V121: THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE WITH BILLIE EILISH

V MAGAZINE

20TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE

121

BIL IE EILISH SPELLBOUND

INTERVIEWED BY PHARRELL WILLIAMS PHOTOGRAPHED BY INEZ AND VINOODH STYLED BY ALEX WHITE

800.929.DIOR (3467)

N E W E - B O U T I Q U E . D I O R .C O M

800.929.DIOR (3467)

N E W E - B O U T I Q U E . D I O R .C O M

PHOTOGRAPHED BY NICK KNIGHT

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MCM SoHo MCM Rodeo Drive www.mcmworldwide.com

PHOTOGRAPHY INEZ AND VINOODH FASHION ALEX WHITE BILLIE WEARS TOP AND PANTS CRAIG GREEN RINGS DAVID YURMAN SUNGLASSES KAYLEIGH SNOWDEN SHOES NIKE

SHOCK OF THE NEW When V was born, the wave of Y2K was cresting—a time of both uncertainty and potential. Today, 20 years on, we find ourselves at a similar crossroads—one our cover star Billie Eilish is weathering with talent and wisdom beyond her years (unlike V, she's still squarely in her teens!) In her story by Inez and Vinoodh, styled by Alex White, Eilish finds an escape hatch to a fashion phantasmagoria—just as V has done for decades, offering forward thinkers a kind of star-powered dream journal. In addition to celebrating the most relevant icons of the time—the Princes and Britneys—our cover has harnessed fashion's biggest forces of the present and future, from Kate to Linda to Rihanna. Our cover also paved the way for new directions, like Beyoncé going solo, and Lady Gaga, who would become a V guest editor and enduring cover chameleon. From the jump, V was an outlet for established visionaries (David Bowie wrote a section for our very first issue), all while illuminating countless then-newcomers: Think Sam Smith, Nicki Minaj, Dua Lipa, Troye Sivan, Lorde, Haim, Charli XCX, and Gigi Hadid. Our high-flying journey is due just as much to who exists behind the page. So this issue, we take a guided tour of our most memorable stories, courtesy of cover stars and BTS creatives alike. We look forward to Fall 2019 fashion with our latest fashion regiment: Nick Knight on dresses made from archival issues of V, Ryan McGinley on generation-defining pop, and more. We hope you continue to make our teenage dream a reality. MR. V

TOMFORD.COM

Left to right: David Bowie for V18 by Mario Testino; Iman for V21 by Mario Testino; Janet Jackson for V28 by Inez and Vinoodh; Mariah Carey for V39 by Karl Lagerfeld; Grace Jones for V54 by Jean Paul-Goude; Prince for V84 by Inez and Vinoodh; Brad Pitt for V98 by Inez and Vinoodh; Britney Spears for V100 by Mario Testino

V TURNS 20 EDITORIAL

Editor-in-Chief / Creative Director Stephen Gan Managing Editor / Production Director Melissa Scragg Editor Devin Barrett Features Editor Samuel Anderson Photo Editor Goran Macura Editor, Entertainment Greg Krelenstein Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief Nicole Singer Contributing Editor-at-Large Derek Blasberg Contributing Editor James Franco Copy & Research Editor Max Fox

DIGITAL

Deputy Editor Mathias Rosenzweig mathias@vmagazine.com Consulting Digital Editor Ian David Monroe ian@vmagazine.com Digital Editor Abraham Martinez amartinez@vmagazine.com

ART / FASHION

Art Director Gabriele Baldotto Designers Djiun Wang Shibo Chen Contributing Fashion Directors Paul Cavaco Gro Curtis Fashion and Market Editor Aryeh Lappin Associate Market Editor Sara Zaidane Assistant Market Editor Jessica Neises Contributing Fashion Editors Nicola Formichetti Anna Trevelyan Amanda Harlech Jacob K Joe McKenna Melanie Ward Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele Jane How Clare Richardson Panos Yiapanis Tom Van Dorpe Beauty & Special Projects Editor Stella Pak Consulting Creative / Design Greg Foley

Associate Publisher / Advertising Director Nicola Bernardini de Pace nico@vmagazine.com Advertising Office, Italy and Switzerland, Magazine International Luciano Bernardini de Pace luciano@bernardini.it Daniela Sartori daniela@bernardini.it Brand Partnerships Jordan Stenmark jdstenmark@stenmark.com.au Zac Stenmark zrstenmark@stenmark.com.au Business Manager Kelly Keegan kelly@vmagazine.com Managing Director Todd Kamelhar Distribution David Renard Office Manager / Distribution Assistant Julie Gray Press and Events Remi Barbier remi@remibarbier.com Consulting/PR Purple PR Andrew Lister Jocelyn Mak Amy Choi amy.choi@purplepr.com

CONTRIBUTORS

Inez and Vinoodh Pharrell Williams Nick Knight Alex White Patti Wilson Ryan McGinley Pedro Almodóvar Kacey Musgraves Lee Daniels Elissa Santissi Gwen Stefani Janet Jackson Demi Moore Aaron de Mey Jimmy Paul Lana Del Rey Nathaniel Goldberg Chris Colls Carin Backoff Paul Sinclaire Angelo DeSanto Maripol Dexter Navy Ferry Van Der Nat Blair Getz Mezibov Kwasi Kessie Katie Mossman Luke Abby Walker Bunting Chris Horan Christopher Bollen Jacob Brown William Defebaugh Alexandra Ilyashov Beatrice Hazlehurst Adam Kremer Alex Trochut Mat Maitland

SPECIAL THANKS

VLM Productions Kim Pollock Stephanie Bargas Tucker Birbilis Eva Harte Brian Anderson SHOWstudio Charlotte Knight Liberte Productions Kat Davey IMG Luiz Mattos Derek Walker Elizabeth Carpenter The Society Cheri Bowen Ramy R.A. Alec Mather Darren Jay DNA Craig Lock Next Kyle Hagler WOMEN Pedja Govedarica State Management Devon Jones Artist Commissions Shea Spencer Felix Frith CLM Jackie Chachoua Jasmine Kharbanda Streeters Daniel Weiner Paige Phillips Cristian Banks Lisa Stanbridge Jillian Graham Gabriela Moussaieff WYO Artists Karen Long Bryant Artists Lucy Kay The Wall Group Gregg Rudner Christopher Ridley Mandy Smudelrs Melissa Pursel Tal Chesed Jay Lopez Lillie Blaustein Quinn Young Creative Exchange Jeremy Herzog Thompson Lindsay Thompson Unspoken Agency Ralph Van Klingeren Management + Artists Shae Cooper Statement Artists Viviana Cartagena Studio Cavaco Casey Smith Photobomb Production NYC Ian Mangiardi Anne du Boucheron MAM Jamie Melbourne Serlin Associates Philippa Serlin Catherine Sans Quadriga Karine Walter Schupfer Genevieve Geaney Highrise Alexandra Baker Bryan Bantry Agency Carole Lawrence Susan Price NYC Veronica Roseberry Exclusive Artists Darin Barnes Tomilson Management Group Leah Hailey Artlist Paris Audrey Petit-Grard Studio 57 Maud Marker Open Talent Camille Ferrand Louis2 Michaël Lacomblez Premier Hair and Makeup Lindsay Cruickshank Cadence Image Cale Harrison Frank Reps Sara Catullo Art Department Anita Castillo Annika Vogt Pier 59 Root Studios Industria Superstudio Park Lane Hotel New York

INTERNS

Czar Van Gaal Lily Blazevic Joahnnalee Ucol Jada Postadan Tarra Boroumandi Nicole Territo Theo Choi Vincent Le Hannah Morrolf Lilly Schoenbaum Nicole Pagoumian Caroline Mack Morgan Harrison

ON THE COVER BILLIE WEARS TOP AND PANTS GUCCI NECKLACE (WORN AS HEADPIECE) BULGARI RING TIFFANY & CO.

V is a registered trademark of V Magazine LLC. Copyright © 2019 V Magazine LLC. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A. V (BIPAD 96492) is published bimonthly by V Magazine LLC.

ADVERTISING / FINANCE

Beyonce for V25 by Mario Testino; Miley Cyrus for V83 by Mario Testino; Haim for V88 by Inez and Vinoodh; Lorde for V88 by Inez Vinoodh; Nicki Minaj for V92 by Mario Testino; FKA Twigs for V93 by Inez and Vinoodh; Selena Gomez for V94 by Inez and Vinoodh; Kirsten Stewart for V106 by Mario Testino; Dua Lipa for V113 by Inez and Vinoodh

CONTENTS

56. DIRECTOR'S CUT PEDRO ALMODÓVAR ANTONIO BANDERAS BAZ LUHRMANN NICOLE KIDMAN HAYAO MIYAZAKI KACEY MUSGRAVES LEE DANIELS ANDRA DAY RYAN MURPHY DAVID CORENSWET 68. RIOT GIRLS SLEATER KINNEY 70. FERGALICIOUS A$AP FERG 72. DO THE HUSTLE LORENE SCAFARIA JENNIFER LOPEZ CONSTANCE WU CARDI B LIZZO 74. V GIRLS NESTA COOPER VICTORIA PEDRETTI CAROLINE DAY SARAH JEFFREY 78. THE MAKING OF V INEZ AND VINOODH JANET JACKSON MELANIE WARD BELLA HADID GIGI HADID DEMI MOORE NICOLA FORMICHETTI CARLYNE CERF DE DUDZEELE LINDA EVANGELISTA PETER PHILLIPS SAM SMITH GWEN STEFANI JIMMY PAUL AMANDA HARLECH AARON DE MEY LANA DEL REY MARIO SORRENTI

Carmen Kass for V22 by Inez and Vinoodh; Stella Tennant for V23 by Inez and Vinoodh; Linda Evangelista for V27 by Inez and Vinoodh; Kate Moss for V40 by David Sims; Freja, Daria, and Gemma for V41 by Mario Testino; Christy Turlington for V48 by Inez and Vinoodh; Raquel Zimmermann for V48 by Inez and Vinoodh; Naomi Campbell for V59 by Mario Testino; Bella and Gigi Hadid for V96 by Steven Klein

CONTENTS

96. A CELEBRATION OF PRINT BY NICK KNIGHT FASHION ANNA TREVELYAN 98. BILLIE'S IDYLL BY INEZ AND VINOODH FASHION ALEX WHITE INTERVIEW PHARRELL WILLIAMS 116. GIDDY UP! BY BLAIR GETZ MEZIBOV FASHION PAUL CAVACO 122. CHECK INTO FALL BY CARIN BACKOFF FASHION ELISSA SANTISI 132. GOING PLATINUM BY RYAN MCGINLEY FASHION ANGELO DESANTO STARRING HAIM KELSEY LU JAPANESE BREAKFAST CHIKA KIM GORDON KIM PETRAS 140. GIRLS ON FILM BY DEXTER NAVY FASHION ANNA TREVELYAN 148. BUFFALO STANCE BY NATHANIEL GOLDBERG FASHION GRO CURTIS 160. WILD HEARTS BY CHRIS COLLS FASHION PAUL SINCLAIRE 166. SHIFT SHAPES BY CARIN BACKOFF FASHION PATTI WILSON

THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE NEW DECADE, SAME STAR POWER. FOR OUR BIGGEST BIRTHDAY PARTY YET, WE REMINISCE WITH A V RETROSPECTACLE, DELIVER THE LATEST FALL FASHION FORECAST, AND CHRISTEN POP’S NEW PRINCESS. RSVP TO V! ART MAT MAITLAND

DIREC TOR'S CUT A VISION IS NOTHING WITHOUT DIRECTION. HERE, A SLATE OF THIS SEASON’S BIGGEST PROJECTIONS, AS CHOSEN

BY CLOSE COLLABORATORS AND SUPERFANS.

PHOTOGRAPHY GREG GORMAN PEDRO ALMODÓVAR Ever since meeting in the early ’80s, I’ve been attracted to Antonio Banderas’s talent; he is passion and desire incarnate. His intensity borders on madness. In The Skin I Live In, I was pulled towards his attractive[ness], even as [his character became] an absolute monster. There is something innately epic about Antonio. [But] Pain and Glory called for the exact opposite: small gestures, weakened voice, and dry emotion expressed only in the eyes. In those eyes, I wanted the audience to see Salvador Mallo’s profound pain. I asked [him to] portray that and more, while doing the absolute minimum. To see Antonio succeed in this task was a true spectacle.

ANTONIO BANDERAS It’s a beautiful [thing] to answer a call from Pedro Almodóvar, saying, “I want to send you a script.” We’ve known each other for 40 years, and made eight movies together. But when I read Pain and Glory, the question that came to mind was, Why? Why me to play Salvador Mallo?

There were 22 years between The Skin I Live In and the collaboration before it. Then, I’d wanted to show him how much [I’d accomplished] in America—this suitcase of experiences! But [Almodóvar] was like, “I’m not interested in [that]. I want to know who you are, behind these [accolades] you’re [listing].” Instead of listening, I kind of 56

[took him to task]. I thought, This is a power play. It was kind of tense. But the first time I saw myself as that character on screen, I was amazed by Pedro’s capacity to bring that out—[something] I didn’t know I had. [After that lesson in] humility, I knew to have my eyes and ears open when working with [him].

That’s exactly what I did on [Pain and Glory]—start from zero, as a clean slate. For the first few rehearsals, I felt really naked—not using any of the tools I’d been using for many years. What helped me, in a way, was the fact that I’d had a heart attack two and a half years earlier. That may sound unbelievable, but it’s true; it forced me to reflect very deeply. When you realize that death is the only certainty, there is no space for stupidity, just the truth. In my [life] as an actor, that’s the pressure of being in front of a camera, [the feeling] when the curtain goes up. Tasting that again was extraordinarily satisfying.

[It was] a new way of acting, and of seeing reality. And I saw Almodóvar coming to terms as well. The [story] is a simple one, but he [has everything] to do with it; it’s him reconciling his past, in a very extraordinary way. For 40 years, I’ve known Pedro Almodóvar to be a very private person. [But] I think he and I [rediscovered] each other when we could be honest and real. I must say, it was the best time I’ve ever had with Almodóvar.

PAIN AND GLORY OPENS OCTOBER 4

Translation (Pedro Almodóvar) James Neimeister

ANTONIO BANDERAS NOMINATED BY PEDRO ALMODÓVAR

DIRECTOR’S CUT

BAZ LUHRMANN NOMINATED BY NICOLE KIDMAN

Grooming Liz Olivier (Exclusive Artists) using Hanz De Fuko Photo assistant Cameron Tidball-Sciullo

PHOTOGRAPHY LUKE ABBY TEXT SAMUEL ANDERSON Is there life on Mars? A young Baz Luhrmann might’ve wondered, growing up in rural Australia where the night sky and the nearest urban hub would’ve seemed equidistant, the isolated continent’s sprawl exacerbating feelings of small-town seclusion. “I say ‘seven’ and people think I mean 7,000,” he says. “But what I mean is that I grew up in a town of seven houses—two of which didn’t have anyone [living] in them.” First triggered by the alien stylings of David Bowie, Luhrmann’s nascent imagination—now one of Hollywood’s most prodigious and enduring—made up for the shortcomings of his earthly plane.

From his youthful foray in a garage-punk band (“I had every hairdo imaginable; eyeliner, green hair, yellow hair, shaved head”) to his debut feature, 1992’s Strictly Ballroom, Luhrmann’s career can be viewed as a refutation of his threadbare beginnings. “What I do now [is what] I have always [done]. It’s all I have ever known. It’s just a part of being isolated: You have to make stuff,” Luhrmann says. “I was always running around, busily telling stories or putting on magic shows.”

Now, Luhrmann makes magic just as busily, although with a richly social existence. Long-term relationships are a hallmark of his filmography: Wife Catherine Martin is his tied-at-the-hip costume designer, while writer Craig Pearce both co-fronted the aforementioned punk outfit

and co-wrote Ballroom, as well as all but one of Luhrmann’s features since. Then there’s Nicole Kidman, whom he’s counted as more than a muse since directing her in Moulin Rouge!, followed by their Chanel No. 5 campaign. “[Before] Chanel No. 5, there was no [such thing] as a fashion film; [people] looked down their nose at the idea,” he says. “Nicole and I have an abiding friendship, [and have weathered] traumatic experiences [together]. I can’t express how deeply I feel about her.”

Meanwhile, the reverberations of Kidman and Luhrmann’s splashy, can-can spectacular are still being felt; a few miles uptown, a small army is gearing up for the second or third performance of the Broadway adaptation of Moulin Rouge!, in previews at the time of our call. That alone would be grounds for peak stress levels, not to mention Luhrmann’s forthcoming Elvis biopic. But Luhrmann is accustomed to high-wire juggling acts. Dialing in from his recently opened creative space at Brooklyn’s Navy Yard, he’s in decompression mode, receiving a house call by his acupuncturist. “I’d been [considering] surgery for [chronic] headaches,” he reports, mid-poke. “Until I met this wonderful Chinese doctor—he went click and instantly stopped the headaches.”

This fall brings the official album for Moulin Rouge! on Broadway, less a cast recording than a self-contained event. Unlike the musical, which Luhrmann largely left to

the devices of director Alex Timbers, the album will have Lurhmann’s artistic stamp. “I’m a producer on this album, and wrote [for it as well], under a pseudonym. People don’t know that my great love is actually getting in and making music,” he says. Bringing together the likes of Sia, Beyoncé and Lorde, the record harks back to the collaborative powerhouse of the 2001 soundtrack. “I was deeply involved in bringing [that] together,” Luhrmann says, referring to the quintet behind breakout single “Lady Marmalade,” P!nk, Christina Aguilera, Mýa, Lil’ Kim and Missy Elliot. “[But] I’m forever grateful that greats like Elton John, Paul McCartney and David Bowie personally allowed their music to be used because it was the antithesis of publishing [norms] at the time. If they hadn’t, the film would never have been made.”

The surest throughline in Luhrmann’s ritzy oeuvre is his risk-taking—often picking up some heatless IP, from literary canon fodder to heirloom perfume, and drop-kicking it into the stratosphere. “I believe in taking something so overused that we’ve forgotten its inner power, then shaking it off for a new time and place,” he says. He’s deploying that tack when it comes to Elvis, who famously died of overuse: “Rather than a ‘biopic,’ [I see it] as a canvas,” he says. “It’s hugely ambitious, but I want to [cover] his whole life, many aspects of which will be truly surprising.” When it comes to the element of surprise, Luhrmann is the king.

THE MOULIN ROUGE! OFFICIAL CAST RECORDING IS DUE THIS FALL

BAZ WEARS JACKET AND PANTS SALVATORE FERRAGAMO TOP, BELT, RING HIS OWN

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ANDRA DAY AS BILLIE HOLIDAY NOMINATED BY LEE DANIELS ARTWORK DANIEL DORRANCE TEXT SAMUEL ANDERSON She died young, when her heart gave out at the age of 44, but Billie Holiday left behind a legend, that through her epic hardships burns bright as something hot and almost untouchable. Still, some brave artistic descendants have dared to invoke the tragedy of Holiday in their own work: that Jorja Smith calls her an influence is compatible with Smith’s unmistakable vocals, Holiday-like in her ability to be aloof yet beckoning, while unapologetically addressing racial injustice. The writer Zadie Smith, went so far as to write a story, published in The New Yorker in 2017, in Holiday’s first-person voice, suggesting that the truth of Holiday’s identity was slippery by nature: “Not only is there no more Eleanora, there isn’t any Billie, either. There is only Lady Day. Alligator bag, three rows of diamonds nice and thick on your wrist,” wrote Smith in “Crazy They Call Me.” Director Lee Daniels is the latest artist to handle Holiday’s radioactive life story. While one may not envy the responsibility of portraying the singer’s outsize mythos, in his upcoming biopic, Daniels is certain that his Billie—R&B singer Andra Day—is up to the challenge. In addition to fatefully sharing part of Holiday’s nickname, Day is currently knee-deep in method-style preparations for the once-in-alifetime role. As Lee suggests here, there may be only one Lady Day, but then there’s Andra.

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V What made you pick Andra for the role of Billie Holiday?

LEE DANIELS Andra, as a songstress [and as a person], understands and relates to Billie as a female black artist.

She and Billie have an uncanny connection. The story of the way the government came for Billie is something that Andra understands—the injustices of what happened then, and also how it relates to what’s still happening in our society.

V What was your first impression of Andra?

LD My friend Simone suggested I meet with her. I met her at Soho House in L.A., and ended up spending two hours with her; it was a love-fest. She’s so smart, and her intelligence, wit, and her take on the script and on Billie herself impressed me so much. She is one of the greatest singers alive today, but besides that, it’s her awareness of what is going on culturally [and] in the world, and her desire to and ability to give back, that makes her [so special].

V How would you describe Andra’s presence?

LD Her presence is that of an inviting and warm connoisseur of arts, who also has a clear vision.

V What does prep work look like for the film?

LD Tons of rehearsals on scenes, and vocal coaches to nail the sound of Billie’s voice... [Andra has already proven to be] a perfectionist and a star.

LEE DANIELS’S UPCOMING BILLIE HOLIDAY FILM IS NOW IN PRODUCTION.

Concept artwork by production designer Daniel Dorrance for upcoming Billie Holiday film directed by Lee Daniels Photography (Andra Day) by Andre Wagner Photography (backdrop) by John Vachen, colorized by Avi Katz (1943)

DIRECTOR’S CUT

DIRECTOR’S CUT

HAYAO MIYAZAKI NOMINATED BY KACEY MUSGRAVES The country superstar and closet culture-vulture rhapsodizes on the anime godfather, ahead of his retrospective at L.A.’s soon-to-open Academy Museum.

My Neighbor Totoro © 1988 Studio Ghibli

V You’ve been a massive fan of Hayao Miyazaki since childhood. What was the first Miyazaki film you remember watching? How and at what age did you discover it?

KACEY MUSGRAVES It was the early ’90s—I must have been around age eight or nine. One night my dad brought home the English version of My Neighbor Totoro (1988) on VHS that he’d rented from the library. He said he’d thought the cover looked interesting but he didn’t know anything about the movie. My little sister and I were absolutely mystified by it and watched it over and over.

V What about the film captivated you at the time?

KM Growing up, we lived in a little old house in the woods under giant trees, and spent most of our days running around barefoot, finding treasures in the dirt, staring at tadpoles, climbing trees, and laughing a lot. We never had cable TV, and dial-up internet didn’t come until way later. My mom never felt sorry for any whining about boredom. Riding bikes, writing poems or playing with paints were her go-to suggestions.

I think my sister and I really saw ourselves in Satsuki and Mei, the two sisters in My Neighbor Totoro: they seemed uncannily very similar to us, but just happened to be on the other side of the world, in the countryside of Japan. Every kid hopes to find the magic that’s hidden under the surface. The invisible stuff that proves there’s a world way beyond the black and white. The stuff grownups say isn’t real; kids naturally see it. We were always looking to find a bit of our own and this movie made me feel like I had.

One thing I love about Studio Ghibli movies is that they don’t cater to young, small attention spans. The pacing of scenes and even the details and elements that the animators choose to include never hurriedly spell things out in the way that American animation does. 10 artful, quiet minutes could go by where a scene or plot slowly unfolds. Other creators commonly get too worried about losing their viewers’ interest and dumb things down. This is why I believe that Miyazaki’s movies are classics and appeal to every age.

V After that first discovery, how did your appreciation for Miyazaki evolve?

KM We binge-watched My Neighbor Totoro until we wore out the tape. It wasn’t until I got older and came to realize the scope of Miyazaki’s art and cult following that I watched more. At the core of every Miyazaki film are the most vital and delicate of human virtues played out in sometimes super surreal and trippy environments. I dig that juxtaposition a lot.

V Can you give a sense of your present-day Miyazaki fandom? What would you hope to see in a Miyazaki museum retrospective?

KM I’m an even bigger fan to this day. And after visiting Japan three times, I have an even greater affinity and love for the culture. These films were the first to give me that

intrigue and then I got to experience it in real life. While in Tokyo, I went to visit the Ghibli Museum. And also a Totorothemed cream puff bakery where we met a beautiful elder Japanese woman making adorable Totoro-shaped pastries wearing tiny edible hats who just happened to be Miyazaki’s sister-in-law! I think I fan-girled over her harder than I have [for] any “star” I’ve met.

The Ghibli Museum was so incredible. The generous attention to detail was mind-blowing and the visit was borderline emotional for me. Seeing the depth of his reach in person...parents and children both fawning over it all like they’d finally been let in on the unveiling of a happy mystery.

I’ll never forget it. Anytime I’m needing to feel a bit of heart and wonder and fresh inspiration I look for a Miyazaki film I haven’t seen yet (there are still many). But if I’m needing nostalgia I return to my favorites.

V What are your top three favorite Miyazaki films and why?

Is there a particular sequence in said films that stands out most to you?

KM It’s nearly impossible to pick a favorite but I really love My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away (2001) and Ponyo (2008). Most recently, though, I saw The Red Turtle (2016), which is stylistically a lot different than other Miyazaki films I’ve seen and I found it to be breathtaking. I loved that there was no dialogue throughout the entire film.

V As a lifelong musician/music lover, do you always pay attention to the music (scores, soundtracks etc.) in a film?

Is your affection for Miyazaki films based to some extent on their musical scores?

KM Absolutely. When the same special attention to visuals has been applied to a score it makes for such an impactful experience. Miyazaki’s melodies and musical landscapes always perfectly encapsulate the emotions he and the animators lay out. They can be sweeping and larger than life­— exhilarating and dramatic and then sparse, melancholic and gentle when appropriate.

V Have you ever written a song with Miyazaki’s work or artistic sensibility in mind? How would you approach composing an original song for a Miyazaki film?

KM I definitely have some musical ideas that are inspired by the characters or feelings I get from the imagery of the movies. One song I just wrote started with me thinking back on my rural Texas childhood and the enchantment I felt in those woods with my sister. My Mei. The hurt I still feel about having been a brash older sister and the dumb fights we had growing up. We eventually became really close and she is one of my dearest creative collaborators to this day.

It would be a great honor to lend my voice or creative personality to a piece for Studio Ghibli someday. I would approach [the process] like I would my own music or any other project I take on. I fight to make sure the heart and space between all elements are speaking the loudest. I love a creative challenge and the shaping of a project until it feels just perfect, but not overdone. Exploring that balance is my favorite part of the [creative] journey.

ACADEMY MUSEUM’S INAUGURAL SHOW ON HAYAO MIYAZAKI OPENS EARLY 2020

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DIRECTOR’S DIRECTOR’SCUT CUT

DAVID CORENSWET NOMINATED BY RYAN MURPHY PHOTOGRAPHY BLAIR GETZ MEZIBOV FASHION KATIE MOSSMAN TEXT OWEN MYERS The Politician, the first product of Ryan Murphy’s Netflix partnership, is about all the topics you’re supposed to avoid at a dinner party: sex, lies, power, and politics—all this swirling in the sun-kissed world of an L.A. high school, with enough high-camp scheming to evoke twisted teen classics like Election and Cruel Intentions. Slap-bang in the middle of it all is Payton Hobart, an industrious high school student with the humble aspiration of becoming POTUS. The Iago to Hobart’s Othello, the Cheney to his Bush, is River, Hobart’s frenemy-with-benefits played by actor David Corenswet.

Already, the 26-year-old has played a shady campaign aide in 2018’s Affairs of State (he was compared to a young Armie Hammer), and had a brief turn in House Of Cards as Robin Wright’s college sweetheart. But little prepared him for one early scene in The Politician which called him to spar with Gwyneth Paltrow, lounging poolside, in a language that neither actor spoke—Mandarin. “We were both really extremely stressed out about it!” he recalls, with a light laugh. “We had a great coach but it was just me and her trying to stumble through.” He found Paltrow to be “wonderful” though, and praises his co-star Jessica Lange’s performance in the show as “simply operatic.” Indeed, her wig alone deserves an Emmy.

Corenswet still lives in his hometown of Philadelphia, 60

where he grew up as the son of a stage actor. His father imparted an early love for the Marx Brothers’ physical comedies—the influence is clear in Moe & Jerry, a goofy Vimeo sketch show that Corenswet makes with a friend.

Even the family’s cats were named Fred and Ginger, after the legendary Hollywood Golden Age double act. After a childhood in which he spent weekends and holidays acting in productions as varied as Arthur Miller’s All My Sons and Hairspray, Corenswet made it to Julliard. There, for the first time, he found others who matched his obsession with stage and screen. He remembers thinking, They are as crazy as I am! They really want to figure out what acting is and how to do it better.

With his academic background, Corenswet may be a dyed-in-the-wool actor, whose star power has just begun to show its luster. But, like any good politician or Hollywood power-player, he’s always plotting his next maneuver— namely one inspired the influx of actors-turned-directors. “I was very inspired by Olivia Wilde directing Booksmart,” he says. “And Jonah Hill with Mid90s. Probably my favorite directorial debut is A Star Is Born by Bradley Cooper. It was really cool to see [Cooper] come out with that incredible story, and I definitely want to [do the same]; I think storytelling is [so important], and in film, the director is the storyteller.” Color Corenswet a power-player in the making.

RYAN MURPHY’S THE POLITICIAN AIRS SEPTEMBER 27

Makeup Virginia Young (Statement Artists) Hair Luke Chamberlain (Statement Artists) Digital technician Tim Ryon Lighting director Ricardo Fernandes Photo assistant Corey Danieli Location Highlight Studios

DAVID WEARS TOP GUESS PANTS SALVATORE FERRAGAMO

DIRECTOR’SCUT CUT DIRECTOR’S

JACKET TOM FORD TOP ZADIG & VOLTAIRE PANTS JIL SANDER

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V NEWS FALL’S HYPER-PIGMENTED FASHION HARVEST BRINGS A RETURN TO MAXIMALISM.

V IS FOR VERSACE Named after the Roman deity Virtus, god of courage, strength, and character, this accessory is lightning in a bag for the Versace woman. Taken as a trio, the electric pink, yellow and tri-color day-glo options embody that famed Roman adage: Veni, vidi, vici.

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Prop stylist Jeremy Travis Parker

PHOTOGRAPHY RYAN JENQ

V NEWS

BLUE JEAN BABY

TEEN SPIRITS

Despite being an Italian brand, the United Colors of Benetton have always evoked Americana. Proving those colors don’t run, this cheeky arm candy takes blue-jean blue to the next level. With spacious triangular construction and outer pockets, fitting your American life inside is no stretch.

BENETTON DENIM BAG ($79, BENETTON.COM)

When her standby scent wilted, Chloë Sevigny plucked her one-time stylist, now perfumer, to co-concoct this floral keepsake, an homage to feminine eccentricity. “[The inspiration] was Saint Thérèse, patron saint of florists,” Sevigny explains, “and the fact that ‘Chloë’ means ‘little sprout’ in the Bible.” Color us believers.

LITTLE FLOWER CHLOË SEVIGNY BY RÉGIME DES FLEURS ($205, AVAILABLE AT DOVER STREET MARKET)

QUICK TIME

EYES ON THE PRIZE

Though known for its oversized, equestrian-grade accessories, Hermès scores just as many high marks with this diminutive timepiece—the smallest in the luxury house’s lengthy history. With its rose gold strap and compact, diamond-haloed face, the elegant mini is crafted with 20/20 fashion spectatorship in mind.

HERMÈS FAUBOURG WATCH ($17,100, AVAILABLE AT HERMÈS BOUTIQUES NATIONWIDE)

Emblems of ’80s-era entrepreneurship, these Alain Miklis are perfect accomplices for securing the bag. The original N°851 (left) appeared on Michelle Pfeiffer in Jonathan Demme’s Married to the Mob (1988), while the Swarovski-lined Arlette (right) is next-gen new-money glam, worthy of a Hollywood walk of fame.

ALAIN MIKLI N°851 ($380), ARLETTE ($505, BOTH AVAILABLE AT ALAIN MIKLI BOUTIQUES) 63

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05 Since moving from Paris to New York at 17, Nathaniel Goldberg has canvassed the continent high and low for high-art editorial. This globetrotting monograph— the first of the veteran photographer’s 25-year career—reflects an exacting eye, treated to everything from the jungles of Bengal to one of Polly Mellen’s last stories for Allure, shot in Brazil in ’98.

NATHANIEL GOLDBERG FROM ARTBOOK HITS SHELVES SEPTEMBER 17.

NATHANIEL GOLDBERG’S FIRST TOME

Clockwise from top: Wilson Oryema, Niko Riam, Emmanuel Adjaye & King Owusu. Fashion: Rei Kawakubo for Comme des Garçons. London, 2016 © Tim Walker Studio; Lady Gaga “Mel, 2015” © Inez & Vinoodh / courtesy The Ravestijn Gallery; Arca photography by Vitali Gelwich, courtesy of The Shed; Carolyn Murphy and Audrey Marmay, photographed for Allure (1998) by Nathaniel Goldberg; Vitamin Sea program at Oasis Festival, courtesy of the Oasis Festival

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Morocco—a high-traffic, oft misunderstood gem of a country—may seem a hit-or-miss site for the cultural shockwaves that come with any music festival. But the Oasis Festival, once headlined by Virgil Abloh, is not only a hub of sonic and international diversity, but also lives up to its mirage-like name: its new “Vitamin Sea” package offers pre-festival R&R and surfing lessons.

OASIS FESTIVAL RUNS SEPTEMBER 13-15 IN MARRAKECH, MOROCCO.

OASIS FESTIVAL

SEPT “Both CDG and DSM are based on creation and imagination,” Adrian Joffe tells us of his and Rei Kawakubo’s business philosophy—one pictured in the very first V (The news in ’99? CDG’s Tokyo flagship left shelves empty and shoes on the ground!). Set to host Tim Walker’s book party at Dover Street Market London, the duo’s retail empire still supports topsy-turvy creativity.

DSM LONDON’S SHOOT FOR THE MOON (THAMES & HUDSON) SIGNING WITH TIM WALKER, SEPT 5.

SHOOT FOR THE MOON

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Who better to inhabit the shape-shifting Shed (a convertible arts space at Hudson Yards) than Barcelona-based neo-bard Arca, whose performance style goes beyond the skin-deep; her first Shed showcase, in 2018, was a blood-soaked spectacle. Following mentor Björk’s Hudson Yards invasion, Arca’s followup residency since promises to smash the art-and-life binary.

ARCA’S MUTANT;FAITH AT THE SHED OPENS SEPTEMBER 25.

ARCA AT THE SHED

The challenge of any exhibit—to contain the artist’s imagination within the finite space of a gallery—becomes doubly formidable in the case of Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. Populated by the photographic power couple’s varied subjects, from botany to Lady Gaga, this chimeric retrospective amounts to a masterclass in imagination and collaboration.

“I SEE YOU IN EVERYTHING” AT THE RAVESTIJN GALLERY IN AMSTERDAM, SEPTEMBER 7.

INEZ & VINOODH IN AMSTERDAM

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In 2008, the year The Dark Knight set the standard for villain-driven blockbusters, Joaquin Phoenix began a campaign of media-trolling-meets-performance-art that, given his new gig as the Joker, may be in effect today.

For Phoenix, who never officially returned to acting after telling David Letterman he was leaving it to pursue rap, retirement seems to be working.

JOKER HITS THEATERS OCTOBER 4.

JOAQUIN’S JOKER

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05 The dust may have settled on the coloring-book craze, but the appeal behind it—our endless appetite for complementary hues—remains primal, as Ben Hassett’s new book illustrates. The year’s most prismatic fashionphoto revue, Hassett’s coffee-table-sized take on color re-illuminates his years as one of the most authoritative lenses in beauty photography.

COLOR BY BEN HASSETT HITS SHELVES OCTOBER 16.

COLORS WITH BEN HASSETT

Playboy no longer publishes nudes and sex work has yet to be decriminalized, but mankind’s thirst levels remain a constant. That tension is on full display at the exhibit Art & Porn, whose star-studded lineup, including Ryan McGinley and Cindy Sherman, reveals that the line where art ends and pornography begins has always been a question mark.

“ART & PORN” AT COPENHAGEN’S KUNSTHAL CHARLOTTENBORG MUSEUM, OCTOBER 5.

ART & PORN IN COPENHAGEN

Clockwise from top: Joaquin Phoenix as Joker, courtesy of Warner Bros., Photo installation by Ryan McGinley Courtesy Kunsthal Charlottenborg; Liz Phair in Chicago, 1993; Photo Marty Perez Courtesy of Matador Records; Photography Catalina Kulczar courtesy of David Byrne’s American Utopia; Vogue Japan 2011, Nude 2011 from Color by Ben Hassett © Damiani 2019 © Photographs, Ben Hassett

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Once in a lifetime, a maestro of David Byrne’s caliber emerges. Here he takes form as Broadway’s most innovative MC, appearing in and conducting a company of Kenzo-wearing alt-rockers, all stationed on a rotating platform. Keep your ears peeled for arrangements by St. Vincent and staging

by Alex Timbers, man behind Moulin Rouge! and Beetlejuice adaptations.

AMERICAN UTOPIA COMES TO BROADWAY’S HUDSON THEATER ON OCTOBER 20.

DAVID BYRNE ON BROADWAY

This everlasting pop-rock diva may conjure head-banging hits like “Why Can’t I?” but her literary debut is a real-life Halloween mood. Horror Stories, out from Penguin Random House, dives into the uncomfortable truths Phair has been bestowed since bursting onto the scene a quarter-century ago with Exile in Guyville—from industry exploitation to the post-Ryan Adams fallout.

HORROR STORIES HITS SHELVES OCTOBER 8.

LIZ PHAIR’S MEMOIR

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CAFE SOCIETY

ON TABLE (CLOCKWISE, FROM BOTTOM LEFT)

WELCOME TO THE CLUB. AT NEW YORK'S INDOCHINE, TODAY'S TASTING MENU IS A FALL/WINTER FEAST.

AIRPODS APPLE AIRPOD CASE DIOR MEN BAG CELINE BY HEDI SLIMANE

PHOTOGRAPHY ADAM KREMER FASHION GRO CURTIS

COMPACT DIOR BEAUTY SUNGLASSES DKNY LIPSTICK GUCCI BEAUTY EYESHADOW MAYBELLINE KEYCHAIN VERSACE PHONE CASE LOUIS VUITTON CARDHOLDER CHANEL SUNGLASSES ALAIN MIKLI PERFUME CHANEL PARFUMS CHAMPAGNE FLUTE TIFFANY & CO. ON HANDS (LEFT TO RIGHT) RINGS (LEFT HAND) MIANSAI RINGS (RIGHT HAND) GUESS LIPSTICK TOM FORD BEAUTY WATCH AND ALL JEWELRY (RIGHT HAND) CARTIER WATCH AND RINGS (BOTH HANDS) BULGARI JUUL CASE MIANSAI

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SUNGLASSES ALAIN MIKLI LIPSTICK DIOR BEAUTY EYELINER MAYBELLINE LIPSTICK CASE LOUIS VUITTON LIPSTICK GUCCI BEAUTY MASCARA CLARINS PLAYING CARDS TIFFANY & CO.

RING BALENCIAGA

PILLBOX TIFFANY & CO.

BRACELET AND RINGS ATELIER SWAROVSKI

PILLS (IN BOX) ONE OCEAN BEAUTY MARINE COLLAGEN PILLS

Models Elizabeth Vaccaro, Victoria Finkel, Riley Grover, Madelyn Gostomski, Addie Sassani, Lily Schoenbaum Manicure Kana Kishita Manicure assistant Estuko Set design Chloe Daley Lighting technician Andrew Musson

TRENDS FROM LEFT TO RIGHT SHOES, TIGHTS, BAG FENDI BAG GIORGIO ARMANI BAG CELINE BY HEDI SLIMANE SHOES RENE CAOVILLA TIGHTS CALZEDONIA WATCH AND BRACELET CARTIER BAG SALVATORE FERRAGAMO SCARF AVANT TOI SHOES MSGM TIGHTS CALZEDONIA SHOES GIUSEPPE ZANOTTI BRACELET ATELIER SWAROVSKI TIGHTS CALZEDONIA SCARF GUCCI BAG CHANEL SHOES REDEMPTION BAG DSQUARED2

DOWN BELOW!

MUSIC

RIOT GIRLS DESPITE THE SUDDEN DEPARTURE OF THEIR DRUMMER, THE GOTH-ROCK GODMOTHERS ARE STANDING TALL, BACK WITH A ST. VINCENT-HELMED ALBUM AND CAPTURED HERE BY UNDERGROUND LEGEND MARIPOL.

Almost as soon as they had thunderously announced their return to music, the alt-rockers Sleater Kinney radically changed course, with one-third of the longtime three-piece departing mid comeback. Fans experienced whiplash not because of the timing, but more from the shared assumption of Sleater Kinney’s rigorously tested endurance; rarely do bands make it 30 years, especially when one member becomes independently famous, as Carrie Brownstein had on Portlandia. In fact it was not Brownstein, who cofounded the band with fellow hold-out Corin Tucker in 1994, who left, but drummer Janet Weiss. “We were surprised and sad that Janet decided to leave,” says Brownstein. “We wanted her to stay but I think our goal is just to think of it as a new chapter with its own sort of challenges but also possibilities. We don’t spend much time looking back.”

Indeed, doubting the band’s willingness to reckon with seismic losses would miss the thrust of their new album, The Center Won’t Hold. “It speaks to an era of fractiousness and vulnerability... We wanted to write about despair, corruption, and chaos, but [place] them in personal narratives,” guitarist Corin Tucker says of the album title, a literary reference to proto-goth W.B. Yeats. In his poem “The Second Coming,” Yeats deadpans, “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold”—a suggestion of rational acceptance of loss that, especially in light of the band’s recent evolution, resonates on both macro and micro levels.

As Sleater Kinney’s legend has grown, so has the popular discourse around feminism, set in motion by the Riot Grrrl batallions of the late ’90s, including Sleater Kinney, L7 and Bikini Kill (all of whom have resurfaced in 2019).

Despite the Riot Grrrls’ prescience, Tucker and Brownstein regard the movement, to which they are reflexively linked, with characteristic disinterest, focusing instead on the work that’s yet to be done—whether that be live performance or political activism. “Our goal as performers is just to do something kinetic, exhilarating and powerful to form a connection with the audience,” says Tucker.

“We actually weren’t really a Riot Grrrl band; we came out at the tail end of that scene,” echoes Brownstein. “I think our focus, while never shying away from politics, is the art. The thing that lasts is the music. More than pressing [feminism] into commercialism or pat phrases, I’m interested in the real political activism and discourse of feminism. And at the same time, I want to make great music.

Those things aren’t mutually exclusive.”

SLEATER-KINNEY’S NORTH AMERICAN TOUR KICKS OFF IN RALEIGH, NC, SEPT. 13.

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Makeup Amy Strozzi (Tomlinson Management Group) Hair Ian James (The Wall Group) Production assistant Paolina Guy

PHOTOGRAPHY MARIPOL TEXT SAMUEL ANDERSON

MUSIC

FERGALICIOU$ A$AP FERG RELEASES HIS LATEST ALBUM, FOUR YEARS IN THE MAKING. IT’S A TURN IN A NEW ROMANTIC DIRECTION.

Thirty seconds into small talk with A$AP Ferg, aka the Trap Lord aka the Hood Pope, the rapper offers the opportunity to model his new merch. As fashion-forward as he is gregarious, Ferg is one of the most visible ambassadors of A$AP Mob, the internationationally lauded hip-hop collective of Harlem creatives like A$AP Rocky, Joey Bada$$ and Playboy Carti, that he calls “family.” If the Mob is the heart of Harlem’s art scene, Ferg represents its most visible artery—which can be a lot of pressure.

Ferg recently found himself on the precipice of giving it all up; he never envisioned a career as a famous rapper, and as such, label politics meant the artist felt as though he was “whoring [himself] out” in the interest of, essentially, his favorite hobby. But after multiple platinum records and recent maturation, the 30 year old plans to finally return to his Renaissance-man roots.

“I’m at the age where I am who I am,” Ferg says, chains jostling between bites of salmon. “I already proved that I can make it. I just never wanted to be a one-hit wonder.”

Now he’s resolved to do things his way. This year will mark the release of two years-in-the-making EPs boasting “sexy songs” with R&B overtones. “I felt like my image of myself had to grow in a different direction,” he says of the shift toward the romantic.

It wasn’t long before he also caught fashion’s discerning eye. Tiffany & Co. recently tapped him as a face, and he now sits front row at Dior shows (not bad for a kid from Harlem who once lusted after Ralph Lauren Polos).

However, these glowing endorsements only harshen the spotlight when other A$AP members step out of line, like A$AP Bari, who’s faced allegations of sexual assault.

“Everyone’s entitled to be human and make mistakes,” Ferg explains. “A$AP is a label; we’re just a group of friends. [The associations can be] frustrating, but I [just stay as true] to myself as possible.”

Ferg at 30 is an open book: from politics (“People think Kanye is crazy for hanging with Trump, but it’s like, he’s getting closer to get to what he’s actually doing...I looked at it like keeping your enemies closer”); to feminism (“Guys without female friends are rough. They’re brutes”). Whether he’s the benevolent Trap Lord, the hustler extraordinaire Hood Pope, or the multi-talented, multi-hyphenate Darold Ferguson Jr., A$AP Ferg knows exactly who he is. “I’m proud of the way I think,” Ferg says after a long pause, before chuckling: “And I’m proud of who I am.”

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Makeup Ayami Nishimura Grooming Jomo Kenyatta Digital technician Sara Lewis Photo assistant Garth McKee Stylist assistant Kah Li Haslam Location Root Brooklyn

PHOTOGRAPHY FERRY VAN DER NAT FASHION KWASI KESSIE TEXT BEATRICE HAZLEHURST

FERG WEARS ALL JEWELRY (THROUGHOUT) TIFFANY & CO. CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT: TOP MARNI JACKET (TOP MIDDLE, BOTTOM LEFT AND RIGHT) DIOR MEN TOP (TOP RIGHT, BOTTOM MIDDLE) Y-3 ADIDAS

DO THE HUSTLE BOASTING THE YEAR’S MOST OGLE-WORTHY CAST, HUSTLERS SEES J. LO, CONSTANCE WU, LIZZO, AND MORE AS ENTERPRISING STRIPPERS. HERE, DIRECTOR LORENE SCAFARIA PEELS BACK THE DRESSING-ROOM CURTAIN. TEXT SAMUEL ANDERSON 72

In the wake of the 2000 Grammy Awards, four little keywords—“Jennifer Lopez Green Dress”—dramatically spiked on Google, prompting a room of engineers to launch a new tool catering to an increasingly thirsty user base.

Almost 20 years later, in March, Lopez shared a photo that fulfilled her station as the body behind Google Images—a BTS image from the upcoming Hustlers. Based on a New York article by Jessica Pressler, scribe behind the viral exposé of Soho grifter Anna Delvey, and with a cast that also includes Lizzo, Cardi B and Constance Wu, the film is genetically disposed to flood newsfeeds.

While the photo Lopez shared, showing the now50-year-old in a pink micro-bikini and rocking oversized, somewhat dated shades, was a forever-mood befitting the star’s bodacious longevity, it offered little in the way of context. Here to elaborate is Lorene Scafaria, who directed and adapted the screenplay for Hustlers. Blending Showgirls and Wolf of Wall Street, Scafaria’s film follows a troupe of exotic dancers who con their monied clientele out of tens of thousands of dollars—stylishly revealing how, just like its high-powered benefactors, sex work suffered under the economic changes of the mid-aughts. “The financial crisis was a turning point for [the industry],” says Scafaria.

“Money changed, [as did] what was expected [in exchange for] the money, and so these girls really had to change their game [by any means necessary].”

In addition to the aforementioned starpower, Hustlers features Keke Palmer, Lili Reinhart, and Trace Lysette (Lysette, like Cardi, is a former real-life stripteuse). “It was an embarrassment of riches,” says Scafaria. “I chased Cardi B and Lizzo for a year [or more]. Keke, forget it; I’m a fan of her entire being. I [got] incredibly lucky.”

Further lending credence to the film is its source material, which ran with the headline “The Hustlers at Scores” in 2015. As explosive nonfiction brought to life, the film delivers a refreshingly humane, semi-aspirational

portrait of New York’s exotic dancing ring—counterweighed with society’s and Hollywood’s typically caricatured visions of the subject matter. Though an overall-loose adaptation of the New York piece, Scafaria’s film retraces some of Pressler’s reporting. “I’d always thought of [sex work] as a very honest profession, but I certainly didn’t know the ins and outs before diving in. [Luckily] the [women] would always open their doors,” she says. “They were very receptive, and often grateful that someone was interested in telling their stories.”

Scafaria’s inquests lent her not only an expanded POV, but a cast made even richer by its versimilitude— comprised of both A-list icons and real-life hustlers: “A lot of the girls that appear in the movie are [actual] strippers or sex workers; many [of those we met] do it in order to pursue their other passions,” Sacafaria says. “One [dancer] we met was also a musician—I think the happiest I’ve ever [encountered]—who goes and works at the club for a couple months, and saves enough money to go on tour; like any other industry, you have people who are thriving and people who are just surviving.” And while real-world sex work may seldom resemble the celebrity fantasia of Hustlers, Scafaria’s methods allow the film to take to pleasure in exposing its mundane and absurd aspects: “[I learned that] the male customers actually say ‘please’ a lot!” she reports.

Indeed, no industry is without its ups and downs.

Lopez’s sizzling Instagram tease, Scafaria reveals, belies some unideal conditions. “Oh, the pink bikini!” Scafaria laughs. “That was a cold day on a rooftop pool. It was torturous for everyone, but I promised it would be worth it.”

Whether the Hustlers of Hustlers are guilty of recession-era ingenuity or societal ill, it is a known fact— as attested to by J.Lo’s six-pack-baring body shot—that nothing is more American than a little extra hustle.

HUSTLERS HITS THEATERS ON SEPTEMBER 13.

Constance Wu (left) and Jennifer Lopez (right) in Hustlers, courtesy of STX Entertainment

FILM

4/5

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V GIRLS THE ONES TO WATCH, INGENUES, AND NAMES TO KNOW NOW. MEET HOLLYWOOD'S NEXT GENERATION OF SCREEN QUEENS. PHOTOGRAPHY WALKER BUNTING FASHION CHRIS HORAN TEXT ALEXANDRA ILYASHOV

NESTA WEARS COAT BOSS DRESS SIES MARJAN EARRINGS AMMANII

NESTA COOPER It was a fateful plotline of the WB's One Tree Hill that led Nesta Cooper to the teenage epiphany that she wanted to act. Namely, it was the romantic tiffs between Brooke (Sophia Bush) and Lucas (Chad Michael Murray) that imparted Cooper, who grew up on the otherwise sleepy Vancouver Island, with the acting bug: “I was very dedicated; I remember just sobbing because I was so sad for Brooke,” Cooper says. “It occurred to me, ‘Wow, I’m 14 years old, I’ve never kissed a boy, let alone been in a relationship, but I can feel the pain of this break-up.’ That’s [when I became] fascinated [with the power of] acting to strip [someone] to their emotional core.”

Cooper’s first gig was a two-line part in The Haunting Hour, the Disney Channel's spooky-lite R.L. Stine adaptation. Four years and an assortment of TV and film roles later, Cooper landed her first leading turn, playing Carly, a tough, military-trained mother in the Netflix series Travelers. “That show was a really huge shift for me professionally and emotionally. It taught me a lot about playing toughness, and not just in a one-note [way]; that a woman can be super strong without being a bitch.” Cooper says. “I realized, ‘Okay Nesta, you don’t have to be angry and mean all the time [to play a resilient woman]. I could add layers to her. That was really eye-opening.”

Cooper once again plays a young mother in See, Apple’s upcoming epic drama set in the future, written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight and directed by Francis Lawrence. “In a time when there’s so much TV right now battling for viewership—so many different platforms, between streaming, web series, and even people making shows on their Instagram accounts, See still managed to stand out to me," says Cooper. "I just had never read something like it before.” Her next film role is also streamable sci-fi: Bliss, an Amazon Studios drama co-starring Salma Hayek and Owen Wilson, directed by Mike Cahill, college pal and collaborator of Brit Marling.

After that, Cooper is game for anything that helps develop her acting chops, perhaps beyond her well-trod sci-fi territory, be it a headturning thriller like Get Out or infectious comedies, which she’s dabbled with in The Edge of Seventeen and Reality High: “I liked doing those because they’re light and fun,” she says. “You’re just really trying to make everyone laugh. There’s [no] pressure to be [an] emotional, brooding artist all the time.”

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CAROLINE WEARS TOP GUESS SKIRT SIES MARJAN NECKLACE ROUGH TRADE RING HER OWN

CAROLINE DAY For Caroline Day, the itch to act came early. So early, in fact, that she must have been “pretty much pre-conscious," she says. "I sort of feel like I came out of the womb in tap shoes kind of thing,” explains Day. “I think I knew that acting was what I wanted to do before I even knew you had to grow up and get a job.” Further evidence came at age five or six, when Day became obsessed with the wrenching dramatic climax of 2001's Moulin Rouge—Nicole Kidman’s death by consumption in the arms of her lover. "I watched that scene over and over again," Day says, laughing. "My parents were super disturbed by me reenacting her violent death, but I feel like that was a pretty good indicator of my future career."

Day sang and danced extensively in childhood, but her passions flourished in high school when she moved to NYC. “I grew up moving all over the South, and always felt a little bit out of place or like a black sheep, because being a theater geek is just not cool below the MasonDixon line,” recalls Day, who moved to NYC to attend high school at Professional Children’s School (PCS). “It was totally the Island of Misfit Toys, but I automatically felt like I’d found my tribe, my people. It was so dorky: Everybody was feeling their feelings, 14-year-old boys were trying to dress like Bob Fosse, and I felt so at home,” she adds. "I saw so much more than you usually see at 12, 13, 14; my world got so much bigger."

Studying art history at Columbia University, Day modeled and continued to act. “It felt really important to me to finish college and have a degree, especially because I knew I was going into this crazy career path,” she says. Recently, Day got to do much more than just reenact Kidman’s early aughts work—she co-stars with the statuesque actress in The Goldfinch (in theaters September 13), also featuring Sarah Paulson, Ansel Elgort, and Luke Wilson. “I read The Goldfinch on a train," says Day of the film's source material, Donna Tartt's Pulitzerwinning novel. "For anybody who hasn’t read it yet, I highly recommend reading it on a train, it’s very romantic.” When she saw a Deadline report saying that the film was being cast, she emailed her agents, saying "I have to go in for this!" A memorable encounter on set was a touching pep talk from Kidman. “At one point, I think Nicole could tell I was a little bit nervous, so she came up to me and talked about what it’s like to be a tall woman in Hollywood," says Day, who at 5'10" is an inch shy of Kidman. "She was like, ‘It’s great, carry it, it’s exciting!’ It was so cool of her to go out of her way to make sure I felt comfortable going into my scene. I’ll never forget that. I was just really moved.”

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VICTORIA WEARS TANK DKNY JEANS GUESS SHOES GIUSEPPE ZANOTTI JEWELRY LOREN STEWART

VICTORIA PEDRETTI Finding the spotlight was always the M.O. of actress Victoria Pedretti, born in Philadelphia to academic parents. “I was one of those kids who demanded attention,” Pedretti says. “I tried dancing and singing, and I think through a lot of rejection in those [pursuits], I found my way to acting.”

Now she is poised to follow up her feature-film debut, in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood, with a Netflix doublefeature—both returning to her breakout series, The Haunting Of Hill House, and joining You for its second season. Playing one half of the tormented Crain twins on Hill House was also her very first acting job. As an alumna of Carnegie Mellon’s School of Drama, Pedretti was well aware of her chosen industry's narrow odds at success. “[I've known people] who worked their whole lives developing [a craft] that may never support them financially; people who are willing to compromise everything for their art,” Pedretti says. “I’d very much prepared myself for going years with never having the opportunity to work in my field.”

Next year, she’ll star in the Hill House's second installment, re-dubbed The Haunting Of Bly Manor. Meanwhile, You’s sophomore season drops this fall. “[The first season] of You was so intoxicating; I could not stop watching it,” Pedretti says of the thriller, in which Penn Badgley plays the most dubious of antiheroes—a stalker. “The style of the show just draws you in, and so much of that is [thanks to] Penn: you just want to keep watching him.”

In Tarantino’s Hollywood, she played Lulu, a member of Charles Manson's cult. “I'd never gotten that far in a film audition before... It was an insane experience,” she says, recounting the surreality of her callback: “They had already started filming, and wanted to see my proficiency on horseback. So one of the wranglers and I rode our horses onto set—and [there was] Leonardo DiCaprio, also on horseback! I’m just on a horse, watching them film a movie... It was completely immersive, like I’d gone back through time."

Equestrianism aside, Tarantino's old-school methods ensured Pedretti's first filmmaking experience would also be a uniquely retro one: “I’m sitting there between takes, and someone pulls film out of the camera, and my jaw just dropped," Pedretti recalls. "I was like, 'Oh my God, I forgot [about film cameras!] Is everyone seeing this?!' Just knowing [some films are still shot that way]—that alone was very cool."

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Makeup Emily Cheng (The Wall Group) using Chanel Hair Jamal Hammadi (Art Department) Photo assistant Jake Lewis Stylist assistant Lauren Jeworski Makeup assistant Sinem Cetin

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SARAH JEFFERY Sarah Jeffery’s initial career ambitions would’ve likely lead her to hospitals, not Hollywood. “I actually wanted to be a nurse, of all things,” Jeffery says. That, or perhaps a dancer—she studied the craft seriously from her toddler years through high school. “It was my whole life; I spent all my time dancing, and I loved it very much,” the Vancouver native recalls. “I’ve always felt happiest entertaining.” Her father’s work as a voice actor also propelled her toward performance. “He was always really playful with me and my sisters and encouraged creativity,” she recalls.

With nursing school in the offing, Jefferey's early auditions were simply bids for spending money, but when she booked her first job at age 16, playing the role of Thandie Newton’s daughter on police drama series Rogue, it felt undeniably right.

“I thought, ‘Why would I go to nursing school when I can do this?’ It makes so much sense,” Jeffery says. “I realized acting was something I absolutely wanted to do, and I was hopeful that I could make a career out if it.” More than a decade of dance did, however, endow her with a body awareness that’s proven quite useful in acting, especially stuntwork—key to Jeffery’s current role on the Charmed reboot, Season 2 of which debuts October 11. Though she’s too young to have watched the original show, Jeffery jumped at the opportunity given her adoration for all things magic. “Harry Potter is my favorite series, and I’ve always loved that wish fulfillment, ‘anything is possible’ idea,” she explains.

“It’s very current; those themes are resonant in these times. And the show has a powerful message about our political climate, about women being there for women.”

Following three sisters who use their magic to empower themselves and others, the show was all the more appealing given its diverse cast. “It’s pretty special to have three lead roles played by actresses of color. I was really happy to be a part of that,” Jeffery says.

She’s channeled her own experiences growing up in a big family around lots of women into her bonds with her on-screen siblings. Jeffery also tracks closely with her character, Maggie. “She’s girly and loves fashion, but is also funny, whip-smart, and cares so much; I mean, her power is literally reading minds, [so of course] she's multifaceted,” she says. Short of her magical powers, Jeffery considers Maggie a much needed positive influence: “I think it’s important for girls to see you can be more than one thing — you don’t have to fall into one category."

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YEARS OF V

THE STORY OF V WAS WRITTEN IN THE STARS. FOR US, THOSE BRIGHT LIGHTS RANGE FROM COVER GIRLS AND BOY WONDERS, TO HEAVYWEIGHT STYLISTS AND GLAMAZONIAN GLAM TEAMS. HERE, V HEAR FROM THE ONES WHO CAME, SAW AND, FOR 20 YEARS, CONTINUED TO CONQUER. LETTERING ALEX TROCHUT

THE MAKING OF V

INEZ AND VINOODH ON LADY GAGA’S QUADRUPLE TRANSFORMATIONS Ahead of V85, Gaga was [gearing up] to announce ARTPOP. Everyone was waiting for her next crazy look, but we said, “No, let’s go naked”—that’s how we started: with nothing. It was a pure expression of, “This is me,” and that’s it. When I look back now, the photos don’t seem all that bare. But for [the time] it was a big statement. It spooked her a little, not hiding behind the masks and hair. But I think for her it was important to say, “This is how I feel beautiful.” No frills, no extra, no hiding. We had such a deep mutual understanding since the first day we met, for an earlier V shoot. It felt like we had been sisters. It’s strange, meeting someone literally 25 years younger, with the exact same references [you had] at her age. So there was an immediate understanding, and I think she trusted us a great deal. What is so remarkable about Gaga is that she’s so unbelievably convinced of what she’s doing, and pulls everyone into that. From the hair and makeup people to the catering guy.

She has a way of valuing everyone in the same way, which is remarkable. For me, it shows that she is a true artist.

LADY GAGA PHOTOGRAPHY INEZ AND VINOODH FASHION BRANDON MAXWELL (V85)

AARON DE MEY ON GAGA AS EDITRIX AND INEZ LOOKALIKE I hate to give a crown to one moment, as every time I work with V Magazine, it is a unique, fun and inspiring experience. Out of the many, one of the most memorable was working on the V99 covers with Lady Gaga as a guest editor. Inez and Vinoodh photographed, Brandon Maxwell styled, Frederic Aspiras did the hair and I did the makeup. This was my first time working with Gaga. We shot in a studio in downtown New York, starting in the afternoon and contining late into the night, finally finishing at 4:00 am. There were no hard outs or time limits, and before wrapping we all had an improptu 3:00 am dinner party.

She’s an absolute team player and indulges and celebrates everyone’s creativity, giving 150 percent to the creative process.

On one of the covers, Gaga is photographed with Inez as her twin, styled identically. To achieve that family resemblance, Gaga adopted Inez’s signature doll eye lashes, pared down makeup and long raven black hair.

For the next cover, a complete three-sixty from the previous image, her hair is now yellow, wet and slicked back with a messy winged cat eye, piles of lashes and harshly bleached eyebrows. A Richard Prince biker girl with smudged eyes. There is also one cover where the image is distorted and her face appears as a conceptual cutout collage using a handmade face mask added to a rainbow lip. A total chameleon transformation for every image, getting into full character for each scenario.

This shoot will always be memorable for me because I was charmed, intrigued and challenged the whole way through. A day with old friends, spent making new friends.

LADY GAGA PHOTOGRAPHY INEZ AND VINOODH FASHION BRANDON MAXWELL MAKEUP ARRON DE MEY (V99) 81

THE MAKING OF V

JANET JACKSON ON PHOTOGRAPHIC RHYTHM The time that the legendary Jean-Paul Goude and I spent getting to know each other was very special. I remember him putting a mirror in front of me and saying, “Don’t look at yourself,” as he was shooting me. [The energy] on set was fun and up, and the end results felt different, but at the same time, [representative] of me. [It’s been 15 years since V28, shot by Inez & Vinoodh—half as long as it’s been since Rhythm Nation!] [In light of] Nation’s 30th Anniversary, I am thankful. I am thankful to have made an album that is considered one to go down in history as having a [message]. [The issues] that concern[ed] me [at the time] are still relevant today. While I hope the generations to come will listen to [Nation], and [still be able to] understand it, I [also] hope that at some point, some of the issues that [inspired it] will be history.

JANET JACKSON (TOP) PHOTOGRAPHY INEZ AND VINOODH FASHION BEAT BOLLIGER (V28) (BOTTOM) PHOTOGRAPHY JEAN-PAUL GOUDE FASHION PANOS YIAPANIS (V45)

MELANIE WARD GETTING INTIMATE WITH RIHANNA AND KATE Happy anniversary V! I am forever proud our collaborations and grateful for the opportunities you have given us all to express ourselves. A memorable, intimate moment has to be when I was shooting Rihanna and Kate in London with Mario [Testino]. Apart from the fact that Rihanna said “You’re so fly, girl” when we met, a pretty big compliment coming from her, I have a lifelong memory from this shoot. We were working together just as [her song] “Diamonds” was launching. Rihanna, Kate, Courtney (my then-assistant) and I were alone having fun chatting and trying on the clothes I had brought with me in the changing area, and just standing there in her knickers, Rhianna spontaneously sang “Diamonds” for us! Her voice is seriously so incredible and full of soul that it made us cry with emotion. I will never forget this impromptu performance and honestly still get tears in my eyes when I hear this song.

RIHANNA AND KATE MOSS PHOTOGRAPHY MARIO TESTINO FASHION MELANIE WARD (V82) 83

THE MAKING OF V

GIGI HADID, BELLA HADID AND MARIO SORRENTI ON SISTER SYNERGY To illustrate our V family values, we revisit this close-knit trio’s most scrapbook-worthy clips.

These include the award-winning V114 cover starring Gigi Hadid and shot by Mario Sorrenti, one Hadid calls “her most memorable cover shoot ever.” (Also memorable? Gigi jumping off the page on a Fendi Jet Ski!) Sorrenti also shot Bella for V106, an au naturel contrast to her high-glam V cover debut this year, styled by Patti Wilson—her and Gigi’s co-pilot for their dual V96 cover. Here, the Hadids and Sorrenti reflect on full-circle moments and the business of beauty today.

BELLA HADID [Like so many of] the stories I’ve shot for V Magazine over the years, my recent cover felt like a full circle moment. In V96, [the late supermodel] China Machado asked me and Gigi about our goals. My [longtime] goal has been to eventually get a barn, [where I could] ride horses and take photos. In working with V Magazine over the years, I have found a beauty within myself that I had never seen before. V has been a supporter of Gigi and I throughout our careers and [we] thank Stephen for his visions.

MARIO SORRENTI [At the V114 cover shoot in Miami], Gigi and everyone involved were amazing and rocked it. [Gigi] totally made the pictures. [To quote Stephen], “You have to find ways of rewriting the book.” Our perception of beauty is always going to change. I think if you look at Linda Evangelista and Kate, they’re two completely different types of women.

I think Bella is an interesting new beauty and Gigi is an interesting new beauty. To me, it totally makes sense that we, as a group of people and society, are always going to change what we think is attractive. I think it’s all linked socially; beauty and our ideas of beauty, art and all these things are linked. They make sense together and it makes sense to me what’s happening [still] today.

GIGI HADID (TOP) PHOTOGRAPHY MARIO SORRENTI FASHION GEORGE CORTINA (V114) BELLA HADID (BOTTOM) PHOTOGRAPHY MARIO SORRENTI FASHION GEORGE CORTINA (V106) 84

Text by V staff, Gigi Hadid, Bella Hadid, and Mario Sorrenti

GIGI HADID I’ve [always had three goals]: be kind, work hard, and make a friend every day.

Those are the little things I try to do on set that then lead to creating new friendships and experiences. V114 was possibly my most memorable cover shoot ever. These legendary creatives, Mario Sorrenti and Stephen Gan, along with a third legend, George Cortina, dedicated their talent and energy to a concept and environment that allowed [me] to feel like my most empowered self. When Stephen first showed me the [concept], my jaw hit the floor; it was my dream cover. But the days we spent shooting the cover and video were beyond my wildest dreams. You can’t put into words the magic that was on set—there was so much passion, excitement, drive, creativity, love and energy, from everyone, for each other. But the results don’t lie. [Experiences] like this are why we do what we do.

Fashion opens doors to [so many] unique experiences. I get to work with horses a lot for shoots and that always makes my day. Bella and I go horseback riding whenever we aren’t working. Having that as a getaway is such a blessing.

THE MAKING OF V

CARLYNE CERF DE DUDZEELE AND LINDA EVANGELISTA ON LIVING OUT LOUD ON SET CARLYNE CERF DE DUDZEELE The Miley [cover shoot] was so good—it was the best day. Really, really good!

LINDA EVANGELISTA It is very good!

CCD Yeah, and we painted her hair orange [to match] the orange Louis Vuitton bag.

I wanted the Vuitton bag in the picture because it was big, so I put it in her mouth. She was perfection in this one.

LE And you taped her name on there too.

CCD Yeah, with my black photographer tape.

LE [Some might wonder] how you got Miley to put [the bag] in her mouth, but I know how.

You won’t take no for an answer! Miley got off really easy there just having the bag in her mouth. I’ve had earrings super glued to my ears. You just shut up; you don’t say anything, so I know how Miley got that bag in her mouth. It was put in her mouth and she was gagged.

[Laughs] CCD Well, anything to get a good picture, darling.

LE It is a great picture. I love that picture.

CCD A model never talks, and a model has to...[Laughs, trailing off] LE The model has to shut up and do what she’s told.

CCD [Laughs] Exactamundo.

LE I am sure you have many great memories [from that shoot], especially if Oribe was there.

CCD Yes! What was your first cover? Which issue was it?

LE V14 with Mario Testino in 2001. It was in Paris and I remember I had to eat prosciutto for a picture. I mean, the things we have to do to get a good picture... If you guys think it’s a good picture, its fine with me. I am Italian so I like prosciutto. What other shoots have you done for V that you love?

CCD Nicole Kidman was also a good one. She said, “Carlyne, you can do anything you want.”

So I went for it, “Bing, Bang, Boom!” I also love your black and white cover.

LE That was my first time working with Inez and Vinoodh and I believe it was my last time. I must have really impressed them. [Laughs] You had me smiling on the cover, and I wasn’t in a bad mood that day so I don’t know. [Laughs] I just know whenever you are working with V, you are allowed to push your creativity to the max. The ideas, wherever they come from, are always spot on. I have enjoyed all of the shoots I have done for V. MILEY CYRUS (TOP) PHOTOGRAPHY MARIO TESTINO FASHION CARLYNE CERF DE DUDZEELE (V83) LINDA EVANGELISTA (BOTTOM) PHOTOGRAPHY MARIO TESTINO FASHION BENJAMIN GALOPIN (V14) 86

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THE MAKING OF V

SAM SMITH ON THE WISDOM OF LIZZO I am such a huge Lizzo fan... A few years ago, when “Good As Hell” came out, I remember the first time I heard it, I was actually getting ready in my bathroom for a date. It had a great message to hear at that moment. I have struggled with body image issues my entire life and I never really found an outlet for that—even in my early career, as I’ve spoken about in V. [Editor’s note: “When I was shooting my first music videos, I just wasn’t happy with the way I looked, so I was trying to control the way the camera moved. I got a bit obsessive. I was constantly looking in the mirror, pinching my waist, weighing myself every day,” Smith told us in V111.] [Lizzo’s] music played a huge, huge part of my discovery of self-love and body love.

[When I interviewed her for V119: The Music Issue], I hadn’t properly met her [in person] yet.

But everything [she said was] so beautiful. [That] it always comes down to the relationship between you and yourself. You can’t change the world, you just need to be yourself, unforgivingly. [We both believe that]. And I think that also includes showing all different sides of yourself. Her music, to me, and the way [she came across] was very powerful and positive, and very strong. What [she said, and what she does with her music] is massively moving things forward.

SAM SMITH (TOP) PHOTOGRAPHY INEZ AND VINOODH FASHION MEL OTTENBERG (V93) LIZZO (BOTTOM) PHOTOGRAPHY CHRIS COLLS FASHION NICOLA FORMICHETTI (V119)

PETER PHILLIPS ON MAKEUP OMGS AND ABCS It’s hard to pick one [favorite shoot]—there are so many exciting ones, all linked to great stories. The first time I saw [my work] in V was when you guys launched V0 and to see my Mickey Mouse makeup, shot by Willy Vanderperre, in print... I was like, OMG. My heart skipped a few beats. I must say that the “alphabet” that we shot with Inez and Vinoodh for V43, where every shot corresponded with a letter, was really special. It was a shooting marathon, where models would just walk in randomly. There were some extreme looks, some body painting, gorgeous still lifes... It was a long and exhausting shoot, but so super exciting to be a part of. I believe we actually shot the whole [story that day]. And still today, the shots look great and contemporary. Working with Inez and Vinoodh is always a pleasure. [With them and V, ] there is space for experimenting and space to make mistakes, so there’s no fear or insecurity. The energy on set is always controlled yet upbeat—no drama, only solutions and positivity.

PHOTOGRAPHY WILLY VANDERPERRE FASHION OLIVIER RIZZO MODEL ROBBIE MAKEUP PETER PHILLIPS, CREATIVE AND IMAGE DIRECTOR OF CHRISTIAN DIOR MAKEUP (V0)

GWEN STEFANI ON LOVE, ANGEL, MARIO, MERT AND MARCUS When I was first asked to do V magazine, I was quite naive when it came to the fashion world. Just learning about the different kinds of photographers that you could work with was so interesting. I remember being really nervous about working with Mario Testino because he was a legend. The way that they styled me and did my hair and makeup, I was amazed because I had never really been in a position where I was just kind of told what to do. I had to trust what Mario’s overall creative vision was for the shoot. I think that the photos are iconic and very fashion-forward for that time. It was the first time I really let go and let other artists take the wheel and it was scary, but fun and such an honor. Every time you work with someone like Mario, you are in the presence of greatness and it’s an opportunity to learn something—to try something new and different.

The second time I worked with V was with Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott. They were photographers that I had heard of, and were on the brink of becoming legends.

They made people look really interesting, beautiful and artistic. I really wanted to work with them, and I was honored to be back on the cover of the magazine. Working with them was an incredible experience. They are super artistic, and the creative post work they do is unique. I was basically a model; they just came in and did what they do best, and it was really fun to watch them work. It was wonderfully inspiring. I loved it and I hope I get to do it again someday.

[The 20th anniversary of V also coincides with the 15th anniversary of Love. Angel.

Music. Baby.] I’m very proud of that era. It was a very creative time in my life, defined by a lot of output and creative energy. I was so inspired by global culture and all of the travels that I’d done. Combining all the influences from travelling the world and sharing that through my music was a magical thing to be able to do. Now that I’m revisiting past moments in my career through my Las Vegas residency, I’m able to relive the songs [on Love. Angel. Music. Baby and the various memories that come with them,] every night in the show. It still amazes me how I was able to put my love for culture into those songs.

GWEN STEFANI PHOTOGRAPHY MERT ALAS & MARCUS PIGGOTT FASHION ANDREA LIEBERMAN (V52)

CHRISTOPHER BOLLEN ON JOAN DIDION V14, the November/December 2001 issue, coincided with my Joan Didion phase, which every young writer has at some point. If you look at the magazine before that time, there weren’t that many stories that didn’t involve fashion; occasionally there were art stories— precursors to the Work In Progress series, which began around the same time. Outside of the realm of fashion, V rarely, if ever, treaded. I think it really took time, as I recall, to build up the courage to figure out a way to art or literature; now it seems so fashionable to us that it seems so obvious to do, but at the time Joan Didion herself wasn’t that popular, if you can believe it. She was going through a period in which people weren’t really interested in her.

You know, all careers have peaks and valleys. Even so, getting that interview with Joan sort of empowered me to view V as a broader cultural magazine—one that covered fashion and culture in all its forms.

I interviewed her in person for V’s “Heroes” franchise—I think I was 25 years old and I had never interviewed anyone famous in that way or anyone that I had admired, but she was a good one to meet. You really should never meet your idols because they fall, not only a little bit. But she was absolutely wonderful. Tough but also very giving and kind. So many people I later interviewed, because I was 25 but I looked like I was 18, were much more brutal and awful, like Gore Vidal. [Laughs] [He was] someone I really respect but he was quite difficult.

Joan had an apartment on the Upper East Side; it’s the apartment she still has now. I went up and I had this whole long conversation with her and it was fantastic. I think it was really good [that this happened early in my career] because it made covering anyone and everyone a possibility.

We did so many random and exciting and interesting people for “Heroes.” Robert Altman; Tom Savini, who was like the [go-to] makeup artist for horror. We sort of had to convince Stephen that these people were important and consequential but once he saw the results of these first few, he trusted us to go any direction we wanted. This was before blogs and the Internet, and before that brief moment in which every young person was striving to work at a blog or magazine. There were very few spaces in publishing that allowed someone so young to make big decisions and execute them. So I credit Stephen and V with giving a bunch of green editors the chance to sort of run a magazine. That to me was the real excitement of V. JOAN DIDION PHOTOGRAPHY DOMINICK DUNNE (V14) 89

LANA DEL REY ON ART IMITATING LIFE I felt so lucky to be doing a cover with Steven Klein, and for one of my favorite magazines. I loved the look we created, especially that dramatic double eyeliner Pamela Cochrane, the makeup artist that day, always does. I was just so excited to be in New York City. Everything was so busy; it was a really exciting time. In reading the interview with James Franco I find it really interesting that he says his life is “exactly how he wants it to be.” And also that it was crucial that life be an extension of his art. But I had sort of an opposite concept to his. I think my art is more an extension of my life. As much as I like to curate my space, my art has a lot of reality grounded in it. My version of “life as a dream” isn’t necessarily perfect, it’s just easy-going and peaceful.

LANA DEL REY PHOTOGRAPHY STEVEN KLEIN FASHION MEL OTTENBERG MAKEUP PAMELA COCHRANE (V97)

WILLIAM DEFEBAUGH ON LANA DEL REY BY STEVIE NICKS I never imagined that I would spend the eve of my 27th birthday listening to my two music idols sing to one another over the phone—but it’s exactly that brand of magic that makes V so special. I got into publishing because it makes fantasies a reality, and nowhere is that truer than V. In the half decade I spent on Mercer Street, I watched dreams manifested on a daily basis. Around the time we were putting together V108, I was considering stepping down as editor to see where else my career might take me—but I promised myself I wouldn’t leave until I had told all of the stories I felt were there to tell. For that issue, I had the idea to put Lana Del Rey in conversation with Stevie Nicks. The new music Lana was putting out harkened back to the activist songs of the late 1960s, when Stevie was first rising to fame. I had a feeling the two would be kindred spirits, and it turned out they already were; the next day, the news leaked that they had a duet coming out on Lana’s new album, and I knew it was fate. They both happily agreed, and a month later, there we were having a conversation about the universal forces that bring people together, and what it means to be a beacon of hope in dark times. I left shortly after that issue went to press with the assurance that my work was done. When I look back on my time at V, it’s the story I’m most proud of—one last dream come true.

LANA DEL REY PHOTOGRAPHY STEVEN KLEIN FASHION ROBBIE SPENCER (V108) 91

THE MAKING OF V

NICOLA FORMICHETTI ON GISELE’S PAPARAZZI STORM [For V54] I came up with the idea of playing with denim. So I got loads of denim from all the different brands, including Diesel, Replay, and G-Star and things like that. The night before the shoot I customized them all. It’s probably not allowed these days, but back then it was a little bit more free. My assistants always say, “Never give Nicola a pair of scissors” because I cut everything. I loved the idea of Gisele in denim but also that she was such a sexy sex-bomb, so I wanted to show her skin. We cut loads of denim to show more of her skin and we added all of this high-end jewelry. So it had a high–low mix and Gisele looked amazing. The funny [thing] is, we shot this in Malibu by the beach. The initial idea was supposed to be Gisele, in the denim, in front of the beach. She would stand in the sand and then you could see the sea behind. It was supposed to be this homage to the ’80s bikini shoot but as soon as we started shooting, we were surrounded by paparazzi. Even though we were in this incredible place, the beach is obviously not private. We went back to the villa and decided to shoot in the greenery. By that time it was already the afternoon and the sun was going down. We literally did the whole shoot, three covers, plus a ten-page shoot, in an hour and a half. It was incredible, to have this superstar who managed to give us amazing shapes and looks within a matter of seconds. There was no time to fuck around and [she] was such a professional. These images are very timeless. I love working with denim because it’s timeless and sexy. And Gisele is, of course, a timeless beauty.

Sometimes when you work with fashion, it captures that era, and the imagery sometimes becomes dated. But a hot girl in denim is still hot today and always will be.

GISELE BÜNDCHEN PHOTOGRAPHY MARIO TESTINO FASHION NICOLA FORMICHETTI (V54)

DEMI MOORE ON GETTING THE V TREATMENT “[V Magazine] supports artistry and celebrates creativity in its truest form. This shoot was an opportunity to play in an environment free from the types of restrictions that many publications have to adhere to. Being surrounded by an incredibly talented team, from the photographer, to the stylist, to hair and makeup, with complete creative freedom, was a unique experience and an absolute treat!”

DEMI MOORE PHOTOGRAPHY MARIO TESTINO FASHION RACHEL ZOE (V51)

JACOB BROWN ON JUSTIN BIEBER’S EARLY PORTRAITS In fall 2009, while working on VMAN17, I’d read a story online about this pop star kid who’d been playing in malls around the country, causing huge rushes of people wherever he went. People had been getting injured… It sounded insane, so I looked up who the singer was, and it was this Canadian kid Justin Bieber. So I just called up the publicist at his label and booked a shoot, in that in-between moment when he wasn’t mainstream-mainstream. But between then and the shoot, he completely blew up. He had the VMAs right before the call time, so I was sweating, waiting to see if he would actually show up. He ended up almost canceling, I think because of the combination of him just skyrocketing between us booking him and the date of the shoot, his having to stop by in between the literal VMAs and the after parties, and because it might’ve been seen as risqué for someone that young to be doing a [men’s fashion magazine] like VMAN—he was 14 or 15 at the time.

[On top of all that] he had a broken leg. But sure enough, the entourage rolled up with Justin, and his broken leg in one of those big orthopedic boots. He comes in and he’s this tiny, tiny little kid, but is pretty bossy, and almost aggressively in control of his image. He picked out his own clothes from the rack and everything.

If he seemed a bit egotistical for a 14 year old, it may have been for good reason: Rihanna had kissed him on the cheek on stage at the VMAs and he still had the pink lipstick [stain] [to prove it]. I don’t know what [shade] she was wearing; it was pre-Fenty of course. But it may have been one of those all-day-lasting lipsticks, because I don’t think we had to do anything [to bring out the color]. But yeah, the lipstick kind of made it historic, I suppose.

I never saw him again, no, but I did interview him over the phone. I remember it didn’t go particularly well… His manager Scooter Braun was on the line, and he had to keep prodding him to answer the questions. I think he just wanted to go back to playing video games.

But in person, he was [fully in pop star mode]; Mark Abrahams had brought his young daughter, Grace, who was only a little kid at the time [and a huge fan]. [Even though it was] such a quick in-and-out shoot, Justin ended up posing for some pictures with Grace, which was super cute. Then he was whisked off to whatever VMA afterparty he was going to.

JUSTIN BIEBER PHOTOGRAPHY MARK ABRAHAMS FASHION YUKI JAMES (VMAN17) 93

THE MAKING OF V

AMANDA HARLECH ON YEARS OF CREATIVE FREEDOM There are so many memorable shoots that I have styled for V—I think because there is a freedom to explore image creatively and boundlessly. Stephen has always encouraged me to “go for it.” I have always loved and found inspiration in that.

One story that sits deep in my heart is “AMOR,” which the brilliant Nick Knight shot for V97 with the incredibly gifted Molly Bair. I had an amazing team and we followed my idea: Obsession to the point of heartbreaking beauty, where the landscape of cloth dreamt up by designers figured a kind of passionate love affair with one’s body.

I also did many many shoots with Karl and in a way he lives on in my memory of those sessions at his studio, 7L, in Paris. Once he had Daphne and I swap identities [for V]. It was uncanny looking around in hair and makeup and seeing myself so perfectly embodied by Daphne. Karl thought it was hilarious—even he couldn’t tell us apart! Another great shoot was his “White Shirt” story in V100. I loved the way Karl took portraits and I thought that the story should be based around his favourite girls, paired with his favourite item of clothing— the perfect white shirt.

“Optimistic Dystopia” shot by Jackie Nickerson was another milestone on my fashion journey. She ran with my idea of shelter after the apocalypse (which looms over us all especially now as climate change impacts the planet). We were both so moved by the idea of making, of craft, of the irrepressible creative optimism that beats in all our hearts. Just as man has always made things—even in the dark of the Ice Ages—carving stones in the firelight, expressing everything that transfixed them in nature, an ochre paint stroke or a stitch patterning a sleeve.

MOLLY BAIR PHOTOGRAPHY NICK KNIGHT FASHION AMANDA HARLECH (V97)

JIMMY PAUL ON HEDI SLIMANE’S FIRST DIOR HOMME SHOW AS DOCUMENTED BY KARL LAGERFELD I did the hair for a couple of seasons at Saint Laurent. Hedi Slimane and I got along, and it was very fun. I absolutely was obsessed with the whole vibe—it was thrilling. He then gets his appointment at Dior. It worked out that I got to do the hair for the show. I don’t remember how we came up with this hairstyle, but I think it’s really inspired by Eric, the model. He had this really angelic, like silk, fine hair. Then the actual show comes [in January 2001]. It was electrifying. The casting… I’ve just never seen anything like it. It’s very hard to explain now how radical this all was at the time. It’s considered subtle now because it’s been normalized. But it wasn’t at all subtle at the time. Before, it was just normal, muscley looking guys to, all of a sudden, these emaciated kids. They weren’t all super skinny, they just looked very different. It wasn’t a cookie cutter thing.

We’re prepping backstage and all of a sudden, you could just feel the buzz. Karl Lagerfeld was there, Catherine Deneuve was there, Yves Saint Laurent was there with Pierre Bergé and Betty Catroux. And the last fashion show that Yves had been to was something insane like Marc Bohan for Dior in 1967. In my personal opinion, they were handing over the keys to a new generation. It was utterly mindblowing.

At one point backstage, Karl and Amanda Harlech start going through the clothes.

I could see that Karl was really losing his mind over the pieces. I knew in that moment that this movement became valid; this was a real thing. The boys are starting to line up, and Karl is taking pictures in this very tiny space. I got swept up in it; my adrenaline was up. All of a sudden, we’re in this frenzied moment. You know, Lagerfeld is back here taking paparazzi pictures! Uncharacteristically, I started saying to Karl, “Look at this guy… this guy is amazing,” and he started to listen to me. These shots later became four split covers for V11. One of the covers features this really great guy with the signature hair from the show. I’m fixing his hair and saying to Karl, “Isn’t this great?” It’s my favorite for obvious reasons: You can see me—I’m the one wearing the watch adjusting his hair.

I’d never seen anything like that: Karl Lagerfeld in the flesh just taking pictures.

And I of course didn’t know it was going to end up being the cover of V, but it was the kind of unforgettable gig that should be remembered that way. It felt like a very unique, extraordinary and rarefied situation. I am forever grateful.

PHOTOGRAPHY KARL LAGERFELD HAIR JIMMY PAUL (V11)

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THE FUTURE STARTS HERE THE NEW FORCE OF POP, BELLA HADID ON HORSEBACK, SOUNDS OF THE SEASON, AND THE BEST OF FALL FASHION.

LETTERING ALEX TROCHUT

BIL IE'SIDYLL WITH 50 MILLION MONTHLY STREAMS AND COUNTING, 17-YEAR-OLD BILLIE EILISH HAS DISMANTLED THE POP ARCHETYPE. ONCE OBSCURED BY BUBBLE-GUM ARTIFICE AND QUIXOTIC MESSAGING, THE GENRE UNDER EILISH HAS THRIVED, HER PULL-NO-PUNCHES HONESTY RESONATING STRONGEST WITH ITS GEN-Z HEIRS. HERE, WEARING A BOUQUET OF DREAMY FALL FASHION, SHE ASCENDS TO SEIZE THE THRONE, AND V FALL UNDER HER SPELL. PHOTOGRAPHY INEZ AND VINOODH FASHION ALEX WHITE INTERVIEW PHARRELL WILLIAMS

“I’m excited for the whole thing,” Billie Eilish told me the first time we spoke. She was 14 and had never done an interview before, already prefiguring the adventure that was to become her life. Now 17, she has over 30 million Instagram followers, a number one album, Calvin Klein campaigns, and the adoration of multiple generations. Having made backyard music videos since she was a toddler, she dreamt of becoming exactly what she has—the new pop archetype, arguably the Britney Spears of Generation Z. Thanks to her and her insatiable fans—including Julia Roberts, Kaia Gerber, and Katy Perry—“alt-pop” is no longer alt; it’s the future. As are Eilish’s idiosyncratic fashion and lifestyle choices. A sober vegan with post-male-gaze style, she embodies her generation’s mandate of self-love and empathy over personal gain. But, at least for now, she’s an individual entirely unto herself. Here, she and fellow maverick Pharrell Williams chat art, clairvoyance and sleep paralysis. MATHIAS ROSENZWEIG BILLIE EILISH Hi! How are you?

PHARRELL WILLIAMS I’m good man, how are you?

BE I’m alright, I just woke up. I am on the bus, somewhere. I don’t know where.

Shit is so crazy right now, but I am good.

PW So much has happened since the last time I saw you. You were on your own vibe then, but it’s so cool to see you[‘ve] stuck with [it]. [You’re] inherently who you are; [you haven’t] changed or modified [that]. I think that’s such a beautiful thing; when you can just… be.

BE That’s kind of the goal; it’s just to not be anything artificial because I think sometimes things can start out being real and then [that authenticity] fades away, into dirt. Hopefully I don’t ever do that. You’ve [avoided] that well—stayed just “Pharrell.” You are Pharrell, bro. That’s not just a name, that’s you.

PW Wow! Well listen, I am honored that you even see it that way. This is a [nonsequitur], but... when is your birthday?

BE December 18! What about you?

PW Oh, a Sagittarius... I’m an Aries. So, you are a fire sign? It makes all the sense... I am too! I have some questions in front of me, but I might stray off the path... That’s what us fire signs do! So when and where did you first hear one of your songs in public?

BE I was actually in a vegan ice cream shop in the middle of nowhere and it was completely empty. [It was] me, my brother, and my dad, and we just wanted to go get some vegan ice cream. [The place] felt really abandoned... But as we were ordering, “Ocean Eyes” started playing. I started dancing around the room because no one was in there. It was kind of surreal... For what you make in your little space—your bedroom, studio or whatever—to end up in some random vegan

ice cream shop. For me, it was super impactful and meaningful: That’s my song, that’s my creation.

PW Were your dad and your brother losing their shit?

BE Yes! We were all jumping around. It could have been playing anywhere... It didn’t matter that it was just some little ice cream shop. Even that was a huge deal for me. It’s the same thing with shows; you can do a show that’s a thousand people and maybe you don’t enjoy it as much as a little tiny room with like 400 people where the energy is through the roof. It’s really not about the quantity or the quality of stuff—it’s more just the energy in the room and the actual connection there.

PW I agree. It’s a magical thing to just feel the energy... Okay, two questions that I’m sure you’re asked a lot: Where are you from? And how old are you? I know people can do the math, but I guess hearing you say it is different...

BE I’m from Highland Park, L.A., and I never have moved in my life. And how old am I? I am 17 as of right now... Age is a weird thing for me; I don’t remember ever being young. I always thought I was older than what I was.

PW So, intellectually, and [in terms of] your instincts, you feel like you are beyond your years?

BE I just think you can have as much knowledge as [you ever will] at any age... I guess I can’t [back that up], since I’ve never been older than 17... But I think anyone at any age can do anything and say anything.

PW You also seem like the kind of person who knows how blessed you are—who takes nothing for granted.

BE Oh my God, for sure. I try my hardest to [remember that], because it’s so easy to forget. It’s insane how fast your body can adapt [to certain experiences], [which then] become not as fun anymore. Or just, the experiences feel more familiar. Your body is like, “Uh, I did this before,” [so on] a weird, [physical] level, gratitude [becomes less second nature]. So I just [have to] keep my eyes open, man, and catch myself when I complain. [That said], all pain is relative, and just because somebody is hurting more than you doesn’t mean that you aren’t allowed to hurt as well. But I still have to check myself sometimes, because I do have an amazing, crazy thing [going]. It gets horrifying, it gets miserable, but it’s kind of priceless [regardless]. You have to remember that.

PW Everything that you just said is a reflection of someone who is cognizant.

Someone who has meta-cognition and is aware of their situation, aware of their environment, and aware of their positioning in life. [And] at 17, by the way. At 17! It’s not just your visuals or lyrics of your songs. It’s like your third eye—your essence.

And I think it’s so cool. That is what we want for all kids, for all of our youth—for them to be awake. So many of them are asleep to so much [of the] crazy shit going on [right now]. Not to get all political, but voices like yours are so necessary.

BILLIE WEARS CAPE, TOP, PANTS GUCCI NECKLACE (WORN AS HEADPIECE) BULGARI NECKLACE AND RING TIFFANY & CO. EARRING CHANEL ON HAIR R+CO BALLOON DRY VOLUME SPRAY

TOP AND PANTS CRAIG GREEN RINGS DAVID YURMAN SUNGLASSES KAYLEIGH SNOWDEN

A

s we think about how women’s rights are under attack, it’s minds like yours that are going to set not only girls free, but a generation free.

BE I hope so, I really hope so. I don’t even have words to say about what is going on in the world.

I go deaf because of the shit that I hear...

PW By the way, I am not trying to involve you in that in any way shape of form.

BE No, no. I got you.

PW I am just saying we just need more clear minds like yours. More lucid, where all the light bulbs are on. It’s a beautiful thing. So I wanted to ask you about the pressures of having a large platform. But what I love about you is, pressures [don’t seem like your] kind of issues, because you are very clear about what you think and what you feel. The question is whether you are prepared to share them or not. It’s not as if you don’t know what’s out there and what’s in the world; you are super clear. What do you feel about my assessment?

BE I feel like people automatically associate [stardom with pressure], which is kind of sad.

I don’t know. There has been a whole world of young, especially female artists, and every artist (not just young) being used and manipulated by the stereotypical label or industry. There’s kind of this weird name on everything now where it’s like, people expect that. I remember the first time I had any sort of meeting with a label or management, I was 13. I think the only people that didn’t look at me like I was going to have a horrible career were the people that I ended up working with. Everyone was just like, “Oh, you’re 13, yikes, you’re going to be used,” and this and that. And I am like, “Yo, y’all are the people that would use me in the situation you are talking about.” So, I don’t know what that is supposed to mean. The only people who didn’t say that shit were the people that I felt an energy and connection with. I am really, really lucky and grateful that I have had the experience that I had with my label and with my team and everyone, because I never had any issues with people trying to pull me in a different direction, one in which I would not want to be headed. I think that might just be because I have always been the kind of person that knows what the fuck I want, and if it’s not what I want, then I am not going to do it.

PW It needs to move you.

BE Yes, exactly. It’s really helped me and I think I describe it in different ways where it’s like, I think it’s my best quality and my worst quality, how strong-willed I am, because it has brought me here. It literally has created who I am because I was just like, “You know what? I am going to do this and that’s that,” you know?

But then it’s bad sometimes, too, because I shouldn’t do shit and I do it anyways.

So I don’t know.

PW So I would say this is proof yet again that it’s not about one’s age. Your answers have already illustrated that. And understanding that requires a lot of self-awareness. To me, not only is it not about age—it’s not about the flesh. It’s about the spirit. And your spirit is definitely an older one. You have been here many times.

BE Man, you are a gem.

PW Nope! Listen, you are super kind but that’s you, man. You are definitely something else, you are “other” for sure. 100 percent. Let me ask you a question: What are people’s biggest misconceptions about you?

BE Oh man, I have thought about that a lot. There are a lot of misconceptions. I think the one that’s more recent, and I don’t know if it’s a misconception or just something that I really don’t like, which is that there is a whole kind of…you know [the way] I dress is very not necessarily feminine, or girly, or whatever. I wear baggy shit and I wear what I want; I don’t say, “Oh, I am going to wear baggy clothes because it’s baggy clothes.” It’s never like that. It’s more, just, I wear what I want to wear. But of course, everyone sees it as, “She’s saying no to being sexualized,” and, “She’s saying no to being the stereotypical female.” It’s a weird thing because I know a lot of what I hear is a positive or people trying to be positive about how I dress; how I am never really out there wearing nothing, or wearing dresses. I’ve heard that. [Even] from my parents, [the] positive [comments] about how I dress have this slut-shaming element. Like, “I am so glad that you are dressing like a boy, so that other girls can dress like boys, so that they aren’t sluts.”

That’s basically what it sounds like to me. And I can’t [overstate how] strongly I do not appreciate that, at all. And they aren’t specifically saying that, but it feels like that. I have never ever looked at a girl who feels comfortable in her clothes, body, and skin and thought, “Ew, that’s gross, she is showing too much,” or, “I wish people wouldn’t wear that.” I have never in my life felt that way. I have always supported and fucked with and just loved when a woman or a man or anyone in the world feels comfortable in their skin, their body, to show just whatever they want.

I don’t like that there’s this weird new world of supporting me by shaming people

that [may not] want to [dress like me].

PW Yup, I’m so glad you are calling that out. It’s an old mentality—people trying to compartmentalize for their own safety and their own understanding. So if you are not doing something that everybody else is doing, then there certainly must be this equation for why you are[n’t] doing it. Meanwhile, you’re doing it because that’s what you like, that’s what you’re into. Like you just stated, any way the wind blows is cool with you. You are just living and being. You know what’s funny about people? We are called human beings; “human” meaning flesh but “being” meaning spirit, and I just don’t understand how the “being” part always gets lost. I think that’s the funny part about people’s assessment of you, that they don’t understand that. You are just being you; you are just being. And I think it’s so beautiful that you make that distinction. You’re going to set some more girls free, you are going to set some more boys free. And hopefully, you will set some of these old ass people who keep trying to govern and control people and put everybody in a fucking box; hopefully they will read this too and learn something today. They have got it all wrong and you represent even more freedom than their initial preconceived notions migh have assumed for you.

BE Fuck yeah!

PW They wanted me to ask you, with the album name [When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?] in mind, what do you dream about?

BE What do I dream about? Oh my God. I have never had a good relationship with sleeping or anything involving sleeping. From since I was really young, I’ve had nightmares and sleep paralysis. It takes me hours to fall asleep. I only last year started having sleep paralysis, but I would say that might be one of the worst things in the whole world. I just have been imprisoned in my nightmares, night terrors, lucid dreams, and sleep paralysis. At a certain point I was like, “Yo, this is ruining my personality.” There was a point where I was having the same nightmare for two months, and it was getting into my head. It was making me talk different, it was making me treat people different, and kind of maneuver different. It was weird to see that because it’s literally a fake thing in your own mind, but it affects you in this insane way. Instead of letting myself suffer in it, I was like, “You know what, I’m going to take this shit and I am going to turn it into art,” and I literally did. I made a whole album out of it and I made a video. I made an experience and exhibit about it. The thing is, my dreams haven’t changed. If anything it made it worse, because I kind of spooked myself. Like I kind of creeped myself out because, after we shot the “Bury A Friend” video, which is very kind of horror movie-esque, I started having these horrible nightmares. I saw [things] outside my window and I couldn’t sleep for days. I may have sabotaged myself but at least I made a fucking work of art out of it.

PW I understand the poetry and thinking that it could have been some kind of selfsabotage but what if, because you had these dreams first, what if you’re just simply clairvoyant and you just kept seeing what your first videos were going to look like? Do you believe in the possibility of clairvoyance?

BE Yo, yo, you are genius. Because it’s actually been like that. I was in London like a couple of months ago and I had this dream. I woke up from it and we were with a couple of people from my creative team, and I was like, “I dreamt the video for ‘Ilomilo’ last night.” I wrote it all down, and I explained it all, and I made a whole mood-board and we are going to create that video soon. So literally, what you just said is completely accurate and it’s fucking crazy.

PW So now it seems you have nothing to be afraid of…well, I know you are not afraid of it, right? Because there’s nowhere you can run anyway...But maybe it’s not such a bad thing, you know? Maybe it would be a little scary if you didn’t have these dreams because you wouldn’t be reading the future so accurately. It sounds like a gift to me.

BE I am going to keep thinking of it [that way]. That’d make me feel better.

PW Yes! It is [true] though, because you dreamt it and that shit happened. Did you have any training or education in fashion?

BE No! Not even a little bit. I just loved fashion always, growing up. And it wasn’t even fashion like high fashion, I just liked clothes. I just liked dressing and matching and having people look up when I walked by. The thing that’s interesting is, now something I hear from the people I am closest to in my life is, if I go out, I can never go out anywhere without being recognized, which I know that you experience, too.

But it’s like, I do kind of bring it on myself because I have always been a person that wants to dress loud. I always wanted to look loud, I’ve always wanted people to look up at me, I’ve always wanted people to notice me. And that’s been a part of me since before any of the fame shit happened. So that’s something that hasn’t changed, but I think it’s looked at differently, because now it’s like, I’m walking around dressed like I want to be recognized. But it’s not that, I’m just walking around dressed how I always wanted to [be] dressed, how I always wanted to be looked at, but now there’s a name attached to that. You know? So people see it as a name, they don’t see it as looking up and having a feeling when you see something, which is funny. I don’t know, I do it to myself, I really bring it on myself. I just love clothes and I just don’t feel comfortable wearing regular ass shit, I really don’t.

My comfort zone is outside of my comfort zone. I like to be a little uncomfortable.

PW Do you see Blōhsh going into beauty? It should...

BE I don’t know, I think I see it going any way that it goes. I don’t see it not going any way that it goes, if that makes sense. Not that I expect it to go anywhere, but just that I don’t have a line that I am not willing to cross in that kind of realm.

PW Good! That’s the answer that is very you... Lastly, I just want to say it has been amazing to see what you’ve done since I last saw you. The whirlwind that is your career, your fans, the music, the visuals, the incredible freedom that you represent.

And oh my goodness, the meta-cognition that you have, the self-awareness, it’s so impressive that I pray it just becomes so contagious to this generation. I pray they look at you and go, “Wow! I can be me, just like her.”

BE My God, thank you!

PW No, thank you! And have a blessed day.

ROBE AND JACKET VERSACE MASK STEPHEN JONES

“[EVEN] FROM MY PARENTS, [THE] POSITIVE [COMMENTS] ABOUT HOW I DRESS HAVE THIS SLUT-SHAMING ELEMENT. LIKE, “I AM SO GLAD THAT YOU ARE DRESSING LIKE A BOY, SO THAT OTHER GIRLS CAN DRESS LIKE BOYS, SO THAT THEY AREN’T SLUTS.” THAT’S BASICALLY WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE TO ME. AND I CAN’T [OVERSTATE HOW] STRONGLY I DO NOT APPRECIATE THAT, AT ALL.” � BILLIE EILISH

ROBE AND JACKET VERSACE MASK STEPHEN JONES BELT MAISON MARGIELA BUCKLE KIESELSTEIN-CORD NECKLACE CHROME HEARTS

COAT AND PANTS CHRISTIAN STONE TOP PROFANITY RINGS AND BRACELETS CHROME HEARTS

COAT AND SHIRT BURBERRY RINGS (INDEX AND PINKY FINGERS) DAVID YURMAN RINGS (MIDDLE AND RING FINGERS) CHROME HEARTS ON FACE DR. BARBARA STURM HYDRATING FACE MIST ON NAILS CHANEL LE VERNIS IN RADIANT BALLERINA

“AFTER WE SHOT THE ‘BURY A FRIEND’ VIDEO, WHICH IS VERY KIND OF HORROR MOVIE-ESQUE, I STARTED HAVING THESE HORRIBLE NIGHTMARES. I SAW [THINGS] OUTSIDE OF MY WINDOW AND I COULDN’T SLEEP FOR DAYS. I MAY HAVE SABOTAGED MYSELF BUT AT LEAST I MADE A FUCKING WORK OF ART OUT OF IT. ” � BILLIE EILISH

COAT GCDS HEADPIECE CHRISTIAN STONE EARPIECE GUCCI

Makeup Fulvia Farolfi (Bryan Bantry Agency) Hair James Pecis (Bryant Artists) Manicure Rieko Okusa (Susan Price NYC) using Chanel Le Vernis Executive producer Stephanie Bargas (VLM productions) Producer Tucker Birbilis (VLM productions) Production coordinator Eva Harte (VLM productions) Production manager John Nadhazi Lighting director Jodokus Driessen (VLM Studio) Digital technician Brian Anderson (VLM Studio) Photo assistant Joe Hume Set design Marla Weinhoff Studio Painted backdrop Oliphant Studio Antique furnishings Newel Props Stylist assistant Lauren Bensky Hair assistant Anton Alexander Set assistants Michael Muehlhausen, Frank Haines Location Industria Superstudio

JACKET AND PANTS NAMILIA SWEATER AND TOP ACTIVITY NECKLACES CHROME HEARTS SUNGLASSES KAYLEIGH SNOWDEN

DRESS AND BODYSUIT FENDI BOOTS AND HELMET HADID’S OWN

GIDDY UP! IN HONOR OF KARL LAGERFELD’S FINAL COLLECTION AT FENDI, ACCOMPLISHED EQUESTRIAN BELLA HADID RIDES HIGH IN A STABLE OF THOROUGHBRED LOOKS. HADID CHARGES FORWARD, PROPELLING THE HOUSE INTO A NEW CHAPTER UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF SILVIA VENTURINI FENDI. PHOTOGRAPHY BLAIR GETZ MEZIBOV FASHION PAUL CAVACO

TOP AND PANTS FENDI

TOP, JACKET, HAT FENDI

JACKET, TOP, SKIRT, BOOTS FENDI

Makeup Virginia Young (Statement Artists) Hair Teddy Charles (The Wall Group) Model Bella Hadid (IMG) Producer Ian Mangiardi (Photobomb Production NYC) Digital technician Mike Webb Lighting technicians Darin Burch, Max Mikulecky Location River Run Farm

CHECK INTO FALL THIS SEASON’S FUSION OF UPTOWN ELEGANCE AND DOWNTOWN NONCHALANCE CONVERGE IN A MIDTOWN NEW YORK CITY PENTHOUSE. MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME. PHOTOGRAPHY CARIN BACKOFF FASHION ELISSA SANTISI

HIANDRA WEARS JACKET AND PANTS CHANEL HEADSCARF DEREK LAM EARRINGS ALEXANDER WANG RINGS BULGARI

OLIVIA WEARS JACKET AND TURTLENECK BOSS TOP GUCCI PANTS GIORGIO ARMANI BOOTS GABRIELA HEARST EARRINGS BOTTEGA VENETA BELT STYLIST’S OWN

HIANDRA WEARS TOP, PANTS, BOOTS BOTTEGA VENETA EARRING CARTIER

OLIVIA WEARS COAT AND DRESS BURBERRY

OLIVIA WEARS TOP, PANTS, BOOTS GIVENCHY SCARF HERMÈS

HIANDRA WEARS COAT STELLA MCCARTNEY TURTLENECK REDEMPTION JEANS AG JEANS EARRINGS CARTIER BELT STYLIST’S OWN ON HAIR MATRIX STYLE LINK AIR DRY CHILL BOHO SMOOTHING AIR-DRY CREAM

OLIVIA WEARS DRESS LOUIS VUITTON ON HAIR BIOLAGE R.A.W. TEXTURIZING STYLING SPRAY

OLIVIA WEARS DRESS GUCCI SHOES REPETTO SUNGLASSES BOTTEGA VENETA SCARF HERMÈS BRACELET GABRIELA HEARST

Makeup Benjamin Puckey (Bryant Artists) Hair Diego Da Silva (Streeters) Models Olivia Vinten (DNA), Hiandra Martinez (NEXT) Manicure Eri Handa (MAM) using Chanel Le Vernis Digital technician Denis Vlasov Photo assistants Kyle May, Kevin Vast Stylist assistants Mary Gigler, Claire Tang Makeup assistant Yuko Kawashima Hair assistant Naomi Endo Location Park Lane Hotel New York

HIANDRA WEARS ALL CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES CELINE BY HEDI SLIMANE ON FACE PAT MCGRATH LABS SUBLIME PERFECTION FOUNDATION AND SUBLIME PERFECTION SETTING POWDER

GOING PLATINUM FINE CHINA IS THE NORM. BUT FOR OUR PLATINUM BIRTHDAY, WE GIVE THE GIFT OF GIRL POWER. HERE, SIX STANDOUTS FROM OUR 20 YEARS OF SONIC DISCOVERY. PHOTOGRAPHY RYAN MCGINLEY FASHION ANGELO DESANTO INTERVIEWS DEVIN BARRETT

HAIM “It’s the most confident we’ve ever been. Ever. When we were on the cover of V [in spring 2014], we were so young and wide-eyed. When we walk into the studio now, we know what the fuck we’re doing. When we came back from our last tour, we didn’t want any rules. We made songs of all genres. It was very freeing; everything kept on flowing.”

ALANA WEARS DRESS VINTAGE GIVENCHY COURTESY OF ALBRIGHT FASHION LIBRARY NECKLACE HER OWN DANIELLE WEARS DRESS VINTAGE GIVENCHY COURTESY OF ALBRIGHT FASHION LIBRARY ESTE WEARS DRESS VINTAGE GIVENCHY COURTESY OF ALBRIGHT FASHION LIBRARY BRACELET ATELIER SWAROVSKI NECKLACES HER OWN ON FACE AND BODY MARC JACOBS BEAUTY O!MEGA GLAZE ALL-OVER FOIL LUMINIZER

KELSEY LU “It took me a while to recuperate after [Blood] came out. I felt like I was in a daze and didn’t know how to process what was happening...

Right now, I’m feeling really excited that my music is doing what I knew it would do: Spark a real, genuine feeling that affects people in a way that goes beyond a trend or a momentary whim, but a real genuine feeling. And [that spark] is slowly but surely spreading.”

LU WEARS TOP MOSCHINO DRESS (WORN AS SKIRT) AND JEWELRY HER OWN

JAPANESE BREAKFAST “[‘Japanese Breakfast’ has] a connotation of being something foreign, beautiful, and neat. I like making music that feels gratifying, but has some depth to it. I like to play with the juxtaposition of something that sounds very upbeat and catchy, but eventually reveals itself to have a darker, deeper core.

I think the more specific [music is], the more universal it comes across.”

JAPANESE BREAKFAST WEARS DRESS BALENCIAGA

CHIKA “I’d describe my sound as melodic hip-hop. Through listening to my music, I hope that people start to be more real with themselves. I want to change how people process emotion. That’s my tagline. I’m a Pisces.

I’m emotionally literate, and I try to convey that. I want my listeners to be more in tune with their higher selves.”

CHIKA WEARS SWEATER MCM ON EYES MARC JACOBS BEAUTY SEE-QUINS GLAM GLITTER EYESHADOW IN POP ROX

KIM GORDON “I’ve always been kind of skeptical of working with producers or the idea of constructing a song. But, that’s how hip-hop is constructed—it’s not really made by a band. It’s almost like collaging. [For this new album], I wasn’t actually self-conscious about mixing genres. I tried to use the things that I feel like are my strengths—rhythm, schisms of space, and lyrics.”

KIM WEARS DRESS EMPORIO ARMANI NECKLACE BULGARI SHOES GIUSEPPE ZANOTTI EARRING AND RING HER OWN

KIM PETRAS “The Broken project started after a really tough break-up, right before I went on tour with Troye Sivan—which was my dream, but I just felt empty.

My first songs were written from insecurity: I didn’t think anyone would like me. Am I pretty or talented enough to be a pop star? With Broken, I found the confidence to be completely honest with my fans.”

KIM WEARS DRESS AND SHOES MARC JACOBS BRACELET CARTIER

DRESS BALENCIAGA

Makeup (Kim Petras, Kim Gordon, HAIM) Holly Silius (Frank Reps) Makeup (Kelsey Lu, Japanese Breakfast) Romy Soleimani (The Wall Group) Hair (Kim Petras, Kim Gordon, HAIM) Teddy Charles (The Wall Group) Hair (Kelsey Lu, Japanese Breakfast) Marty Harpers (The Wall Group) Producer Eric Jacobson Digital technicians William Joos, Travis Drennen Light Design Jordan Strong Choreographer Luisa Opalesky Photo assistants Brian Overend, Cory Osborne, Lance Charles Hair assistant Virginie Pineda Retouching Two Three Two

ON EYES MARC JACOBS BEAUTY SEE-QUINS GLAM GLITTER EYESHADOW IN SMASH GLITZ ON LIPS MARC JACOBS BEAUTY ENAMORED LIP GLOSS IN ATOMIC

DILONE WEARS DRESS AND SHOES VERSACE EARRINGS BOND BRACELET CARTIER ON LIPS NARS LIPSTICK IN HEROINE RED

GIRLS ON FILM AGLOW WITH CINEMATIC CHARACTER, THE FALL COLLECTIONS COME INTO FOCUS. PHOTOGRAPHY DEXTER NAVY FASHION ANNA TREVELYAN

ELLEN AND BELLE WEAR DRESSES EMPORIO ARMANI EARRINGS JENNIFER FISHER ON EYES DIORSHOW PRO LINER IN 456 MATTE LIME

BELLE AND INDIRA WEAR ALL CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES CELINE BY HEDI SLIMANE

ELLEN WEARS ALL CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES PRADA

BELLE WEARS DRESS GUCCI EARRINGS KEREN WOLF ON EYES PAT MCGRATH LABS EYEDOLS EYE SHADOW IN DIVINE MINK

SOO JOO WEARS ALL CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES GCDS ELLEN WEARS DRESS, HAIR CLIP, BRACELETS GCDS EARRINGS LARUICCI

INDIRA WEARS TOP, PANTS, HAT CHRISTIAN DIOR BOOTS GIUSEPPE ZANOTTI CHOKER MESSIKA NECKLACES AND EARRINGS L.JARDIM

SOO JOO WEARS DRESS TOM FORD CHOKER BITCHFIST ON EYES TOM FORD EYE QUAD DOUBLE INDEMNITY Makeup Hung Vanngo (The Wall Group) Hair Panos Papandrianos (The Wall Group) Models Ellen Rosa (DNA), Indira Scott (DNA), Dilone (DNA), Belle Pierson (DNA), Soo Joo Park (WOMEN) Manicure Naomi Yasuda (Management + Artists) Photo assistants Ryan Joe Garcia, Eduardo Silva Stylist assistant Sheneque Clarke Makeup assistants Tsuyoshi Sekimoto, Soo Park Location Root Brooklyn

ON LIPS TOM FORD FUCKING FABULOUS LIP COLOR IN FUCKING FABULOUS

BUFFALO STANCE CUE MALCOLM McLAREN. POST-PUNK WAS THE BASELINE FOR FALL’S BEST OUTERWEAR, HEARKENING BACK TO ’80S-MILITANT STREET STYLE. PHOTOGRAPHY NATHANIEL GOLDBERG FASHION GRO CURTIS

RUTH WEARS COAT AND PANTS CHRISTIAN DIOR BOOTS PRADA

RUTH WEARS JACKET TOMMY HILFIGER TOP ISABEL MARANT HAT (THROUGHOUT) BATES ADESUWA WEARS COAT BLUMARINE BELT FAITH CONNEXION

ADESUWA WEARS COAT AND TOP FENDI BELT FAITH CONNEXION

FARETTA WEARS JACKET AND DRESS CHANEL TOP SAINT LAURENT

BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO BELT FAITH CONNEXION RUTH WEARS JACKET, TOP, PANTS, CHOKER, EARRINGS ALEXANDER McQUEEN

RUTH WEARS JACKET PRADA FARETTA WEARS JACKET EMPORIO ARMANI TOP FENDI BELT FAITH CONNEXION HAT (THROUGHOUT) BATES PAN WEARS JACKET, TOP, PANTS MSGM BELT FAITH CONNEXION HAT (THROUGHOUT) BATES ON EYES GUERLAIN PALETTE 5 COLOURS 04 L’HEURE DE NUIT KAILA WEARS JACKET, TOP, HAT ANN DEMEULEMEESTER BELT SAINT LAURENT

BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO

FARETTA WEARS JACKET, DRESS, SHOES, TIE LOUIS VUITTON ON HAIR KÉRASTASE RÉSISTANCE EXTENTIONISTE THERMIQUE BLOW DRY PRIMER

ADESUWA WEARS JACKET AND TOP GIVENCHY ON HAIR ORIBE CURL GEL GELÉE FOR SHINE AND DEFINITION ON BROWS R+CO MAGIC WAND BROW GEL RUTH WEARS JACKET AND TOP EMPORIO ARMANI

RUTH WEARS COAT CHRISTIAN DIOR ON EYES DIOR 5 COULEURS INTENSIF-EYE

KAILA WEARS JACKET AND SKIRT MARNI BELT FAITH CONNEXION PAN WEARS COAT (WORN UNDER) AND BELT (BOTTOM) SALVATORE FERRAGAMO BLAZER OFF-WHITE C/O VIRGIL ABLOH BOOTS PRADA BELT (TOP) SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO SOCKS DECATHLON

RUTH WEARS JACKET, JUMPSUIT, TOP GUCCI KAILA WEARS JACKET AND TOP MCM BELT FAITH CONNEXION PAN WEARS COAT AND SCARF Y/PROJECT BELT FAITH CONNEXION FARETTA WEARS JACKET AND BELT ACNE STUDIOS

Makeup Stéphane Marais (Studio 57) Hair Marc Lopez (Artlist) Models Faretta, Ruth Bell, Kaila Wyatt, Pan Haowen, Adesuwa Aighewi (The Society) Manicure Brenda Abrial (Open Talent) Production Louis2 Digital technician Aurèle Ferrero Photo assistants Corinne Mutrelle, Isaac Berzosa Stylist assistant Alexandra Hicks Makeup assistants Richard Soldé, Vichika Yorn Hair assistant Joséphine Brignon Manicure assistant Aurélie Le Bihan Production assistants Caroline Cire, Quentin Isackson, Alexandre Johannes

CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG

WILD HEARTS THIS SEASON, POWERFUL WOMEN PROVED TO BE A PROMINENT INSPIRATION. HERE, ANTHONY VACCARELLO’S MUSES COME TO LIFE. PHOTOGRAPHY CHRIS COLLS FASHION PAUL SINCLAIRE

ANJA RUBIK

ALL CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES (THROUGHOUT) SAINT LAURENT

BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO

AMBER VALLETTA

JAMIE BOCHERT

ALEXANDRA AGOSTON

Makeup Yumi Lee (Streeters) Hair (Amber Valletta, Jamie Bochert) Teddy Charles (The Wall Group) Hair (Anja Rubik, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Abbey Lee, Alexandra Agoston) Ward (The Wall Group), Talent Charlotte Gainsbourg, Anja Rubik (DNA), Amber Valletta (IMG), Jamie Bochert (The Lions), Alexandra Agoston (IMG), Abbey Lee (NEXT) Manicure Yukie Miyakawa (Walter Schupfer) using Deborah Lippmann Production Catherine Sans (Serlin Associates) Digital technician Jeanine Robinson Photo assistant Daniil Zaikin Stylist assistants Walker Hinerman, Taylor Herbert Hair assistant Satoshi Ikeda

ABBEY LEE

IT’S A SIGN OF EVER-CHANGING TIMES WHEN DRAMATIC IRREVERENCE BECOMES THE NEW NORMAL, AS IT DID ON THE FALL/WINTER RUNWAYS, WHERE NONCONFORMING, ANTAGONISTIC FASHION WAS ON A TEAR. HERE, GRACE ELIZABETH TAKES THIS FALL’S MOST EXPERIMENTAL, AVANT GARDE FORMS FOR A SPIN. PHOTOGRAPHY CARIN BACKOFF FASHION PATTI WILSON

SHIFT SHAPES

DRESS, BODYSUIT, SHOES COMME DES GARÇONS

JACKET, TOP, SKIRT NOIR KEI NINOMIYA NECKLACE BULGARI HAIR CLIPS (THROUGHOUT) STYLIST’S OWN ON FACE, ESTÉE LAUDER DOUBLE WEAR RADIANT CONCEALER

HEADPIECE J.R. MALPERE SHOES R13 ON EYES ESTÉE LAUDER PURE COLOR ENVY DEFINING EYESHADOW WET/DRY IN DECADENT COPPER

JACKET, TOP, BOOTS JUNYA WATANABE JEANS R13 NECKLACE BULGARI

DRESS AND BOOTS ALEXANDER MCQUEEN CHOKER BULGARI

TOP AND PANTS CRAIG GREEN NECKLACE BULGARI ON FACE ESTÉE LAUDER BRONZE GODDESS POWDER BRONZER

Makeup Erin Parsons (Streeters) Hair Panos Papandrianos (The Wall Group) Model Grace Elizabeth (NEXT) Manicure Eri Handa (MAM) using Estée Lauder Digital technician Charley Parden Photo assistants Kyle May, Jeremy Young Stylist assistant Taylor Kim Makeup assistants Aya Watanabe, Christian Briceno Location Root NYC

OLIVIA WEARS JACKET AND TOP BOSS TOP GUCCI PANTS GIORGIO ARMANI SHOES GABRIELA HEARST BELT STYLIST’S OWN

FOR EVER V! THE WORLD KNOWS THEM AS PROLIFIC AND LEGENDARY. V KNOW THEM AS FRIENDS AND FAMILY, THEIR LUMINOUS CREATIVITY JUST AS BRIGHT BEHIND THE SCENES, AS OUR EDITOR AT LARGE RECALLS. TEXT DEREK BLASBERG

KARL LAGERFELD Most of the world knew him as a fashion designer. But to V, Karl Lagerfeld was so much more: He was a photographer, illustrator, stylist, writer, party host, fashion show co-conspirator, muse, and unofficial mascot. At a bash V hosted in 2002 after the CFDA awards, celebrating the triple wins of Lagerfeld, Stephen Gan and Hedi Slimane (who was coincidentally given the award by David Bowie, thanks to the beloved Iman), he played bartender and literally rolled up his sleeves to mix cosmos.

In the summer of 2010, when Blake Lively visited his studio in Paris to show him her personal photography, he became our ad hoc photo professor. In 2016, when he staged a Chanel fashion show in Havana, Cuba, he got on the dance floor at the afterparty and showed off his superior tango dancing skills. (Yes, Karl could tango.) It seems the only thing he couldn’t do was sit still.

When Lagerfeld died earlier this year, I went to my files and dug up a note he had written me that started, “Beau Derek…” With just these first two words, I was reminded of a thread Karl wove into everything he created: wit. “Beau Derek” was a reference to the 1980s pinup Bo Derek (no one could conjure a random reference quicker than this guy). It was also just a little bit of an insult, which was probably his favorite thing to do to people he liked.

In June, the three fashion houses that Karl helmed­­—Chanel, Fendi and Karl Lagerfeld—organized a memorial for 2,500 of the multi-hyphenate’s biggest devotees. Tilda Swinton, Cara Delevingne, Charlie Siem, Helen Mirren, Lil Buck and an Argentinian tango troupe all communed as the sun set over the Grand Palais on a picturesque Paris evening. The most touching part of the program was some B-roll footage of Karl repeatedly fudging a simple line of dialogue. For some reason, he couldn’t get through it. He’d switch languages by accident or start mumbling, and each time he messed up he’d laugh harder. By the end of the series of clips, he looked like a schoolboy holding his hands over his face in an uncontrollable fit of giggles. That’s how we’ll remember the greatest of our collaborators: Behind those trademark blackened sunglasses, a man who twirled his words as seamlessly as he twirled fabric, and had a laugh the whole time he did it.

KARL LAGERFELD PHOTOGRAPHY HEDI SILMANE (V99)

IMAN AND DAVID BOWIE When Iman accepted the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s Icon Award in 2010, she ended her speech with this line to her husband, David Bowie, sitting in the audience: “Move over, now you’re not the only icon in the house.” Anyone who’s worked with Iman knows that she’s practically a quote machine—“Going out two nights in a row past the age of 23 should be an extreme sport” is a good one, recently imparted via her Instagram. But I’ve never forgotten her line from the CFDA Awards because Iman and Bowie are two icons whose home I love to fantasize about —the domestic sphere housing these two homebodies by day, icons by night.

The modern fashion world’s debt to Bowie is impossible to overestimate. Besides being a musical supertalent, he pioneered the kind of gender play and over-the-top costuming that’s de rigeur in today’s pop. Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane and the Thin White Duke were stage personas as much as crystalized sartorial revelations. Meanwhile, Iman came to America from Somalia by way of Kenya as photographer Peter Beard’s “discovery” (reader: It’s a long story and definitely worth Googling) before blazing the path toward diversity in the world of high fashion—both as muse (Yves Saint Laurent dedicated his 1986 “African Queen” collection to her) and creator (Iman started her own makeup brand, designed for women of color, in 1994).

But, for those of us who worked at V’s Mercer Street office, Bowie and Iman were just good neighbors. (In fact, they were regarded as our fairy godparents—a duo who could not only be relied on to appear in the pages of the magazine—as both models or writers—but also to pop into the offices unannounced and sprinkle their fashion fairy dust over all of us.

They acquired and combined two apartments on Lafayette Street in 1999, the same year the first issue of V was published.)

More than anyone, they reminded us of why we got into fashion in the first place. In a review of Alexander McQueen’s Spring 2002 show, Bowie wrote, “Only Lee could read the Marquis de Sade and come up with spring ready-to-wear.”

When he died in 2016, the New York Times published an obituary with the headline: “David Bowie: Invisible New Yorker.”

It included reminiscences from friends and coworkers who observed how effortlessly “David,” the man, lived beneath the radar, while “Bowie,” the legend, coursed through the city. (Playwright John Guare jokes that on his frequent walks with Bowie through the East Village he’d secretly hold out hope of them being recognized, but it never happened.) The article also included a paparazzi shot of Bowie walking down Broadway incognito. His look is completely normcore—Yankees cap, grey T-shirt, jean shorts, trainers, holding a magazine and a CD—and at first glance it appears he’s minding his own business and listening to headphones. However, upon closer inspection, I discovered that Bowie is making a tight fist, his middle finger aloft—exactly the sort of gesture one should expect when disturbing an off-duty icon!

IMAN PHOTOGRAPHY MARIO TESTINO FASHION BEAT BOLLIGER (V21) DAVID BOWIE PHOTOGRAPHY MARIO TESTINO FASHION CAMILLA NICKERSON (V18)

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