GUEST EDITOR’S LETTER
issue of British Vogue, and an opportunity to further diversify
what that typically represents. Throughout these pages you’ll
find Commonwealth designers, ethical and sustainable brands,
as well as features with designers not about clothes but about
heritage, history and heirloom. You’ll also find a beauty section
that puts its energy towards internal beauty, celebrating the
power of breathing and meditation, and a favourite workout
that urges you to use your heart as much as your core (How
to Feel Good, page 224).
As you flip the pages, you’ll find familiar faces and names
that I hope you get to know a bit better, a bit more deeply,
even. And there are less familiar names that you may want
to know, such as the women of Luminary Bakery and Tessa
Clarke, co-founder of food-sharing app Olio, whom I met
with discreetly last year.
There are inspiring reads from Brené Brown and Jameela
Jamil. You’ll also find a very special piece with Dr Jane
Goodall, interviewed by my husband, and a candid and
heartfelt conversation between myself and the extraordinary
Michelle Obama.
But more than anything, this issue is about the power of
the collective. In identifying our personal strengths, it isanchored in the knowledge that we are even stronger together.
You will find that spirit of inclusivity on the cover: diverse
portraiture of women of varying age, colour, creed, nationality
and life experience, and of unquestionable inspiration. Some,
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and enlisted personally for
this issue, others I’ve admired from afar for their commitment
to a cause, their fearlessness in breaking barriers, or what
they represent simply by being. These are our forces for
change. And among all of these strong women on the cover,
a mirror – a space for you, the reader, to see yourself. Because
you, too, are part of this collective.
There is one caveat for you to remember: this is a magazine.
It’s still a business, after all. I share that to manage expectations
for you: there will be advertising sections that are requisite
for every issue, so while I feel confident that you’ll feel my
thumbprint on most pages, please know that there are
elements that just come with the territory. The overall
sentiment I hope you’ll find, however, will be one of positivity,
kindness, humour and inclusivity.
I was about five months pregnant when this process began,
and by the time you hold this issue in your hands, my husband
and I will be holding our three-month-old baby boy in ours.
It’s a very special time for me personally, on so many levels;
working with Edward and his team, both during my pregnancy
and my maternity leave, has played no small part in that joy- it has been a privilege to be welcomed and supported by
this amazing team. To Edward, thank you for entrusting me
with this. I am deeply honoured. To the women who have
taken my aspirations for this issue and brought them to life
by being a part of this time capsule, both on the cover and
in-book, I am so grateful; you are inspirations to me and I’m
humbled by your support.
And to you, the reader, thank you – and I hope you enjoy...
HRH The Duchess of Sussex
Top, from left: the
women of Luminary
Bakery (page 178); Doreen
Lawrence and Stephanie
Edwards – a leader and
her protégé, on page 296;
HRH The Duke of Sussex
in conversation with Dr
Jane Goodall (page 182).
Above right: Adut Akech
models the work of
emerging Commonwealth
designers, on page 268.
Above: Michelle Obama
is interviewed by the
Duchess, on page 264
CHRIS ALLERTON; JULIA HETTA; RYLO PHOTOGRAPHY; CHARLOTTE WALES; GETTY IMAGES
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