42 NOVEMBER 2019 VOGUE.COM
by all
accounts, to tears—with a powerful
spectacle that honored African
American history and experience.
I am proud to say that it is American designers who
have led the charge in taking this more personal and
immersive approach, and kudos to them for doing so.
(It’s not enough these days to show in a stark white
box on anonymous models, if it ever was; to my mind,
that approach has only ever served to make fashion
seem disconnected and lifeless.) But designers from all
over the globe are creating labels that reflect the realities
of their close-knit communities and—through the power
of technology—connecting to people far beyond them.
In this issue we feature a portfolio of four terrific and
relatively new labels and designers whose own friends and
families are writ large in their work, from London’s
Grace Wales Bonner to Atlein’s Antonin Tron in Paris,
and from Kenneth Ize in Lagos to—representing the
home team—Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta, whose label
Eckhaus Latta straddles New York and Los Angeles.
Speaking of a new generation: Who better to showcase
looks from this year’s Fashion Funders than Kaia
Gerber, who—now that she has turned 18—is finally able
to work with us? (At Vogue we have committed to not
photographing models below that age.) Yet Kaia did
more than pose wearing their clothes. She also crafted
an essay that spoke to her experiences entering the
industry at a tender age just as it was being convulsed
by scandal and challenged regarding how much it
was looking after the young people working in
it. I enjoyed reading her story: Like the designers featured
in this issue, Kaia is intent on having a voice, both in
the industry and far beyond it.
One person who has never lacked for being heard is
our cover star, Rihanna. As I write this she showed,
just last night, her latest Savage X Fenty collection, a
brilliantly compelling display of female empowerment
and body positivity. Just as her Fenty Beauty line
radically changed how the beauty industry operates,
there seems to be no doubt that her LVMH-backed
Fenty label will show what she’s capable of in the realm
of high fashion. (Quite a lot, I’d imagine.) Writer Abby
Aguirre met her in Los Angeles, and it was a brilliantly
outspoken Rihanna she encountered, one unafraid
to call out things as she sees them. That she’s a globally
renowned singer might give her a certain advantage,
but regardless of that, all of us are alike in one crucial way:
These days, none of us can remain silent.
SPEAK FOR YOURSELF
ABOVE: RIHANNA (IN GUCCI), PHOTOGRAPHED BY
ETHAN JAMES GREEN. RIGHT: THE NEWLY 18-YEAR-OLD
KAIA GERBER (IN THOM BROWNE), PHOTOGRAPHED
BY MIKAEL JANSSON. DETAILS, SEE IN THIS ISSUE.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 40
Letter from the Editor
