ELLE UK

We’re thinking about the future of love and sex in all its complicated, life-affirming, messy and wonderful forms this month. In the past year, it feels like half the ELLE team have got engaged, married, or had babies. Meanwhile, I have friends who are happily single and doubling down on their commitment to themselves. All of this is happening against a backdrop of deep societal discontent. As I write, half a million workers spanning teachers, fire fighters, civil servants, border staff and more are on strike. And a recent YouGov poll revealed that more than 60% of Britons are feeling sad or stressed. This makes me think of bell hooks’ observation from her seminal book All About Love: ‘Everywhere we learn that love is important, and yet we are bombarded by…

PAGE 110 ANNE - MARIE CURTIS Founder of sustainable glossy The Calendar Magazine and former ELLE editor-in-chief has worked in the fashion industry for more than three decades. She has recently moved out of London to live by the sea, and her hope for the future of fashion is that it will slow down and become more responsible: ‘It’s clear that the constant pursuit of growth and endless consumption is just not tenable.’ She styled the fashion story ‘A soft life’ on page 110. PAGE 50 CAMILLE CHARRIÈRE Born in Paris and based in London, Charrière has an effortless style that is a blend of both cultures – and is the reason why she’s become one of the most influential fashion voices of her generation, and an ELLE contributing editor. The most joyful item in…

IT IS A TRUTH UNIVERSALLY ACKNOWLEDGED THAT A MODERN woman in search of a good night out must be in want of a transparent dress. I should know: I tied the knot in one. In fact, I’ve been wearing iterations of barely there partywear so much this past year that I’ve inadvertently become a face of the phenomenon. Right on cue, a notification pops up on my phone. ‘Why always naked?’ one of my Instagram followers asks pointedly under a recent post of mine. Touché. In the picture, I’m standing in the orchestra stalls at the Royal Opera House in a see-through Saint Laurent dress, flanked by a crowd of chic theatre-goers, all of whom are dressed up to the nines. But I haven’t always been this… nude. Once upon a…

wear: Kind of blue As the collections landing in stores this month prove, you can never have too much denim. See Knwls’ slinky slips, Nensi Dojaka’s two-tone jeans or Marine Serre’s repurposed Y2K belt dresses (memorably worn by Jorja Smith on the catwalk). The Canadian tuxedo just got dressed up. go see: FEELING HER WAY The award-winning Venice Biennale exhibition by Sonia Boyce can now be seen at Margate’s Turner Contemporary gallery (until 8 May). The emotive installation, which combines video, collage, music and sculpture, celebrates Black womanhood and creativity. You’ll leave feeling uplifted and inspired. try:Ice-cream sandwiches Our favourite central-London gelato joint Gelupo is teaming up with renowned bakery and restaurant Jolene to put an Easter spin on a Sicilian breakfast staple: say hello to the hot-cross-bun ice-cream sandwich. There are 22 different flavours…

DOMINIQUE FISHBACK BELIEVES IN THE power of manifestation, which she has practised in varying shapes and forms since childhood. ‘I’ve journalled a lot over the years,’ she says, ‘which is cool, because now I get to see it all come true.’ She cites an entry in which she visualised a lunch date with a particular A-lister (only for that precise scenario to transpire 18 years later, to the very day) as proof that it works. But she could just as easily point to her entire career. ‘I’m from East New York. I didn’t have family that was in the performing arts. But when I would watch films, I would write in a journal, “If I was that character, I would do it like this…”’ It’s enough to persuade anyone to buy…

FRANCESCA AMFITHEATROF IS A LITERAL AND FIGURATIVE rock star in the world of fashion. Her gift for turning gemstones and precious metals into works of art has earned her a series of sparkling creative roles that has led to her current position as the artistic director of Louis Vuitton Watches and Jewellery. Her fan club spans far and wide, encompassing influential editors, retailers and celebrities including Ana de Armas and Alicia Vikander, and her cool factor remains as high as ever, untarnished by navigating years and years of vibe shifts. Most notably, she’s changing the way women buy and wear jewellery at a time when the idea of self-gifting expensive pieces has become as buzzy a post-pandemic topic as self-care. But before all this, Amfitheatrof was a small girl lying on…