Paige Hunter Blog

The Vogue Fashion Dubai Experience opened in one of the world’s largest malls recently, showcasing designs by a range of emerging talents from Africa to ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia.

Models wearing modern and edgy skirts, jackets, and dresses by eight international designers paraded on the catwalk in the Dubai mall, as shoppers watched.

“My line has two sides feminine that goes to edgy and boyish,” said Saudi designer Reem al-Kanhal who in 2009 launched her own ready-to-wear clothing and accessories label recognisable by its unusual cuts.

“I always challenge myself in doing something we don’t always see … simple but taken sometimes from our own tradition in the Arab world,” she told AFP before the show.

Kanhal herself was dressed in what looked like a traditional black abaya usually worn by women in the Gulf region, but with a funky design as well as several necklaces and rings.

However, unlike most designers in the Gulf, Kanhal designs Western-style clothing and has refused to limit her creativity to the abaya.

The designer who comes from a country which applies a strict version of Islamic sharia law and deprives women of various rights, including driving, says her abayas “are completely different but at the same time stylish and can be worn as outfits by non-Saudis.”

“This is what I make sure to do – change the traditional things that are for us alone and turn them into something global,” she said.

She has even created a “jumpsuit abaya” for herself, she said as she showed off a two-piece black scarf she wore over her chin-length bob.

“It’s more like a coat. If you wear it with pants in Paris or anywhere it’s so cool,” she said.

The young designer whose career started off as “challenging” in the kingdom before people began accepting it, insists that “it’s nice to mix modesty with femininity and beauty. I believe I can be modest but attractive.”

During the two-day event, the collections of 25 emerging designers from the Middle East, Asia and Africa will be evaluated by a panel of fashion experts, offering a chance to be showcased in Italy.

Among the new talents is Anita Quansah, a half-Ghanaian, half-Nigerian jewellery designer living in London who launched her brand in 2006.

“My designs speak for themselves,” she said. “My designs are opulent,” she added, blending in her African origins and Western background.

“I tried to bring in the two things I love most – my African background … and my love for creativity,” said Quansah, wearing a turban and a colourful necklace of her own design.

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While plenty of celebrities (Rihanna, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Kim Kardashian West, to name a few) and other women in the know have clamored to dot their lobes, wrap their wrists, and clasp their necks with the covetable and edgy jewelry of Jennifer Fisher since the line’s inception in 2005, it’s also the designer’s enviable personal style that has piqued plenty of attention. As sculptural and experimental as her own statement-piece jewelry, the 2012 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist and working mom documents all on her lively Instagram feed, including her rotating inventory of outfits as she navigates the whirlwind schedule of manning her New York City–based showroom and stores. With a shock of color, a play on proportion and pattern, plenty of wit, and a stack of her own rings, Fisher shows her slew of followers that, just as with her own accessories, she’s all about the details.

But as the stylist turned jewelry designer recently explained, it’s all about a great base of denim and heels that gets her through a hard day of work and to any of the events she attends afterward. Here, Fisher reveals her favorite blues, why Fashion Week allows her to really experiment with her style, and how her jewelry dictates her workday ensembles.

The Charm of the Jewelry Business

Becoming a jewelry designer was not planned. After being a stylist for more than 10 years I was used to making custom pieces for clients when I could not find what they wanted, or I wanted, in the market. After the birth of my son Shane I scoured every high-end designer store to find the perfect piece of jewelry to wear to represent my son, and when I couldn’t find what I was looking for I went out and made my own. At the time, I was working on set and the response was so incredible that I started making similar pieces for friends and family. There was so much demand for my charm necklace that I started my own website selling the charms, necklaces, and bracelets directly from my bedroom, filling orders whenever I was not on set. It turned out there were thousands of women and men looking for the same bespoke pieces of fine jewelry and my business was born.

Daily Routine

My typical workday begins after I drop my children off at school and I’m usually in the office by 9:00 a.m., unless there is an out-of-office meeting. My day is a mix of different responsibilities. I am always working with my in-house PR team on what items are being pulled for certain celebrities and magazines. I always weigh in on the pulls. Because of my earlier career, I am familiar with what stylists need on set, so I like to always add a few extra pieces in the mix. Then there is a production meeting so I can be updated on the status of my designs for outside projects, collaborations, and, of course, planning for the next season.

I always like to pop into the store space during client appointments to see what people are buying and what they would like to see added to the line—it’s the best way to gauge the marketplace and what direction we should be leaning in for the next season. I always try to design for at least two hours a day. We have many more pieces per season because of the brass and the fine line, so it’s necessary to keep up on both collections. These days I am attending dinners or events most nights, but I always run home after work to see my kids before I go out. I’m an avid cook, so I make most dinners for them and it gives us some time to spend together before I have to dash.

It’s All About That Bling-Bling

My workwear definitely changed with careers, but the shift was seamless. I have always been informal in dressing down designer pieces for day to night, so my wardrobe hasn’t changed much except I was a bit more L.A. when I started—now it’s moved into a more minimal New York feel. I always base my look off of the jewelry I want to wear for the day or night and go from there. I have noticed that over the last few seasons I have started to pull away from piling on so much jewelry, though. Lately I’m favoring one statement cuff and one finger stacked with multiple rings over a ton of jewelry everywhere.

I always rotate the fine jewelry I wear on a daily basis; for instance, I am constantly readjusting my signature charms onto different length chains. However, my go-to earrings are our diamond pin front and back earrings; they’re my favorite update to the daily diamond stud. I am also never without a stack of my customized burnished cuffs. I love to mix the fine jewelry with the brass jewelry. I’m loving the idea of the single statement earring right now, specifically my silver-plated brass version, as well as my Chaos collection from Spring 2016. One earring worn with an earcuff on the opposite ear and one finger with multiple stacked rings stacked is my favorite evening look right now.

A Denim Girl at Heart (and Work)

I love denim, so most days it’s denim for me, which ranges from either my favorite hand-painted pair from Trico Field to my long-cuffed wide-leg Chloé jeans to my high-waisted Gucci with gold military buttons, or my favorite Frame Denim Le Garcon high-waisted flares. I elevate them by wearing a Gucci or Chloé silk blouse. Adding one of those and a heel instantly changes the look and lets me go from day to night. I bought an amazing J.W.Anderson black-and-white velvet top, as well as a silver metallic top—these are my current two favorites for going out. With a pop of color from my new Loewe orange red wristlet, I’m good to go!

I’ve been adding knits from Tome and a red marketed knit from Balenciaga, which is my current fall favorite. I like knits that are chunky yet structured, which can sometimes be hard to find. I love this new Mira Mikati coat that the designer gifted me in Paris—it’s the perfect gray-green coat that has Hello and OMG in felt in multiple colors; it matches everything. I also purchased a few new Sacai jackets. I am a collector of Sacai—basically, anything Sacai goes in my closet. My jackets range from puffy bombers to leather and cotton army green swing coats. Also, The Row for simple black dresses, and Dries Van Noten and Marni for prints.

The Shoes, the Bags

I am never a flats girl—it’s just not my thing. If I have early meetings I will leave my house in heels and throw a pair of sneakers in my bag. For heels it’s all about Loewe, Céline, Chloé, and Vetements for fall. I just got the Loewe Column Ring ankle boots with the gray, white, and blue–striped toe and they are so comfortable and work day to night. I also keep a pair of Céline slides under my desk that are my work “slippers.” No matter what I’m wearing I always throw those on and off during the workday. I hate being formal at my desk, so changing is always a must. Sometimes I change in and out of an outfit a couple of times a day so I don’t have to sit in it! I have my own closet in the office that I hang everything in.

I always have a cross-body bag on me: It makes everything easier for days when I am on the move from morning until night. I have multiple colors of the Céline Cabas tote that I throw my laptop in, along with anything I need for the day. Right now, I’m loving the bright blue version. My new favorite is a Louis Vuitton that I picked up during Paris Fashion Week with silver hardware. I also keep multiple Edie Parker clutches at work—they double as bookshelf art for my office.

Beauty Lewks

In case I need to go to an impromptu dinner or event, I keep an extra cocktail dress and multiple pairs of shoes at the office! I also keep an extra set of all my makeup, plus a few good red lip options and beauty cleansing products at my office. Otherwise, my work beauty look is always clean and minimal. I use Chantecaille tinted moisturizer daily and Tatcha eye gel masks, regardless if I’ve been out the previous night. I hate the feeling of foundation or makeup on my skin while working, so my morning routine is very basic. Moisturizer, brows, done! I have eyelash extensions, which make you look more bright and awake instantly.

The Weekend Chill

I’m with my children all weekend shuffling them to their soccer and basketball games, so I need to be mobile. I tend to stick to sneakers during the day, wearing my Alexander McQueen version of the Stan Smiths, or the Adidas Originals I customized with gold backs. I love to use the weekends to experiment with fun sunglasses as they are one of my favorite accessories. Currently I have three pairs in rotation: my Illesteva collaboration Holly frames, Loewe, or the Céline bright orange red frames. Of course.

Fashion Week Is Another Story Altogether

Fashion Week is a time to play with clothing that I might not normally think of mixing. I always have a rack that I keep out in my dressing room with a week’s worth of options. I love to pull out old favorites and use new pieces: It’s almost like the “no fear” week and anything goes. Plus it’s a great excuse to purchase a few new pieces! I also always like to wear a beanie during Fashion Week—my favorites are from Marc Jacobs. I buy all the colors every season and even double up on a few of my favorites—inevitably one goes missing in a taxi or an Uber! I attended Spring 2016 London Fashion Week as an ambassador for Net-a-Porter’s The Net Set. As the only designer who is a member of their Style Council I was thrilled to have the opportunity to experience the collections in this way; I found the shows there incredibly inspiring. Christopher Kane, Emilia Wickstead, and Erdem were the highlights of the trip and opened me up to wanting to try and wear more floral and take more color risks for spring.

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“I remember the first time Topaz ever asked our little crew—me, Helena [Christensen], Michael Stipe, and a few other people—if we would decorate lunchboxes. She literally sent a lunchbox with a bunch of art supplies inside and we decorated them and they were auctioned off,” Liv Tyler said last night of her friend Topaz Page-Green, founder of The Lunchbox Fund, at the charitable organization’s 10th anniversary benefit dinner hosted by Prada.

Years later, that same “little crew” of dedicated friends still turns out every year to support Page-Green and her mission to end childhood hunger in South Africa. Last night’s crowd at Gabriel Kreuther’s eponymous new Midtown restaurant included Stipe, Spike Jonze, Olivia Wilde, and Chuck Close. Tyler, who was about to start filming a movie Tuesday morning with Trudie Styler (Styler’s husband, Sting, and daughter, Mickey Sumner, were both on hand for the event), said, “It’s kind of crazy to be this dressed up tonight [in Valentino] and then be playing a cop in the morning—I have been walking around the house with my gun belt on.”

Page-Green, in Prada, was grateful for her pals’ endless support. “They are such a fabulous group of friends, and we couldn’t be doing it without them,” she said, noting that The Lunchbox Fund will be reaching 15,000 kids per day by the end of this year. “But I always want to be further, so wherever I am is never enough.” Her goal for 2017? To reach 50,000 kids per day by the end of that year. To help her reach those goals, she enlisted top artists like Dustin Yellin, Tara Donovan, and Bob Gruen to donate pieces for this year’s silent auction via Paddle8 (ending November 9). “The Jonas Wood and Bob Gruen pieces sold before they even went to market!” said Page-Green.

After placing their bids with the iPads on hand and sipping on blood-orange cosmopolitan cocktails, the crowd rendezvoused at the tables for the four-course meal by Kreuther. Think Long Island duck, artichoke soup, baked dorade royale, and apricot pistachio petit beurre to close out the meal. “We opened about four months ago, and we are very pleased with how things are going,” said Kreuther, who already earned a Michelin star for the restaurant in September. “When I heard about tonight’s cause and did a little digging, I definitely wanted to be involved. It’s nice when people want to change things for the better.”

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"It was like a love affair," says fashion's designer du jour, Alessandro Michele, of having just five days to throw together his first Gucci show and collection when he took over the label, in January.

"I was in love and I'm still in love. If someone gives you the opportunity to express something so beautiful in a very natural way, it's the best thing in the world. I didn't feel the pressure; I was not scared. The only mission was to make something beautiful that came with honesty."

Michele's revival of Gucci has been compelling. Ever since that menswear autumn-winter 2015 show, his stewardship has been a wonderful flurry of romance and eccentric maximalism: vivid colours and a fresh, quirky style created with playful retro codes. Jaunty berets, nerdy glasses, pleated skirts, silky blouses with bows tied at the neck, rich floral prints, lingerie, lamé and accessories that have become immediately iconic - namely, fur-lined slippers. The fashion set has fallen in love with his work hook, line and sinker.

Michele's own look is part bohemian artist, part 1970s flower child. His long dark hair is loose and he's wearing a silky, patterned neckerchief, a red and white striped top and rings from his vast antique collection on almost every finger. He's beaming and chatting passionately at speed with Italian flourish. There's something innocent and playful about this bearded 42-year-old.

The designer is in Shanghai. As he speaks, he glances out of the window of his Puli Hotel suite at the structures of glass and metal changing colour as the sun starts to set over Jingan, the city's commercial centre. It's been three years since his last visit, says Michele.

"There is something in Shanghai that is very exciting and alive - the idea of a city with two different souls, one from today and another from a long time ago is amazing. Here you have a fruit salad of every kind of architecture; it's really unique, all together it makes for something unbelievable.

"And Hong Kong, wow, that's completely another world."

He and the Gucci team are in China for the opening of an exhibition called "No Longer/Not Yet" at Shanghai's Minsheng Art Museum (which will run until December 16). Curated by Michele and Katie Grand, editor of Love magazine and stylist extraordinaire, the exhibition presents the work of artists such as China's Cao Fei, American Jenny Holzer and the Briton known simply as Unskilled Worker, as well as fashion photographer Glen Luchford, who shot Gucci's latest campaign. All have explored the concept of "the contemporary".

TAKING ON GUCCIWAS NEVER going to be easy. When creative director Frida Giannini left the Italian house last December, her partner, then chief executive Patrizio di Marco, abruptly followed suit. Speculation about who would be trusted to take on one of fashion's most famous brands mounted.

When the new chief executive, Marco Bizzarri, invited the brand's head of accessories to helm the ship, Michele was thinking of exiting Gucci. Asked if he could do a show in one week, "I said, 'Why not?'" If it went badly, Michele thought, he could always leave.

"When I came out of the men's show [for the bow], I didn't understand or expect what was happening."

The audience was charmed by the debut. He had managed to make a statement and a significant departure from the past. The confidence and sophistication of Michele's following collections cemented Gucci as the industry's hot button.

The brand has a habit of tapping existing employees for the top job and, although not a big industry name, Michele, having joined in 2002, had worked under both Tom Ford and Giannini.

"Tom revived Gucci from an old Italian leather bag brand. He was really about the hedonism of the 90s and I loved that; it was completely contemporary," he says. "Frida did it more around the product and she tried to replicate Tom in a certain kind of way. I feel more connected with Tom just because I'm trying to do something that is about my vision."

Although Giannini managed some very pretty and commercial collections, she never projected the power Ford did during his tenure. The new vision for the label had to be a radical departure from her safe approach; it had to be a statement that captured people's imaginations.

The contemporary world is all about freedom, says Michele, and that translates into his flowing, feminine silhouettes and mix/match attitude to fashion. In an orgy of bright colours and layers, romantic prints such as Victorian wallpaper florals have been mashed up with tattoo-like snake and bee drawings. His generous, more-is-more aesthetic goes a long way without being too opulent or grandiose.

Michele's vision is eccentric, at times bordering on high-school nerd. Also coming through is a confident androgyny befitting 70s-referencing, flares-wearing, long-haired hippies and rock stars. Michele has not just created covetable outfits but a whole Gucci universe of unexpected relationships and contrast.

With so much focus on the bottom line these days, who can blame him for wanting to bring back fantasy and romance?

"If the industry stopped thinking that fashion is just a product, that would be much better," says Michele. "Because that's something that has happened in the past 10 years … and it can destroy fashion."

Like him, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli, of Valentino, and Mulberry's Johnny Coca are designers with an accessories background who have made it to the top of a big fashion brand, and, Michele believes, it is an innate love of objects that translates well into a unique, sophisticated way of working with clothes.

BORN AND RAISED IN ROME, Michele's mother and her twin sister worked in the movie industry, and he initially wanted to be a costume designer for films.

"My mum was obsessed with dress … so, in my house, there was always the obsession about aesthetics. She was obsessed with the idea that a beautiful movie is the one where you're so involved you won't go to the toilet during it or you'll fall asleep with your make-up on after."

After studying at the Accademia di Costume e di Moda, in the Italian capital, Michele was looking for work in an opera costume department when he received a job offer from Bologna, in the north of the country.

"There, I started to work in fashion just because I needed a job; it was the 90s and a super glamorous period of fashion in [nearby] Milan. I was very excited."

Soon he was making accessories at Fendi, where he worked under Karl Lagerfeld and began to understand how "fashion was a big expression of the aesthetic world".

The world of make believe and a cinematic sensibility learned in childhood inspire Michele's shows - from the expressive styling of each outfit to the music, space and interior of the venue. But, although his mother favoured classic perfection - those Hollywood movie stars of the 50s - he has embraced the notion that the most beautiful things come when rules are broken, hence the gender ambiguity introduced to the brand: men wearing floral bows and blouses with their hair long; women in tuxedos and boxy boyfriend jackets.

"There is something special about the beauty in the unclear, the ambiguity, the in between that you can't totally recognise," Michele says. "It's not just about blurring genders, it's when things are not exactly what you think. Who wants rules now? Nobody! Especially not women."

Having lived in Rome for most of his life, it's little wonder Michele is a champion of the romantic and historical. The city's imposing beauty moves even the most stoic of artists. There is something about the symmetry of the buildings and the influence of symmetry in European art that resonates deeply, he says.

"I grew up with this kind of language. I kept the idea that everything is possible, like in a Fellini movie; if you have something that's in your dream, it could become real or just stay a fantasy. The idea of my fashion shows is that you can't understand where you are, it's something surreal."

This partly explains how so many people have called Michele's Gucci "fresh" and "radical", despite much of his design language being infused with retro codes. How can parts that are so familiar create something so contemporary?

"It's not easy to explain," he says. "I use some codes from the past. I'm not interested about the rules. I'm not interested to talk about the future, because it doesn't exist yet. Sometimes, in design, people are obsessed with the future and what is 'modern'. Modern for me is a vintage world, because modernity is a really old way to look at the future."

It's beginning to get dark and Michele is on a roll, becoming impassioned with his discourse about modernity, temporality and the nature of "now". He is insistent that he makes the distinction between what is considered modernist and governed by rules, and what he views as contemporary - a playground where past and present, here and there, can intermingle.

"I think that in fashion, people are sometimes really scared to say that they are inspired by something that came from the past or another culture, because they're afraid that they are not modern enough."

At Gucci, these theories have resulted in subversive geek chic with almost grandmotherly cardigans and mid-shin skirts rubbing up alongside scandalous slip dresses made entirely of lace. A model appears almost naked but will be styled in 60s cat-eye glasses and a woollen hat or headband. Sex appeal at Gucci no longer takes the form of the aggressive raciness we've come to expect.

"I love sexiness but in a different way. I love the body of women. The bodies of women are a masterpiece the way they are. I'm not scared about naked women because the paintings of Botticelli are naked, it just depends how you [present them]."

Michele then goes off on a tangent, discussing a Eurasian model from Paris that he was obsessed with when she was in his show, before admitting he also has a thing for blondes ("probably because I'm Italian!"). Beauty is about soul, not just perfect proportions, he says.

High fashion has traditionally come with a reverence of the designer, up in their ivory tower. That approach has helped to build the perceived infallibility of luxury labels. To Michele, though, that is "an old way of seeing the world".

"I need to be happy in life and if I love to talk with people, I wanna talk," he says. "I can't express nothing if I can't talk to people."

After the New York presentation of Gucci's Cruise 2016 show in June, Michele invited all 300 audience members back to the dressing room areas for breakfast. There was no cordoned off VIP area or protective entourage; he was running around speaking to press, clients and industry friends for hours.

"Maybe it's a new attitude," he shrugs, "but it's just me. I don't want to work with something that doesn't represent me. It's easier if you are just yourself. I want to connect. Who loves to stay alone?

"If Obama is not like this, and the Pope is not like this, can designers really be like this? I don't think so. I love this Pope because you can see he's really a person, and there's nothing more beautiful in the world than that.

"This is something about love. I don't want to force myself to be another way. I don't need to be a celebrity, I'm not a celebrity. I am a person who works in fashion and that's it."

In an industry known for stressful, stereotypical bitchiness and uptight attitudes (whether real or imagined), Michele's natural serenity seems otherworldly. How does the man stay so calm in the midst of such a powerful storm?

"Well, [an open, friendly approach] is easier; for me also," he laughs, "maybe that's why I don't feel the same kind of pressure."

Zendaya is the latest celebrity to speak out in defense of a woman’s real body. Last night, the 19-year-old Disney star took to Instagram to express her shock at a heavily Photoshopped image of her published in a recent magazine editorial. “These are the things that make women self-conscious, that create the unrealistic ideals of beauty that we have,” wrote the singer, who posted the retouched photograph directly alongside the unedited version in her feed. “Anyone who knows who I am knows I stand for honest and pure self-love. So I took it upon myself to release the real pic and I love it.” (For the record, we think she looks better in the unretouched photo as well.)

This isn’t the first time Zendaya has had to defend her looks on Instagram. After Giuliana Rancic criticized her for wearing dreadlocks to the Oscars, saying, “I feel like she smells like patchouli oil,” Zendaya wrote a response to Rancic’s disrespectful comments. “My wearing my hair in locs on an Oscar red carpet was to showcase them in a positive light, to remind people of color that our hair is good enough,” she wrote. “To me locs are a symbol of strength and beauty.” You could say the same thing about Zendaya, who has become an increasingly powerful voice on the importance of self-confidence. Her model behavior even inspired Mattel to issue a collectible Barbie doll modeled after her much-discussed Oscar look.

Zendaya’s defense of her natural curves arrives on the heels of Gigi Hadid’s impassioned Instagram post against online body-shamers, who claimed Hadid wasn’t high-fashion material. “Yes, I have boobs, I have abs, I have a butt, I have thighs,” she wrote. “If I didn’t have the body I do, I wouldn’t have the career I do. I love that I can be sexy. I’m proud of it.” Both of their comments are part of a larger movement embracing authenticity and body realness that’s quickly gathering steam in fashion, Hollywood, and sports.

This summer, Serena Williams shrugged off criticism from a New York Times writer that she lacked a feminine physique by wearing figure-flattering dresses off the court and posting images of herself in a bikini on Twitter. During a panel at this year’s Comic-Con, Jennifer Lawrence revealed she constantly ignored pleas to lose weight back when she was starting off in her career. Even Lorde has felt compelled to address a retouched image of her face while onstage. “Remember flaws are ok,” the singer tweeted at her millions of followers, along with an un-Photoshopped image of herself while performing.

And just this past Paris Fashion Week, Alexander Wang cast his final Balenciaga show with a handful of non-model friends, including Zoë Kravitz, Bella Heathcote, Nicola Peltz, and Riley Keough. While these actresses, of course, have enviable figures, their bodies are noticeably different from those that are usually seen on the catwalk. Here’s hoping that Wang’s embrace of a more diverse body type becomes as universal as his trend-setting designs.

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I am an ardent royal-watcher and Kate Middleton aficionada. (“Freak” may be more apt—I own a QVC replica of her engagement ring.) So Broadway’s new “future history play” is a fever dream come true. Like royal fan-fic unfolding onstage, King Charles III imagines the chaos that might upend the royal family after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, ushering the audience behind Buckingham Palace walls with portrayals of Charles, Camilla, William, Harry, Kate—and, yes, the ghost of Diana—that are so brilliant, they border on eerie.

But the play, which premieres on Broadway on November 1 after a successful, Olivier Award–winning run on London’s West End, is captivating even for those who don’t know Kate Middleton’s preferred brand of nude heel. At once political, chilling, funny, and self-aware, the play is Shakespeare (even written in iambic pentameter) with a dash of The Daily Mail.

A shiny gem (a sizable sapphire, specifically) among the cast is Lydia Wilson, the 31-year-old British actress who positively nails the role of Kate Middleton, from the voluminous shampoo-commercial hair to the stately side-eye. But Wilson and playwright Mike Bartlett don’t stop there: Their iteration of Kate Middleton is far more brains than beauty, a stealth feminist hero and the intelligence behind the Kensington Palace operation. Vogue spoke with Wilson about channeling the Duchess—and that controversial Diana ghost.

You captured the essence of Kate Middleton so well, it’s almost eerie. How did you prepare?

Wow. My first thought when you say that is that a huge amount of it happens in that magical place in the audience’s imagination. Because these people are so in our cultural DNA, I feel like we as actors just do enough to give the audience’s imagination permission to project onto it. In terms of technical stuff, I’ve gotten to watch the few but really fascinating times that she’s spoken in public. I usually wear these massive high heels that are the same brand that she wears. And then there’s just a few mannerisms, like how she touches her ring finger over her other hand. I look at a picture of her sometimes before going onstage, and then I just sign over to her. Sometimes I really do feel like her, that she kind of comes through from somewhere.

In watching those interviews, what struck you the most about her?

The thing I keep chasing is this sense of grace that radiates out of her. I was just watching again this morning, her wedding vows and one of her interviews, and my instinct is that she’s just thoroughly good and kind. That’s the quality that I find really lovely to have, sort of, to keep me company. That’s something that was also confirmed when I spoke to a friend of mine who was in the year below Kate at school. Kate was assigned to look after her when she joined the school, and Kate and her whole family would apparently go to all my friend’s plays and concerts. She said the headline is that they were a really, really ethical family who believed in the power of being kind.

I want to get this out of the way and I don’t want this to be the focus of our conversation, but you really nail her hair. How is that achieved?

Oh, my God, you made my day, because they emailed this morning about hair and whether we need to cut it and this and that, and I’m really happy to hear that it looks good. We put it in rollers before the show, and then again at the end we put it back in rollers to maintain the bounce. My hair hangs kind of limply, but once the wizards backstage get their hands on it—there it is. We’re chasing the big curl, and there are many conversations going back and forth. But I’m so happy that it’s reading.

So I’m not the only crazy person to ask about it?

Oh, God, it’s the obsession. I remember when I did it in London, other actors would pass messages from their phones and be like, “So-and-so was in here the other night and they just want to know: Is it all your own hair?” It’s all my own hair.

You’re British. How did you feel about Kate Middleton and the royals coming in to this play?

It’s been an awakening. I don’t think that I ever had any negative emotions toward them, but I wouldn’t say that I had many emotions at all toward them. I suppose that, intellectually and politically, I found it to be a bit of a hypocrisy, having equality between all peoples and then having this hierarchy. But it didn’t impact my life at all. With Kate, I had a feeling of “I just wouldn’t have wanted that for my life,” so I didn’t quite understand her. Growing up—I’m pretty much the same age as her—I had my own hopes and dreams, and they didn’t tally with hers. I never wanted to dress up as a princess. I used to paint myself red and dress up as a monster.

This iteration of Kate Middleton that you bring to life is a shrewd political operative. She’s the brains behind the royal operation. Do you think any of that could be true? Might she be a secret feminist icon?

I read a Newsweek Europe article or something that said that in charity board meetings or planning events, she is very vocal. And it’s consistent with her family, who are self-made business people, and her mother, who I’m sure is extremely creative, because she created this multimillion-pound business from her kitchen table. So I’m sure that Kate’s grown up with that sense of can-do and sense of industry. I don’t know whether she’s exactly the flavor of operator that we’ve created in the play, but I think that woman has brains. I love her stamina and grounded-ness in order to cope with the strange job she has.

You do a very affecting soliloquy in which Kate says that the public underestimates her. It alludes to the fact that there is painstaking attention paid to her every outfit and every cut of her bangs, but nothing deeper. How do you feel about the scrutiny she receives?

I feel like in our interpretation, those things, her image, become an extremely useful mask. She is the alpha operator that is pulling the puppet strings behind the mask, and she has that very shrewd awareness that contemporary culture is about images—simple, readable silhouettes that gather eyeballs, because they are captivating, and therefore gather power. Choices can be made about how to use that power once you have people’s attention. It’s been an interesting exercise in thinking about how brands work.

Do you have any sense of feedback from Kate Middleton or any of the royals on what she might think of the play and your performance?

Oh, man, not a peep. I’m pretty sure that for legal reasons, someone from the Palace would have had to come and check it out under the radar when we first did it in London. But no direct feedback, which I guess is very consistent with their brand, which is, “Say nothing. Let all this heat wash over and just remain constant.” And then, I think, they triumph over whatever impressions other people put out there of them. But I do worry. I feel bad sometimes.

Why?

I don’t know—they’re alive and well. There’s a kind of hubris or something about it. But at the same time, I also feel like the queen’s face is on all the money, and it’s not the queen, it’s her image. And that’s what we’re doing. We’re just riffing with their images rather than in any way trying to rip them off or betray them.

There is a Diana ghost in the play. Do you think that’s tasteful?

Well, I think that is the most controversial aspect about it. I quite like that we have an ambiguous female figure who is able to manipulate, dramaturgically, the men. She’s like an oracle, and she gives the same reading to both the King and William: “You’ll be the greatest King we ever had.” And I kind of enjoy that she’s this specter that haunts their conscience and they both conjure her. I have such love for Diana, and when she died, I was completely devastated. I don’t feel it’s disrespectful, actually. I also like how it’s a Shakespearean trope, having a ghost. But I do know that other people have been disturbed by it.

It seems the actress who plays the Diana ghost, Sally Scott, did so much work to capture her. The tenor of [Scott’s] voice and the way she walked, sweeping her foot along the floor, felt so real.

I watched her do that in a run-through a couple weeks ago, and I got complete shivers up and down my body because there was a moment when I really felt that the actual Diana kind of flickered into the room for a minute. It was really chilling.

How do you think Americans will receive the play compared with Britons?

I felt on the very first night, the first preview that we did here, that there was an uncomplicated, intelligent generosity toward the play, whereas in England I felt somewhat more on trial—guilty until proven innocent. But Americans seem to have curiosity and, I felt, lots of goodwill, toward [the royals]. I hate to generalize, but it’s a very, very pleasurable experience doing it for an American audience, and it made me realize by contrast what a complicated evening it was in England. If it were done about a family that America is very directly invested in, like the Obamas or the Clintons, maybe it would be a very complicated evening here.

You’ve had friends in common [with Kate]. You’re both British. You could meet Kate some day. What would you say to her?

Oh, man, I wonder. I think I’d talk really, really quietly and just let her talk. I think I’ve done enough of the talking for her.

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Selena Gomez has come a long way since her Disney Channel days, and as her new album, Revival, climbs the charts, her personal style is on the rise, too. With a little help from her stylist, Kate Young, the 23-year-old singer has been honing a more sophisticated sensibility; the custom slip dresses she’s worn by Atea Oceanie and Vionnet were right in line with the bedroom dressing trend we saw on the runways for Spring 2016.

“We’ve had a clear vision of what we wanted to do together from the beginning,” says Young, who started working with Gomez a little over a year ago. “There’s an overall mood that we’re going for which is young, modern, clean, and sexy without ever being fussy.” The Saint Laurent jumpsuit Gomez wore to the Teen Choice Awards in 2014 marked the first time the pair collaborated, and the pop star has been moving in a more grown-up, feminine direction ever since. “The clothes are effortless, and there’s a lot of American sportswear influence,” says Young.

That aesthetic has definitely come through in Gomez’s most recent fashion choices: monochromatic separates from Michael Kors Collection (all clean lines and elegance), ribbed knit dresses from Kenzo, and body-skimming frocks from David Koma. “It’s fun because everything looks good on her,” says Young. “She’s had so many appearances, so there were lots of opportunities for different looks.” And it’s true that lately Gomez has been upping the ante with her outfit changes, ranging from Tory Burch classics to fashion-forward ensembles from J.W.Anderson—her personal record, thus far, is five in one day.

“I think it’s her youthful spirit which is what makes her open to fashion-forward concepts,” says Young. Other up-and-comers on the singer’s radar are L.A.-based design duo Co and Monse, the new line by Oscar de la Renta alumni Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia. And given that Gomez is focused on elevating her style, her shoe wardrobe has followed suit. “Christian Classen, who works with me and traveled with Selena to Europe, didn’t let her wear flats once,” says Young. “I’m glad he was there because I’m not that tough!” As the singer’s schedule ramps up toward the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show next month, does Young have any hints as to what she’ll be wearing next? “I can’t tell!” In any case, we’re sure she’ll hit all the right notes.

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A lost diamond jewellery collection designed by Coco Chanel in 1932 has been recreated and forms the dazzling centrepiece of a Chanel exhibition that opened this week at the Saatchi Gallery in London, and will travel to Hong Kong next spring.

The Comète and Franges necklaces and the Soleil brooch are precise recreations of the only collection of high jewellery that Coco Chanel ever designed, the Bijoux de Diamants. The jewellery, which Julianne Moore, Lara Stone, Rita Ora, Vanessa Paradis and other celebrity ambassadors of the house wore in the exclusive casino scene at Chanel’s haute couture show in July, is now available to order.

This glamorous mix of Hollywood and music celebrities were among the guests at the preview party Chanel hosted for the exhibition, which invites the visitor into the heart of the creative process of the couture house. “Mademoiselle Privé” tells the story of the three enduring pillars of the house: the haute couture, the high jewellery and Chanel No. 5.

Like the fashion shows, the exhibition is a lavish production opening with a specially planted English garden, leading to rooms that recreate the splendours of Paris' Rue Cambon. Visitors are introduced to Coco Chanel the milliner who became a couturier. There are early images of Coco herself sailing and salmon fishing in her fabulous Scottish tweeds and an installation of artworks from Chanel's spring/summer 14 ready-to-wear collection featuring the house totems: the lucky numbers (she was very superstitious), the wheat, the camellias and the colour red.

A maze of hanging fabrics from the collections, available to touch, is combined with a series of film clips from the Chanel atelier and workshops showing artisans creating the famous embroideries, flowers and feather trims. The iconic No. 5 is represented by a quirky installation of giant cauldrons filled with the various scented liquids like jasmine and rose that make the fragrance.

At the heart of the exhibition are the diamonds sparkling on the dresses worn by the celebrities at the haute couture show, and posing for Karl Lagerfeld in a gallery of his photographs. There is Julianne Moore wearing the Comète necklace and Kristen Stewart wearing a Moi et Toi ring.

A smartphone app makes the exhibition spring to life with words from Geraldine Chaplin, who has portrayed Coco Chanel on film. There is also a hilarious short film showing Chaplin as the ghost of Chanel having a lively argument with Lagerfeld about who has made the house what it is today.

“I’m keeping you alive,” protests Lagerfeld. “After you left, the image of Chanel was not great. It was very limited, what you left behind.”

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The curtain will go up in the main fashion week in Indonesia and the largest in Southeast Asia, Jakarta Fashion Week 2016, on October 24 at Senayan City, Jakarta. The Fashion Week will be a landmark for Indonesian fashion, in which hundreds of Indonesian and foreign designers, including designers from Japan, Thailand, and South Korea, will celebrate and showcase their best work, with full international coverage.

In its eighth year, Jakarta Fashion Week is receiving full support from Senayan City, a complex dedicated to high-end shopping in Jakarta. Svida Alisjahbana, CEO of Femina Group & Chairman of Jakarta Fashion Week 2016, expressed gratitude to Senayan City for their support of JFW 2016, "Support from Senayan City is very meaningful to Jakarta Fashion Week as Senayan City is a premium shopping destination that represents high-end boutiques from Italy and France, as well as various other fashion brands from around the world.

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"With the convening of JFW 2016 in Senayan City, Jakarta Fashion Week will have a value comparable to the fashion brands stationed there, and this is something that is very encouraging. It is time to introduce Indonesian fashion labels to the public so that they can understand and love the creativity apparent in our local products that is no less great than those in the products of international brands."

Veri Y. Setiady, CEO of Senayan City said, "For the third time, Senayan City warmly welcomes the presence of Jakarta Fashion Week as a barometer, and a means of welcoming new fashion trends in our homeland. Along with the celebration of Senayan City 9 Infinite Years, Senayan City will present an exclusive collaboration entitled Capsule Collection F/W 2015 which will feature designers DanjyoHiyoji, KLE, and Hunting Fields, with creations made specifically for JFW 2016. The Capsule Collection F/W 2015 and TIKprive X Stella Rissafashion show will present at the Fashion Tent in JFW 2016 on October 29."

Senayan City will also present fashion shows featuring the latest collections from tenant brands, such as Bebe, Promod, and Debenhams.

Supporting the fashion industry in Indonesia, Jakarta Fashion Week is also sponsored by the National Craft Council / Dewan Kerajinan Daerah (Dekranasda) DKI Jakarta. "The collaboration between Jakarta Fashion Week and Dekranasda DKI Jakarta is a journey we've been taking for years. Together with Jakarta Fashion Week, Dekranasda aims to hone the creativity of members who have the talent and desire to move forward and expand worldwide," said Svida.

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Ricky and Kate Wallace had a perfect day for their wedding, spending time with the people they love the most.

We'll let Kate fill you in on the details...

How did you meet? We met through a mutual friend 11 years ago back when we were both still at school. We started chatting and the rest is history.

Tell us about the proposal: After nine and a half years together, Ricky decided that the time was right and he had to think of some way to buy a ring without my knowledge, so he roped in my sister Lara to help. The ring arrived and he visited my dad at work to ask for his approval.

We had friends coming over for a champagne breakfast before we went to the races one Saturday, so Ricky took this opportunity to drop down onto one knee before the guests arrived. The rest of the day is a blur of excitement.

Location of wedding: We had the ceremony and reception at Housekeepers Function Room in Oamaru. It is such an incredible venue and the staff were more than accommodating to make our day as special as it was.

Describe your wedding day: Our wedding day was out of this world. It was more than we could both ever have imagined. We started the day getting ready in anticipation of our sneak peek followed by photos and then onto the wedding ceremony and reception. Our day was spent surrounded by our family and friends with the most incredible weather.

Doing our photos prior to the ceremony meant we had more time with our guests, given a lot of them had travelled to be with us, and we were a lot more calm than we would otherwise have been.

The dress: My dress came from Astra Bridal and was a Maggie Soterro full lace gown. It was strapless initially so I had my dressmaker add lace onto it to create a top.

The flowers: The bridal party bouquets and the arbor were created by Cristy at Housekeeper Blooms. We gave Cristy some examples of what we liked and left it up to her. What we received exceeded our expectations.

The flowers we used for table decorations were picked from family and friends' gardens around town and bottled with the help of friends and family. We had collected vases and bottles for months.

Highlight of the wedding: Everything about the day was a highlight for us. The biggest thing for us was that we got to spend the most incredible day of our lives with our closest family and friends.

Instead of a flower girl, my Granny was a part in our day as our flower Granny. She did an incredible job and it was so special that she could be involved in our wedding in such a big way.

Was there any drama? Everything went to plan and the months of hard work put into planning definitely paid off. The only minor hiccup we had was ordering the extra lace for my dress. After waiting months for it to arrive we were told that it could not be sourced and so the hunt for matching lace began. Our dressmaker worked wonders and picked lace off a jacket and sewed it onto the dress. She did an incredible job.

The honeymoon: We had a minimoon with a few friends to Bali a month after the wedding but we are yet to go on our honeymoon. The early stages of planning are in the pipeline and we hope to visit Europe next year to see my sister.

Your photographer and favourite photo? Our photographer was the amazing Rachel Wybrow from Rachel Wybrow Photography. She worked wonders for us and produced some incredible shots. It is too hard to pick a favourite photo but a few of our favourites are in the New Zealand Whiskey Company's building, by the harbour and having a picnic in the woods.

We also had Kara from Kara Jane Visuals video our day for us and she has done an outstanding job. We love watching it over and over again.

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