Elle UK – September 2019

ELLEEditor’s Letter

Photography: Ian Harrison.

It was Milan, 2O17, when I first saw it. I was running late for a big show

of the SS18 season and, as such, tripped up, a breathless, perspiring

spectacle. As I gathered myself in a corner (ticket, bag, dignity... all vaguely

in check), I watched the dying tides of the street-style pageant out in front.

O ver t he past few years, I ’ d become accustomed to t his alter nati ve

catwalk show that took place outside the official ready-to-wear shows.

The truth was, I’d always rather admired the young

photographerswhobowleduptoParisandMilan

withnothingmorethana 35mmanda wholelotof

chutzpahtosnapthegreatandgoodofthefashion

world.I admiredevenmorethesartorialdeitiesthey

captured–womenwhosesenseofstylewasas

individualasit wasunselfconscious:jacketsslung

insouciantlyovershoulders,beltstiedjust-so...

ButthatyearinMilan,I realisedsomething

hadchanged.Peoplewouldlingeralittlelonger

tobephotographed,outfitshadbecomemore

contrived,naturalstylereplacedbyaestheticpompandgimmick,

chosentocapturecameralensesratherthantoreflectpersonal

taste.Andthat’swhenI sawit:ayoungwomaninthigh-highboots

andasheerdress,performingaseriesofquasi-catwalkmovesinthe

middleofthestreet.Trafficsnarledbehindherwhileayoungman

snapped away. Click. Click. Click. Then, just like that, the two of them

ran to a waiting car, where she removed both boots and fashion mask.

Rumours had long abounded that some photographers were in fact

on the payroll of the women they shot, but I’d never witnessed it first-hand.

To see it then, writ large, felt as transgressive as seeing a toddler swear.

I t ’s not just in fashion, however, t hat our li ves ha ve become a spectator

sport. Whether it’s outrage-recycling opinions on

socialmedia,performativeconfessionsonpodcasts,

orsimplythecuratedimagesweshare,whatonce

would’vebeenactsofthoughtfulself-expression

havebecomeactsoftheatre.Theproblemwith

theatre,ofcourse,is thatit’snotreal.

Truestyleis thesame.It cannotbemanufactured

fortheapplauseofothers.Theartofdressingis,byits

nature,anartoverwhichonlyyouarejudgeandjury.

I t is aest heticex pres sionforanaudienceofone:you.

It’ssomethingthatELLE’scontributingeditor

LauraCraikexploresin‘TheNewHonesty’onp156.It isatimely

pieceandonethatser vesasacalltoarmsforanewlegitimacy

inanageofmyth-making.

Sohere’stotheSeptemberissueofELLE:forthosewhounderstand

thatanaudienceofoneis allyoueverreallyneed.

ELLE.COM/UKSeptember2O19

THE TRUE ART

of FA SHION

FA RR A H’S wish LIST

LEVI’S

Jacket,£110

CHOPARD

Bracelet,£930

MOTHE ROFPEARL

Dress,£395

STÉE

Bag,£609

From basics to my wildest dreams, here’s what I love this month

@farrahstorr

“TRUE STYLE

CANNOT be

MANUFACTURED

for THE APPLAUSE

OF OTHERS”

65

SOREL

Sandals, £80