SERENA & VENUS WILLIAMS

THE LEGACY ISSUE

IN THIS ISSUE, we explore the idea of legacy—what it means to build one or leave one behind and what it means to shepherd, be a part of, or reckon with one. It’s a concept that many of the subjects in these pages have had to confront, both privately and publicly, at various points in their lives: tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams, who changed the face of the sport; Balmain designer Olivier Rousteing, whose quest to understand his own identity has played an essential role in his approach to fashion; writer Margaret Atwood and scientist Jane Goodall, icons in their respective fields who’ve emerged as prescient voices in the fight for climate justice; 91-year-old artist Faith Ringgold, who struggled for years to make a place for herself in the art world but now finds herself at the center of it; the sisters of the late painter Jean-Michel Basquiat, who have created a new exhibition designed to offer a more nuanced understanding of who their brother was behind the mythology; and Fanny Singer, who has joined her mother, Alice Waters, in working to change the way we think about food. A legacy, whether it’s one you assume or one that’s thrust upon you, can be a burdensome weight or an enormous freedom; it’s often both at the same time. While the world we live in is shaped by the past, the questions of how to navigate it and what we choose to carry forward are always ours to answer in the present. The greatest legacies are rarely made in an instant, nor by one person; they are about the communities we bring together, the possibilities we create, and the space we make for others to find their own way forward.