EDITOR’S LETTER
Editor-in-Chief Farrah Storr looks back on a year nobody could have predicted, and what we’ve learnt from it
MOST PEOPLE HAVE SPENT 2O2O WONDERING HOW TO FORGET ABOUT 2O2O. After all, it effectively stopped in March, got a slight reprieve in July, went back to a trembling wreck in September, then made a feeble dash for the finish from October. And so here we are, only a few weeks from the end, wondering not only how we got through it, but what lies beyond. In years to come, I suspect our mantra will be: ‘Rule one of 2O2O: you do not talk about 2O2O.’
We’re wonderfully adept at boxing up ‘bad stuff’. Pack it away, and it will do us no harm. Bad job, bad relationship, bad day at work… we can deal with it, as long as, y’know, we never have to actually deal with it.
And yet, one of the consequences of bad experiences is often perspective and growth. But, here’s the caveat: you only get both if you’re prepared to wade through the debris. So perhaps the most useful gift this Christmas is careful reflection on a year that has perhaps taught us more than any other in history.
So what has a year of fear and challenge taught us all? Hopefully some of the following…
We appreciated people more. Delivery drivers, refuse collectors, supermarket cashiers… Once all but (shamefully) invisible to many of us, now justifiably seen as heroes.
We decided to go truly sustainable. With no shops and no one to see us for the majority of the year, we realised the lunacy of ‘buy now, wear once’. Now we’re more likely to question how many times a week we can get away with cashmere jogging bottoms.
We discovered a new clothing category. The face mask! Who knew so much sartorial scrutiny could be given to a piece of cloth that makes it look like you’re about to rob a bank. In March, I scoffed at the woman sat opposite me at the Chanel show, who appeared to have fashioned hers from a piece of black silk and white gauze camellias. Not any more…
We fell in love with our faces. With no access to our ‘tweakment’ maestros, or the brilliant women who thread our brows, we saw what we actually look like. Oh, hello, lines! Hi there, little eye droop! Come in and join the party, pigmentation spot, there’s a place for you next to my massive Groucho Marx eyebrows.
We gave our breasts a break. Question: has anyone worn a bra since 23 March? Will anyone wear one ever again? Will our breasts even play ball once we attempt to scaffold them up again? I think this may be what is meant by true liberation… and it feels rather wonderful.
Dogs make everything better. The world discovered that nothing makes you feel as secure as the hot breath of a pooch in your ear. Of course, it’s a two-sided coin. Now’s the hard part: two walks a day, copious snacks on your food bill, a huge part of your day given to staring at the back of their heads and never, ever giving up on them.
Oh, and trees. Lockdown fever manifested itself in everyone going nature mad. I think it’s a lot to do with looking at these great big hulking things and knowing they have seen it all – war, revolution, hot pants. And they know… This too shall pass.
“PERHAPS THE MOST USEFUL GIFT YOU CAN GIVE YOURSELF IS REFLECTION ON A YEAR THAT’S TAUGHT US MORE THAN ANY OTHER”