ELLE UK

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THE INTERVIEWER ALEX FRANK The Brooklyn-based writer and editor has profiled industry greats from Annie Lenox to Aretha Franklin. Now, he’s added Debbie Harry (p1O4) and Sienna Miller (p126) to that list. Which item in your wardrobe best summarises you? ‘A pair of brown suede Birkenstock Boston clogs. I like to think of myself as warm, sturdy and classic.’ What’s the most valuable fashion lesson you’ve learned? ‘You can judge a friendship by whether they are willing to be honest if you look bad in a new pair of jeans.’ THE STYLIST PAUL CAVACO With a 4O-year career including stints as fashion director of US Harper’s Bazaar and as the creative director of Allure, Bronx-born Paul Cavaco styles our cover shoot on p126. Name your biggest fashion mistake. ‘To make sure that I don’t make…

elle uk

Editor-in-Chief, ELLE and ELLE.com/uk FARRAH STORR Creative Director TOM MEREDITH Deputy Editor KENYA HUNT Editorial Assistant SUZI REZLER FASHION Group Luxury Fashion Director AVRIL MAIR Executive Fashion Director KIRSTY DALE Fashion Features Editor SARA McALPINE Fashion Editor FELICITY KAY Accessories Editor MOLLY HAYLOR Fashion Assistants CLEMMIE BROWN, LULU COOPER Fashion Intern CHARLOTTE HARNEY Bookings Assistant CLIO COOPER With special thanks to MARINA ANSELL FEATURES Associate Editor/Culture Director LENA DE CASPARIS Features Director HANNAH NATHANSON Features Assistant BECKY BURGUM TRAVEL & LIFESTYLE Travel & Lifestyle Director SUSAN WARD DAVIES ART AND PICTURES Art Director ALBY BAILEY Designer SONIA RUPRAH Picture Director CLARE PENNINGTON Deputy Picture Editor JAMEELA ELFAKI BEAUTY Group Luxury Beauty Director KATY YOUNG Beauty Editor JENNIFER GEORGE Beauty Assistant CHARLOTTE BITMEAD PRODUCTION Group Workflow Director CHRISTINA SIMONE Chief Sub-Editor CLAIRE SIBBICK Deputy Chief Sub-Editor OLIVIA McCREA-HEDLEY Group Managing Editor CONNIE OSBORNE Finance Business Partner, ELLE STACEY TOMLIN Contributing Fashion Editors SOLANGE FRANKLIN, JOANNA SCHLENZKA, JENNY KENNEDY, PAUL CAVACO, SASA THOMANN Contributing Editors SUSIE BOYT, LIV LITTLE, LAURA…

the power of culture

A few years back, I received a letter from a young woman. She was an English teacher, in despair, by the fact her school could no longer offer English Literature A level to its students. The issue was twofold, she explained. One: the cultural messaging many of them had received was that an ‘arts’ education would not set them up for future prosperity. Two: with budgets so tight and the school being in a small, seaside town miles from the nearest city, there were few cultural events the students could get to in order to be inspired. I think about that letter a lot. As someone who studied English Literature both at A level and at university, there was personal sadness at the changing status of a subject I both loved…

a mother’s love

When I was at school in the 199Os, the phrase, ‘my parents are divorced’ still warranted sympathetic smiles and awkward glances. I went to Catholic school and a teacher surreptitiously loaned The Suitcase Kid by Jacqueline Wilson to students she suspected were from ‘broken homes’. Once, in a religion class, I argued that the church’s teachings on divorce were outdated and was kept behind after the lesson. ‘You seem quite passionate,’ my teacher said. ‘I just want to make sure everything is OK. Are you going through something like this at home?’ I told her I was fine and fled from the room with beetroot cheeks. She thought she was being kind, but her message was that I should stay quiet. She suggested that parents who did not ‘persevere’ to stay…

the trend the ‘dracket’

Dress hemlines are inching ever-upwards. From vacuum-packed bodycon minis to short, trapeze-swing smocks, everyone from Chanel to sweetly priced Staud is advocating dresses with ‘barely there’ bottoms. And while that may induce groans from the 8O% of British women who have body hangups,* wait until you’ve seen the modern way to go mini with the AW19 catwalks’ surprise star: the Dracket. The daringly short jacket-dress hybrid appeared in multiple iterations: sleeveless at Dior, striped at Emporio Armani, subtle in slate grey at Acne Studios and statement in neon brights at Balenciaga. What every take on the style has in common is that it features a button fastening and wide lapels – it’s a longline version of the blazer that is, importantly, intended to be worn sans trousers. ‘They come in very different…

fashion news

NEWSFLASH VALLI GIRLS This is, like, totally great news for fans of Giambattista Valli’s frothy catwalk confections (so Kendall Jenner and Serena Williams, among others). The Italian designer is the latest to hook up with H&M, bringing his much-coveted signature tulle styles to the high street. If you f yourself hard-pushed to wear tulle gowns to t office, there are ruffled shirts and leather tro too, as well as slippers and T-shirts. Sounds r up our Valli. Out 7 November. hm.com MARKET RESEARCH INSTA SHOP Instagram isn’t short of direct-to-consumer brands vying for space in our wardrobes. Spoilt for choice? Yes. Slightly overwhelmed? That too. Which is why Net-A-Porter has partnered with a number of those brands for its latest launch of The Vanguard – talent discovered on Instagram. In the line-up: Le 17 Septembre,…