Backstage

Excerpts and out-takes from the pages of Esquire

Typically, in this space, we publish a photo taken behind the scenes of an Esquire story. Often it’s an image from whichever glamorous location our fashion team has fetched up in most recently, perhaps of a famous photographer pointing his lens at a supermodel, or a candid snap from the set of a celebrity cover shoot. Without wishing, to paraphrase Bagehot on the monarchy, to let daylight in upon the magic, hopefully these illuminate the work, if I can call it that, that goes into the making of the magazine. This issue of Esquire was not made under typical conditions. And yet still we have managed to assemble a group of A-list, international style icons to ornament our pages. Our fashion story grapples with the conundrum of what to wear for those ubiquitous video conference calls we have all become joyously accustomed to. And who better to model summer’s hottest styles than the people that I will never tire of staring at from a great distance? The staff of Esquire were screen-shot by Lisa Barlow (halfway down on the left, red headscarf), styled by Catherine Hayward (bottom row, in the middle, next to lamp), and positioned on the page by Lauren Jones (top left corner, amused by house plant). You can see them looking, if you can believe it, even more gorgeous on pages 72–81.

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