Vanity Fair UK - 09.2019

I

n an ode to freedom of expressi on,

Valentino creative director

Pierpaolo Piccioli commissi oned

poets Greta Bel la macina, Yrsa

Dale y-Ward, Robert Montgomery, and

Mustafa the Poet for original work,

which was collected in a slim volume

calle d On Love. Selections, like 23-year-

old Grammy winner Mustafa’s poignant

line, pictured above, appear on the

clothing itself. The gist: Love triumphs.

The notion resonates with Alvin

Aile y dancer Court ney Celeste Spears ,

currently closi ng out an international

tour. Aile y’s si gnature ballet, Revelations,

is a bluesy, gospel-filled celebration

of bla ck Ameri can heri tage; its exultant

ending translates to audiences from

New York to Copenhagen. “No matter

what language barrier, race, ethnicity,

religion,” Spears says, “love is love.”

PHOTOGRAPH BY DARIO CALMESE

STYLED BY NICOLE CHAPOTEAU

At Valentino, words, passion,

POETRY IN M OTION and fashion collide By Keziah Weir

Vale ntino gown,

£21,000. (Valentino

boutiq ues nat ionwid e)

MOUNSER ear ring,

£121. (mounser .com)

Alvin Ailey’s

Courtney Celeste

Spears and

Jeroboam Bozeman,

photographed in

New York City.

SEPTEMBER 2019 VANITY FAIR 41