MARC JACOBS

“Elegance has a lot to do with personal style. I always like the phrase ‘style is what you make of it’. You can only ever be the best version of yourself. If we’re talking about men and elegance, there are really interesting and inspirational people around. It was difficult to choose, but I just thought Marc totally embodies this quality. When you feel 100 per cent comfortable in your own shoes, and you feel good about how you look and are, that translates into elegance .

“Elegance is the way you carry yourself, and also how you recognise elegance in other people. I think that’s very powerful; that’s elegance in its own right. Marc is one of those people who celebrates women but without comparing them. And he’s never afraid to laugh at himself. I’ve always been a fan of his, just like I’m a fan of anybody who comes from absolutely nothing and works hard to make something of themselves. From the first to the most recent times I’ve done his shows, it’s just been an amazing relationship. I feel that he gets me as a person. I don’t have to prove anything because he celebrates me as I am. You don’t ever feel like you have to pretend.

“Growing up in South Sudan, my father was a very elegant and poised man. Because of his example, I feel that you don’t have to be loud to be elegant, and I see that in Marc. As the woman I am today, I can feel when a man is elegant – how they approach me, how they talk to me, how they perceive me.You notice when someone evokes elegance, and Marc does, whether I see him at his showroom, at the Armory or at The Met. And he’s such a team player, it’s really amazing. Watching him work with Katie Grand is so beautiful because you can see how he appreciates women, and doesn’t just dress them. You can’t fake that.

“To be elegant you have to be kind of vulnerable, for lack of a better word.You can’t just put on the most amazing outfit with the most amazing shoes, hair and make-up – it has to come from within. When a man is elegant, there’s nothing more beautiful.”