OCTOBER 2019 VOGUE.COM
enlivened the scene with their
creativity and their engagement with the important
issues of today, from inclusivity and responsibility to
sustainability. Our industry is much the better for their
presence. And—a first for me—I will be in conversation
with Donatella Versace. She and I go way back, to when
her brother Gianni was still alive and our children weren’t
even in their teens. Donatella, of course, always sends
herself up: “This is Marlboro country, Anna,” she once
said to me—while on horseback and between drags at her
then ever-present cigarette—when we vacationed at a
Montana dude ranch many years ago. But she’s also
smart and perceptive, as political as she is platinum
blonde. “Fashion does not live in a vacuum—it reflects
what is happening in the world,” she recently told the
writer Lynn Yaeger. “[It] can become a weapon to express
oneself, to feel bold and brave. People are telling the
world: Look at me, I have something to say.”
In essence, that’s what makes Forces so special: bringing
together those who really have something to say. Fashion,
like so many other forms of cultural expression, is taking
an engaged and activist position on where we are right
now. Tom Ford, for instance, who, in his new role as chair
of the CFDA, is already a real statesman for this country’s
fashion industry, shrinking September’s New York
Fashion Week by several days, determined to push it
further onto the world stage, understanding that we must
look outward and not retreat inward. Or Tory Burch,
who reminds me of many of the greats of American
fashion in the way she has created a lifestyle around her
clothes—and, in doing so, has used her platform for
female-first philanthropic endeavors. It’s my hope that
they, and all of our other wonderful speakers at Forces,
will leave you feeling informed—and inspired.
Another true force of fashion is Ralph Lauren, who
will be the subject of an HBO documentary, Very Ralph,
which airs in November. Writer Jason Gay visited him
at his home in Montauk to hear more about it. We
all refer to Ralph as just Ralph—it has a casual, familiar,
almost familial ring to
it—yet as I watched this
film unfold, the
enormity of what
he has achieved in
his 52-year career was
evident, with all of
it driven by his brilliant
and relentless pursuit
of his vision. (So
compellingly singular is
his portrayal of the great
outdoors, particularly
the American West, that
this issue’s weekend-
dressing story, shot in
and around Jackson,
Wyoming, is in part a
tribute to him.)
What has always been so intriguing about Ralph is that,
for someone who we all feel we know so well through
his groundbreaking advertising and branding, he actually
much prefers his private life over public visibility. There
has always been an absolute adherence to the importance
of family, and some of the most touching scenes in the film
are where he recalls the early days of being with his wife,
Ricky. Their relationship had, as Ralph recalls, an almost
Barefoot in the Park quality to it before everything that
was to follow unfolded, changing their young lives forever.
Lastly, one of the things that are most enjoyable about
editing Vogue is the ability to turn on a dime and react
to something going on in the world. That’s the case with
our shoot of the fall season’s boldly striped looks on
Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan, two members of our
triumphant women’s national soccer team, which won
the World Cup for a record fourth time. That’s cause
enough for celebration, but the fact that these women
also engendered a conversation about equal pay in the
sport—something that got a rousing welcome back
home—is just as admirable. That’s the thing when you
say something progressive and passionate: There’s
always a rapt audience ready to listen.
FIGHTING SPIRITS
ABOVE: MEGAN RAPINOE, COCAPTAIN OF THE 2019 U.S. WOMEN’S
NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM (WEARING A PRADA VEST AND DRESS),
PHOTOGRAPHED BY JACKIE NICKERSON. BELOW LEFT: RALPH AND RICKY
LAUREN AT HOME ON LONG ISLAND IN 1977. DETAILS, SEE IN THIS ISSUE.
Letter from the Editor
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 70
72
TOP: FASHION EDITOR: JORDEN BICKHAM. HAIR, BOB RECINE; MAKEUP, EMI KANEKO.SET DESIGN BY LAUREN NIKROOZ. PRODUCED BY PRODn. LEFT: SUSAN WOOD/GETTY IMAGES.
