DAVID ARMSTRONG, 1954-2014

The ultimate goal of the portrait photographer’s art is intimacy: the ability to convey, through light and composition alone, a look into the subject’s soul. The photographer David Armstrong, who died in Los Angeles on October 26th after a battle with liver cancer, possessed a rare ability to imbue his portraits with an unusual subtlety and quiet dignity. The silence of his photographs spoke volumes about those upon whom he trained his lens.

1.61

Le Corbusier swore by the golden ratio. Much like venerated early mathematicians Euclid and Fibonacci, the Swiss architect and urban planner was confident that by recreating this geometric relationship—shortened to the decimal 1.61—the most gratifying, harmonious proportions could be arrived at. This clarity of vision, this dogged certainty that disciplined thinking is key to effective design, is one shared by New York label 1.61.

BEST OF PARIS SPRING 2015

Our fashion director Alastair McKimm picks the ten best Spring 2015 collections from Paris Fashion Week, including Alexander McQueen, Anthony Vaccarello, Balenciaga, Céline, Christian Dior, Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci, Lanvin, Loewe, Louis Vuitton, and Rick Owens.

'WOMEN IN CLOTHES'

The new compendium Women in Clothes: Why We Wear What We Wear started as a correspondence between three author-friends; Sheila Heti, Heidi Julavits, and Leanne Shapton. Seeking advice on how to dress and dissatisfied with the existing literature on the topic, Heti created a survey, which she passed among her friends. Questions such as “What is dressing about, for you?” and “What are some dressing or clothing rules that you think every woman should follow?” revealed intimate insights into individual preferences and human relationships. What began as a personal quest gained quick momentum and the resulting book, published this fall, features the responses of over six hundred participants. In addition to surveys, clothes are discussed in conversations, poems, and short essays.

THROWBACK THURSDAY — NATASHA POLY, SPRING 2009

We’ve been around for a while now, and we know a lot of our readers might not have had the opportunity to experience our earlier issues. So we wanted to give you the chance to discover one of our favorite stories from our archive. This week we present Camilla Åkrans’ intimate Spring 2009 story with Natasha Poly, featuring fifty-eight photos of our gorgeous cover girl caught in between the sheets.

BEST OF MILAN SPRING 2015

Our fashion director Alastair McKimm picks the ten best Spring 2015 collections from Milan Fashion Week, including Bottega Veneta, Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, Gucci, Marni, Iceberg, Max Mara, Prada, Sportmax, and Versace.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF BEAUTY - SHON

We’ve always tried to look at things from a different angle. With that in mind, we decided to spotlight some of our favorite makeup artists and hairstylists, giving them complete freedom to fulfill their own creative ideas in a beauty portfolio. The results, including this intricate design from hairstylist Shon, all offer stark, powerful contrasts to the usual glamour shot. This is what beauty looks like when they get to decide.

MELITTA BAUMEISTER

With incredible fashion talent seemingly growing on trees these days—the work of the CFDA Fashion Incubator provides ample evidence—an aspiring designer may find it near impossible to create something original, something that stands out. But Melitta Baumeister has done just that.

BEST OF LONDON SPRING 2015

Our fashion director Alastair McKimm picks the ten best Spring 2015 collections from London Fashion Week, including Burberry Prorsum, Christopher Kane, Giles, Joseph, JW Anderson, Marques’Almeida, Preen by Thornton Bregazzi, Simone Rocha, Thomas Tait, and Tom Ford.

BEST OF NEW YORK SPRING 2015

Our fashion director Alastair McKimm picks the ten best Spring 2015 collections from New York Fashion Week.