CUSHLA CHAUHAN

When the opportunity to speak to Pandora Sykes came up, Vogue’s Cushla Chauhan was the first to pop her head above her desktop. “I’ve been a fan of Pandora’s podcast The High Low since it launched, so was excited to speak to her about her new book,” she says of her interview with the London journalist for ‘Curious by nature’ from page 60. Chauhan’s second feature in this issue, ‘Out of touch’, on page 86, looks at why human contact is vital to wellbeing, a topic that was thrown into sharp focus for her personally during social isolation. “Being such an independent person I was surprised by how much I missed other humans,” she admits. “But researching this piece gave me a better understanding of the science behind how important connection really is.”

VIVIAN PHAM

After a Vogue team member read and loved The Coconut Children, the remarkable debut novel by VietnameseAustralian Vivian Pham, we invited the 19-year-old writer to pen a personal story for this issue’s ‘Voice’, on page 24. “The news completely took my breath away – my respiratory system hasn’t been the same since,” jokes Pham of learning Vogue was keen to publish her work. “I wanted to write about my childhood because I’m beginning to understanding how things that happened when I was really small continue to affect me. Remembering things from our childhood can often be painful, but I think it also helped me realise that neither I, nor the characters I write, are ever set in stone. This made me hopeful.” When asked if there’s another novel in the works, Pham tells us: “I’m always planning on working on another book, at the most inconvenient times!”

MARTYN THOMPSON

New York-based photographer Martyn Thompson captured artist and Dinosaur Designs co-founder Louise Olsen at work, alongside her father John Olsen at his home in the New South Wales Southern Highlands (see ‘Lady of the lake’, from page 120). “It was very peaceful being in the countryside,” says Thompson of the shoot. “When John and Louise were sketching the fish, the spontaneity of that moment led to my favourite picture of the day, a very lively portrait of father and daughter. The shoot had that gentle and thoughtful atmosphere that Louise brings to her workplace. John is very quick-witted so there are always funny moments.”