British Vogue - 10.2019

Clockwise from

right: the magic of

Bottega Veneta,

on page 208; artist

Grayson Perry (page

130); and actor Matt

Smith, on page 250

53

MERT ALAS & MARCUS PIGGOTT; JAMIE HAWKESWORTH; STEVEN MEISEL; VENETIA SCOTT; PAUL WETHERELL; GETTY IMAGES

EDITOR’S LETTER

it’s a pleasure to bring you an issue filled

to the rafters with fashion fantasy, dazzling

culture, intriguing faces and beautiful

writing. Fittingly – as temperatures

cool and leaves begin to turn – there’s

a pleasing theme of “home” at play. From

model Hailey Bieber’s trip back to her

childhood stomping ground in upstate

New York (page 192), to our first look

inside Claudia Schiffer and her husband

Matthew Vaughn’s country hideaway

(page 254), the lure of those places we

find most peaceful is strong.

Yet, whether it concerns our fashion

choices or personal identity, our

relationship with geography is not always

straightforward, is it? In A Tale of Two

Wardrobes (page 236), Zadie Smith,

one of my favourite authors, writes

about the sartorial split she experiences

as a Londoner who spends half of her

year in New York. Meanwhile, on page

216, model Binx Walton travels with

photographer Juergen Teller to Ghana.

As an African-American on her first

trip to the African continent, Binx shows

how, for many of us, the concept of home

is multifaceted – and that roots matter.

Naturally, we have the cream of the

season’s culture for you. From Grayson

Perry’s cheeky take on the lives of the

uber-rich (delivered mostly via the

medium of pottery, of course), on page

130, to Tim Walker’s hunt through the

recesses of the V&A’s esoteric archives

for inspiration for his biggest show of

photography to date (page 204), you will

find some of Britain’s leading artists on

thoughtful and daring form. On stage,

I am particularly looking forward to

the return of two of the country’s most

beloved actors – Claire Foy and Matt

Smith, formerly of super-series The

Crown – who will be at The Old Vic in

two-hander Lungs in October. As a

modern couple navigating the moral

maze of having children under the

spectre of climate change, it promises

to be a provocative, stylish and human

production – in short, a perfect Vogue

night at the theatre (page 250).

When it comes to fashion, autumnal

decadence abounds. From the sheer

luxury of a cashmere cape to the

subtle opulence of perfectly pitched

minimalism, it’s all about smart

indulgence. Making her British Vogue

cover debut in regal style is Kaia Gerber,

who continues her reign as model of

the moment. That Kaia has become

one of the brightest faces in modelling

is a personal delight to me. I have known

Cindy Crawford, her supermodel

mother, since the ’90s, so it’s wonderful

to now work with her daughter, who is

as driven, hardworking and beautiful as

Cindy is. It always pleases me that, every

season, despite coming from privilege,

I see Kaia in the trenches with the other

models, doing show after show, always

on time and with a kind word for

everyone. That’s the way to do it.

As summer evenings

become autumn nights...

Left and below:

this month’s

cover star,

Kaia Gerber

• on page 184;
  on the runway
  for Calvin Klein
  Collection;
  in Paris for
  couture s/s ’20;
  and backstage
  with Virgil
  Abloh

10-19-Eds-Lette.indd 53 15/08/2019 10:12