Marie Claire is today's magazine for the fashion minded woman. It reflects all areas of the reader's life, providing the time-pressed woman with a mix of information. Marie Claire remains unsurpassed as the best source for beauty advice.
The idea for this issue came to me as any good idea does—while I was standing in the shower after a particularly long day. It was during Paris Fashion Week about six months ago and I'd seen a mix of good and just okay shows, and was surrounded by conversations regarding the topic of craftsmanship. It makes sense considering the environment, but it also led me to think outside of the fashion industry and to the broader culture at large. Hence, the Makers Issue. It's an idea that plays out on each page, with stories that highlight the people and brands who are creating incredible things—from luxury fashion and beauty (Masters of Their Craft, pg. 62, and Pretty Easy, pg. 88) to excellent spirits and soaps (Whiskey Business, pg. 44,…
BEXX FRANCOIS Photographer “On Pointe,” page 72 “The question shouldn't be: Is it perfect? The question to ask is: Is it interesting? Carrying that sentiment into every photoshoot helps me dissolve limits. I lean into the curiosity of ‘different' and try my best to produce work from that intimate space.” JESSICA GOODMAN Writer “Field of Dreams,” page 102 “There are plenty of guidebooks that will tell you how to craft a story. But I can never replicate the same process twice. Each article or novel has its own challenges that remind you there is no secret trick to getting to the end of a draft. The only constant is the doing, the writing one word after another, and hoping (knowing!), they will eventually come together to tell a story.” MICHELLE RUIZ Writer “Lights, Camera, Kirsten,” page 50 “I'm constantly…
To make a bar of soap, you only need two ingredients: an alkaline and a fat. But what's the fun in keeping things simple? In recent years, the time-honored craft of soap making has gone through a modern and artistic boom—with brands both big and small taking note. Most people believe the first bars of soap were made in Babylon around 2800 BCE. “All the ancient cultures, in one form or another, were making a soap product. They did it out of necessity back then, for cleaning clothes and sanitizing,” says Leigh O'Donnell, executive director of the Handcrafted Soap & Cosmetic Guild. Regardless of a few ingredient switch-ups (goodbye tallow and ash, hello skin-soothing and planet-conscious olive oil and aloe), bar soap serves the same general purpose today. In a…
When The Wiz first arrived on Broadway in 1974, the stage musical—starring Stephanie Mills, Hinton Battle, and André De Shields—introduced a pop culture landmark that would go on to inspire generations of Black performers and creatives to dream in technicolor. The Afrofuturist adaptation of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was a bonafide cultural rite of passage thanks to its depiction of joyous liberation told through a soundtrack fueled by gospel and R&B. The way it allowed people of color to see themselves fully represented in fantasy storytelling, was a first—even before it was further cemented into history with its 1978 silver screen adaptation starring Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, and Lena Horne. Now, 50 years after its premiere, The Wiz returns to The Great White Way. Writer Amber…
Prada's storied leather artisans spend four hours and 10 minutes creating each belt bag that comes in two sizes. Crafted from the fibers of up to five goats. Adorned with 300 knit fringes, each one rolled and stitched by hand. 40hours How long it takes four artisans in northwest Brazil to make these earrings from five wood veneers using marquetry, a 100-year-old woodworking technique. This shoe showcases the same signature horsebit hardware that debuted 71 years ago. 10hours The time craftspeople need to produce one jacket. Designers use almost 15 feet of leather sourced from a family-run tannery in Tuscany. The final garment takes an entire fashion season (or about six months) to finalize, with two prototypes and six samples made to ensure the best quality and fit. Durable enough…
The first person Clyde* helped get an abortion was a stranger. The text came in, urgent and last-minute. One passenger. 150 pounds. Spanish speaker. Clyde was worried. Not about helping, but about the weather. It was July and hot, meaning pockets of volatile air and pop-up thunderstorms could jeopardize everything, or at the least, make for a rough ride. There were over 300 miles to travel, one way, in a small four-seat plane. Not necessarily dangerous, but risky. To wait would mean a missed appointment at the clinic, though. That's the rub when you only have limited options. Okay, he texted. I' ll go. The plan was to meet the woman at a small regional airfield the next day at 5 a.m. Clyde would fly the woman from her home…
