Marie Claire April 2020

what we love about april

BOOK Blue Crush Dive into Pools: Lounging, Diving, Floating, Dreaming (April 7, Rizzoli), a captivating coffee-table book overflowing with splashy photos of poolside leisure and dreamy underwater images. Featuring snaps by some of fashion photography’s finest, it will have you holding your breath in awe (and dreaming of an endless summer). EVENTS SHIFTING TIDES On April 22, 1970, a year after a monumental oil spill killed over 10,000 sea creatures off the coast of Santa Barbara, 20 million Americans came together in protest to fight for the future of our planet. Now celebrated globally, Earth Day marks its 50th anniversary in 2020. This year’s theme is climate action; turn to page 108 to read about the climate crusaders leading the way and visit earthday.org to learn how you can get involved. ART MUSE TO MASTER Dora Maar was…

hello!

Sustainability. Low waste. Climate change. These are the topics—in addition to child care, my career, “the future”—that I lie awake at night thinking about and that are top of mind for many women today. How do we as individuals tackle a global problem that can feel too pervasive to defeat? There are few things worse than a preachy magazine article, so in the April issue of Marie Claire we celebrate the real changemakers in this space, from five young activists galvanizing their peers to a supermodel who’s committed to making an environmental impact for her family and for the planet. Oh, also, hello there! I’m Aya Kanai, and I’m the new editor in chief at Marie Claire. Feel free to DM me on Instagram @ayakanai to let me know what…

coming up roses

THE FINISHING TOUCH HAIR JEWELRY Stud your braid with repurposed earrings of the garden variety: feminine blossoms and cutesy critters THE WILD CARD BUTTERFLY SUNGLASSES Whimsical eyewear (like these lilac ombré Marc Jacobs wings) adds a flutter of cheer to your day THE BAG HAUTE TOTE Inspired by Christian Dior’s sister Catherine, a gardener and botanist, this logo carryall boasts external pockets for your shears and style points for your ensemble THE NO-BRAINER MINI WELLIES Weather the storm—and its puddly aftermath—in cropped rain boots, short in stature but big in luxe appeal THE SHOWSTOPPER GOLD HARDWARE Get down, but don’t get dirty: Arm yourself with chic gardening gloves plus layered bracelets. (Just don’t bury them by accident!) THE SHAPE BUCKET BAG Grab and go with a spacious top-handle tote finished with natural touches, like woven rope accents. It’s earthy yet polished. THE HOT TICKET REDUX SLIDES Step into a pair…

the ecowarriors greenifying big tech

Once upon a time, common wisdom held that going green was bad for business; climate action and economic growth could not possibly go hand in hand. And once upon a time, that seemed to be true; carbon emissions dipped and surged along with the economy for decades. Today, with innovations in recycling and enough clean energy to support and help offset the trucking, air travel, and manufacturing that accompany economic growth, we know that businesses can do right by both shareholders and the planet. In fact, as a recent report by the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate tells us, aggressive climate action could deliver $26 trillion or more in economic benefits through 2030. As businesses embrace a greener economy, women are leading the way. Globally, they now hold the…

making waves

WHAT INFORMED, SAVVY WOMEN NEED TO KNOW NOW For Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, saving the ocean is a true labor of love. The woman who has been called the most influential marine biologist of our time can pinpoint the exact moment she became enamored with the sea. The Brooklyn native was five years old, on a family vacation to Key West, Florida, when she got to hold one of the sea urchins at an aquarium. “They were like these little benevolent aliens that I wanted to befriend and hang out with and learn about,” she says. Johnson, 39, recalls asking her mom what job would let her do that. “Marine biologist” was the answer—and she was off. She studied environmental science and public policy at Harvard, graduating in 2002. She completed her PhD…

outlive climate change

In the last decade, climate change has gone from niche topic to the front page. In 2019 alone, fires raged from Australia to the Amazon, and whole towns were wiped out by flooding. Unfortunately, 2020 isn’t looking any better. That’s why The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis, by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac, the architects of the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement, is a much-needed breath of fresh air. The authors don’t gloss over the scary future ahead of us if we heat up more than the 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit as laid out in the Paris Agreement. They outline concrete actions for getting to a carbon-neutral, regenerative world where both humans and nature thrive. Marie Claire: You write that we all need to become “stubborn optimists” to combat climate…