Table of contents for February 2021 in Harper's Bazaar

WHAT DOES IT MEAN to be part of a community? It’s a question that has come up again and again in a year when so many of us have been driven to reconsider how we live alongside, and relate to, one another—and an idea that we explore throughout this issue. Certainly, many of our established notions of community have been tested in the past 12 months by the pandemic; by isolation and inequality; by social, cultural, and political division. But in other ways, those same forces have helped expand our sense of what a community can be and do. Harper’s Bazaar is a community of editors, writers, photographers, stylists, designers, subjects, and readers who come together to collaborate, tell the stories, and exchange the ideas and perspectives that make up…

RYAN McGINLEY PHOTOGRAPHER “The Arrival of Awkwafina,” page 90 “The intersection where the queer community meets skateboarding culture. I’ve been documenting these two beautiful communities in New York City over the past two decades, and I continue to serve them daily.” E. ALEX JUNG WRITER “The Arrival of Awkwafina,” page 90 “What I remember most acutely is hitting tennis balls on a clay court, orange dirt caked on my socks, and the Han River glinting on the horizon. I’m in Seoul with a gay men’s tennis group and feel a peculiar mix of adrenaline, joy, and freedom.” JENNY ZHANG WRITER “To Sustain a World,” page 126 “Until recently, I thought the only way to be part of a community was to erase parts of myself. What joy it has been…

FLIGHT OF FANCY To mark the opening of its redesigned Halls of Gems and Minerals this spring, New York’s American Museum of Natural History presents “Beautiful Creatures,” an exhibition of fine jewelry modeled after animals and curated by jewelry historian Marion Fasel. The show will include pieces from Bulgari and Cartier, as well as a striking 1960s emerald butterfly brooch by Van Cleef & Arpels. STAR POWER Chanel’s The Icons of 1932 range reworks timeless motifs introduced in Gabrielle Chanel’s first fine jewelry collection—the sun, a comet, ribbon, and a feather—with the addition of a gold-and-diamond lion inspired by her astrological sign. FUTURE PERFECT Zodiac, David Webb’s new collection of talismanic pendant necklaces, takes its cue from the oversize star-sign medallions the New York jeweler created for clients including Diana…

On the surface, Maya Rudolph and Natasha Lyonne might seem like an unlikely duo. While Rudolph may be best known for Saturday Night Live (and her now recurring role as Vice President Kamala Harris), she has long lived in Los Angeles, where she’s raising her family of four with her partner, Paul Thomas Anderson. In recent years, she has taken on memorable supporting roles on cult-favorite shows like Big Mouth and The Good Place. Lyonne, on the other hand, is one of those immutable downtown New Yorkers, the hair and the raspy voice instantly identifiable, and describes her career as playing mostly “quirky best friend” roles until Russian Doll, the critically acclaimed Netflix series, which she cocreated and stars in. (A second season is in the works.) But Rudolph and…

Sweatpants are a sign of defeat,” the late Karl Lagerfeld famously said. It was a typical Karlism: arch, provocative, a little judgmental—and one that looks different in light of our current moment. Once considered the domain of gyms and couches, sweatpants became the de facto uniform of early last spring as millions were forced to work from home at the start of the pandemic. Sales soared to reflect our collective embrace of elastic waistbands, and soon gumball-colored and tie-dyed versions turned Instagram algorithms on their head. As Covid-19 stretches past the one-year mark, will sweatpants stick around? For those who crave the mood-boosting effects of getting dressed but are unwilling to forgo flexible waistbands in this new normal, designers are proposing a sleek take on comfort dressing for Spring 2021.…

MIX IT UP One of the industry’s top scientists, Robb Akridge debuts his long-awaited Opulus ($395). Here’s how it works: Pop an Opule (a singledose, active-ingredient pod, sealed at peak potency) into the Opulus Activator, which breaks it open and warms the product for maximum absorption. The first Opulus kit available is a perfectly measured four-week retinol protocol. CELEBRITY SKIN Jennifer Lopez has been famous for her “JLo glow” for more than 20 years, the essence now distilled into J Lo Beauty That Star Filter ($39). This bronzy liquid highlighter suits a range of skin tones. FACE OF CALM Trinny London BFF De-Stress Serum ($50) imparts a sheer tint—and a surge of hyaluronic acid—and is just the thing to revive a weary complexion. FULL BLOOM Buzzy candle brand Boy Smells…

In early September, I had a conversation with my seven-year-old son where I was trying to explain the importance of wearing a mask. “You do it to keep yourself safe,” I told him, “but also to keep your friends at school and in the park safe.” In some ways, it was an introduction to the essence of community. The idea of community is one that my team and I have been thinking a lot about lately: What does community look like now, when we’ve had to isolate from one another for so many months in order to keep everyone safe? And how do we create and foster community despite that physical separation? We decided to dedicate this issue to the concept of community, which we explore through a variety of…

At 22, King Princess, née Mikaela Straus, has quickly established herself as a singular pop savant thanks to her raw, emotional anthems about queer love that transcend genre and audience. When asked to curate a playlist around this issue’s theme of community, she noted, “I don’t feel I exist in one specific community. Whether you’re gay or straight, regardless of who you are, we can all get down to certain songs, and we can all see the beauty in certain things. That’s really what this playlist is about—friendship and not needing to be the same to be united.” Along with electropop legend Róisín Murphy’s dance track “Murphy’s Law,” King Princess included T. Rex’s “Cosmic Dancer,” about “a character who can’t do anything but be himself”; Florence + the Machine’s “Grace,”…

While iconic pop culture moments have romanticized the trench—think Catherine Deneuve in The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and the cover of Françoise Hardy’s 1965 EP Le Temps des Souvenirs—the coat’s origins were considerably less glamorous. Inspired by the smocks worn by English shepherds, in 1879 Thomas Burberry invented gabardine, a waterproof twill that was later worn by Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew on their famous expeditions to Antarctica. The advent of trench warfare during World War I forced soldiers to fight from cramped ditches that exposed them to the elements. Enter the trench coat. Rendered in khaki to blend in with the natural surroundings, it boasted a breathable, lightweight, and weatherproof design. And thanks to the rise of sportswear, it became popular off the battlefield as well. For spring, Louis…

Dior Joaillerie artistic director Victoire de Castellane describes the watches in her new Gem Dior collection as “abstract organic, an organized disruption.” Marrying natural elements with couture craftsmanship, each timepiece boasts a hardstone face—carved from onyx, mother-of-pearl, lapis lazuli, or malachite, or set with diamonds—inside an unconventional octagonal case meant to mimic slices of rough tourmaline. Each style is outfitted with an asymmetrical linked bracelet inspired by maison founder Christian Dior’s method of pinning fabric swatches for his haute couture designs onto sheets of paper. DIALED IN Classic styles inlaid with turquoise, malachite, and hawk’s eye shine bright for spring…

WHEN ANDRA DAY was initially approached about auditioning for the title role in The United States vs. Billie Holiday, director Lee Daniels’s new film about the revolutionary jazz singer, she balked. “First of all, (a) I’m not an actress, and (b) just no,” says the 35-year-old singer and songwriter, who credits Holiday, nicknamed “Lady Day” by jazz saxophonist Lester Young, with influencing her own musical style. For a first-ever acting gig, playing a figure of that magnitude felt daunting. “I was like, ‘I don’t want to remake Lady Sings the Blues,’” Day says, referring to the 1972 Holiday biopic that earned Diana Ross an Oscar nomination. “I love Diana’s performance. She murdered it. I’m good.” In the music world, Day has amassed her own laundry list of accomplishments. She’s toured…

The New Woman Behind the Camera, the catalogue for the upcoming show of the same name at Washington, D.C.’s National Gallery of Art, celebrates pioneering female photographers who revolutionized the art form between 1920 and 1950. It presents the work of more than 120 talents—including Bazaar contributors Lillian Bassman, Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Toni Frissell, and Genevieve Naylor—whose modes of experimentation paved the way for image-makers to come.…

WHEN THE PANDEMIC HIT, sales in almost every beauty category immediately declined—except hair care. It proves one thing is certain: People care deeply about their hair, whether they’re going out or staying in. But priorities have shifted. “Pre-Covid, I think we were harder on our hair than ever,” says Los Angeles stylist and colorist Riawna Capri. “Whether it was keratin, which is new to this last decade, extreme bleach and toning trends, or everyday use of hot tools, there was so much damage happening regularly.” Now many have refocused on resetting these previous habits and getting stronger, healthier, and, ultimately, lower-maintenance hair. Unfortunately, another problem has surfaced. Many more people are noticing hair loss for the first time. “It’s the number one issue I’m seeing now,” says Doris Day, M.D.,…

AWKWAFINA IS INTRODUCING ME to the wide world of slime. It’s similar to the art of taking an edible: The key is restraint. “At first it’s not going to immediately solidify,” she says as she instructs me to pour Elmer’s slime activator into a bowl of glue. “So you’re going to be, ‘I need more!’ Like edibles. And then what happens is, it turns into this really gross-feeling piece of shit.” We both pop some edibles and start stirring. She’s been into slime for a few years now. She even has what she calls her Slime Center—a variety of plastic bags filled with beads, foam balls of varying sizes, molding clay—that she brought with her when she moved to Los Angeles from New York a couple of years ago. On…

IN THE WEEKS leading up to quarantine last March, I noticed many of the wealthy people I was working with in Hollywood obsessively stockpiling “survival kits.” One of them made their assistant drive all over Los Angeles to buy up whatever toilet paper and hand sanitizer was left. When the world appears to be ending, two types of people emerge: those who look out for themselves (often at the expense of others), and those who look out for others (often at the expense of themselves). Since then, the term “mutual aid” has entered the cultural lexicon. In March 2020, two days before the lockdown in New York, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez held a public conference call with longtime organizer, educator, and abolitionist Mariame Kaba on how to build a mutual aid…

Cover (Internal) Celine by Hedi Slimane raincoat, $2,600, and dress, $2,200. celine.com. Tiffany & Co. Schlumberger ear clips, $7,000. tiffany.com. Panthère de Cartier watch, $20,700. 800-CARTIER. Table of Contents Page 22 (Top left) Prada cape, $2,270; dress, $1,910; pants, $1,400; and shoes, price upon request. (Top right) Prada cape, $4,100; shirt, $2,750; pants, $2,700; and shoes, price upon request. 212-327-4200. Proenza Schouler dress, $1,590, and mules, $895. 212-420-7300. Collina Strada pin (worn as earrings), $50. collinastrada.com. Dream Weaver Page 39 Fendi bag, $3,690. Patek Philippe watch, $24,600. Tom Ford bag, price upon request. Shopping List Page 40 Dior necklace, price upon request. Tod’s jacket, price upon request. Portrait Mode Page 47 Etro shirt, $550. etro.com. Van Cleef & Arpels Heritage clip (on collar), $55,500, and Heritage clip (top left), $100,000. 877-VANCLEEF. David Yurman earrings, $3,950–$4,400.…

12th“KAWS: WHAT PARTY” The Brooklyn Museum plays host to the first major New York survey of KAWS’s 25-year career, chronicling his rise from provocative street artist to art-world heavyweight. A selection of drawings, pop-culture-inspired paintings (Elmo and Sponge-Bob SquarePants star), furniture, augmented reality works, graffiti, and covetable collectibles will all be on display. The show will also feature several large-scale sculptures of KAWS’s trademark Companion character. KAWS’s AT THIS TIME, 2013 12thMINARI Set in the 1980s, writer-director Lee Isaac Chung’s Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize–winning drama tells the story of a Korean American family whose resilience is tested when they move to a remote Arkansas farm in pursuit of the American dream. 26thCHERRY In this crime drama from directors Anthony and Joe Russo, Tom Holland plays an Army medic…

Stylist’s Tip Dress for your mood with this reversible hat that features ecru stripes on one side and recycled denim on the other.…

As a corps de ballet member with New York City Ballet, India Bradley typically spends up to 12 hours a day in classes, rehearsals, and performances. “We wear pointe shoes beginning in morning class, so we might be in them for an entire day,” says the 22-year-old dancer, who trained at Dance Theatre of Harlem and School of American Ballet before joining NYCB in 2017. Despite the rigorous schedule, dancing with the company is a dream come true for Bradley; growing up, she viewed the lack of Black ballerinas she saw as a motivator rather than a deterrent. “It made me want to do it for the people who were coming after me,” she says. To help recuperate her overworked feet, Bradley relies on ice foot baths, massages, and slippers.…

WHAT MAKES A piece of jewelry iconic? It goes without saying that it must be beautiful, ground-breaking, and inspirational. But above all else, an iconic piece is timeless, discovered afresh, and given new relevance by each successive generation. It’s a description that applies to many of Cartier’s most celebrated pieces, from the Tank, Ballon Bleu, Panthère, and Santos de Cartier watches, to the Trinity ring and the Love and Juste un Clou bracelets. Pierre Rainero, Cartier’s director of image, style, and heritage, says the secret to their lasting appeal lies in their essential simplicity. “It’s easy for the eye to catch, but simplicity is probably the most difficult thing to achieve in a design,” Rainero explains. The Santos de Cartier watch is a case in point. The first modern wristwatch,…

CONSENT: A MEMOIR By Vanessa Springora (HarperVia) When French writer Gabriel Matzneff was awarded a Prix Renaudot in 2013, the publishing world didn’t bat an eye, despite the long-standing accusations of pedophilia leveled against him, and his numerous works detailing his attraction to and encounters with minors. “It felt like a denial that hit me as an assault and a provocation,” recalls Springora, herself a publishing executive, who says she suffered psychological and sexual abuse at the hands of Matzneff in the ’80s, beginning when she was 14 and he was 50. She decided to write her memoir, Consent, in order to expose the hypocrisy of the industry and the larger culture. Arriving in the U.S. this month following an explosive release in France early last year, the book “caused…

LAST SPRING, during the first days of sheltering at home, Proenza Schouler’s Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez realized that they were in a bind. The world’s premium fabric mills, many based in the areas of northern Italy hardest hit by the pandemic, were all closed until further notice. How could a luxury fashion label design a new collection without any new fabric? After innumerable Zooms with suppliers, they decided to use bolts of deadstock fabric left over from past seasons. “We had this vast archive of fabrics from the past decade, and we really tapped into that—and in a strange way it forced us to be more creative,” recalls Hernandez. “Ninety percent of the Spring 2021 collection is made from archival fabrics that have been reworked in different ways.” Meeting…

IT WAS THE FIRST Tuesday in January, less than three weeks before the inauguration. Harper’s Bazaar fashion editor Diana Vreeland and photographer Richard Avedon traveled to the Kennedy family compound in Palm Beach, Florida, for a session with President-elect John F. Kennedy; his wife, Jackie; and their children, three-year-old Caroline and five-week-old John Jr. The shoot came about because of Jackie’s friendship with Vreeland, which dated back to Jackie’s debutante days; during the campaign Vreeland served as her unofficial wardrobe adviser, particularly on American fashion. (Jackie, who was eight months pregnant with John Jr. on election night, had been criticized for favoring European designers.) The morning of the sitting, the U.S. broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba, so the president-elect spent much of the day conferring with President Dwight D.…