Editor’s letter
It’s been one year since our last September issue starring Mariah Idrissi, one of the first hijab models. Continuing the celebration of diversity in fashion, I’m proud to present model Shahira Yusuf as our cover girl for this issue. She’s black, British, Muslim and wears a hijab. She speaks for everything that stands for change in this industry and you can expect to see her take the runways by storm this month. Read her interview on page 174.
The idea for this British-themed issue came from an Alexander McQueen dress. Discussing the greatness of the late designer (we pay tribute to his work on page 86) led to us handpicking the standout British designers of the year including Richard Quinn, who had the pleasure of the Queen sitting front row at his Autumn/Winter 2108 show and Molly Goddard, winner of the 2018/2019 British Fashion Council’s Designer Fashion Award. Both are worn by Shahira Yusuf in the cover story.
In the fashion pages you’ll find our big runway trend report for A/W18 on page 76, a fashion editorial shot on the famous Queen Elizabeth 2 ship and inspired by the show This Is England on page 120. On page 134 we bring you a fashion story set in the beautiful green pastures of England’s Epping Forest, while up-andcoming British actress Maddison Jaizani models JW Anderson’s exclusive collection for Net-a-Porter on page 112.
We also interviewed three artists from the region who bring together eastern heritage and western culture in art form on page 62 and on page 68 you’ll find the prize-winning work of Khoula Hamad, who was one of eight finalists in the new Dior Photo Award competition for Emerging Talents this year.
On page 208 we discuss how to manage information overload and in the travel section we tell you how to spend 24 hours in London’s Mayfair as well as highlighting the best hotels the city has to offer.
We hope you are as inspired by British fashion and culture as we are. Enjoy!
Carmel Gill EDITOR