EDITOR’S LETTER
Welcome to 2021! Have you ever been so excited to ring in a new year? Finally, we can embrace the endless possibilities that lie ahead as life slowly returns to normal. Borders are lifting, businesses are reopening, people are unmasking and vaccines are being distributed across the globe. If that doesn’t spark joy, nothing will. Usually about now, we also saddle ourselves with an exhausting list of resolutions. Well, screw that. We’ve been burdened with disruption long enough; it’s time to cut ourselves some slack, shift gear and savour life again. To that point, I’m ordaining 2021 the year of self-kindness, which is why we’ve filled this edition – our annual Wellness issue – with feel-good fashion, beauty and features designed to help us reconnect with our best selves.
Your journey begins on page 85 with our cover shoot set against the backdrop of the Californian wilderness. With America still gripped by COVID, mum-of-three Lara Worthington escaped LA with photographer Darren McDonald, not a stylist, makeup artist or assistant in sight. Their goal? To capture the essence of freedom and hope needed in 2021. Mission accomplished! Darren’s images are stunning, but I also found Lara’s interview refreshingly raw, honest and real. By her own admission, Lara’s weathered many public and personal storms in the past, but life with her brood of three boys couldn’t be happier, albeit hectic. She’s now a diehard environmentalist on a quest to give back. Lara recently made her beauty company, Share The Base, a non-profit entity, offering all proceeds from sales to charity. Last year, she raised about $100,000 for her three favourite initiatives. Respect.
For more goodness, flip to page 145 for our mega health, food and fitness special. Packed with wellness advice, from meditation hacks to workout tips, consider this your playbook to New Year rejuvenation. In fashion, forget stilettos and power suits for now: athleisure is still on high rotation. Turn to page 22 for our pick of casual chic, or invest in bold, bright pieces sure to boost your mood (page 100).
On a more serious note, I urge you to read writer Jess Hill’s compelling report on that hidden strain of domestic violence known as coercive control: the stripping bare of someone’s sense of self by an obsessive partner. It’s abuse without a bruise, and almost always comes before physical violence. Shockingly, one in four women have experienced this form of emotional violence, and right now there’s very little, if anything, they can do about it. This month, we examine the urgent need for standardised coercive control laws in Australia, especially in the wake of worsening stats post-COVID. Intimate partner violence is now the greatest health risk for women aged 25 to 44, and in 2020, at least 50 women died in violent circumstances*. Turn to page 40 for all you need to know, and please sign our petition at coercivecontrol.com.au to help end the violence.