British Vogue January 2021

I was busy putting the final touches to our first issue of 2020, the first Vogue of a new decade. The incandescent Taylor Swift was on the cover, and the pages were packed with forward-looking features, portraits of emerging talents set to shape the years ahead, and the chronicling of an important sea change in fashion that championed quality and sustainability, which would see us, as the cover declared, “Buy less, buy better”. It’s curious to me how prescient much of it was – but how could any of us have known what this most dramatic of years would bring? It has been hard, and there were moments of despair. Yet, as I write this, America has decided on a new president, and – like so many – I suddenly feel…

A host of inspiring names – from author Margaret Atwood (above) to activist Malala Yousafzai (below left) and actor Demi Moore (below right) – draw on the lessons they learnt in 2020 to offer sage and soothing advice for 2021, on page 92. “It was lovely working with a team that had such great energy, especially with everything that’s going on in the world right now,” says photographer Nadine Ijewere of capturing a hyperreal world of giant butterflies and blooms in Super Natural, on page 144. Photographers Marcus Piggott (left) and Mert Alas (right) “danced and laughed a lot” when they reunited with pal Kate Moss for her cover story (And God Created Kate, on page 130). “Due to lockdown and our schedules, we hadn’t worked with Kate for a while,” they…

“There are few better ways to inject your wardrobe with optimism than Duro Olowu’s gloriously colourful two-piece”JULIA BRENARD, ACTING SHOPPING DIRECTOR GUTTER HAIR: ANNA CREDIT COFONE. HEREMAKE-UP: LIKE VASSILIS THEOTOKIS. NAILS: SAFFRON GODDARD. SET DESIGN: DANNY HYLAND. DIGITAL ARTWORK: ALY STUDIO. MODELS: KAYAKO HIGUCHI, CHARLOTTE KILLICK, GEORGIA KILLICK, ISABEL MONSEES, XIA NARAIN. SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES WERE FOLLOWED THROUGHOUT THIS PHOTOSHOOT. PAUL GONZALES; THOMAS RAZZANO; PIXELATE.BIZ…

“Gently cropped or skimming the floor, no jeans are more flattering than indigo flares”SARAH HARRIS, DEPUTY EDITOR & FASHION FEATURES DIRECTOR…

For any musician, having Michelle Obama as a fan is a badge of honour, but Bree Runway was still 16-year-old schoolgirl Brenda Mensah when she sang for the then First Lady during an impromptu visit to her Hackney school in 2009. “I was the only one she shouted out,” smiles Runway. But school was otherwise marred by relentless bullies who undermined her gifts. “I saw it as a hindrance that I’ve got nice hair, that I can sing, that I’ve got dark skin.” Since then, she has been cultivating her singular sound – a mix of pop with rap, touches of rock and flashes of country (“my genre is very much a fluid thing”) – and winning recognition from the likes of Cardi B and Missy Elliott. Underpinning it all…

OUR EXISTING wardrobes are more than wearable items; they’re resalable and rental assets. Attitudes towards ownership have changed, and things that can be reworn, reworked and reimagined are what people would rather spend their money on. I buy less, investing in luxury items, and repair pieces in my wardrobe frequently. I recently enlisted The Restory to revitalise a pair of Manolo Blahnik kitten heels, Chanel crystal wedges, Chanel ballet flats and a Louis Vuitton rolling suitcase. The service is simple and easy to use: I booked a collection online and the team provided a comprehensive assessment of the work needed. Since the day I purchased my Chanel ballet flats, I’ve worn them regularly. The buttery beige lambskin leather looked grimy, dotted with scuffs and scratches all over. The Restory’s atelier gently filled…