Lorde guest editor for Viva Magazine
Focus on rising NZ designers, creative voices
New Zealand’s biggest pop star has turned magazine editor for the autumn issue of award-winning Viva Magazine. Over the past three months, Lorde, aka Ella Yelich-O’Connor, has been working closely with the Viva editorial team to create a magazine based on the theme “Designing A Better Future”, editor Amanda Linnell says.
“Lorde’s key focus right from the start was to shine the light on Aotearoa’s rising fashion designers, artists, creatives and forward-thinking voices.
“Through a series of interviews and commissioned stories she has ensured the magazine is full of stimulating reads and thought-provoking topics.”
The Grammy Award-winning pop star features on the cover and in a fashion shoot inside the magazine, in a series of striking portraits shot by photographer Ho¯hua Ropate Kurene.
Lorde worked closely with Viva ’s fashion and creative director, Dan Ahwa, to ensure the shoot focused on sustainable and indigenous designers.
“We spent a lot of time discussing the brands, the inspiration behind the garments and the materials used — from Maungarongo Ron Te Kawa’s handwoven quilt to an embroidered skirt from Dunedin-based label Sleeping Profit,” Ahwa says.
In her editor’s letter, the star writes: “Shooting the cover story with Ho¯ hua Ropate Kurene at the beautiful Te Uru Gallery in Titirangi was one of the most special days I’ve ever had on set.
“Ho¯hua blew me away with his world-class skill and gorgeous energy.
“I went home that evening buzzing.”
While Lorde spends much of her time abroad, she calls Ta¯maki Makaurau home.
She invited New Zealand writer Megan Dunn — author of What I Learned at Art School — to spend the afternoon with her at home.
The result is a fascinating insight into the world of the 25-year-old global star.
She opens up about the backlash she received around the release of Te Ao Ma¯rama, her companion album to Solar Power, which features five songs translated into te reo, and the weight of expectation and responsibility as an artist, before roping Dunn in on a hilarious driving lesson.