LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

THAT’S HOW COCO ROCHA SUMMED UP MOTHER-

hood when we connected at Chris Nicholls’s Toronto studio for her first magazine “sitting” with two-month-old Ioni (“A Model Mom,” page 69).

Curled up on a sofa, Rocha nursed Ioni while a makeup artist swept a brush across her cheeks, and her husband, James Conran, waited nearby with a pink pacifier on his pinky, ready to jump in if needed.

Ioni couldn’t have been more of a pro. The powerful studio lights didn’t faze her, and, clearly, moving for the camera is in her DNA. She had nearly as many facial expressions per minute as her mom.

Fitting back into designer samples wasn’t an issue for Rocha, though she says she won’t be giving up her leather maternity leggings by Isabella Oliver anytime soon. “I’m so used to the comfort of them. I don’t think I’ll ever get rid of them,” she laughed. She’ll be getting a new bag, though. Rocha has teamed up with Botkier to design a collection due out in November.

Our cover girl, Gal Gadot, also stayed close to her threeyear-old daughter on set, but by phone (“The Gal Who Changed Hollywood,” page 78). Best known as Gisele in The Fast and the Furious franchise, Gadot has been cast as Wonder Woman in four projects, with more likely on the horizon. Add in her Miss Israel title, Gucci contract and time spent as a soldier in the Israeli army, and it’s clear Gadot is a “wonder woman” in her own right.

Straddling fantasy and reality is something we do here at FASHION, too—whether it’s delivering “heightened reality” in shoots such as “Leg Lifts” (page 72) and “Girl Time” (page 82) or probing the mass appeal of culottes, the breakout star of the season (“Swing Thing,” page 34). And eyewear has become such a hot accessory, even people with perfect vision are playing pretend with frames (“Focus Group,” page 32).

Reality wasn’t the goal when we asked Lynn Crosbie to try out InvisibleBoyfriend.com (“Great Textpectations,” page 64). Crosbie found that dreaming up a fictional mate turned out to be surprisingly fulfilling—to a point.

What is hard to imagine, at least for me, is joining the #FreeYourPits movement (“Pity Party,” page 50). I am open-minded about a lot of things, but I am drawing the line at hairy armpits!

I look forward to hearing whether you agree at letters@fashionmagazine.com.