Did you always intend to have three different versions of the cover? To me, they represented the three themes of this action heroine. When we first sat down to order the clothes, Mario Sorrenti, [stylist] George Cortina, and I watched that scene from the James Bond film A View to a Kill, where Grace Jones jumps off the Eiffel Tower and her dress turns into a parachute. It’s an incredible scene. [Our shoot] was sort of like a Bond movie: One minute, the heroine was underwater and she happened to be in Chanel, and then in another scene, she’s on the Fendi Sea-Doo, then she gets on a dune buggy with a Philipp Plein monogram all over it. If we had a year
to put this together, I would have done six more covers of other chapters of Gigi. How long have you been working with Mario? What’s that dynamic like? Probably since the first issue of V, so over 18 years now. There’s always been a healthy discussion with him—it never, ever feels like fulfilling a brief, it feels like it’s always an artistic challenge. He’s got this very experimental side, which I love. I consider that the best sort of collaboration, when you can spar with each other and push each other creatively to make something overthe-top along the way. Why did you enlist George Cortina to style the shoot? Mario and I both thought of George, because he has an experimental side, but he also can do things in a somewhat refined and sophisticated way. It doesn’t
come across as all craziness or all experimentation. He adds a polish to things, let’s put it that way. You look at those pictures and you see Gigi doing these extreme sports, but she’s in full hair and makeup, and you feel like she could come off the Sea-Doo or the dune buggy in heels. What else is happening with V? When’s your next issue coming out? The September issue of V launched recently. [Cover star] Jorja Smith is my latest discovery. She’s beautiful, inside and out, and she’s an incredible musician. I haven’t been so excited about someone brand-new since probably the first time we put Lady Gaga on the cover eight years ago, when people didn’t really know her. [Jorja] is not pop; she’s soulful. She’s a completely different animal.
STEPHEN’S WORLD (Clockwise from top) Behind the scenes of V’s cover shoot; IMG director Luiz Mattos and Gigi Hadid pose with a Chanel surfboard; the September ’18 cover; Gan with close friend Karl Lagerfeld.
How was your summer? I worked a lot, and I did my annual visit to St. Tropez. I think you always seem to interview me when I’m coming off the plane and I’ve switched my phone off for a week! There was a massive heat wave going on in Europe, so it was probably one of my hottest visits over there. That’s about it. The first eight months of this year have been crazy, since I started at Elle on January 4th; I probably had only two weekends off. I really did need to chill out. Any other thoughts on your recipe for cover success? These days, everyone in the industry’s sort of struggling. You have to find ways of rewriting the book. I felt like I had to push myself to dig deep, and try to find something that would give people a breath of fresh air. If we still have this chance, why don’t we use it and do everything within our power to put a smile on everyone’s faces?
You’ve talked before about wanting to be the next Oprah Winfrey. Seems like you’re on your way. I’m not going to be the next Oprah because I’m going to be the next Ashley Graham. Oprah is just a great inspiration. I can see where she’s gone, and know there’s nothing I can’t do. There are so many things people told Oprah she couldn’t do, that she’d never do, and she beat the odds. She opened every door. That’s what is inspiring to me. You’re so busy all the time. What do you do when you’re not working? Are you ever not working? [Laughs] Well, no, there’s never a time when I’m not working, but I do think, you know, if Jesus has a day of Sabbath, I’m gonna have a day of Sabbath. [Laughs] I think it’s important to take some me time. Me time is usually maintenance time, like nails, facials, and massages, and I try to work out a least four days a week. But I also love vacationing with my friends and my husband. This year alone, we’ve already gone to Greece, Italy, and Spain. We’re headed to Italy again, and we’re going to Ethiopia, Turkey, and Egypt. I love traveling. We also hear that you love theater. Yes! Seen any good shows recently? My mom came into town and wanted to see Kinky Boots, so we went and had the time of our lives. But I have to tell you, I bring the theater to wherever I am. It’s like razzledazzle time because, I can’t sing, but I do have a voice that belts pretty loudly, so I’m pretty much a Broadway musical all on my own. Do you have any acting aspirations? People ask me that all the time. I’m really weird and goofy. I sing a lot on set, and I do fun accents when I’m reading my lines. I’m good at being myself. But if somebody wrote the right role for me, maybe I’d do it. I just haven’t seen the right script yet. If you see anything, just pass it along! What can viewers expect from Season 2 of American Beauty Star? We’ve got Yu Tsai, who shot my second year of Sports Illustrated; Leah Wyar Romito, who’s the chief beauty director at Hearst Magazines; and Christie Brinkley. Sir John is still the mentor; he’s so lovely and sweet. And the contestants this year have stepped it up even more than last season. The stakes are higher. The prizes are bigger. And I’m really excited because Revlon is a part of it this season. This truly is a hair and makeup show at its finest. You’re also an executive producer this season. That’s new for you. How has that been? You sit in a lot of meetings. [Laughs] It’s exercising another part of my brain, and that is exciting. We’ve shot a whole episode each day for the past two and a half weeks. Do you have a mentor to help navigate this new role? I don’t have a mentor, but I have to thank Tyra Banks. I watched her not only host America’s Next Top Model but executive produce it as well. The last season that we did together, I took every mental note possible and then I would call her and ask her for business advice. I still do from time to time. Tyra has always been a champion for people being their own individual selves, and she has always told me how happy and excited she is about my career and where it’s headed. So I’ve kind of put on my Tyra hat, but in the Ashley Graham way. Earlier this year, you landed a major beauty contract with Revlon. How does that feel? I have to say, to be the first curvy girl of my generation to have a makeup contract is an incredible honor, and it just goes to show that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes and lipstick doesn’t have a size. That was the biggest thing I wanted Revlon to understand. You’re not just giving a contract to a model; you’re giving a voice to women who haven’t felt beautiful and who haven’t been praised in the media for being themselves. That’s exactly what Revlon did when they signed me on to their roster.
How did that come about? When Linda Wells got her role at Revlon, Ivan Bart from IMG took me over and we had what was supposed to be a quick coffee date, which turned into a three-hour dinner. We hit it off immediately. You’re such a vocal advocate and activist—especially on social media. Ever thought of getting into politics? No, thank you! [Laughs] Imma stay in my lane. [Laughs] You get asked about body politics in every interview. You’re always so gracious and positive, but do you ever get sick of talking about this stuff ? Oh, 100 percent. I’m so excited that we’re finally getting a seat at the table, but it’s exhausting to have to always talk about how “brave” you are for getting into a bikini because your cellulite is hanging out. The worst question I get asked all the time is, “How did you find the confidence to get into that bikini and get photographed and not get your cellulite retouched?” And it’s like, well, honestly, I just got into the bikini, I went to the beach, and then I got over it. I mean, we all have our insecurities, but you learn to grow and love yourself, and I think about all the women whose lives are being changed by seeing that photo and by seeing me just being confident and posing. That’s why I do this. You’ve done so much in your fashion career already— multiple Vogue covers, major campaigns, walking the runway for everyone from Michael Kors to
Dolce & Gabbana. What is left for you to still achieve? There are many, many, many more covers I want to get. I’ve talked to Joan [Smalls], Karlie [Kloss], Amber [Valletta], and Gigi [Hadid] and they have had a multitude of covers that just come to them like it’s a regular thing. I would love to have that happen. I also think there just needs to be more diversity. I mean no more tokens or checklists, like [brands] making sure that they have this girl, that girl, and the other girl, just to show that they are authentic and about diversity. It doesn’t need to be a conversation. It just needs to be there. And I think that women like Halima [Aden] and Paloma [Elsesser]—just to name a couple—are helping change that perspective. Your acceptance by the fashion world is still pretty new. Is it ever difficult for you to work with brands or people who spent so long rejecting you? The way my mother raised me, you kill people with kindness and your glass is always half full. So, yes, there are people who have said no to me in the past and now they want me and I actually come in with the biggest smile on my face, grateful as ever, and show them what a great model I am and how much it’s going to impact their company or magazine to have me involved. And then, to me, it’s kind of like rubbing it in a little. Like, you should have hopped on [this bandwagon] a little sooner. But I do it with a smile on my face. I’m never going to be rude or say no to somebody just because they said no to me.
breakthroughmodel of the year
in it to
win it
After a big break courtesy of Nick Knight, a starring role in major campaigns, and a memorable moment in Beyoncé’s “Lemonade” music video, Toronto-born Jamaican model Winnie Harlow is undeniably the model to watch.
BY ALEXANDRA ILYASHOV
Your birth name is Chantelle Brown-Young. Where did the name Winnie Harlow come from? It’s literally just from Winnie the Pooh! I was a big fan growing up, and it was actually from a joke with some friends. We were on the phone with some boys, I grabbed the phone from one of my girls, and was like, “Don’t give my friends attitude!” And the boys asked, “Who is this?” I looked over, my friend was wearing a Winnie the Pooh T-shirt, so I said my name was Winnie. When I started working, it felt kind of natural to just continue with it. Harlow comes from Jean Harlow; I’m a really big Marilyn Monroe fan, but I didn’t want to use Monroe, because that felt cheesy. But Jean Harlow was one of Marilyn’s really big career inspirations, so I took the name Harlow. I do love my actual name a lot. At the beginning, I tried to go by Chantelle Winnie, but then decided to keep Winnie Harlow and Chantelle separate. My family calls me Chantelle. What was your first breakout career moment? Getting to work with Nick Knight. It was the first time I actually felt like I could model. Nick told me I really knew how to work with my body, and that I knew how to model from head to toe. He told me I should show the other models how to move; I was like, “Nick Knight is telling me I should teach people what to do, and I don’t even know what I’m doing, I’m just trying to wing it!” [Laughs] Do you have any dance training? When I was a child, my first career goal was to be a ballerina. I used to take ballet, until I pulled my groin. Twice. The first time, I recovered, but when I did it again, that was the end of that. I’m also Jamaican, so I definitely know how to move my waistline! You’ve talked about wanting to be an entertainment journalist when you were a kid. Why did that path appeal to you? It was intriguing to me because I watched MTV, BET, E! News when I was growing up. I always enjoyed seeing Terrence J on BET. I felt like I had the personality to pursue a job like that. When MTV in Canada did a VJ search, I remember standing in this massive line at age 17. I didn’t get it because they said I didn’t have enough experience, and that I should probably go to school for journalism. But then I started pursuing modeling, so that didn’t happen. But you recently hosted the MTV VMAs red carpet, so you’re sort of pursuing that goal, no? I was so nervous! My first thing on-air was me interviewing Shawn Mendes, and luckily, I knew Shawn prior to this, so before we started, I gave him a big hug and was like, “Please help me, I’m so nervous!” Being on the red carpet was too much adrenaline for me. Entertainment journalism is not something I want to pursue anymore, but I’m so grateful I got to live out a dream. Any other major game-changing moments in your career? My first campaign for Desigual was a pivotal moment for me. They had my face all over the world—in Times Square, Tokyo, all over the Barcelona airport. That was the world’s first major introduction to me as a model. Seeing a video of myself in Times Square was just surreal. How have you used your platform to challenge conventional beauty standards? My career, in and of itself, speaks to that. My goal has always been to do what I wanted, and I want people to see they can achieve whatever they want to do, not just to follow in my footsteps. If you want to be a doctor and someone’s telling you that you can’t, push even harder. Prove them wrong! Or, moreover, prove yourself right. What did people tell you to do career-wise? When I was 16 or 17, a few people had told me I should model, so I went to downtown Toronto with my mom to meet with some modeling agencies. The head of
one agency said to me, “You have such beautiful bone structure, you can thank your mom for that, but there’s not really a place for you in the industry, and if you want to be anywhere near the industry, you should probably go into makeup.” It was a total slap in the face. But it really pushed me to be like, “Okay, that’s your opinion, cool, but my opinion is different, and I’m going to prove myself right.” You’re candid about your vitiligo—talking about how you don’t want to be called a “sufferer” or have this condition define you. Why did you speak out? I’ve never seen myself as a sufferer. People dig so deep into the fact that I was bullied, and this whole story of me being an ugly duckling. No, I actually was never an ugly duckling. I was always a swan; I was just told not to see that. The problem is seeing [vitiligo] as a problem from the jump. The issue was me being bullied, not me having vitiligo. It’s odd to me that people didn’t understand how rude it is to define me by my skin. Just because I have vitiligo doesn’t make me the spokesperson for it. So it’s not me trying to be empowering—it’s me trying to be myself. What kinds of meaningful feedback have you gotten about being so frank? Every day, I get comments on social media; I don’t go through my DMs, because that’s a lot. But I’m really grateful for feedback, when people tell me things like, “I
put on some weight, and I was scared to go to the beach, but you gave me the confidence to be like, ’No, this is me, I’m in this body, I love this body,’ ” and that’s amazing. How have you seen the industry evolve? Just being able to see myself and friends like Adwoa [Aboah] and really beautiful women of color, and women of different sizes, on magazine covers is a major thing. Just a little while back, it wasn’t odd to see a bunch of girls who looked the same on covers. Where is there still room for improvement? I’d like to see more progress backstage, at Fashion Week, and on photo shoots when it comes to the care of black hair, because it’s so fragile. But I hope that comes with changes in diversity [of models and talent] that’s already happening. Booking people who are well-versed in black hair is important. A lot of people can do great styles but damage the hair. Any fellow boundary breakers who really inspire you? My best friend. Two years ago, she was shot in both legs at a party. There was a guy she met in the hospital who broke his leg the same day she did; he’s still in a wheelchair, and she’s already walking. She has the most positive attitude and pushes me to go harder in life. What’s on your bucket list these days? I have quite a few ideas! But my biggest goals right now are appearing on a Vogue cover and walking for Victoria’s Secret. I hope those come true very soon.
lifetime achievement
tonchi’s
time
When it comes to cross-pollinating fashion, art, and Hollywood, few people do it quite like Stefano Tonchi, much less in his elegant, impeccably suited, innately chic manner. As W prepares to enter the next chapter of its history, Tonchi embarks on a trip down memory lane.
BY ALEXANDRA ILYASHOVphotography by randi alegre
ICON STATUS Tonchi’s visionary approach to covers has ensured his status as one of the most successful and respected editors in the industry.
How did your passion for glossies begin? I grew up in love with magazines. I remember, before I was 18, going at 5 a.m. to the railway station in Florence, where there was a newsstand that would get magazines from England, like New Musical Express. The first real magazine I put together was Westuff, in 1984: I was writing, art-directing, overseeing creative design, and trying to sell ad pages. It was modeled after Interview; this mix that would become very much my obsession— fashion, entertainment, and art. Westuff was selffinanced for many years, and then we got sponsorship from Pitti Immagine, when they started a small publishing company, mostly focused on books. It was an energetic, creative moment for Florence. Westuff lasted for four years, available internationally, with 25,000 copies per issue, in Italian and English. Mr. [Giorgio] Armani loved the magazine so much, he wanted to buy it, so Westuff became Emporio Armani Magazine. What brought you to L’Uomo Vogue? Well, I was going to shows for Westuff, and during one [Fashion Week] trip, I was asked if I wanted to join L’Uomo Vogue. It was such a successful, incredibly prestigious publication. To be a journalist in Italy, you had to go through a very established process, working for five years, then take an exam to be accredited…but it was actually a way for fascism to control journalists; Mussolini created it in the ’20s. At university, I studied political science and was interested in journalism, but there wasn’t really a school for journalists then. The beauty of L’Uomo Vogue then was that you really got to travel, and the issues were focused on one place. My life at L’Uomo Vogue was fantastic, a very fun time. What brought you to NYC? My last year there, there was a new editor in chief, Franca Sozzani, and she let me move to New York, working for Condé Nast International, on L’Uomo Vogue, Casa Vogue, Italian Glamour, things like that. I also had personal
interests for moving to New York. I was living with David Maupin, who’s now my husband, and he wanted to be in New York, because being an art dealer in Milan was not that successful. Then, kind of out of nowhere, I met this lady, Alexandra Penney, who was then the new editor in chief of Self. She was doing super well but was frustrated the magazine was not considered a fashion magazine. She became an important mentor. What appealed to you about Self? Alexandra got enchanted by the idea of me working for her, and I was like, “No, thank you, I’m happy at L’Uomo Vogue and I don’t want to work at a fitness magazine.” But I really wanted a green card, and I wanted to be paid in American dollars, not Italian lira. She offered me so much money and freedom. I spent six years at Self. What was that like? I’d call them my formative American years, because technically Condé Nast turned me into an American journalist; it changed how I write. Anglo-American journalism is much more about facts and lists, while Italian journalism is much more about opinions. I also did a tour of America, doing focus groups, learning things like, everyone is brunette, but they only like blondes; everything is too expensive, but if you show cheap clothes, they’re not happy. Magazines were run by focus groups then. It was such a wake-up call for me, coming from a magazine like L’Uomo Vogue, where the “focus group” was, “Did Mr. Armani call and love it?” And then you went to J.Crew. How did that happen? I met [then-CEO] Emily Woods socially. Emily said, “My father [J.Crew founder Arthur Cinader] is leaving; this investment group, TPG, is taking over, so J.Crew will change completely over the next year, and I want you to work with me on this.” It was a big salary, let’s put it that way. I worked at J.Crew for two years as creative director. We shot 18 to 20 catalogs every year, plus the ad campaigns, and opened stores.
Was returning to the editorial world always your plan? I absolutely thought I would go back. David Granger and my best friend, Scott Omelianuk, had a huge fight with Art Cooper, and they left GQ for Esquire. Quite a scandal! One year into my time at J.Crew, David and Scott wanted me to join them at Esquire. I was like, “I just got this J.Crew job, and it pays a lot of money.” A year later, they called me back again, and I said yes. I took a huge salary cut from J.Crew to Esquire, but I wanted to go back [to editorial] and I liked David. We had a great relationship. What did you get out of your years at Esquire? As a journalist, the holy grails were Esquire and The New York Times. But when I arrived at Esquire, it was in the worst shape possible…on the brink of closing. We had to rebuild, slowly, slowly, slowly. I used to call [Esquire’s then-publisher] Valerie Salembier the mortician, because she’d take a [magazine] corpse and revive it. [Laughs] Then you headed to the other holy grail: The New York Times. How’d that happen? I was happy with David and Esquire; Adam Moss asked me to apply for the job, on the suggestion of Amy Spindler, whom Adam really respected. Adam asked me to present him ideas. What I did was put books, magazines, things I’d done, in a box and sent it him; I got the job. I didn’t even think about a résumé! I only worked with Adam for six months before he left for New York. How did you come up with the concept for T? It wasn’t 100 percent mine, but I saw European newspapers putting out supplements with one-letter names, like La Repubblica’s D, and Financial Times had started doing How to Spend It. So I thought, let’s call it T. I worked with designers, editors that were at the Times, including Lynn Hirschberg, who was working on the Sunday magazine. With a lot of patience, understanding, and convincing, I brought them all to T. It grew fast; we went from 12 issues to 14 to 16, and we made a huge amount of money for the company. We just ran with
TONCHI-fied
The legendary creative’s work in W, Esquire, and J.Crew.
it, and when it became a big success, nobody stopped it, because the magazine had become something incredibly valuable. I always hear that T was such a business success; yes, I know, but also, readers loved it. I remember and hear, still, people talking about [T’s early days], how it was this fantastic present you’d receive, such beautiful images and design. How did Condé lure you back to helm W? I had a little bit of an obsession with Mr. [Si] Newhouse; every time I’d meet with him, he was curious and seductive. He’d offer me different jobs that I refused. He wanted me to run House & Garden; he said, “If you don’t take it, we will close it.” I told him I was happy where I was, and they closed the magazine. At some point, [Condé] told me they had a great opportunity. I was thinking it was Architectural Digest, which was already in trouble at the time, but it was W. I thought, “What a strange choice!” What was W like at that time? I’d look at it sometimes, but I always found Vogue more interesting than W. I’m quite a popular [culture] journalist. I was never about being a snob; I come from a city like Florence where the aristocrats were everything, so I always hated aristocracy. These are all the things, the fascinations W had—the snobbishness, “I’m better than you” approach. Even when they did collaborations with artists, it was all about showing, “We know more than you do.” Why were you drawn to the job? Well, Si said, “You can do whatever you want with it; that was called T, this is called W, it’s just a different letter, technically.” It was seductive to come back to Condé Nast; I was going through a lot of arguments with The New York Times. I think Mr. Newhouse found me in a very specific week, when I was just like, “F**k it, if they don’t understand it, they’ll pay for it.” I love that the first person they took [as successor] was Sally [Singer]; they thought I was the most commercial person on the planet, and wanted to go back to doing “real journalism.” Those were hard words to read. What are your proudest achievements at W? I brought a completely different approach to the entertainment world, and made W a player in that arena. Last year, we had the only Daniel Day-Lewis story; in October, we’ll have the only Bradley Cooper story. We’ve been discovering actors and actresses, putting them on the cover before anyone else. Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Stone, Rooney Mara, Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong’o, Millie Bobby Brown, Alicia Vikander—I can go on and on. There were artist profiles before my time, but I think we really cover contemporary artists in every issue; and the Art Issue is kind of an event, I’m very proud of that. Did you have any turf wars within Condé regarding entertainment coverage? I’m not shy to say, I remember when we did our first triple-gatefold cover, with Jennifer Lawrence, Jessica, Chastain, Emma Roberts, Zoé Kravitz—quite a cover—I got a note, “Never again.” Triple-gatefold belongs only to Vanity Fair, and people got upset we did that. That started a conversation, but W has always been fighting for its space in this company. Soon, W may not need to fight over turf… The news that W is for sale makes a lot of sense, because this brand had a fantastic history before Condé Nast, and I think we’ll have a great future outside of Condé Nast. Or, maybe, in collaboration with Condé Nast! I think it’s great that [Condé Nast] recognizes the value of this brand. They could’ve decided to close it, if there wasn’t value, or if it was losing so much money, as some people like to say.
Will you stay with W if it leaves Condé Nast? I think I will. I hope to find investors who want to take over W, because I really believe in the potential of this brand. Outside of Condé Nast, there are so many things we could do if we’re not in competition with Vogue or Vanity Fair. We could have our own conference circuit, our own celebrity talks, our own fashion awards. Why did we change frequency, going down to eight issues? You have to be out in the print market when there’s actually print advertising, and when people want to look at a magazine. People don’t go to the newsstand every month. They don’t even expect it [as a subscription] at home. They’re consuming daily. So when do you put out an issue? When you can offer, and finance, something exceptional. Who cares about going to the newsstand? Soon there will be no newsstand! Why stick to paradigms that nobody cares about anymore? It’s about breaking the rules, which is W’s tradition. Who have you mentored over the years? I hope I’ll be judged by the people I’ve worked with. I think I’m one of the few editors in the building that has created successful editors [in chief]. I was so proud of Edward [Enninful] when I heard [about British Vogue], but I was proud of myself, too. I gave him the platform to get that job, to show his quality. When Jonathan Newhouse said he was looking for a new editor for Vogue Mexico, I told him there was one person he had to meet: Karla Martinez de Salas. And I’m sure that Rickie [De Sole] has a great future after W; if she becomes the editor of some magazine, I’ll say, “I told you!” Any advice for the next generation of editors? Follow your instincts, stay close to your inspirations, and never stop being curious. If you can, make an extra trip to see that exhibition, that fashion show, that gallery. Staying home and being happy about who you are isn’t going to bring you anywhere.
stefano’s fan club
Stefano’s radar is attuned far beyond the world of current fashion: There is no wavelength he does not tap into. This is how he plants in W the breadth and breath he provides—and in the milieu it nourishes in turn. His antennae are twitching constantly: His nose and instinct for reading the wind just beyond the horizon, nonpareil. A glimpse of Stefano across a crowded room: Check his gleeful openness, his optimism, like a zealous fisherman striding out into the dawn with a big empty bag to fill. Up for it, down with it, on to it. He’s a cultural activist in the suavest of clothing.
—TILDA SWINTON
Stefano is downright talented. He continues to push the industry forward with his unique vision and his penchant for taking risks. Under his stewardship, the pages of W have been imaginative and the covers, iconic. He is masterful at infusing art, film, fashion, and commerce—with his creativity always grounded in restraint and impeccable taste. He is a trailblazer. I feel privileged to also call him a great friend. His generosity of spirit, quick wit, and warmth are immeasurable. ”
—TOry burch
Stefano believes in magazines and the power of what they can be, and he’s a huge believer in talent and where talent will take you. Stefano is a joy to work for, and he’s someone who can accomplish things. It sounds like a small thing, but it really isn’t. Normally in an office, everyone will get sparked, but then the spark dies. He keeps the spark alive and enhances it. He’s very entrepreneurial, so anything is possible. He’s always thinking ahead. In the next 10 years, I imagine W becoming a major multiplatform enterprise—the magazine, plus video, a TV series, a talk show, a master class, panel discussions, and events. W represents something much larger than just a magazine, and I see Stefano at the center of it, inventing that new world. ”
—LYNN HIRSCHBERG
visionary
excellent
form
As he tends to the blockbuster growth of his Nicopanda brand and reunites with creative soulmate Lady Gaga, the always surprising and occasionally controversial Nicola Formichetti is an artist at the height of his powers.
BY eddie roche photography BY zane gan
Have you always been able to identify talent before the rest of the world catches on? I’ve never been afraid of listening to my own intuition. I’m a good listener, and I research a lot. I never went to college, but I study what’s happening in the world, and I listen to friends. In the end, I always trust my gut. Sometimes it’s against the norm, but if I feel it’s right, I do it. Which designers and artists did you precociously know would really blow up? When I lived in London, I loved working with young designers. I worked closely with Kim Jones, who’s now at Dior, and Gareth Pugh, who’s a visionary. When I first met Gaga, she had just done “Just Dance,” and she was big in a culture sense, but none of the people around me in fashion knew who she was. I thought I could merge fashion and music together, and we did something really amazing. At the time, it was unheard of for a fashion person to work with music people. It feels like such a normal thing today. But seven years ago, no one did that. Music stylists were just doing music people, and fashion stylists would never touch music people. I loved her and wanted to work with her, even though those around me were not really supportive. They weren’t? No! My friends were, but it was difficult to get clothes from brands for her. One of the reasons she wore a lot of Alexander McQueen at the beginning was because he believed in her. He would let her have whatever she wanted. Other brands weren’t sure. Do you hold a grudge against those skeptical brands? Of course! I remember everything. [Laughs] We won’t name any names, but you know who you are! Now, they’re begging to dress her. What brought you and Lady Gaga back together, professionally? We always kept in touch. She’s always supportive of everything I’ve been doing since I stopped working with her. I stopped working with Diesel, and wanted to concentrate on my own things, like Nicopanda and other projects. I was being free, reading, experiencing life. I had been so crazy busy in the past five years that I didn’t have time for myself. I was in this state of meditating and traveling. [Gaga and I] started chatting. I feel like we’re in sync. When we work together, magic happens. I can’t explain how. We take it to a whole other level, and I missed that. She’s an incredible creative, and she also works with other creatives really well. She had to do her own thing, and I had to do my own thing. It’s been a few years since we’d worked together, so she said, “Let’s get together and see what happens.” We started meeting up a lot, talking, doing photo shoots, and coming up with ideas. Will you bring her back to the Gaga we knew when you first worked with her? No. She always moves forward. She’s evolved, and so have I. It’s going to be something fun, for sure. People are already going nuts over the image that came out. We have to do it for the culture—for the gays and everyone else! Did you always sense you’d work together again? In some capacity, yes. It’s as if we never left each other. After five minutes, we came up with everything, and now we have to execute it. She has a Vegas show coming up in December, and A Star Is Born is coming to theaters in October. She’s so diverse. How has Nicopanda evolved over the years? I started it as a hobby project. It wasn’t really a business, but through the years, I saw potential for it to be really incredible. Now, it’s a rebirth. We did a collaboration with M.A.C, which was really successful, and we’re doing a show at London Fashion Week in September. I wasn’t always fully focused on it, and now I am. You’re going to start seeing all the things I’ve been working on in the
THE IMAGEMAKER Whether collaborating with artists like Lady Gaga and rapper Candy Ken or with brands like Uniqlo and Diesel, Formichetti’s creative vision is constantly evolving.
past few months coming out soon. We’re going to do lots of collaborations. I want to create a solid business. Do you have any desire to work at a brand like Diesel or Mugler again? I’ve been working with Uniqlo for the past 10 years. It’s not a secret: I’m the company’s fashion director. I love them so much. They’re Japanese, and it’s an excuse for me to go back to Japan every month. I’m sure I’ll keep working with them forever—I’ve learned a lot about business from them. I’m not sure if I want to work on another fashion brand. I want to make Nicopanda into a global fashion business. I’m interested in lots of things, so you never know. I’d love to collaborate with a technology company like Amazon or Samsung on a deeper level. If I can merge my knowledge of fashion and music with them, it could be really incredible. Do you consider yourself a mentor? With people who work with me, definitely. When I was starting out, the London crowd told me I should be myself and gave me the tricks on how to navigate the industry. I try to share that with the younger generation in my own way. A few years ago, some controversial quotes from you came out in the press. Do you regret any of that? I was a nobody. I was happy doing my own thing backstage, and then suddenly people had an opinion of me when I became a public figure. It was when Twitter first came out, and I was devastated. People suddenly start commenting on the way I looked. They’d call me ugly or say I was s**t. That was really hard for me. There was a reaction from me toward those people to be like, “F**k you!” I would DM them directly and say, “Who the f**k are you?” I started doing interviews with the press, and I noticed that whatever I said as a joke was taken out of context. Suddenly I sounded like an asshole that I would hate if I saw on the street. People can twist things. I had a few controversial things and after that happened, I decided I wasn’t going to say
anything to the press or to people on Twitter. I had enough. At the same time, I had to look at the positive things. There were so many incredible messages and responses from people telling me I inspired them. It was so special. I had to be an adult, and man up a little bit. I realized I had to be responsible for the things that I say. I don’t like to prepare things beforehand and be fake, but I’m a little more careful because I don’t want to offend anybody. I’m more together than before. You’ve always been on top of social media. What are you into these days? Instagram became such an incredible resource for me. I find inspiration; I talk to friends. Now it looks like I’m doing a lot on my account, but I latergram a lot. I had to stop Snapchat; I just use it for filters. You were one of Instagram’s earliest adopters. And Twitter! When I did my Mugler show, I had cameras backstage live streaming the whole thing. Today, that feels so normal. Now I feel like it’s an incredible tool, but we’re bombarded too much. I like to step away a little bit from social media and switch off. It’s important to have a digital detox and find things you love without social media. I play the piano, read, meditate, listen to music. Social media creates insecurities: You feel bad about yourself all the time. As a creative, you need moments to yourself to balance it all. Tell us more! I want people to have proper skills, and not just be famous for the sake of “Likes.” It maybe worked a couple of years ago, but moving forward, you have to have substance. What would you like your professional legacy to be? I’ve done a lot of things, but I can do more. I don’t want whatever I’ve done in the past 10 years to be my legacy. S**t is about to get crazy. Anything else we should know about you? Well, I need a husband. I’m all about work at the moment, so love comes later, but I’m always open! If you see me on the street…
stylecurator
law’s
ATTRACTION
FACTOR
With an increasingly high-profile roster of clients, including Ariana Grande, Céline Dion, and Tiffany Haddish, Law Roach has risen from the creative talent who reinvented Zendaya’s image to become one of Hollywood’s most important stylists.
BY ARIA DARCELLA
What are your earliest style memories? I’m heavily influenced by women in general. Growing up in a black family, our day of style was Sunday, going to church. I remember as a young boy watching my grandmothers—both pretty stylish—and no matter which grandmother’s house I was staying over and going to church with, [the process] started Saturday night for them. Getting out of the bath, painting their nails, rolling their hair in preparation for Sunday morning, when the rollers came out, and the makeup went on, the nylons. The last moment of zipping the dress…I remember thinking “This is such an art form!” Boys didn’t have to do all that. There’s so much that goes into being a woman. I also think that style is something that you’re born with. You can learn fashion; you can learn trends. But that thing that’s inside you, guiding you toward certain things—that, you’re born with. So were you born with an ability to discover or create other people’s personal style MOs? That’s where the term “Image Architect” came from. I have this innate ability to figure that out and help guide that, mixed with research and everything else that goes into figuring out who my clients are and what they want to be. That’s why I started calling myself that. In my mind, I was doing more than just picking out clothes. Who have you been working with this summer? I started with Anne Hathaway this summer, and she’s been absolutely amazing. I just got a call from my agent. He said, “Anne Hathaway wants to speak to you.” We had a conversation, and we had a fitting. It went well, and I’ve been working with her ever since. I started working with Naomie Harris as well. What does Anne want to project on the red carpet? What makes us work is that it’s about feelings. I don’t think it’s about having a plan for anything—it’s about organically and emotionally coming to the conclusion of what she’s going to wear, when she gets it on. I think all the magic is made in the fittings. Any emerging designers that you’re betting big on? I’ve been supporting this Australian designer, Toni Maticevski, for a while. I just saw Ciara wear one of his dresses, and Katy Perry recently wore him, too. I love to see that. I’ve been using him—or at least trying to—for a while now. Anne wore him on the first day for Ocean’s 8 press, and I also used a couple of dresses on Evangeline Lilly for Ant-Man and the Wasp. How do you convince clients to opt for up-and-coming designers? I never try to convince my clients to wear anything. That’s not my job. My job is to present these clothes. It’s always, for me, that feeling of, Oh, that’s it! That takeyour-breath-away moment; that goose bumps moment, where you’re like, “This is it, this is the dress!” I feel like that needs to happen for everything, whether it’s a red carpet or a press day. Zendaya and Tiffany Haddish both scored September covers, for Marie Claire and Glamour, respectively— how did you feel when you saw the issues? It gave me chills to see all these women of color on the most important issue of the year for magazines. I think it speaks to the power of Black Girl Magic. I actually styled Tiffany Haddish for Glamour’s September issue. I’m so proud to be a part of this moment, with Tiffany and my work, and then Zendaya’s gorgeous cover. As a creative of color, it makes me really, really proud and happy, and gives me a little bit more hope that the fashion world is continuing to change. Do you think these covers will push runways toward looking more diverse? I hope it will push everything—not only the fashion industry. I hope it trickles down to other industries. It’s 2018, we should already know that we are all created
equal. We all love, and we all hurt. I feel like some people still don’t believe that. Some people still don’t believe that all women are beautiful, no matter what size, color, shape, anything. Everybody deserves to be treated equally, and everybody deserves to start on an even playing field and have the same opportunities. How did you meet Tiffany Haddish? She was looking for a new stylist and she said that everyone that she mentioned it to in casual conversation was like, “Oh, you should call Law!” And she did. She came over to my studio, we had a fitting, and we just vibed out. What’s the funniest thing you’ve heard Tiffany say? She says a lot of funny things, but what I take away more is her positive outlook on life. She’s really into the Law of Attraction [book and philosophy]—speaking things into existence—which I’m also into. The first time I worked with Tiffany, she had a premiere for her show [The Last O.G.] with Tracy Morgan. There was this guy; we were all standing together, so we introduced ourselves. He said, “I met [Tiffany] 12 years ago, and every single time somebody wanted to take a picture with her she would say ’success.’ ” And I was like, “She still does that!” That’s something that stuck with me. What was it like styling Zendaya, Ariana Grande, and Mary J. Blige for the Met Gala? I had input on the designs from the first sketch. Ariana’s Vera Wang was sketch after sketch, conversations, fittings. Zendaya’s Joan of Arc actually came to me in a dream; I worked with Versace to create that. And for Mary, I worked with Versace to create that look as well. What was that collaborative process like with Versace? I’ve had a working relationship with Versace for a while now. It was an easy choice for me to advise Zendaya on going to the Met [wearing] Versace—I knew they had the capabilities at the atelier to do whatever we dreamed of, and that’s exactly what happened. Ariana had never been to the Met Gala. We got a couple of invites.… I had just worked with Vera Wang with Mary J. Blige for the Oscars. When Ariana said that she would be interested in going, then I made that introduction, and Vera came to visit her. It just felt right. Ari as a girl is very romantic. Ari loves art and history, and when Vera started presenting sketches and fabrications she could do, I thought, “This is going to be perfect for your first Met experience.” What role does fashion play in how people represent themselves to the world? I think it’s everything. I think it’s absolutely everything, in both a positive and negative way. Before we hear somebody speak, or know what their stance is, or really honestly know what their talents are, we see their image.
