LAURA HAWKINS
Online fashion & jewellery editor
After cutting her teeth at The Gentlewoman
and Farfetch, Hawkins has exercised her
literary prowess at Wallpaper* since 2016,
online and in print. This month, she reports
on high-tech, high-style performance wear
(page 118), adds up A/W18 fashion maths
(page 123) and quizzes Simone Rocha on her
collaboration with Moncler (page 110). ‘It’s
intriguing how she mastered new technical
fabrics and brought her feminine flair
to the world of outerwear,’ says Hawkins.ANTHONY SYMONDS
& MAX PEARMAIN
Fashion designers
When designer and artist Symonds (right)
and stylist Pearmain first fused talents as
Symonds Pearmain during London Fashion
Week S/S17, onlookers were seduced
by their subversive ambush, as much
performance art as catwalk show. When
invited to collaborate with Wallpaper*
on a story, ‘we jumped at the chance’,
they say, proposing ‘a Symonds Pearmain
version of luxury living’ (page 222). The
label’s e-store is set to launch in September.SOPHIE GREEN
Photographer
Green boasts a portfolio that explores
the ‘idiosyncrasies and nuances’ of British
community culture. For our menswear
story shot at London’s Smithson (formerly
Economist) Plaza, she brought to life a
playful narrative about interns in the big-
city workplace (page 208). ‘They’re playing
grown-ups, but this is not their world,’ she
says. Her new book, Congregation, exploring
Aladura spiritualism in Southwark, will be
published by Loose Joints in November.CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN
Fashion designer
Louboutin may be best known for the red-
soled stiletto, though a newly unveiled
capsule collection, titled ‘Run Loubi Run’,
has proven that he’s equally adept at
creating performance footwear. Meanwhile,
his made-to-measure collection is going
strong, with the latest iteration (inspired
by the kinetic art of Julio Le Parc) presented
for the first time as part of Paris Couture
Week, in July. We asked Louboutin to share
his favourite dish, a summer-appropriate
salmorejo (page 242).RACHEL ARTHUR
Writer
Arthur’s firm journalistic grasp of trends and
tech have made her an expert in the ‘future-
proofing’ of fashion retail. We recruited
her to chart the rise of Matchesfashion from
a bricks-and-mortar store conceived in south
London to an e-commerce kingpin (page
134). ‘Its combination of tech, experience
and human touch is second to none right
now,’ she says. Based between New York and
London, Arthur spearheads the intelligence
team at consultancy TheCurrent.TOM SEYMOUR
Writer
Artist Katrien De Blauwer collaborated on
our fashion story (page 178) and designed
our limited-edition subscriber cover, so we
asked arts journalist Seymour to speak to
the self-described ‘photographer without
a camera’ and explore the striking intensity
of her montages. ‘Katrien is a fascinating
person to talk to and an artist too long
overlooked,’ he says. See his interview with
De Blauwer on page 192. Later this year,
Seymour will undertake a one-month
stint as Ljubljana’s ‘critic in residence’.ILLUSTRATOR: LUIS MAZÓN WRITER: HARRIET LLOYD-SMITHCONTRIBUTORS
068 ∑