ELLE October 2021
ELLE is the international fashion magazine for sophisticated, independent women with a strong sense of personal style. The hottest designers. The latest fashions on the street and on the runways. Plus the beauty, health and fitness finds to keep you glowing. Get ELLE digital magazine subscription today.
in this issue
a new leaf
1 WORLDLY GOODS Cartier and Islamic Art: In Search of Modernity kicks off October 21 at Paris’s Musée des Arts Décoratifs, before heading to the Dallas Museum of Art next year. It focuses on the work of the globe-trotting Louis and Jacques Cartier (grandsons of the house’s founder), who found a wealth of inspiration through their travels in the Middle East and popularized the region’s elaborate geometric patterns at home. madparis.fr. 2 IN THE BAG If you’re looking to splash out on a new handbag this season, Loro Piana’s latest, the Sesia, proves equal parts timeless and modern. Named after the picturesque valley where the Italian brand’s HQ sits, its curves were inspired by the silhouette of a nearby river. Available in a range of sizes and chic neutrals in both leather and cashmere,…
broad strokes
@LEELEEKIMMEL BY @THEJOURNALINC @MAISONMARGIELA @LAMAISONPIERREFREY @CASA_VERONICA @MACCOSMETICS @TETRA_SHOP FEATURING @BALEFIREGLASS @GABRIELAHEARST @S.R.STUDIO.LA.CA. @JW_ANDERSON Whether it’s experimenting with colorful hair dyes or picking up an artsy new hobby, the last 19 months have spurred us all to get in touch with our creative side. Case in point: Leelee Kimmel, aka Leelee Sobieski, who traded in the actor’s studio for the artist’s studio and wore colorful Nike soles for a recent gallery visit. And though it’s been about a decade since artist Sterling Ruby branched out with his line of clothing, S.R. Studio.LA.CA., Ruby made his couture debut this year with a collection that featured plenty of splattered-dye and acid-wash details. Meanwhile, Gabriela Hearst enlisted Bolivian artisans to crochet a colorful update to her brand’s beloved Nina bag. Feeling inspired? M.A.C Cosmetics offers the perfect palette for testing the waters with…
her power
Change can be scary. Even when it involves something as minor as clothes, as Billie Eilish found out when she adopted corsets in place of baggy streetwear. For some, the transformation was too much. (“I lost 100,000 followers, just because of [my] boobs,” she says.) But the new look also came with a new outlook: Eilish’s second album, Happier Than Ever, covers territory like the exploitation of young women (“Your Power”) and the pressures of being a public figure (“OverHeated”). It was, she tells Molly Lambert, “really just me processing trauma.” It’s been so inspiring to watch Eilish reclaim the narrative and turn those challenges into grist for her creative mill. She’s truly at the top of her pop-star game—and for this cover shoot, she dove into the process, giving…
haute take
AREA BOLERO: COURTESY OF FARFETCH; REMAINING IMAGES: COURTESY OF NINA GARCIA.…
the talent
Patti Wilson STYLIST Provenance: New York City Now: Chinatown, New York City This month: Styled the cover story “Calling the Shots” (page 111) and the couture shoot “High Art” (page 136). Power source: A chai tea latte from Starbucks. If you weren’t a stylist: I would work at Dover Street Market in New York City. Mainly for the discount…the clothes are to die for. The biggest lesson learned on the job: Patience… Advice to aspiring stylists: Be on time, be nice to people, have a good attitude, work really hard, and don’t give up. Inspiration behind the couture shoot: The first Demna Balenciaga Couture collection was more than enough inspiration for me to do this story…it had to be shot. Dream subjects: Dua Lipa, Hunter Schafer, and Jodie Turner-Smith. As a Black woman in the fashion industry, what does true diversity…
the (very low-key) return of eveningwear
“I don’t really believe in a red-carpet gown, per se,” says designer Meryll Rogge, speaking of that peculiar artifact of late-20th-century popular culture that seemed destined for extinction even before the great social awakening and the pandemic put the final nails in its sequined-and-satin bodycon coffin. Remember when eveningwear trends were dictated by whatever princess-pouf or midriff or single-sleeve-metallic-tinsel-lace moment was happening in Hollywood? That hardly seems relevant to Rogge. “I hate to be tied up in some kind of really tight number,” she says, speaking from a studio she built inside a barn on her parents’ property in the Belgian countryside near Ghent. Rogge, who worked for Marc Jacobs in New York City for nearly seven years, was the head of women’s ready-to-wear for Dries Van Noten in Antwerp before…
