Table of contents for April 2021 in Harper's Bazaar

As we begin to imagine our post-pandemic lives, the idea of reinvention has never been more relevant: Who do we want to be when we emerge? What parts of us do we want to leave behind? What hard-earned lessons will we take with us? Throughout this issue, we explore the theme of reinvention, starting with Jane Fonda on our cover. In so many ways, the legendary actor and activist embodies it, having redefined the concept of celebrity. Fonda—photographed in black-and-white by Mario Sorrenti, and styled in sequins and sheer looks—is stronger and sexier than ever. She opens up to Durga Chew-Bose with astonishing candor about her past relationships (and how she became different versions of herself to fit them), her path to activism, and her thoughts on (and regrets about)…

ALEXANDER FURY WRITER: “Fendi’s New Renaissance Man” Page 110 “Isn’t putting on clothes every day a reinvention? Whenever we change outfits, we semaphore a new sense of self. That said, I’ve also been forcibly ‘reinvented’ thanks to the necessities of lockdown—namely via an array of at-home haircuts.” SHANIQWA JARVIS PHOTOGRAPHER: “Rites of Spring” Page 122 “The last time I reinvented myself was in my dreams last night.” CAMILLE BIDAULT-WADDINGTON STYLIST: “Fendi’s New Renaissance Man” Page 110 “I reinvented myself when I moved from Paris to London in 1998. My English was okay but not totally fluent, so I had to be more clear, succinct, and simple in my words. I also loved the fact that nobody really knew me, so I could not be classified by my used words, accent,…

Spring forward in a ROSE-GOLD timepiece with a DIAMOND-encrusted case…

THE PEOPLE AND IDEAS SHAPING THE CULTURE The DESIGNER and the ORGANIZER on REINVENTING SPACES, the importance of BEING RELENTLESS, and BUILDING creative BRIDGES LAST SUMMER, ON JUNETEENTH, ONE OF OFF-WHITE FOUNDER VIRGIL ABLOH’S FRIENDS TEXTED HIM A VIDEO CLIP OF TRINICE McNALLY, A BLACK QUEER FEMINIST ORGANIZER. SHE WAS BEING INTERVIEWED ON CNN AT THE DEFEND BLACK WOMEN MARCH IN WASHINGTON, D.C., WEARING A MACHETE—A CARIBBEAN SYMBOL OF RESISTANCE—STRAPPED TO HER CHEST WITH AN OFF-WHITE BELT. Abloh DM’ed her, initiating a friendship between McNally, who is the founding director of the Center for Diversity, Inclusion & Multicultural Affairs at the University of the District of Columbia, and the designer, who is also the artistic director of Louis Vuitton menswear. Abloh is one of the world’s most prolific collaborators, having…

WITH ITS TWEEDS, TIES, POCKET SQUARES, AND OFTEN ARCANE RULES ABOUT EVERYTHING FROM LAPEL SHAPES TO THE APPROPRIATE WEIGHT FOR SHIRT FABRIC, THE WORLD OF MENSWEAR HAS BEEN SLOW TO EMBRACE CHANGE. It wasn’t until 2017 that Emily Adams Bode became the first female designer to present a menswear collection at New York Fashion Week. She adhered to parts of the conventional male dress code while eschewing its fussiness, presenting tailored options made from upcycled quilts and finished with intricate embroideries that infused workwear silhouettes with feminine handcraft traditions. Although the collection got picked up by a number of top retailers, Bode initially found its reception by certain establishment gatekeepers less than welcoming. “There was this group of boys who went to Pitti together,” she recalls, referring to Pitti Uomo,…

IF MASCARA HAS BEEN YOUR MAKEUP MVP OVER THE PAST YEAR, YOU’RE NOT ALONE. “DURING THIS TIME OF MASKING UP, OUR EYES ARE THE ONLY FEATURE WE CAN SHOWCASE WITH MAKEUP AND EXPRESS OURSELVES,” SAYS MAKEUP ARTIST PORSCHE COOPER. Plus, nothing works harder than a swipe of mascara before a Zoom call. “I’ve yet to meet anyone who didn’t feel that a few coats didn’t lift their mood and raise their confidence,” says makeup artist Jo Baker. But for such a universal product, everyone has their own list of specs. Some prefer mascaras labeled “clean,” with ingredients that read like an Erewhon grocery list. Other people want mascaras that make lashes so long, they’ll practically swat their glasses. Then there are new formulas that promise all that and more, like…

Play it cool in RELAXED TAILORING, TEXTURED KNITS, and easy-to-wear SHEER STAPLES MODEL: KYLA RAMSEY; HAIR: LACY REDWAY; MAKEUP: RAISA FLOWERS; MANICURE: AJA WALTON FOR ESSIE; PRODUCTION: CARMELLA RE; SET DESIGN: PETER KLEIN. SEE WHERE TO BUY FOR SHOPPING DETAILS.…

WHEN CECIL BEATON PHOTOGRAPHED MY FAIR LADY STAR AUDREY HEPBURN for Harper’s Bazaar’s April 1964 issue, in costumes from the film that he had designed, she was at the peak of her powers. In the 1950s and ’60s, Hepburn had starred in a run of big movies, like Roman Holiday, Sabrina, Funny Face, and Breakfast at Tiffany’s, that made her one of the most bankable (and fashionable) women in Hollywood. But My Fair Lady, which tells the story of the precarious reinvention of Hepburn’s Eliza Doolittle, who goes from selling flowers on the streets of London to milling about the exclusive upper reaches of British society, would also mark a turning point for her. Over the next three decades, Hepburn would act only periodically, choosing instead to focus on her…

“I AM VERY EASILY BORED—I CRAVE CHANGE AND CREATION,” says singer-songwriter Finneas O’Connell, who performs as FINNEAS and who fittingly curated a playlist around this issue’s theme of reinvention. Before jump-starting his solo career in 2019, O’Connell rose to fame producing and co-writing Grammy Award–winning tracks for his younger sister, Billie Eilish, and also fronted Los Angeles pop ’n’ roll band the Slightlys. “It’s been a process of reinvention through trying to articulate what I really want to convey through my music,” he reveals. For his song selects, O’Connell included Frank Ocean’s “Chanel,” explaining, “It wasn’t more of what we got on [his previous album] Blonde, it was a totally different approach”; “Viva La Vida,” by Coldplay, a band that “has never stopped reinventing itself”; “Big Jet Plane,” by Angus…

Hit a HOME RUN in a POLISHED BLOUSE paired with a SPORTY HAT…

MY MOM BEGAN BAKING DURING QUARANTINE LIKE THE REST OF US BASIC BITCHES, BUT SHE DECIDED TO EXPERIMENT WITH GLUTEN-FREE SEED BREADS. She asked for various bags of strange seeds, which I sent her, my brother and I rolling our eyes on FaceTime as she showed us her earthy loaves. She asked for reusable water bottles that would keep her beverages cold and sent pictures of them filled with water and chia seeds at the bottom like little soot sprites, or alien seedlings, which is what we were called. Aliens. My parents migrated from Ecuador to America in the early 1990s, 18 months after they had me. They settled in New York, first in Brooklyn, then in Queens. They were both in their early 20s. They separated in 2019 after…

IT’S A QUIET AND TENDER SCENE TOWARD THE END OF JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH, DIRECTOR SHAKA KING’S FILM ABOUT 21-YEAR-OLD BLACK PANTHER LEADER FRED HAMPTON AND THE 1969 GOVERNMENT PLOT TO ASSASSINATE HIM, THAT LINGERS: Hampton’s pregnant fiancée, Deborah Johnson, recites a poem she’s written for him. Through tears, she sits on their bed, laying out what’s at stake for their unborn child and for the movement. “We scream and shout and we live by this anthem… But is power to the people, really worth the ransom?… Born pure to the blood, with the heart of a panther. No regrets… I know my answer.” Moments later, Hampton is killed in his sleep by police during a raid of his Chicago home. The camera stays focused on Johnson, who was…

BEFORE COVID-19, THE ADVICE FOR GETTING BETTER SLEEP WAS SIMPLE: CUT OUT ELECTRONICS BEFORE BEDTIME, AND LEARN TO LOVE CHAMOMILE TEA. But once the pandemic hit, we needed something stronger as our stress levels got higher. “With more people working from home for the first time ever, many are having difficulty figuring out where their workspace stops and their personal space starts,” says Michael Breus, a clinical psychologist in Los Angeles known as the Sleep Doctor. “If you’re not able to create clear delineations between the two, you’ll still be thinking about work when it’s time for rest.” We asked some of the world’s top docs how you can tweak both your day and evening routines for your best sleep ever. AVOID WORKING IN BED Your environment affects about 25…

You could say it began with a smoothie. In the summer of 2018, Jordan Younger, otherwise known as @thebalancedblonde (228,000 followers on Instagram), posted a “big anti-inflammatory cinnamon spirulina smoothie bowl” on her popular account. Pea-soup green and sprinkled with cinnamon, it beckoned to Caroline*, a 29-year-old PR representative based in Los Angeles, from her Popular page like a beacon of good health. Maybe this was the answer to the mysterious stomach ailments that had plagued her for years. “Her profile was like, ‘I tried eating this way, and it cured my lifelong stomach problems!’,” recalled Caroline. @thebalancedblonde’s perspective on traditional medicine—that it often overlooked root causes in favor of quick fixes and overmedication—resonated. But after a while Caroline started to notice that, in between dreamy shots of Younger’s Brentwood…

GREAT STYLE IS EASILY ACHIEVED with elevated fashion and beauty essentials. We collaborated with our favorite brands to create an updated edit of the classics you always reach for. Ballet flats, Breton sweaters, pearl jewelry, wide-tooth combs–discover our fresh take on these everyday staples. = BUY ON SHOPBAZAAR.COM…

“I saw him only once or twice a year on holidays, and year after year he transformed more and more into a man I hardly recognized.” @JENNAMETO IS AN OBSERVER. WHILE HER PEERS SPEND THEIR DAYS CURATING CONTENT, PERFECTING ANGLES, SHARING #MORNINGTHOUGHTS AND #GOODVIBESONLY, @JENNAMETO LIKES TO KEEP HER LIFE PRIVATE, HER FOLLOWERS TO A MINIMUM. In fact, she follows only one account, keeps but one digital window of interest across the world. @jennameto is my Instagram burner account. I created her about a year ago after my father got engaged to an Indonesian woman who, at 24, is seven years younger than me. Because I did not wish to possess any further insight into their relationship, my father and I stopped speaking. Subsequently, @jennameto was born because his fiancée’s…

SACAI X HANK WILLIS THOMAS SACAI DESIGNER CHITOSE ABE’S HYBRID PIECES OFTEN LOOK MORE LIKE CONCEPTUAL ART PROJECTS THAN ANYTHING THAT ADHERES TO TRADITIONAL DEFINITIONS OF CLOTHING. SO IT’S SOMEHOW FITTING THAT HER “LOVE OVER RULES” SPRING CAMPAIGN WAS SHOT WITH THE NOTION OF BREAKING BOUNDARIES IN MIND. Photographed by Emmanuel Sanchez-Monsalve, the portrait series takes its name from a 2017 neon installation by the Brooklyn-based artist Hank Willis Thomas—whose work focuses on themes related to identity, media, and popular culture—and features Thomas and his wife, curator Rujeko Hockley, alongside a number of other multidisciplinary (and multifaceted) creatives, including sustainability advocate and designer Céline Semaan, and artist and LGBTQ+ activist Chella Man. NATY ABASCAL: THE ETERNAL MUSE BY VICENTE GALLART BEFORE NATIVIDAD “NATY” ABASCAL BECAME AN INSPIRATION FOR DESIGNERS LIKE…

BY DESIGN FOUNDED BY THE WALKER BROTHERS, Salt Lake City’s AfroPick makes caring for natural hair an art form unto itself. The pick doubles as a canvas for designs that celebrate Black culture and identity. The brothers also collaborate with indie artists on joyful motifs like this one by London-based illustrator Linda Baritski: It’s called Fresher Prince ($18). LIKE BUTTER Oracle Jayne Station El Arroyo Whipped Shea Butter ($38) goes on light (versus solid butters, which can be difficult to spread onto skin) and quickly melts into hands, heels, really anywhere that requires something richer than the average body lotion. CLEAR CHOICE THERE’S NO SHORTAGE OF BROW GELS on the market, but few are as powerful (and flexible) as Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Freeze ($23). Apply a small amount onto…

THE ERA OF ZOOM HAS ALMOST COUNTERINTUITIVELY PROVIDED US WITH RARE MOMENTS OF INTIMACY. For example, even though I’m in London and Kim Jones is in Paris, when I connect with the designer two days before his first Fendi couture show in late January, he’s not sequestered in a press room but in the middle of a fitting with Christy Turlington and her nephew James. Actually, at the precise moment I catch him, he’s eating his lunch. But for Jones, time right now has to be snatched where it can be. Between overseeing the menswear collections for Dior in Paris and designing womenswear collections for Fendi in Rome, he has been working constantly, perpetually in transit between the two cities. Jones made his Fendi debut during the Spring 2021 Couture…

COVER Ralph Lauren Collection dress. ralphlauren.com. EDITOR’S LETTER Page 22 Louis Vuitton coat, price upon request. 866-VUITTON. Charvet shirt, $458. 011-33-1-42-60-30-70. Hermès mules, $1,300. hermes.com. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 27 Alaïa dress, $3,500, and belt, $1,190. Jacquemus La Veste d’Homme blazer, $880. Gabriela Hearst turtleneck, $690. Bacaal skirt. bacaal.com. Yam hoop, $250, and bracelet (bottom left), $46. Angie Marei cuff bracelet (top left), $12,500. Off-White c/o Virgil Abloh paper-clip bracelet (top right), $410, and bag, $1,460. Giuseppe Zanotti platforms, $895. Bianca Saunders coat, $1,180, and trousers, $850. Skims bandeau bra, $28. skims.com. Page 30 Fendi Couture suit, hair accessory, and bag, prices upon request. Dior dress, price upon request. Nude Barre bralette, $35. Pomellato hoops, $7,200. Hermès mules, $990. hermes.com. IN THE FASHION CLOSET Page 49 Dior shoes, prices upon…