Indholdsfortegnelse for December 2020 i Vogue Australia

POLKA FACE Praise to the blouse, says Balenciaga’s Demna Gvasalia. Black polka dots get a refresh against a fuchsia backdrop for an out-of-office feel, and with sweeping sleeves, this version reads anything but prim. Go with the flow to let summer in. FEATHER WEATHER Michael Lo Sordo strikes a happy medium between glamorous gloss and low-key cool, taking cues from the prototypical WFH outfit: the pyjama suit. Pair with fuss-free flats. HAVE A BALL The old adage that less is more rings true in warmer weather. Rise to any occasion by trusting accessories to do the heavy lifting, like Tiffany & Co.’s drop earrings that offer an instant pick-me-up. TAKE YOUR PLEAT Christian Dior’s dress nods to both Christmas colours and the hue of the season. Sunray pleats mimicking beams…

1. “I’ve always been inspired by mid-century interiors and furniture design. Wendell Castle’s lamps are quirky, colourful, dramatic yet functional, and a must-have for me!” 2. “I’m always thinking about colour and proportions of specific hues in space, more so than anything representative of a particular period. Lynda Benglis’s fallen paintings feel incredibly modern. The intentionality of the placement of pigment is balanced by the naivety of colour, and the idea of painting on a floor.” 3. “You rarely associate images or artworks from the 20s with vibrant colour, and that’s one of the reasons I love Series VIII . Picture of the Starting Point (1920) from Hilma af Klint.” 4. “Nils-Udo’s artwork Sans titre (1999), is simple but effective, and I enjoy the graphics applied to something organic and…

1. A LUCKY MAN (ALLEN & UNWIN, 2020) BY JAMEL BRINKLEY “These stories are mostly about black American boys and men living ordinary lives, falling in and out of love and lust, and sometimes making mistakes. Brinkley’s writing is beautifully controlled and wise, and the emotional depth in the stories is very moving.” 2. RUNAWAY (VINTAGE, 2004) BY ALICE MUNRO “Alice Munro is my all-time favourite writer, and this is just one of her masterful collections. She writes about young or middle-aged women in rural or urban Canada, sometimes in the past, and she’s just so smart about how contradictory and hypocritical people can be. I’m especially haunted by the story ‘Tricks’.” 3. LOOK HOW HAPPY I’M MAKING YOU…

“I’VE BEEN IN the innovation space for three to four years and every day is a new day,” says Annie Shu. “The more time I spend in the space, the less I feel I know.” As leader of the strategy and innovation team at Westpac, she describes the role of her team as bringing emerging technologies and capabilities to the bank in order to create a good customer experience. Finding and getting excited about new technology is easy; what’s more difficult is using it to implement meaningful change that can make an impact for at least a three-to-five-year period, before a new wave of innovation arrives. Maintaining a culture of innovation in a corporation – especially one as traditional and as regulated as banking – can be challenging. “I look…

THERE ARE FEW online rabbit holes capable of chewing through a beauty editor’s time quite like that of a Reddit skincare forum. Specifically, the Skincare Addiction thread: a 1.2 million-strong community of flawless-skin devotees who trade product suggestions and ‘shelfies’, and wax lyrical about their multi-step regimens. Somewhere between studying the phenomenon of retinol purging and how to combat ‘maskne’, a thread titled ‘the best routine for my skin is doing nothing’ stood out not for its shopping list of brand recommendations, but its steadfast message that simplifying our skincare routine may, in fact, deliver a better complexion. While the internet (and our inner minimalist) might support the idea that a glowing complexion can be achieved by deserting our beauty cabinet altogether, experts believe there’s more merit in occasionally downscaling…

IT WAS LATE October when singer Lily Allen, a mother of two, posted her latest brand partnership to Instagram, where she holds the attention of 1.4 million followers. Wearing fuchsia lipstick and standing against a beige backdrop, Allen looked like she had come from the chemist, holding what appeared to be a small cleansing brush. It was not a cleansing brush. “I’m really excited to reveal … My very own sex toy! Womanizer changed my life, and I wanted to share,” she wrote. The last time a celebrity said a product changed their life it was Oprah Winfrey talking about her Breville Panini Maker. And yet Allen’s new venture, in which she extolled us to “own our own pleasure” somehow felt normal: a natural extension for the singer who is…

Adwoa Aboah, Activist, model and founder of Gurls Talk “It has created a new fire in my belly,” says Adwoa Aboah speaking about Gurls Talk, the online community she built. The concept of connection and empathy for one another is something the 28-year-old British mental health campaigner and model has for a long time known the importance of. “It has reiterated to me that I’m not alone in what I want and what I feel.” Across podcasts, articles, videos, social media and recently an ambassador program that will allow input on programs and initiatives, Aboah has mulled education, sexuality, mental health, gender equality and racism, through good old-fashioned conversation. With a crucial focus on the mental health effects of the pandemic, she continues to reset the agenda. Breaking into the…

MAGIC HAPPENS EVERY evening in Lecce, a beautiful limestone city in Puglia, Italy’s stiletto heel. The spell is cast shortly before dusk, when the city seems to glow as swallows dart and sing in the darkening sky. Yet tonight, from my position on a rooftop overlooking the Piazza del Duomo, a new magic – a kind of human alchemy – is afoot in Lecce. In the square below, Dior is holding its resort ’21 show. This marks both a significant departure – the house has never before shown in Italy – and a significant homecoming: Antonio, the father of Dior’s creative director, Maria Grazia Chiuri, was born right here in Puglia. “For me,” she says, “to be here is to come back to my memories of the summers I spent…

SAGITTARIUS 23 NOVEMBER–21 DECEMBER You’re magnetic now and on a quest for personal fulfilment, but you’ll do your best work with others, especially if you take one for the team or let the team take credit for success. Outdated concepts only hold you back so release fears around money, intimacy, family or home. Focus on what you need more than on what you want. STYLE ICON: Janelle Monáe CAPRICORN 22 DECEMBER–20 JANUARY A weight lifts this month after a year full of valuable learning curves. Making money in unorthodox ways becomes your new MO now. Partners might not get the new and evolving you – you might not even get yourself yet – but add a humanitarian and loving touch to all you do and your progress will be stellar.…

ALEK WEK A total of 22 years after having first appeared in the November 1998 issue of Vogue Australia, South Sudanese model Alek Wek makes her return to our pages in the fashion feature ‘Flow motion’, from page 156. Captured by photographer Hanna Tveite in a series of looks styled by Melissa Levy, internationally renowned Wek says the shoot, which took place in New York, centred around “the energy, the movements, [and the] feeling of the clothes … It was about the looks that were put together and how excited we all were about the narrative, the colours, [and] the different cuts.” Calling out the team on set, she adds: “Teamwork makes the dream work, shout out to the team!” JESSICA DOS REMEDIOS Tasked with shooting ‘Good times roll’, from…

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LIVING LARGE Shopping for an interiors buff? Go for pieces that echo home textiles. Don’t overlook the best in grooming either for the perfect WFH look. Domestic bliss guaranteed. GARDEN VARIETY Nature lovers know the quietude a garden brings. Give them reason to spend more time outdoors with pieces that capture a rambling romance. Cards on the lawn, anyone? TABLE FOR DISCUSSION The entertainer is ever on the lookout for elegant conversation pieces. These will add warmth and glamour to any dinner party, be it a game to share, or shoes to keep all to themselves. RECIPE FOR SUCCESS The gourmand likely has impeccable taste that extends beyond kitchenware into the finest in glassware and all-round design. Objets destined to delight.…

CODES SARAH GILBERT, PROFESSOR of Vaccinology at the University of Oxford, has dedicated her career to developing vaccines. This year, the global Covid-19 pandemic has put her work and that of her colleagues firmly into the spotlight. While teams around the world are racing for results using different technologies, the ‘Oxford vaccine’, developed by a team led by Gilbert and others, is considered one of the most advanced to date. Now in Phase III clinical trials (involving large numbers of volunteers from different ethnicities around the world) with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, it’s hoped that if trials prove successful, the vaccine may be available for Australians from 2021. VOGUE AUSTRALIA: What is the current progress of Covid-19 vaccines both in your lab and globally? Professor Sarah Gilbert: “Multiple vaccines are now…

IN THE HAIR Fragrance devotees have long supported the protocol of spritzing your favourite scent through freshly washed hair. Go one better and dose tresses in the enveloping aroma of rose and jasmine courtesy of Chanel’s ultra-chic hair mist. NEW LOVE The original J’adore is a crowd favourite for good reason: its winning combination of white florals is as addictive as it is admired. The 2020 interpretation, Infinissime, has all the familiar hallmarks of the original, with the surprising addition of Grasse tuberose. Same same, but different. SINGLE VISION When it comes to fragrance, there’s merit in blending countless ingredients. There’s also value in allowing one – in this case, the powdery allure of musk – to take centre stage. UNFORBIDDEN FRUIT Leave it to Tom Ford to create a…

“Perhaps what all these fashion dreams have in common is a longing for better times, a fierce belief that regardless of circumstance we will continue to crave something new” When I was a little girl, there was a television show called That Was The Week That Was , which featured a troupe of comedians spoofing the news events of the past seven days. I couldn’t help but think of that broadcast when I sat down to contemplate the year that was 2020 – a time of unprecedented political upheaval, of renewed struggle for social justice, and a terrifying global pandemic. It’s been a period so fraught, so crazy, that no writers’ room, no matter how creative, could have tackled it. In other words, what a year! We sometimes felt like…

2018. THE EMAILS started in March. Christmas plans take some forethought, particularly if you’re the family organiser, as my sister is, dealing with a frazzled nomad like myself. She made a compelling case on my behalf: “Every year Alison, Johnny and Augie travel from Melbourne to be with us for Christmas in Canberra, on top of all the travel they have to do for work. So let’s have it in Victoria this year and rent a place close to them.” Oh tidings of comfort and joy. I felt like crying when I read this. My little family is like a ye olde travelling theatre troupe, only loaded up with toys and luggage rather than lutes and whatnot, always in transit. I long to stay put, and this Christmas my beloved…

“EYE CANDY.” THAT’S how Tomo Koizumi, Zooming from his home base in Tokyo, describes the optical rush that takes hold once his delectable dresses come into view. Frothy gowns with frou-frou skirts that appear frosted together have become his signatures, each assembled from layer upon ruffled layer of Japanese polyester organza, cupcake-esque, in ombré rainbow hues. “I’m making pieces that I want to see or that people might want to see,” the 32-year-old explains of his luxury loofah-like creations that are also in tune with the current mood that calls for clothes that perk us up. “Fashion, I think for me, is entertainment.” This philosophy squares neatly with Koizumi’s entrée into mainstream fashion. After working as a costume designer for nine years (and counting), the Japanese creative was discovered on…

SUSTAINABLE SHOPPERS REJOICE – a slew of retailers is now steadily adding capability to their e-tail sites allowing users to do ethical searches. That is, searching by value or concern, as you would by style or colour. Australia’s Well Made Clothes, that sells the likes of Nagnata, Veja and Arnsdorf, offers a drop-down menu of categories to shop by including handcrafted, vegan or minimal waste. Similarly Stride offers ‘Australian-made’ and ‘impact’ as two of more categories, while on Thread Harvest you can select from filters including ‘empowering women’ and ‘employing the marginalised’. It comes as recent research from McKinsey & Company showed Australians making more considered purchases in the wake of Covid-19: of those surveyed, more than 25 per cent said they would buy more from brands based on their…

WHETHER IT BE an intimate supper with all the trimmings, or a grounded affair for making the most of time together, the way we celebrate this season looks a little different. With staying in the new status quo, creating a setting takes on new importance. Just like style, how you put on the glitz for a gathering is an expression of individual taste, yes, but also a show of appreciation for your guests. We rallied the most practised hosts in the realms of fashion and design to impart their festive wisdom. Go forth and be merry. FARE GAME Setting the tone by choosing the type and way you serve up food means the format of the rest of the event will follow naturally. “I rather like an informal ‘picky lunch’…

VOGUE AUSTRALIA: In 1998, as you were finishing high school in Sydney, you were awarded a scholarship to Harvard. How did that come about? CERIDWEN DOVEY: “It was quite random, actually. I’m South African originally but my family had moved back and forth. We’d been in Melbourne in the early 80s, gone back to South Africa, and then ended up in Sydney when I was in year nine. My sister, Lindiwe, who is older than me, had an American friend who was applying to US colleges, and she was quite intrigued by that. Lindiwe got a four-year full scholarship and went off on her own with her one suitcase, having never been to America or knowing how the American college system worked. When it came time, I was just monkey…

The make-up we wear should reflect how we feel, which is why the simple yet impactful application of lipstick spells fresh beginnings befitting of a new season. There’s elegance in even the loudest Hermès lipstick shades, while muted lips give way to a bold and brilliant take on eyes and cheeks. This is elevated summer colour that signals a change of pace, cool confidence and the start of something new. CL ASSICALLY TRAINED It’s a summer mainstay for good reason: brushed up brows, a swipe of highlighter and your go-to rouge lip shade will see you through the hottest season and beyond. BAL ANCING ACT Ocean-inspired hues run rings around eyes, while Hermès’s Satin Lipstick in Rose Dakar is the new team player of your make-up kit. GRAPHIC ART Geometric…

GIVE THE GIFT of good hair this Christmas” was the subject line of an email that landed in my inbox. For most, the term “good hair” is an innocent concept: speaking to the universal, if subjective, desire to have hair that looks good all day every day. For the black community, however, it is not so innocuous. Rather, it is intrinsically tied to race, and the pernicious idea that black hair textures that are closer to white hair textures are “good” and therefore superior. Award-winning hairstylist Charlotte Mensah (whose client list includes Zadie Smith and Janelle Monáe) recently added the title of author to her repertoire and with the publication of Good Hair: The Essential Guide to Afro, Textured and Curly Hair , Mensah hopes to rewrite the narrative around…

BRIGHT SPOT The Sydney Opera House’s Yallamundi Rooms were the perfect setting for the Vogue Codes In Conversation Breakfast presented by Audi. Not merely for the views but also for the fact that the newly opened space echoed the themes of the discussion: Looking forward: change, resilience and optimism. After isolation, an audience buzzing with the novelty of human interaction couldn’t help but wonder whether the sunshine flooding the room was symbolic of the year to come. Hosted by Vogue deputy editor Jessica Montague, guests included Audi ambassador and veteran Channel 10 journalist Sandra Sully as well as author and entrepreneur Jodie Fox, co-founder of Shoes Of Prey. Topics raised included everything from dealing with imposter syndrome to the rewards of embracing failure. SHIFTING GEAR This year’s lockdown has forced…