Daily Mail - 30.07.2019

Page 12 Daily Mail, Tuesday, July 30, 2019

By Rebecca English

Royal Correspondent

Interview love-in with ‘my friend’ Michelle Erotic writer

‘So I asked the question. Actu-
ally, I typed and deleted the ques-
tion several times until I built up
the courage to ask the question in
question. “Edward... instead of
doing the cover, would you be open
to me guest editing your Septem-
ber issue?” (Mind you, I know how
important the September issue is
for the fashion industry. I realise
the reach, and I see the opportu-
nity to be a part of fashion’s push
for something greater, kinder, more
impactful. But I am also a little
nervous to be boldly asking the
editor-in-chief, whom I’d only just
met, to take a chance on me.)
‘And then it appeared, EE’s reply:
“Yes! I would love for you to be my
guest editor”.
‘Sitting on my sofa at home, two
dogs [one is a labrador puppy the
Sussexes have refused to name or
discuss publicly] nestled across
me, I quietly celebrated when the
words appeared on my screen.’

The result is that instead of having

a single model on the front page of

the most influential edition of any

fashion magazine ahead of the

autumn catwalk shows, Meghan’s

issue features 15 women she

admires, including celebrities,

politicians and activists known for

championing issues such as diver-

sity, body positivity, transgender

rights and climate change.

They include mental health cam-

paigner Adowa Aboah, Orange Is

The New Black actress Laverne

Cox and teenage environmental

protester Greta Thunberg.

Meghan says that within a week

of their first meeting, she and Mr

Enninful were discussing ideas but

she was already clear where she

wanted to go.

Citing Nin’s influence, she writes:

‘For this issue, I imagined, why

would we swim in the shallow end

of the pool when we could go to the

deep end? A metaphor for life, as

well as for this issue. Let’s be

braver. Let’s go a bit deeper.

‘That’s what Edward and I have

aimed to achieve. An issue of both

substance and levity. It is, after all,

the September issue of British

Vogue.’ Meghan’s ethos is woven

through the magazine but she

adds: ‘More than anything, this

issue is about the power of the col-

lective. In identifying our personal

of unquestionable inspiration.

‘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.’

Apparently taking a dig at the

advertisers who provide a lucrative

source of income for the magazine

• perhaps ironic given her champi-

oning of designer clothes – she says:

‘There is one caveat: This is a mag-

azine. It’s still a business... 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

ThE Duchess of Sussex has given

an extraordinary insight into her

social activism and political credo

by personally penning a guest edi-

tor’s letter for Vogue, celebrating

‘the power of the collective’.
Addressing readers of the magazine,
she boldly declares she wants to set a
different tone in a world ‘where judg-
ment can become clouded and focus
skewed towards the superficial’.
Instead, she says, she wants to focus on
‘positivity, kindness, humour and inclusiv-
ity’ and ethical and sustainable fashion
brands. She even promises a beauty section
‘that puts its energy towards internal
beauty’ rather than physical aesthetics.
The duchess also offers a caveat for read-
ers, reminding them that the magazine
requires pages of adverts that may not
chime with her overall ethos but ‘just come
with the territory’.
Meghan cites feminist author Anais Nin –
famed for writing female erotica – as one of
her major inspirations, referencing a quote
by one of her characters which says: ‘I must
be a mermaid, Rango. I have no fear of
depths and a great fear of shallow living.’
The release of the letter, ahead of the mag-
azine’s publication on Friday, comes after it
was revealed that Meghan had chosen 15
female trailblazers to feature on the cover of
what will be a special Forces For Change
edition of the 100-year-old fashion bible.
Meghan, the first to guest edit its prestig-

‘Shine light in a world

filled with darkness’

‘Let’s be braver, go

a bit deeper’

MEGHAN cites a work by feminist writer

Anais Nin as one of her inspirations for

her guest editorship of Vogue.

The duchess draws upon Nin’s 1950

novel The Four-Chambered Heart – an

autobiographical novel about a woman

who falls in love with a married man.

Nin, famed for her brutally honest

journals and female erotica, based the

characters on herself, her lover Gonzalo

More – a Peruvian poet – and his wife.

She felt More was wasting his preco-

cious talent and during their passion-

ate, decade-long affair she frequently

tried to ‘rehabilitate’ him.

‘Generous’: Michelle Obama But instead she found herself being

ShE may not see eye-to-eye with President
Trump, but the Duchess of Sussex has been quick
to strike up a bond with former White house ten-
ant Michelle Obama after quizzing her for Vogue.
Meghan heaped praise on the former First Lady
in a Q&A for her stint as guest editor.
Thanking her for agreeing to take part, Meghan
writes: ‘That authenticity came out of her innate
goodwill to support another woman, to give more
than what’s asked for, to be generous, to be kind –
all of these attributes make her the ultimate force
for change. To my former First Lady, and now
friend, Michelle – thank you.’
The pregnant duchess approached Mrs Obama,
wife of former President Barack Obama, over a
lunch of ‘chicken tacos and my ever-burgeoning
bump’. The pair have bonded over Mrs Obama’s
Girls Opportunity Alliance, which campaigns for

better access to education for girls – especially in

developing areas of the world – and chimes with

Meghan’s areas of interest.

In the Q&A, Meghan asks what motherhood has

taught her, what advice she gives her daughters

and what she would tell her 15-year-old self.

Lastly, she asks her what the most beautiful

sound she has ever heard is. Mrs Obama tells Meg-

han about precious moments when her daughters

Malia and Sasha were newborns. ‘Barack and I

could lose hours just watching them sleep,’ she

said. ‘We loved to listen to the little sounds they’d

make – especially the way they cooed when they

were deep into dreaming.’

Early parenthood can be ‘exhausting’, she adds,

but ‘each moment holds its own little eternity. I’m

so excited for you and harry to experience that,

Meghan. Savour it all’.

Guest

editor:

Meghan

with

Vogue’s

Edward

Enninful

Sealed over a

steaming cup

of mint tea,

how Duchess

unleashed

her inner

mermaid

in Vogue

ious September issue, reveals that she
sealed the Vogue deal over mint tea with
editor-in-chief Edward Enninful.
And she recalls how, after being offered the
chance to appear on its front cover – as
Princess Diana and the Duchess of
Cambridge have – she sent a text message
to Mr Enninful asking whether she could
take charge of whole edition, signed with
the single letter ‘M’.
Writing with what she suggests is a touch
of bashfulness, she says: ‘Over a steaming
cup of mint tea, we teased through how one
can shine light in a world filled with seem-
ingly daily darkness. Lofty? Of course. Worth
it? Without question.

strengths, it is anchored 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

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