VOLUME 1 You never want to burn a bridge that you’ve fought so hard to build —Bella Hadid
The Sex
Coming Out
Obsession
Love Heartbreak
Issue
VOLUME 1
style 41 Up in Arms Model couple Tiana Tolstoi and Daniel Oh catch feels in the balloon sleeves trend.
44 Block Party Cool stuff as seen—and shot—on the street.
46 From the Archive How one 20-something’s collection of vintage Raf Simons and Helmut Lang turned into a lucrative business.
48 Spirit of España An insider’s guide to Spain from Carlota Guerrero, the visual genius behind Solange’s A Seat at the Table.
50 Time After Time Molly Ringwald remembers her Pretty in Pink prom moment.
65 Belt It Out The latest luxe belt bags make an ultrachic case for convenience.
p. 120 12 Masthead 14 Cool & Collected Teen Vogue’s VIP contributors share the item they’ll keep in their closets, pockets, or pro tool kits forever.
16 Love Trumps Hate
beauty 67 Practical Magic This season’s beauty icon? The good witch.
Elaine looks back on the election and labors of love.
voices 19 Works of Heart
72 Ice Queen Pale blonde hair is the leather jacket of the beauty world.
74 His and Hers David Yi of verygoodlight.com explores the makeup-for-all movement.
Three young artists created masterpieces with love in mind.
78 Power Couples 20 Frame of Mind Cleo Wade’s dreamy Instagram poetry in Mad Libs form.
Like PB&J or Beyoncé and Jay Z, on their own, they’re great— but together, they’re even better. ➤
22 Reader Contest Each issue, we publish a reader like you. Plus: Avantgarde meets cozy chic in PBteen’s latest collection.
28 Beyond Borders Maya Joy fled Syria for a new life in Sweden—and found not only safety and freedom but love.
30 Stand Your Ground Fresh off Fox News, Lauren Duca shares her debate tips.
32 Crushing It Badass rocker babes are redefining girl groups.
36 Queer Lit Lena Dunham reads the classic Annie on My Mind.
38 Puppy Love This musician stands up for pigeons and puppies alike. 8 VOLUME 1 2017
p. 128
From top: AMY TROOST; RYAN MCGINLEY. Details, see teenvogue.com.
24 Moon Man We can’t get over Moonlight star Ashton Sanders.
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p. 90
wellness
features
83 Breakfast in Bed
90 “When I love somebody, I love them with all my heart.” —Bella Hadid
Back in the day, doctors tried to persuade patients into abstinence with bland bowls of cereal. True story!
The model opens up about relationships—of all kinds.
84 Self-Love
98 Hot Pursuit
Your body, your rules. So why is female masturbation still a major no-fly zone today? Digital wellness editor Vera Papisova dives deep to uncover the stigma’s history.
Model Tami Williams sets out to find her perfect match.
108 Let’s Talk About Sex …The good, the bad, and the confusing.
85 Body Party We love model Lulu Bonfils’s look, but we adore her complete body confidence. Need even more body-love inspo? Check out our video series Body Party, starring Barbie Ferreira, on teenvogue.com
114 Lena & Grace Dunham Lena Dunham and her sibling, Grace, talk sisterhood.
118 Can We Talk? Feeling the postelection connection blues? Log off.
86 How Do I Say No? 120 Sasha Fierce Breakout star Sasha Lane is keeping it all the way real.
128 Troye Sivan Is Not Just Another Pretty-Boy Pop Star
88 Heart Burn
Actor Hari Nef in conversation with the Aussie crooner.
Is exercise the new therapy? More and more workouts are aimed at helping you overcome physical and emotional challenges.
Taylor Hill has figured out a few things about real love.
136 Taylor’s Laws of Attraction
140 Exit Strategy These sweet dresses are better from the back. TEEN VOGUE IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ADVANCE MAGAZINE PUBLISHERS INC. COPYRIGHT © 2017 CONDÉ NAST. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. VOLUME 19, NO. 1 . Teen Vogue (ISSN 15402215) is published quarterly by Condé Nast, which is a division of Advance Magazine Publishers Inc. PRINCIPAL OFFICE: Condé Nast, 1 World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. S.I. Newhouse, Jr., Chairman
Emeritus; Robert A. Sauerberg, Jr., President & Chief Executive Officer; David E. Geithner, Chief Financial Officer; James M. Norton, Chief Business Officer, President of Revenue, Condé Nast. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and at additional mailing offices. Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40644503. Canadian Goods and Services Tax Registration No. 123242885-RT0001. POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS (SEE DMM 507.1.5.2); NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: Send address corrections to Teen Vogue, P.O. Box 37617, Boone, IA 50037-0617. FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS, ADDRESS CHANGES, ADJUSTMENTS, OR BACK-ISSUE INQUIRIES: Please write to Teen Vogue, P.O. Box 37617, Boone, IA 50037-0617, call (800) 274-0084, or e-mail subscriptions@teenvogue.com. Please give both new address and old address as
printed on most recent label. Subscribers: If the Post Office alerts us that your magazine is undeliverable, we have no further obligation unless we receive a corrected address within one year. If during your subscription term or up to one year after the magazine becomes undeliverable you are ever dissatisfied with your subscription, let us know. You will receive a full refund on all unmailed issues. First copy of new subscription will be mailed within four weeks after receipt of order. Address all editorial, business, and production correspondence to Teen Vogue, 1 World Trade Center, 29th Floor, New York, NY 10007. For reprints, please e-mail reprints@condenast.com or call Wright’s Media at (877) 652-5295. For reuse permissions, please e-mail contentlicensing@condenast.com or call (800) 897-8666. Visit us online at teenvogue .com. To subscribe to other Condé Nast magazines on the World Wide Web, visit condenastdigital.com. Occasionally we make our subscriber list available to carefully screened companies that offer products and services that we believe would interest our readers. If you do not want to receive these offers and/or information, please advise us at Teen Vogue, P.O. Box 37617, Boone, IA 50037-0617, or call (800) 274-0084. TEEN VOGUE IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RETURN OR LOSS OF, OR FOR DAMAGE OR ANY OTHER INJURY TO, UNSOLICITED MANUSCRIPTS, UNSOLICITED ARTWORK (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DRAWINGS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND TRANSPARENCIES), OR ANY OTHER UNSOLICITED MATERIALS. THOSE SUBMITTING MANUSCRIPTS, ARTWORK, OR OTHER MATERIALS FOR CONSIDERATION SHOULD NOT SEND ORIGINALS, UNLESS SPECIFICALLY REQUESTED TO DO SO BY TEEN VOGUE IN WRITING. MANUSCRIPTS, ARTWORK, AND OTHER MATERIALS SUBMITTED MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY A SELF-ADDRESSED STAMPED ENVELOPE.
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DANIEL JACKSON. Details, see teenvogue.com.
Whether you want to remain totally abstinent or do everything but, the choice is yours. Teen Vogue’s resident sex educator, Lena Solow, offers a crash course on consent.
OUR
FIRST KISS
“My first kiss with a boy was in a game of Truth or Dare. His girlfriend wasn’t amused.”
MEMORIES
Digital Editorial Director PHILLIP PICARDI
Creative Director MARIE SUTER
Editor ELAINE WELTEROTH
FASHION Fashion/Accessories Director Marina Larroudé Fashion Market Editor Sarah Brody Accessories Editor Kirby Marzec Digital Fashion Editor Jessica Andrews Fashion Associate Katie Sapp Accessories Market Associate Kyle McCabe Stiansen Contributing Jewelry Assistant Brian Guiducci Assistant to the Fashion/Accessories Director Madeline Fass BEAUTY Beauty and Health Director Jessica Matlin Digital Beauty Editor Emily Gaynor Beauty/Style Writer Sue Williamson Associate Beauty Editor Tina Ferraro Digital Beauty Writer Sarah Wu
“All I remember thinking was, Why are my eyes open?”
“My first kiss was with Spider-Man. It was Halloween and I was a cowboy.”
Head of Revenue AMY OELKERS Head of Integrated Marketing Lauren Murphy Creative Director, Integrated Marketing Gillian Avertick Finance Director Jessica Levine
INTEGRATED SALES Directors Tova Bourque, Tracy Eisenman, Hilary Schuville,
Angelique Rogers Digital Sales Planner Virginia Laskowski BRANCH OFFICES West Coast Director Dawn Shapiro (323) 965-3744 Midwest Director Laura Adrian (312) 649-3555 Managers, Italy Alessandro and Rinaldo Modenese Via M. Malpighi 4, 20129 Milan; tel.: 39-02-2951-3521; fax: 39-02-204-9209 Executive Assistant Mary Leonard Sales Assistants Tyler Barbiaux, Lauren Lamensdorf,
“My first kiss happened on the It’s a Small World ride at Disneyland, of course!”
FEATURES Style Director Andrew Bevan Bookings Director Trent Axelson Senior Editor Lauren Mechling Digital Deputy Editor Amanda Chan Digital Features Editor Vanessa Willoughby Digital Entertainment Editor Ella Ceron Digital Wellness Editor Vera Papisova Fashion News Associate Ariana Marsh Digital Entertainment Writer Isis Briones Editorial Assistant Melanie Mignucci
INTEGRATED MARKETING Senior Director Mari DiChiara Senior Managers Kristen Reid, Bethany Verdone Manager Joshua McDonald Designer Rachel Mitrani Coordinators Victoria Dolan, Samantha Fox
ART Art Director Erin Hover Digital Associate Designer Wesley Johnson Junior Designer Corinna Bourke
PUBLISHED BY CONDÉ NAST Chairman Emeritus S.I. NEWHOUSE, JR. President & Chief Executive Officer ROBERT A. SAUERBERG, JR.
PHOTO/VIDEO Photo Director Rhianna Rule Contributing Video Producer Kelly Teacher Photo Editor James Clarizio Associate Photo Editor Noelle Lacombe Digital Photo Editor Nicole Pizaro Assistant Photo Editor Amanda Alborano SOCIAL Social Media Director Terron Moore Social Media Editor Callia Hargrove Social Content Producer Michaela O’Shaughnessy PRODUCTION/RESEARCH/COPY Deputy Managing Editor Nicole Stuart Contributing Research Chief Yulia Khabinsky Digital Research and Copy Editor Hanna Howard Associate Managing Editor Ellen Potenza Associate Digital Editor Kaleigh Fasanella Senior Manager, Audience Development Carrie Marks Analyst Dan Shinaberry SPECIAL PROJECTS/COMMUNICATIONS West Coast Editor Lisa Love Paris Editor Fiona DaRin Executive Director of Communications Hildy Kuryk Communications and Marketing Manager Danika Owsley Contributing Talent Consultant Greg Krelenstein
for Starworks Group
“I literally don’t remember my first kiss. How pathetic— what will I tell my children?”
“I was sitting down and didn’t see it coming. Then I was dizzy.”
CONTRIBUTORS
Camila Hennessy, Bee Shaffer ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
ANNA WINTOUR
Casey Trotta, Sue Warda
Chief Financial Officer David E. Geithner Chief Business Officer, President of Revenue,
James M. Norton EVP–Chief Digital Officer Fred Santarpia Chief Human Resources Officer JoAnn Murray Chief Communications Officer Cameron R. Blanchard Chief Technology Officer Edward Cudahy EVP, Consumer Marketing Monica Ray SVP, Business Operations David Orlin SVP–Managing Director, 23 Stories Josh Stinchcomb SVP, Network Sales & Partnerships, CN, and Chief Revenue Officer, CNÉ Lisa Valentino SVP, Financial Planning and Analysis Suzanne Reinhardt SVP, Strategy, 23 Stories Padraig Connolly SVP–Ad Products & Monetization David Adams SVP, Licensing Cathy Hoffman Glosser SVP, Research & Analytics Stephanie Fried SVP, Digital Operations Larry Baach SVP–Human Resources Nicole Zussman General Manager–Digital Matthew Starker
“I had no idea what to do with my hands. That’s literally all I could think about.”
CONDÉ NAST ENTERTAINMENT President Dawn Ostroff EVP/General Manager—Digital Video Joy Marcus EVP–Chief Operating Officer Sahar Elhabashi EVP, Motion Pictures Jeremy Steckler EVP, Alternative TV Joe LaBracio EVP, CNÉ Studios Al Edgington SVP, Marketing & Partner Management Teal Newland
“I went for it, missed, and we sat in silence for the rest of the longest Ferris wheel ride.”
CONDÉ NAST INTERNATIONAL Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Newhouse President Nicholas Coleridge
For subscription inquiries, please write to Teen Vogue, P.O. Box 37617, Boone, IA 50037-0617, or subscriptions@teenvogue.com, visit teenvogue.com, or call (800) 274-0084. For reprints, please e-mail reprints@condenast.com or call Wright’s Media at (877) 652-5295. For reuse permissions, please e-mail contentlicensing@condenast.com or call (800) 897-8666. Address all correspondence to Teen Vogue, 1 World Trade Center, 29th Floor, New York, NY 10007, or call (212) 286-2860.
Condé Nast is a global media company producing premium content for more than 263 million consumers in 30 markets. www.condenast.com | www.condenastinternational.com | Published at 1 World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007
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VOLUME 1
VIOLETTE, MAKEUP ARTIST “I used to frequent the Les Puces market in Paris to hunt down treasures, like beetles and butterflies. The colors amaze and inspire me every day.” Page 136.
GREG KRELENSTEIN, CONTRIBUTING TALENT CONSULTANT “A friend who worked at Tiffany & Co. surprised me with a bracelet. It was a gift given for no reason, which is the best reason of all!”
ASHTON SANDERS, ACTOR “I love dogs—I have four and counting. One is a Siberian husky with these beautiful ocean-blue eyes. He looks just like a wolf. His name is Ramsey.” Page 24.
MARIE SUTER, CREATIVE DIRECTOR “I have a little toy doll from Studio Ghibli that reminds me of my daughter, Lila. I snap pictures of it in different cities when I travel to make her giggle.”
JESSE JO STARK, MUSICIAN “I sold my Cadillac for a baby-blue ’56 Chevy Bel Air I’d been hunting for ages. We’re going strong now— it’s been nearly a year. I’ll pull over to write songs in her.” Page 90.
TAYLOR HILL, MODEL “Sweatpants are a symbol I can relax, so I pack them whenever I travel. Once, I realized I forgot a pair, so I bought some at Victoria’s Secret. I take them everywhere.” Page 136.
IAN BRADLEY, STYLIST “I have a Malcolm X T-shirt my uncle used to wear during his Public Enemy days. It reminds me of strength and of family.” Page 41.
PHILLIP PICARDI, DIGITAL EDITORIAL DIRECTOR “I decorated my first ‘big-boy’ apartment with a pink ceramic swan. It symbolized taking ownership of who I am.” Page 128.
TAMI WILLIAMS, MODEL “My best friend, Kai, gave me a heart-pendant necklace. She has one too. It reminds me how strong our bond is, no matter where I am in the world.” Page 98.
COOL & COLLECTED Teen Vogue’s VIP contributors share the one item they’ll keep in their closets, pockets, or pro tool kits until the end of time. ILLUSTRATIONS BY ELLIOT STOKES.
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VOLUME 1
EDITOR’S LETTER Elaine wears an Altuzarra jacket. Warby Parker glasses. Details, see teenvogue.com.
LOVE TRUMPS HATE T
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COLLECT ALL 3 COVERS Troye wears a Comme des Garçons shirt, $385. Sasha wears a Fendi top. Fila pants, $60. BELLA HADID PHOTOGRAPHED BY DANIEL JACKSON. TROYE SIVAN PHOTOGRAPHED BY RYAN MCGINLEY. SASHA LANE PHOTOGRAPHED BY AMY TROOST.
TEENVOGUE.COM
KARSTEN MORAN
o say that this issue was a total labor of love would seem trite. It also happens to be true. Just as our team got the news we’d been hoping for—that the taller collectible format you are holding in your hands was a go—our country was dealt the heavy blow that human rights aren’t as universally valued as we once thought. It became a call to action. In the wake of that crushing defeat, our staff gathered round the brainstorm table to focus our energy on the one thing we can all agree the world needs more of right now— LOVE. Your heart will ache and soar when you read about 18-year-old Maya Joy’s heroic escape from Syria and how she found not just freedom but her first paramour on the other side of fear. We drew inspiration from our new political columnist, Lauren Duca (page 30), who savagely took on a supersize bully on national TV while he denigrated Teen Vogue’s ability to deliver both hard-hitting news and advice on thigh-high boots. (Yes, we can!) And from our digital wellness editor, Vera Papisova, whose dogged insistence on repeating the words “vagina” and “masturbation” in story meetings finally wore me down (see evidence in our new Wellness section on page 84). Then there’s Lena Dunham on the imperative of fostering sisterhood (page 114). Not to mention our trifecta of cover stars: Bella Hadid opens up about her breakup, Troye Sivan talks coming out with Hari Nef, and Sasha Lane keeps it one hundred about staying true to yourself even in the spotlight. What I love most about this issue is that it offers a fresh framework to talk about love and sex in 2017, one that captures their multitudes, not just the romance and candy hearts. Love is messy, visceral, triumphant, joyous, redemptive, sexy. And impossible—as my girl Oprah would say—without first loving yourself.
VOICES GET CULTURED
“Like a flower received and then photographed, young love does not wither as much as it fades. And even when it’s gone, sometimes a ghostly outline remains in its absence.” —Garrett Pruter, 29
“I have so much love for my friends. They were my biggest supporters while I was working on this painting and pushed me when I wanted to give up.” —Cliffannie Forrester, 18
Clockwise from top left: GARRETT PRUTER; CLIFFANNIE FORRESTER; FAYE ORLOVE.
“To me, young love is about selfcare—finding parts of myself to love and piecing them together. When I feel not whole, I find nice light and a good angle, take a selfie, and fall in love with one tiny part of myself.” —Faye Orlove, 26
ART
WORKS OF HEART
Three YOUNG ARTISTS created masterpieces with LOVE AS THEIR MUSE.
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VOLUME 1 2017 19
VOICES
FRAME OF MIND
Cleo Wade’s dreamy Instagram poetry in Mad Libs form. Fill it in, rip it out, frame it—and don’t forget to post it, tagging @teenvogue. POEM BY CLEO WADE.
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VOICES LIT CLUB
THINGS THAT COULD HAPPEN TO A GIRL WEARING JEANS Ari _MIZ[ PMZ RMIV[ _Q\P \PM K]Є[ ZWTTML ]X ITT \PM PWTM[ QV PMZ KTW\PM[ IZM OQZT̆UILM 1 _MIZ Ua RMIV RIKSM\ \W PMZ X]VS [PW_[ _Q\P XQV[ WTLMZ \PIV UM NZWU Ua UW\PMZ¼[ LIa[ WN LMVQU .IJZQK JMIZ[ PQ[\WZa ]T\ZIUIZQVM KZM[\QVO \W NZIaML _PQ\M ?M IZM [\QTT XIQV\ KPQX[ IVL KWXXMZ KPTWZQLM QV M^MZa SQVL WN JT]M# ^QOQTIV\M KPIZU[ _I\KPQVO ][ NZWU \PM LWWZ NZIUM MKPWML Ja \PM MaM [PILW_ 1 [\ZMIS \W NMMT JZI^M NWZOM\̆UM̆VW\[ WV Ua [\ZMM\ KWZVMZ I\ " QV \PM UWZVQVO 2]TQM _ZQ\M[ VW\M[ WV PMZ XIV\[ [W [PM LWM[V¼\ NWZOM\ \PM M`IK\ [PILM WN LI_V NZWU PMZ ZWWN\WX LIa IN\MZ Q\ ZIQV[ \PQ[ _Ia _PMV [PM¼[ ITWVM WV \PM []J_Ia [PM KIV TWWS I\ PMZ TMO[ IVL NMMT OMVM[Q[ -^I _ITS[ _Q\P [Y]IZM [PW]TLMZ[ WVM PIVL QV PMZ XWKSM\ PWTLQVO I O]Q\IZ XQKS TQSM IV IU]TM\ we are ITT MIKP W\PMZ¼[ XI\KPM[ IVL \PMZM¼[ VW\PQVO [W OWWL I[ OM\\QVO aW]Z PIQZ JZ][PML IVL JZIQLML Ja [WUMWVM _PW TW^M[ aW]
MAKE ROOM Avant-garde meets cozy chic.
Isabella’s designs bring high art to your bedroom.
Isabella Rose Taylor for PBteen mobile, $69, wall art, $79, and pillow, $35. pbteen.com. Available April 2017.
*a ZMILMZ̆XWM\Za KWV\M[\ _QVVMZ Rhiannon McGavin, 19
F
ifteen-year-old designer Isabella Rose Taylor fell in love for the first time when she was 7. The object of her affections? The dreamy, unconventional work of American artist Cy Twombly. Each time she sees his work, Isabella says, “my heart skips a beat.” Her new collection for PBteen features Twombly-inspired bedding, wall art, and—her favorite—a printed beanbag chair. A match made in hygge heaven.
Clockwise from top: DANIEL JACKSON; courtesy of Pottery Barn (3): courtesy of @isabellarosetaylor.
Learn how to enter our Lit Club writing contest at teenvogue.com for the chance to have your work featured!
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VOICES Ashton wears an Off-White c/o Virgil Abloh T-shirt, $422. McQ Alexander McQueen shirt (worn underneath), $322. Details, see teenvogue.com.
MOON MAN An unlikely heartthrob emerges from Moonlight, the soul-stirring film everyone’s talking about.
A
shton Sanders speaks from the heart. When he gets along with someone, they “vibe it out”; clothes he likes, he “f*cks with.” Yet when asked about the film Moonlight, in which he stars, devastatingly, as the 16-year-old Chiron, the actor switches to a quietly tender mode of speech. On auditioning, he
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says his “soul connected with the story line”; the scenes in which Chiron is bullied make his “heart supervulnerable and raw.” (Ashton himself was bullied as a kid.) His ability to harmonize two contrasting vibes makes him the standout of a breathtaking film. Told in three acts, Moonlight, directed by Barry Jenkins, follows Chiron’s ➤ TEENVOGUE.COM
Fashion Editor: Sasha Kelly; hair, Tomi Kono using Bumble and Bumble; makeup, Seong Hee Park using M.A.C.
PHOTOGRAPHED BY JEFF HENRIKSON.
VOICES ASHTON IS AN AWESOME MYSTERY. HE IS THE NOTE BETWEEN THE NOTE
—MOONLIGHT COSTAR MAHERSHALA ALI
coming of age in a poverty-stricken neighborhood of Miami with an absent father and a crack-addicted mother. As he grows up, Chiron, played as a kid by Alex Hibbert and as an adult by Trevante Rhodes, negotiates his changing relationship to masculinity through different male role models. Ashton can relate. Raised in Southern California, the 21-year-old star struggled with addiction in his family and a father to whom he wasn’t especially close. “I would see other people’s relationship with their fathers and I would feel jealous. I looked elsewhere for male figures in my life,” he shares. At age 12, Ashton found solace in the Amazing Grace Conservatory, a program that seeks to empower young people of color through the performing arts. “It changed my life,” he says. “Yo, that—to be around artists and people who would accept my odd quirks—that made me into who I am.” It’s a stark contrast with Chiron, whose high school experience makes him further question his identity—and his feelings for his childhood best friend, Kevin. As a young man, bullied for his small size and introverted personality, Chiron searches for acceptance, protection, and freedom and, in doing so, transcends the binary codes of conformity. While the movie has been lauded, fairly, for its portrayal of nascent homosexuality, Ashton doesn’t quite see it as “a gay black film,” as film critics have called it. “Kevin could have been Kevette,” he says. “It’s almost your classic high school love story—it just takes gender [out] of it.” In this respect, Moonlight is unique in its treatment of not only sexuality but also race. Just as the film portrays queer love without relating it to heterosexual romance, it also
explores blackness without contrasting it with whiteness. The only white people shown in the film are seen at a distance, walking out of the rehab facility where Chiron is visiting his recovering mother. For Ashton, who was teased for being “dark-skinned and slim,” the film offered a “super-rare experience” through which to explore black masculinity on its own terms—without relating it to whiteness and, crucially, without labeling it. “Labels are so outdated. I am about to go in right now,” Ashton says emphatically. “People carry around all these social masks” to fit in. “The black, white, Latino [communities] all do it.” Ashton pauses, reflecting. “But Chiron didn’t have the energy to put anything on—he was drained because of his circumstances at home.” Ashton acknowledges not everyone has the freedom to throw off his or her masks, or operate beyond the roles imposed by society. For films like Moonlight and actors like Ashton to tackle these nuances headon—to paraphrase “y o u r boy”—is super-rad. — M E L A N I E MIGNUCCI MOONLIGHT POSTER
“I LOVED ALL THE BOYS WITH SOFT, SAD EYES AND LOST SOULS.” –GRACE CODDINGTON, GRACE: A MEMOIR 26 VOLUME 1 2017
TEENVOGUE.COM
From top: JEFF HENRIKSON; courtesy of A24.
Champion hoodie, $50. Robert Geller pants. Vans sneakers, $80. Details, see teenvogue.com.
VOICES
BEYOND BORDERS
SOCIAL STUDIES
I
was 13 when the Syrian civil war broke out in the spring of 2011. In my hometown, a beautiful place called Deir-ez-Zor, bombings started around seven months later. The violence became so intense that I couldn’t even go to school. Once, about a year into the war, my mom, my sisters, and I had to hide from President Bashar al-Assad’s army in our basement for nearly two weeks. My mom made us wear three pairs of pants in case the soldiers found us and tried to rape us. After fleeing to another town for eight months so we could continue our studies, we returned home in late 2012. We
thought the war was coming to an end—it wasn’t. About five months later, when my 16-year-old brother was out playing football, he was shot to death by the army’s soldiers, who then bombed the area. They wrongly thought there were terrorists there. I was completely devastated. That’s when my mom decided that we needed to leave Syria. We fled to Turkey to live in a refugee camp in 2013. They gave us food and shelter, but the school there wasn’t nearly as good as the one I had been attending in Syria. I spent my time watching YouTube videos so I could learn English and
FAST FACTS: THE SYRIAN CIVIL WAR WHY’D IT START?
WHO’S FIGHTING WHOM?
After President Bashar al-Assad’s forces violently suppressed democratic demonstrations in March 2011, protests erupted across Syria, spurring a civil war. Assad ordered chemical attacks, shootings, and raids against the opposition, causing huge civilian casualties.
There are four main factions of fighting groups: Assad and his loyalists, who are backed by Russia and Iran; Syrian rebel groups opposing Assad; Kurdish rebels in northern Syria; and the extremist militant group ISIS, which is seeking to create an international caliphate.
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WHAT’S AMERICA’S ROLE?
Our government tried to train rebels to fight ISIS and gave them weapons. In 2015, Russia began a bombing campaign, promising to attack ISIS but bombing U.S.-backed rebels, strengthening Assad’s position. The United States has dropped tens of thousands of bombs since 2014, targeting ISIS. TEENVOGUE.COM
Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Eighteen-year-old Syrian refugee Maya Joy fled her war-torn home and found a new life—and first love—in Sweden. Here, she recounts her journey.
From top: MAYA JOY (2); ALIYA NAUMOFF.
Turkish, which I taught to the younger girls in the camp. I’d always dreamed of becoming a dentist, pharmacist, or journalist, but I lost hope for my future while living there. My mom saw me in despair, so she decided to try to send me and my older sister to Europe. One summer night, after a year and a half at the camp, we boarded an inflatable boat that had been arranged by smugglers and was full of other refugees, and we set off for Greece. We were halfway across the Aegean Sea when the Turkish coast guard caught us and popped our boat. I fell into the freezing water and almost drowned. Luckily, my life jacket held my head above water, enabling me to hold a 3-year-old boy in my arms. Undeterred, my sister and I tried to make the journey again two weeks later, but we were apprehended before we even boarded the boat. We made it to Greece on our third attempt. My sister and I had lost all of our possessions on the voyage over and arrived wet and cold but deliriously happy. After running from the Macedonian police, who teargassed us, we walked without food or water for 13 hours through Macedonia and into Serbia, where we connected with more smugglers, who took us to Budapest, Hungary. We suffered a lot there—the Hungarian police were beating the refugees. After a week, we boarded a bus sent by the Austrian government and continued our journey to Sweden. My sister had read that it was a great place for young women. Some nice girls from Denmark helped us along the way by buying us food and train tickets. After two total months of traveling, we finally made it to Stockholm. An American journalist we had met at the Turkish refugee camp, along with some of her Swedish friends, provided us with an apartment and clothing and helped us apply for asylum. I also enrolled in a local high school for refugees. It was there that I met my boyfriend, Sorosh Husseini. In Syria, I never really talked with boys because I felt like they underestimated girls. When I met Sorosh, who was born in Afghanistan, he was shy, gentle, and smart…he was different. We related on many levels. He was forced to flee from war and terror, like me, and both of our mothers are still in refugee camps in Turkey. After two months of friendship, he invited me to go to a museum with him, and shortly after that, he took my hand at a school dance—I had never danced with a boy before. We went to the cinema a few days later, where we had our first kiss. In school we were asked to write about our happiest day in Sweden, and Sorosh and I wrote about that same thing. We love our new life and our freedom here in Sweden. We both want to forget the pain we went through because of war. I never imagined I could have this life. It has taught me to always remember to have hope. —AS TOLD TO ALIYA NAUMOFF
WHERE ARE THE REFUGEES? Approximately 4.8 million people have fled to Syria’s neighboring countries. Nearly 900,000 have applied for asylum in Europe. Thanks to Barack Obama, 10,000 refugees were admitted to the United States between fall 2015 and 2016, despite opposition from many governors.
HOW DO THEY ASSIMILATE TO AMERICAN LIFE? Refugees undergo a lengthy, rigorous application process involving 12 agencies—the FBI and CIA among them—before arriving in the United States. Within four to six months, 85 percent start working, paying their bills and taxes, and becoming self-sufficient.
“Here in Sweden, I have more opportunities and rights as a woman, and my relationship with Sorosh is even and equal. We are excited to adopt the European traditions and create the life that we want together. I’m proud of myself for getting here,” says Maya. Above: Maya at the Moderna Museet in Stockholm. Left: Maya and Sorosh at an ice-skating rink. Below: Maya (left) and her sister during their first winter in Stockholm.
HOW CAN I HELP? Get in touch with your local branch of the International Rescue Committee to learn how to help refugees in your area, including donating things like clothing and household items. And do not hesitate to call your senators’ offices to urge them to provide sanctuary for refugees.
VOICES
STAND YOUR
GROUND When her political op-ed broke the Internet, Lauren Duca learned a thing or two about how to hold her own in 2017’s great debate.
A
fter publishing a popular piece about Donald Trump on teenvogue.com this past December, I was asked to appear on Fox News. I walked in expecting something challenging, maybe a bit heated, and ended up enduring the 10 most infuriating minutes of my professional life to date. The host spent the majority of the interview tossing off theatrical snickers and false assertions about my personal views and saved the grandest act of degradation for our final moments together. In an attempt to undermine my legitimacy in writing about politics altogether, he read titles of my popculture and fashion posts. “Stick to the thigh-high boots,” he quipped, referencing one on Ariana Grande. “You’re better at that.” The segment went massively viral, perhaps because it felt so familiar. Our conversation–if you can call it that–was a supercharged version of all of the worst types of dialogue unfolding in this fraught political moment. Really, just imagine the most aggravating exchange you had in the wake of the election, but on steroids, in front of millions of people. It was awful, exasperating, and explicitly sexist, but there’s a lesson buried somewhere in all that toxic sludge: Young women have every right to political conversations, and there’s no reason to let anyone tell you what you believe. The easiest way to work toward smarter conversations with
those on the other side of the aisle is to prepare yourself for the trickiest moments. Research the issues that move you, and have bullet points prepared for potential areas of debate. It’s not a matter of ambushing your opposition with an onslaught of statistics but building to a place of security in your own stances. Too many exchanges are colored by personal insecurity; uninformed ignorance is a slippery slope into defensive anger. If you are confident in your positions, you will be far harder to shake. When you find yourself in the middle of a difficult exchange, the greatest advice I can give you is to listen. We are so quick to check the boxes of our preconceived notions. Patience is elusive in this distressing time, but one-on-one relational work matters. Try to hear what the friend, relative, or Fox News talking head who disagrees with you is saying. Respond directly to their claims, rather than to some idea of what the person might think. Similarly, refuse to let him or her prescribe beliefs for you by sheer assumption. After you listen, insist on your right to be heard. This should go without saying, but apparently it’s time for a reminder: Young women have equal, if not greater, investment in this country, and if anyone tries to tell you any differently, inform them—calmly, yet confidently—that you are the future.
THERE’S NO REASON TO LET ANYONE TELL YOU WHAT YOU BELIEVE
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VOICES PLAYLIST Clockwise from left: Carlotta, Ana, Ámber, and Ade wear Peels NYC shirts, $60 each. Pointer Brand jeans, $89 each. Altuzarra earrings. American Eagle Outfitters belts, $20 each. Cat Footwear boots, $134 each. Details, see teenvogue.com.
CRUSHING IT
Best friends, bandmates, and badass rocker babes. The members of these three girl groups are tight, in more ways than one. HINDS, MADRID: In 2015, Spanish rock group Hinds made its Glastonbury Festival main-stage debut, despite having only two singles to its name. “That was during our first world tour, which took us to the United States, Canada, China, Vietnam, Thailand, and Europe,” recalls drummer Ámber Grimbergen. “It was magical,” adds vocalist and guitarist Carlotta Cosials. “Everywhere we went we saw someone in the audience singing our songs—it was crazy.” Though the band was initially formed in 2011 by Carlotta 32 VOLUME 1 2017
and her best friend, fellow guitarist and vocalist Ana Perotte, the duo took a two-year hiatus before picking back up in 2013. They were joined by Ámber and supporting vocalist and bassist Ade Martín the following year, and the foursome entered the Make Noise Malasaña festival contest soon after. “That was our first-ever show together, and we won!” Ade remembers. “We were sent to Berlin, where we recorded a single, ‘Barn’—it was our first time in a studio.” That same year, the group served as a supporting act for TEENVOGUE.COM
Fashion Editor: Kirby Marzec; hair, Matthew Tuozzoli for Atelier Management; makeup, Katie Mellinger using Chanel Le Rouge Crayon de Couleur.
PHOTOGRAPHED BY DIANE RUSSO.
The Libertines, The Vaccines, and Black Lips, and started recording its debut album, Leave Me Alone, which was released last year. “We just started the band to make good music,” Ana says. “But by being four girls breaking the rules of rock ’n’ roll, I think we are actually changing the world a little bit.” More like a lot.
MUNA, LOS ANGELES: Thanks to its just-released album,
Muna: Fashion Editor: Ian Bradley; hair, Travis Speck at Sally Hershberger Downtown; makeup, Sara Glick using Dior Rouge Dior. The Tuts: Fashion Editor: Aurelia Donaldson; hair, Terri Capon at Stella Creative Artists; makeup, Rebecca Wordingham at Saint Luke.
About U, and Tiësto’s remix of the song “Winterbreak,” you might already know of dark pop trio Muna. Formed in 2013 by vocalist Katie Gavin and guitarists Naomi McPherson and Josette Maskin while they were students at the University of Southern California, the group hopes to promote inclusivity through its music. “We started this band to be a representation of queer women creating something that is self-contained,” explains Katie, who, like Josette, graduated from the popular-music program. “We write and produce our own songs and want to show others that they can do the same.” Along with serving as the group’s primary producer, Naomi is also the brains behind its graphic design needs. “I originally wanted to be a professor,” says the multihyphenate, who majored in African American studies and English. “But when I met Katie and Josette, everything changed.” Currently on a headlining North American tour, Muna is poised to make its mark as the cathartic act that pop music needs. “When our fans remind us that what we’re doing has a positive effect on their lives, it’s the most amazing thing,” Josette muses. “We hope that we encourage others to create and share their stories,” Katie adds. “Right now, there’s a lot of fear in the world, and fear can lead to silence.” Sing it loud! From left: Nadia, Beverley, and Harriet wear Topshop jackets, $100 each, tops, $48 each, and skirts, $60 each. PHOTOGRAPHED BY IGOR TERMENÓN.
From left: Josette, Naomi, and Katie wear Lacoste shirts, $90 each. JNCO jeans, $70 each. Dr. Martens boots, $125 each. Details, see teenvogue.com. PHOTOGRAPHED BY TANYA AND ZHENYA POSTERNAK.
Hinds
THE TUTS, LONDON: Finding solace in music is what inspired BFFs Nadia Javed and Beverley Ishmael to form their band, The Tuts, in high school in 2006. “People weren’t very nice—there was a lot of racism,” notes Beverley, the group’s drummer. “It was kind of tough,” adds guitarist and singer Nadia. “That’s why we turned to music.” In 2011, the duo, who cite The Libertines and Feeder as inspirations, were joined by their third band member, bassist and backing vocalist Harriet Doveton. “Not long after that, we found out Kate Nash was championing young female musicians, so we e-mailed her our first music video,” Harriet says. “She called to us from the stage at her show in Brighton, [England,] and everything kicked off from there.” After touring with Kate in 2013, The Tuts played Glastonbury Festival in 2014, which led to gigs with The Selecter and The Undertones. Last September, the trio released its debut album, Update Your Brain, and continues to shred the patriarchy, one stage at a time. “We’re battling undercover racism and sexism because most bands in the punk scene are white men,” Nadia explains. “But us together, united as a band, we’re crushing.” —ARIANA MARSH
VOICES
QUEER LIT
Lena Dunham and Teen Vogue agree: Annie on My Mind is a perfect Sunday morning kind of read.
This book is remarkable, not just because it was the first mainstream YA novel about lesbian romance but also for the sensitivity with which it addresses class, feminism, and emerging selfhood. It’s as much a historical document as a love story. —Lena Dunham 36 VOLUME 1 2017
TEENVOGUE.COM
AMANDA ALBORANO. Details, see teenvogue.com.
BOOK REPORT
VOICES FOLLOW FEED
PUPPY LOVE
For musician Rachel Trachtenburg, 23, animal rights are everything.
W
hen Rachel Trachtenburg glides into New York City’s Social Tees Animal Rescue for her Teen Vogue shoot, Bang Bang, Autumn, and Mokee eye her candy-colored suit. She extends her hand for a sniff by way of introduction. A few licks later, the pups are ready for a walk. Rachel has been around animals her entire life. Her mom took in stray cats constantly, and once even nursed an injured crow back to health. Her family rescued its Chihuahua mix, Munchkin, after becoming “foster failures” (fostering her, then falling too in love to let anyone else adopt her). “I can talk about her for hours,” says Rachel. “My mom calls 38 VOLUME 1 2017
her a pug-huahua, because she’s kind of chubby. She’s an alien angel.” Munchkin makes frequent cameos on Rachel’s Instagram, in between videos of her band Wooing’s shows. But Rachel stands up for all animals, not just man’s best friend. She’s testified at City Hall against horse-drawn carriages and protested pigeon netting, in which poachers catch pigeons, allegedly in order to clip their wings and sell them to be used as live targets in shooting contests. “I’m antihunting, obviously, but [live pigeon shoots] are even below that,” she says. “There’s no ‘game’ in it.” For Rachel, being an activist means more than adopting a furry friend—it’s about taking action for all animals. But taking three sweet pups for a walk counts too. —MM TEENVOGUE.COM
Fashion Editor: Kirby Marzec; hair, Elsa using Kérastase; makeup, Seong Hee Park using M.A.C.
Rachel wears a Miu Miu jacket and pants. Laurence Dacade boots. Details, see teenvogue.com. PHOTOGRAPHED BY COLIN LEAMAN.
STYLE Fashion Editor: Ian Bradley; hair, Travis Speck at Sally Hershberger Downtown; makeup, Sara Glick using Dior Rouge Dior. Details, see teenvogue.com.
GET READY
UP IN ARMS Model couple TIANA TOLSTOI and DANIEL OH catch feels in the balloon sleeves trend. PHOTOGRAPHED BY TANYA AND ZHENYA POSTERNAK.
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STYLE
Tiana wears a DSquared2 sweatshirt. Agolde jeans, $148. Stvdio Brooklyn earrings, $148. Daniel wears a Linder sweatshirt, $345. Previous page: Tiana wears a Tibi dress. Details, see teenvogue.com.
ASHLEY WILLIAMS SPRING 2017
19th-century French fashion
Isabel Marant jacket, Isabel Marant, NYC.
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ASOS top, $64. asos.com.
London Fashion Week, spring 2017
TEENVOGUE.COM
Clockwise from top: TANYA AND ZHENYA POSTERNAK; JOHN MANNO; TOMMY TON; JOHN MANNO; Historical Picture Archive/Getty Images; Indigital.
S
ome trends scream romance. Think: the high-low skirts from five years ago, the bell-sleeve blouses before that, and the dreamy dark florals that seem to pop in and out of fashion every other spring—groundbreaking, we know. But right now, it’s all about balloon sleeves—the superflowy, dramatic detail that dominated the spring 2017 runways at Marques’Almeida, Isabel Marant, J.W. Anderson, Simone Rocha, and Ashley Williams. Unlike the pretty bow-bedecked shoes or rosy frocks of seasons past, this is one trend that takes some tact to try. As real-life model couple Tiana Tolstoi, 22, and Daniel Oh, 26, show in these pages, with a little creativity and a whole lot of self-expression (and, perhaps, a really amazing pair of highwaisted jeans), a sartorial statement piece can also be a romantic pièce de résistance. Not that it’s any surprise this stylish twosome can take one of the most glam garments ever and make it look easy and cool. Models are generally known for their on-point off-duty style, but whether they’re on camera or off, on Instagram or IRL, Tiana and Daniel have taken couple coordination to a whole new level. Following in the footsteps of best-dressed duos like Brad and Gwyneth or Romeo and Juliet (both the classic and Claire Danes–Leonardo DiCaprio versions), Tiana and Daniel are experts at putting a too-coolfor-school take on every style. Vintage tees, matching track jackets, and supersize statement shades—these two can truly wear it all. One model couple, two “do you” attitudes, and a mutual attraction to straight-from-the-runway looks? Talk about a fashion fairy tale. —SUE WILLIAMSON
STYLE CURB APPEAL Street style. IRL. Heron Preston for DSNY jacket. Details, see teenvogue.com. PHOTOGRAPHED BY AMANDA ALBORANO.
BLOCK PARTY Cool stuff as seen—and snapped—on the street.
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Great for eye protection when a woman wielding a sword is doing tai chi on your basketball court. Trust us. Area sunglasses, $295–$325 each.
Not pictured: the designer shoe (and prop weight) dangling from the bag’s strap inside the trash can. Off-White c/o Virgil Abloh bag.
*Gets kicked out of truck yard for trespassing five minutes after this shot.* Miu Miu slides, $290. Modern Man T-shirt, $90.
STYLE
Hair, Elsa using Kérastase; makeup, Seong Hee Park using M.A.C. Below, clockwise from top right: JOHN MANNO; SAM CONANT; JOHN MANNO (2).
FROM THE ARCHIVE
How one 20-something’s collection of vintage Raf Simons and Helmut Lang turned into a lucrative business.
W
hen celebrities like Kanye West and Rihanna want to ensure they’re always sporting the most unique looks on and off the red carpet, they turn to David Casavant. The soughtafter collector began hunting down rare pieces by the likes of Raf Simons, Helmut Lang, Dior, and Versace at age 13 while living at home in Tennessee. “I fell in love with finding fashion on the Internet and being able to buy this faraway stuff,” says David, now 26. It wasn’t until he moved to New York and began working in the magazine world that his obsession paid off. “I was assisting stylists who knew about my archive and would borrow the clothes for shoots,” he says. Soon he was renting out his finds to magazines as well as musicians from Travis Scott to Lorde. “It all kind of happened at once,” he recalls. While David is sitting on a sartorial gold mine, he has no plans to resell any of his prized possessions. Instead, he aims to keep each piece active in the fashion conversation rather than worshipped as a bit of history. “My goal is to take the clothes and give them modern meaning,” he says of his ongoing projects, one of which materialized in the form of a zine where artist and photographer friends visually reinterpreted his wardrobe. “I’m trying to turn these pieces into something new rather than treating them like Pokémon, where I have to just catch them all.” —KIRBY MARZEC
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@WORK Kris wears a Raf Simons spring 2014 tank top (worn as dress) and sneakers. David wears Raf Simons fall 2003 hoodie. PHOTOGRAPHED BY COLIN LEAMAN. Raf Simons fall 2001 bomber and shirt.
Vintage Helmut Lang swim briefs. Raf Simons spring 2014 sneakers. TRAVIS SCOTT
STYLE PASSPORT
SPIRIT OF ESPAÑA
An insider’s guide to Spain from Carlota Guerrero, the visual genius behind Solange’s A Seat at the Table. A self-portrait by Spanish art director/ photographer Carlota
“Rosalía is a 23-year-old flamenco singer who has haunted my heart deeply. She is a gem to be discovered.”
“I could dress only in my friend Paloma Lanna’s Paloma Wool designs forever.”
Bag from Adrian Salvador’s Valenciabased Onesixone
Paintings by Tana Latorre “Fellow photographer/ art director Olga de la Iglesia is an incredible human whose eye for color and ability to find beauty in the most random spaces never stop surprising me.”
A building rendering by Cierto Estudio, an architecture and design studio founded by seven women
“One of my favorite restaurants is Bar del Pla in Barcelona.”
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Totem light from Cierto Estudio
“Oso Leone is my favorite Spanish band. They are ambient and experimental.”
Earrings from Lucía Vergara’s Barcelonabased Après Ski
TEENVOGUE.COM
Clockwise from top left: CARLOTA GUERRERO; courtesy of Paloma Wool; FRANCESC PLANES; courtesy of @tanalatorre; CARLOTA GUERRERO/courtesy of Cierto Estudio: courtesy of Après Ski; CARLOTA GUERRERO; VimWorks/courtesy of Cierto Estudio; courtesy of Bar del Pla; OLGA DE LA IGLESIA; courtesy of Onesixone; courtesy of Aoo.
Miguel Milá chair from Aoo in Barcelona
STYLE #TBT Molly Ringwald wearing the iconically divisive dress in the 1986 film Pretty in Pink.
TIME AFTER TIME W
hen asked if I went to my prom, my standard scenes, but whatever the reason, I signed off on the design. answer is “Yes. Over and over and over.” It’s Weeks later, when I saw the dress for the first time, I burst true. I go to the nail salon, and there I am on the into tears. The only thing I liked, and even vaguely remembered from the consultation, was the halter TV getting dumped by Blane. I pick up my kids neckline. The puffy sleeves and invertedfrom a sleepover, and they announce that they triangle, sacklike silhouette confounded me, watched a movie where my hair was orange but it was too late to change it. and I wore a strange dress at the end. “Did you like that dress, Mommy?” my 7-year-old In the original version of the movie, daughter asks. That dress! Andie ended up with her best friend, GUCCI Although the film’s costume Duckie. Months later, however, when the designer, Marilyn Vance, did a movie was test-screened, everyone wanted Andie to end up with Blane. I was fantastic job of interpreting my RODARTE thrilled—now the dress could be changed! personal style for my character, Andie—I loved the beautiful vintage It turned out, however, that they only pieces she sourced as well as the wanted to reshoot the very end, and if we outfits she designed, and kept almost changed the dress, all of the scenes leading everything after the film was over— up to it would have to be reshot as well. So there’s one piece I didn’t keep: the back into the dreaded dress I went. prom dress. To the best of my And yet, though I never thought I’d admit it, I’ve come to appreciate the dress: It’s knowledge, it’s locked away in a wardrobe vault at the studio. At least I unlike anything else, and memorable in a way hope it is. If I’d had it my way, I would that a more conventionally pretty option have burned the dress on the would not have been. I won’t say that Andie had Paramount back lot as soon as they yelled a huge career ahead of her in fashion design, but the last “Cut! Print!” at least she wasn’t afraid to be different, a quality ASHLEY WILLIAMS I’m still not sure how that dress happened. that I like to believe would have served her well I don’t know if I was swayed by Marilyn’s in life. passion when she talked me through the So now when my daughter asks if I like the dress, sketches, or distracted by the algebra final I was I tell her, “Yes, I do.” She smiles and says, “Me too! preparing to take in my trailer in between I love it.”
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Clockwise from top: Paramount/Rex/Shutterstock; Indigital (3).
As 1980s fashion makes a comeback, Brat Pack It-girl Molly Ringwald recalls her own defining sartorial Pretty in Pink prom moment.
Fashion Editor: Kirby Marzec; hair, Matthew Tuozzoli for Atelier Management; makeup, Katie Mellinger using Chanel Calligraphie de Chanel Longwear Intense Cream Eyeliner. Below: JOHN MANNO (3).
STYLE Costumed character wears a Yazbukey bag, $142. Natalie wears an Off-White c/o Virgil Abloh hip belt. Richardson sweatshirt, $238, and hat, $120. MM6 Maison Margiela pants. American Apparel socks, $9. Eytys sneakers, $235. Details, see teenvogue.com. PHOTOGRAPHED BY DIANE RUSSO.
GOTTA HAVE IT
BELT IT OUT
These aren’t your artsy greataunt’s fanny packs. The latest luxe belt bags make an ultrachic case for convenience. From left: DKNY belt bag, $398. Select DKNY stores. Toga belt bag, toga.jp. Alexander Wang fanny pack, alexanderwang.com.
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BEAUTY Fashion Editor: Julia Baylis; hair, Joey George using Hairstory; makeup, Stevie Huynh using Milk Makeup. Details, see teenvogue.com.
GIVE FACE
PRACTICAL MAGIC
Powerful, mysterious, and thrillingly self-possessed, this season’s BEAUTY ICON is none other than THE GOOD WITCH.➤ PHOTOGRAPHED BY MAYAN TOLEDANO.
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BEAUTY
Preen by Thornton Bregazzi dress.
Girasol quartz Combat stress with girasol quartz, an ancient mineral used to soften tension. Rose quartz This pretty stone helps open you up to platonic and romantic love. It even encourages you to love yourself.
Amazonite If you’ve been flaky, grab yourself some turquoise amazonite—it helps with accountability.
Amethyst Keep this close by if you’re trying to break down toxic thoughts and addictive behaviors.
ROCK STARS Can crystals de-stress, boost energy, and brighten your mood? We are believers!
n the opening sequence of The Craft—the 1996 cult film about teens with magic powers—the coven chants around an altar scattered with candles. Two decades since its release, The Craft is less of a memento than a crystal ball. Witchy culture is in the air: At Preen by Thornton Bregazzi’s spring show, pagan was the new pretty, as models wore dried flowers on their cheeks and pentagram dresses. Modern witch and Insta-beauty hero Bri Luna, aka @thehoodwitch, has more than 120,000 Insta followers who love her mystical mantras (“A witch bows to no man”) and out-there beauty recipes (the “overwhelming anger bath” calls for a few drops of catnip essential oil). At Sphatika, a Manhattan spa, guests are offered a crystal before a treatment. “You hold it and set your intention of what you hope to get out of the treatment,” says founder Janet League-Katzin. Incense, magic stones: This may be the stuff of Merlin’s castle, but for some, they may be answers to a modern problem, says Jessica Richards, founder of Shen Beauty, a Brooklyn business known for breaking trends. (Richards stashes crystals in the cash drawer at her shop to bring in prosperity.) “We’re in a moment where people are trying to grasp on to something higher than themselves,” she says. Indeed, according to the 2014 Pew Research Center Religious Landscape Study, while Americans have become less religious in recent years, people’s “sense of wonder about the universe” has risen. The embrace of all things witchy makes perfect sense at a moment when teenage girls are more self-possessed than ever. “Today’s young women are taught to value power, beauty, and sexuality, but on their own terms,” says Pam Grossman, author of What Is a Witch. It’s not surprising that young women may be looking for a new feminist icon—or a moment of bewitching calm—in 2017. And even better, you don’t need a membership card to be a part of the coven, Grossman says. “Witchcraft is about magic, and at its core, that’s about manifesting what you want,” she says. “Conjuring your life on your own terms.” With so many social issues swirling on top of our personal daily dramas, magic offers a sense of control in the chaos. Consider it a way to channel all of the latent energy—whether it’s anger, confusion, or grief—into good. —JESSICA MATLIN TEENVOGUE.COM
Clockwise from top left: MAYAN TOLEDANO (2); JOHN MANNO (5).
I
Hematite Can’t sleep? This may help reset your P.M. patterns.
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Luisana wears a Shrimps blouse and dress. Molly Goddard dress (worn underneath). Gaspar Gloves gloves. Previous page: Me and You sweatshirt, $85. Dior skirt. Details, see teenvogue.com.
Yoko Ono, dressed as a witch, with John Lennon, 1968.
1 2
3
Clockwise from top left: Keystone/Getty Images; JOHN MANNO (2); Indigital (2); MAYAN TOLEDANO; LIAM GOODMAN; Archive Photos/Getty Images; JOHN MANNO (3).
CHRISTOPHER KANE SPRING 2017
NO. 21 SPRING 2017
4
5 Cult classic film The Craft, 1996
6
1. The Wild Unknown Animal Spirit Deck, $40. thewildunknown.com. 2. Dior Poison Girl Eau de Toilette, $60 for 1 oz. Sephora. 3. The Wild Unknown Sacred Sandalwood Incense, $16. thewildunknown.com. 4. Witchcraft: A Handbook of Magic, Spells, and Potions book, $17. amazon. com. 5. Olivia Kane ring. oliviakane.co. 6. Winky Lux Flower Balm, $14. winkylux.com. Pictured right, see teenvogue.com.
BEAUTY Manic Panic Virgin Snow White Toner, $14. manicpanic.com. Below: Tresemmé Repair & Protect 7 Pre-Styling Spray, $5. Walgreens.
Kendall Jenner in Vogue, December 2015
ICE QUEEN Consider pale blonde hair the leather jacket of the beauty world.
ANJA KONSTANTINOVA
SOO JOO PARK TAYLOR SWIFT, RIGHT, WITH GIGI HADID
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Clockwise from top: MERT ALAS AND MARCUS PIGGOTT; LUCAS VISSER; JOHN MANNO; courtesy of @gigihadid; KIRSTIN SINCLAIR/Getty Images; courtesy of @anja_konstantinova.
BLONDE BRIGADE
P
erfect highlights have been the calling card of the fashion pack for ages, but this season, king of all things cool Alexander Wang sent a model squad down the runway with bleached-out strands—it was a total palate cleanser. Paler than platinum, the practically colorless hue channels a ’90s-era, punk-meets-popprincess Gwen Stefani vibe. “It’s edgy without breaking all the rules,” notes L’Oréal Paris celebrity colorist Kari Hill. Whether you’re naturally blonde or brunette, this arctic shade demands more than a double-process dye job. “It’s not wash-and-wear hair,” says celeb colorist Justin Anderson. “You have to treat it as carefully as your favorite white shirt.” Skip shampoo three days prior to your bleaching session—your scalp’s natural oils act as a protective shield. At home, switch to a silky pillowcase to prevent breakage and fallout, and pass on those oftrecommended deep purple shampoos for blondes. The intense pigmentation of these formulas can leave hair with a violet tinge. Instead, stock up on a lighter, lavender shampoo, like L’Oréal Paris EverPure Blonde Shampoo, to keep strands extra bright. —TINA FERRARO
BEAUTY #NOFILTER Luis wears an XLarge shirt, $36. Details, see teenvogue.com.
HIS AND HERS
Some things we all can appreciate: a sunset, a puppy…a killer highlighter! David Yi of verygoodlight.com explores the new makeup-for-all movement.
T
he son of a skin-care-obsessed Korean mother, I began my beauty ritual early. At age 12, I was slathering night creams on my cheeks, polishing my complexion as if I were waxing a vehicle’s hood. The entire process took 20 minutes, a set amount of time each day when I confronted the mirror, practiced self-acceptance, learned to embrace my flaws, and gained inner confidence. In bathrooms across the country, boys are also finding their
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beauty rituals, and in 2017, it’s become a bit more colorful: A hint of brow pencil or color corrector isn’t just commonplace but cool. We may have lost the great David Bowie last year, but Harry Styles continues to make androgyny look chic. Last year when he turned up in a black mani, somehow his Dior suit looked even better. Meanwhile, It boy Luka Sabbat readily tweets about getting his makeup done. And arguably the best-dressed guy in the world, G-Dragon, is a K-pop ➤ TEENVOGUE.COM
Fashion Editor: Sasha Kelly; hair, Tomi Kono using Bumble and Bumble; makeup, Seong Hee Park using M.A.C.
PHOTOGRAPHED BY JEFF HENRIKSON.
BEAUTY #NOFILTER Simon Miller sweatshirt, $275. Details, see teenvogue.com.
Milk Makeup Shadow Liner in Model/DJ, $26. Sephora.
OUR LATEST
OBSESSIONS Maybelline New York Master Camo Color Correcting Kit, $13. Target. Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Colour Stick in Bronze No. 30, $45. chanel.com. CoverGirl So Lashy! BlastPro Mascara, $9. Target.
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Giorgio Armani Him/Her Lip Care, $30. giorgio armani beautyusa.com.
star who’s rarely spotted without a smoky eye. The only shocking thing about the boys-in-makeup trend is how little people care. According to the polling firm YouGov, one-third of Americans are indifferent to guys in makeup. The culture may grow to be even more accepting as Gen Z’s swaggiest guys—think Jaden Smith and Young Thug—readily embrace women’s clothing, because, well, why not? It doesn’t hurt that CoverGirl named its very first CoverBoy last year, YouTube star James Charles, while Maybelline New York partnered with Manny Gutierrez (aka @mannymua 733) for the launch of its new mascara. When two of the biggest American beauty brands are on board, it’s clear: Guyliner is going mainstream. I’m often asked, “Is a guy less of a guy with makeup?” Quite the opposite. It’s a tool that you use to enhance what you love about yourself. For some, that’s a full-face beat with contouring. For others, like me, it may be just a hint of Tom Ford Brow Gelcomb. Whatever the case, both are acts of defiance. Beauty, to me, is complete power and confidence. What’s more masculine than that? TEENVOGUE.COM
Clockwise from top left: JEFF HENRIKSON; MICK ROCK 1973, 2016; JOHN MANNO (2); LUCAS VISSER; TOM GORMAN; JOHN MANNO.
DAVID BOWIE
BEAUTY
5
3 2
8
1
4
POWER COUPLES 1
Spray dry shampoo on your bobby pins for a stay-allday hold. Celeb stylist Mark Townsend swears by it. Jen Atkin x Chloe + Isabel Oversized Pearl Pins, $28–$38 for
each set. chloeandisabel.com. Dove Refresh + Care Volume & Fullness Dry Shampoo, $4. Walgreens.
3 4
Musk makes any scent a little more intriguing.
Kiehl’s Original Musk Eau de Toilette, $43. kiehls.com. Chloé Love Story Eau Sensuelle Eau de Parfum, $105 for 1.7 oz. Sephora.
Mix this cult body cream with concealer for the glowiest complexion ever. Bonus: It’s like making your own custom BB cream—you control the coverage.
Nars Soft Matte Complete Concealer, $30. narscosmetics.com. Weleda Skin Food, $19. usa.weleda.com.
2
Hyaluronic Acid + Vitamin B5 Serum, $28. glossier.com. Peter
5
Thomas Roth Acne Spot and Area Treatment, $19. Sephora.
Sunscreen SPF 60, $20. Ulta. —SUE WILLIAMSON
Have acne and dry skin? Avoid oils and use hyaluronic acid instead. It can retain up to 1,000 times its weight in water and won’t clog pores. Glossier Super Bounce
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Before you slather on the sunscreen, amp up its UV protective power with antioxidants like vitamin C. Dr Dennis Gross C+ Collagen Perfect Skin Set & Refresh Mist,
$30. Sephora. La Roche-Posay Anthelios Clear Skin Dry Touch
TEENVOGUE.COM
From top: THEO SION; LIAM GOODMAN (10).
Like PB&J or Beyoncé and Jay Z, on their own, they’re great—but together, they’re even better.
WELLNESS HELP YOURSELF
BREAKFAST IN BED JOHN MANNO
Y
Back in the day, doctors tried to persuade patients into abstinence with bland bowls of cereal. True story!
ou can thank God for Kellogg’s Corn Flakes. No, really. The breakfast cereal was invented by Will Keith Kellogg and his elder brother John Harvey Kellogg, a Seventh-Day Adventist and surgeon who ran the Battle Creek Sanitarium, a health spa in Battle Creek, Michigan. Adventists emphasize health and cleanliness as part of their religious doctrine, with the church suggesting that its followers stick to a vegetarian diet and abstain from drugs and alcohol. The elder Kellogg took it a giant step further: He believed that rich, delicious food incited “evil” thoughts, leading down the road to sin. TEENVOGUE.COM
(Spoiler alert: We’re talking about sex, baby!) “A man that lives on pork, fine-flour bread, rich pies and cakes…,” Kellogg wrote, “might as well try to fly as to be chaste in thought.” Bland food, therefore, would surely steer the mind and soul away from “illicit intercourse.” In 1894, the Kelloggs accidentally created flaked wheat cereal, which later developed into the corn flakes we know today, and began serving it as a healthy, non-onanistic breakfast for patients at the sanitarium. Victorian-era convalescents seeking purity of mind, body, and soul thought the grains were grrreat. —MELANIE MIGNUCCI VOLUME 1 2017 83
WELLNESS
SELFLOVE
Your body, your rules. So why is female masturbation still a major no-fly zone today?
I
t’s time we lift the shame from one of America’s greatest taboos. Before modern science, masturbation was considered the root of nearly every unexplainable medical issue, including blindness, epilepsy, fainting spells, memory loss, and stunted growth in children. All of these claims were false, of course, but that kind of stigma is hard to shake. When we asked women in their 20s what they wished their high school selves had understood about self-love, the most common answer was wanting to know that other girls were doing it too. With all the mixed messages floating around about what is and isn’t “normal,” such a private topic can be confusing to navigate—especially for young women and girls, who are often conditioned to believe that any kind of sexuality is unusual or unhealthy. “On one hand, celebrities like Miley Cyrus feel comfortable talking positively about masturbation, yet it isn’t on the sex education curriculum in some school districts,” says sexuality and gender expert
Lauren Rosewarne, Ph.D. “Women, apparently, aren’t supposed to be sexual, and so we don’t talk about female masturbation.” According to the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior, conducted by researchers from the Center for Sexual Heath Promotion at Indiana University, which included U.S. teens, among those ages 14 to 17, 74 percent of boys and 48 percent of girls said they had masturbated. The survey, which polled 5,865 Americans, found a significant increase by the time we reach our 20s: About 72 percent of women and 84 percent of men between the ages of 25 and 29 said they had tried it themselves at least once in the past year. Not only is there nothing wrong with self-pleasure, it’s actually good for you. It can help you fall asleep, relieve stress, and ease menstrual cramps. It has even been associated with having a better body image. Plus, unlike sex with a partner, masturbation puts you at much lower risk for STIs, it won’t lead to unintended pregnancy, and it’s a safe way to figure out what you are and aren’t comfortable with. So when it comes to loving yourself and your body, pleasure isn’t just for fun—it’s a form of self-care, and you deserve to treat yourself. —VERA PAPISOVA
MASTURBATION THROUGH THE AGES
Women in ancient Athens bought fake penises for masturbation.
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In medieval Europe, masturbation was often considered a crime.
Some 18th-century medical practitioners thought masturbation caused disease.
TEENVOGUE.COM
Clockwise from top: KATIE SILVESTER; Leemage/Getty Images; Kean Collection/Getty Images; DEA/A. DAGLI ORTI/Getty Images.
IT’S PERSONAL
BODY PARTY
Fashion Editor: Masha Orlov; hair, Sean Bennett using Oribe; makeup, Niki M’nray using M.A.C.
Lovesick bralette, $25, and underwear, $15. Details, see teenvogue.com. PHOTOGRAPHED BY VIKI FORSHEE.
When I feel insecure, I look in the mirror and say what I appreciate about myself —Lulu Bonfils, 17
WELLNESS
ASK A SEX EDUCATOR
HOW DO I SAY NO?
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TEENVOGUE.COM
OLIVIA BEE
I
What are your sexual and emotional ’ve been hooking up with someone for Whether you want boundaries? a while. Usually we just make out, Are there things you’d like to remain totally but I think they want to do more. How to explore or things you definitely don’t abstinent or do can I tell them I’m not ready? want to do? Maybe some people are telling you to everything but, the When you’re ready to talk, try starting just get over it and do more. Someone else off with something positive, like “It’s choice is yours. Teen been really fun making out with you!” might tell you to never think about sex at Vogue’s resident (And if that’s not true, maybe it’s time to all. But guess what? It’s not up to them. What’s most important in any sexual sex educator, Lena re-evaluate the whole situation.) Next, situation is that you and the person you’re Solow, offers a crash name what you’re worried about. That hooking up with both feel comfortable, course on consent. could sound like, “I want to talk about safe, and excited. That’s the basis of how we’re both feeling. I’m worried consent—that both people are on board with and excited you’re going to be upset with me if I set boundaries, but I about the specific sexual activity that’s happening. hope that we can both listen to each other.” This should Now, of course, it’s one thing to understand consent. It’s help you feel more relaxed and able to be up-front about another thing entirely to actually talk about your what you want. Finally, be direct. For example: “I think boundaries. But don’t worry: It’s not as awkward as it you may want to do more, but for now I just want to make sounds. Believe it or not, talking is going to make this out. How does that make you feel?” whole experience much better for both of you, and once I Your hookup may be totally down with just making out— lay out these steps you’ll be ready to go. Here’s the yay! Or they may be interested in doing “more,” but that exception—if this person is already crossing your may not mean sex—maybe you two want to make out but boundaries or trying to push you when you’re obviously with your shirts off, or on a different couch, or lying down. unsure, no need for a long conversation. You can always There are always options to explore. Now what if this person is adamant about wanting tell someone in the moment, “Stop. I don’t want to do that.” something you’re not comfortable with? Remember—if If they don’t listen—buh-bye. To start this discussion, check in with yourself. What are they’re pushy, they don’t deserve to make out with you, you enjoying? Is there anything you want to change? and you get to find a new, better make-out buddy.
WELLNESS
PHYS. ED
HEART BURN
I
s it just us, or is the sun in permanent retreat these days? From politics and relationships to TV shows (R.I.P. PLL), even the little things we used to love now seem to have an anxious, apocalyptic tinge to them. Perhaps that’s why more and more people are gravitating toward the gym, where the latest crazes have less to do with fixing your body “flaws” than with clearing and resetting your mind. In New York, celebrity fitness pro Nicole Winhoffer’s class has earned the hashtag #NWChurch for her confessional, motivational style and trademark end-of-session sermons. “Listen to your intuition,” she said recently after two hours of toning and cardio dance. “If something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.” In Nicole’s class, the instructor is as
vulnerable as the students, opening up the floor for honest conversation and intense workouts. Meanwhile, cyclists on the West Coast are competing for coveted spots in class with Angela Manuel-Davis, a SoulCycle instructor and motivational coach known for her nonstop energy and mantras, like “If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you,” and “Your struggle introduces you to your strength.” With her intense training and impassioned voice, it’s no wonder she counts such powerhouses as Oprah and the Beckhams as fans. “When we are physically challenged, we are being emotionally cracked open at the same time,” she says. “At those times, love, encouragement, reinforcement, and inspiration can be poured in.” Nicole and Angela are two of the best at packing mantras into their methods, but they’re hardly the first. “This idea that you can mix meditative or contemplative traditions with movement goes back thousands of years—as opposed to aerobic exercise, which is a fairly modern concept. Meditative practices like yoga and tai chi include aspects of both,” says Brandon Alderman, Ph.D., an associate professor of kinesiology and health at Rutgers University. Dr. Alderman is currently leading a study on meditation and running as a means to treat depression. “Engaging in meditation may boost the affective and physiological benefits of exercise. Though we’re just beginning to study the relationship between the two, I suspect that if meditative practices enhance the overall experience of exercise, it may also, surprisingly, encourage or motivate people to be more active.” If there’s one thing we could all use more of right now, it’s a little positive reinforcement. —SUE WILLIAMSON
“HEARTBREAK SUCKS WAY F*CKING MORE THAN ACID REFLUX EVER COULD.” —ALEXA CHUNG, IT 88 VOLUME 1 2017
TEENVOGUE.COM
MARIO TESTINO
Is exercise the new therapy? More workouts aim to overcome physical and emotional challenges.
when i
love
somebody,
i love them
with all my
heart
—BELLA HADID. Photographed by Daniel Jackson.
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TEENVOGUE.COM
PEACE OF MIND Bella wears a Marc Jacobs top and pants. Details, see teenvogue.com. FASHION EDITOR: JULIA SARR-JAMOIS.
SHE HAS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL HEART. HER INSIDES MATCH HER FACE —BELLA’S BFF JESSE JO STARK
BAND OF INSIDERS Bella wears an Anna Sui top, $381. Marc Jacobs shorts. A-Morir sunglasses, $200. Jesse Jo wears a Rosamosario slip dress. MadeWorn T-shirt, $160. Details, see teenvogue.com.
MIRROR, MIRROR Tome top. Details, see teenvogue.com.
BEAUTY NOTE:
Supernaturally glowing skin like Bella’s is as simple as treating your complexion to Dior Capture Totale DreamSkin 1-Minute Mask twice a week.
W
e’re basically dating now.” A glistening, bathing suit–clad Bella Hadid is towering over the luckiest 12-year-old boy on the planet. He has just spent the last 25 minutes dancing his little heart out to ’80s electronic music with the model of the moment for her Teen Vogue video debut. “You better change your Facebook status,” Bella purrs playfully while hugging her dance partner goodbye. She slips away, leaving her tiny costar helplessly grinning behind Coke-bottle glasses, his red-hot cheeks betraying all attempts at playing it cool. Unsurprisingly, Bella accurately captures the role of every pubescent kid’s pinup fantasy. After all, she recently scored her first pair of Victoria’s Secret wings and stole the show in them while her brand-new ex, The Weeknd, performed mere inches away. (More on that act of badassery later.) In person, Bella’s face is as painstakingly perfect as the pictures suggest. Her sharp, catlike features, upturned nose, and slanted green eyes make it hard to look away. This enchanting brand of beauty packaged in an Amazonian body makes for a combination that seems to exist only in Tarantino films. While Bella’s striking physical beauty has certainly helped rack up coveted deals with global powerhouse brands from Dior Beauty to Fendi and Nike, it’s hardly the extent of her intrigue. More impressive is her rare gift to make everyone in her midst feel completely, and utterly, important. She exudes a genuine kindness that,
known as some of the nicest girls in the industry.) On set, as soon as the cameras stop rolling, the statuesque star is too busy doling out hugs like candy canes at Christmas to bother with feeding the bombshell fantasies that have been flung onto her. She’s just Bella, a genetically blessed Dutch-Palestinian girl from Malibu who is happy as hell to be here and never too cool to let it show. As the shoot day is winding down, jet lag is setting in thanks to her overnight flight, but Bella is no less solicitous, offering me a lipstick from her purse to try on. She is wearing a fluffy white robe now and getting cozy in her home away from home—the makeup chair. She is finally ready to open up, for the first time, about her public split from Abel Tesfaye, better known as the international pop sensation The Weeknd. But first she wants to talk about another heartbreak, from which she’s still recovering. After an ongoing battle with Lyme disease that derailed her Olympic dreams at age 16, Bella made the tough decision to part ways with her first true love of her life, a horse named Lego. “I rotated between a few horses that could jump higher or whatever. But Lego was my main, my ride or die,” Bella says wistfully. “When I had to sell him, it was like a breakup! I was really traumatized,” she shares. “You can ask any equestrian: You develop a crazy, emotional connection with this animal. When you’re riding a horse, they have full control over you, and they can literally kill you in a second, so you build a trust with them.” Listening to her drill down the intensity and nuance of her
AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOU NEVER WANT TO BURN A BRIDGE THAT YOU’VE FOUGHT SO HARD TO BUILD frankly, society says girls this pretty need not possess. “She has such a beautiful heart. Her insides match her face,” says Jesse Jo Stark (pictured on page 92), the pop-punk singer and Bella’s bestie of six years. “She’s really this nice to everyone she meets.” It’s clear from Bella’s generous offering of lifetime bragging rights to the boy on set that she aims to please—and in the sincerest way possible. I flash back to her 20th birthday party, held in the basement of a New York City nightclub. Bella is in a racy metallic see-through dress by Fannie Schiavoni, but instead of dancing on tables like most 20-year-old rock stars, she’s traversing a room that she’s intentionally filled with her real friends from high school, making sure everyone is OK. Call it a classic case of middle-child syndrome, or good home training. I call it the Bella Effect. Niceties aside, since Bella’s modeling debut in 2013, the former competitive equestrian and ex–Parsons photography student has made quite the name for herself in the fashion world—and among her 10 million-plus Instagram fans. Though she initially entered the public eye as Gigi Hadid’s mysterious, if slightly subversive, raven-haired little sister, it wasn’t long before the Hadid sisters shared equal celebrity recognition. And this good-girl/bad-girl distinction served her well along the way. If Gigi is all-American blonde optimism and bounce on the runway, Bella is more of an exotic, stealth force of nature prowling ahead. (Spoiler alert: They are both universally
love for Lego, it’s hard not to miss the metaphor for any hardcharging love and the risk of destruction that invariably comes with it. Which brings us to this past November, when Bella’s high-profile, high-speed relationship with chart-topping crooner The Weeknd came to a halt. The couple had dated for more than a year, and though the parting was amicable, they barely had time to absorb it before being thrust onto a global stage together at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, where she strutted breezily by her ex during his performance of “Starboy.” The moment was affable and sweet—heroic even, considering the guts it takes to face an ex anywhere, let alone in your underwear with the world watching. It played out on social media like a scene from a real-life soap opera, sparking a string of memes with one-liners like “How every girl should walk past their ex!” and “When you’re looking fly AF and secretly hope you run into your ex.” But Bella admits it wasn’t as easy as it looked. “It was my first breakup—or second, next to the horse—and so public. As an outsider, you might think I handled it so well, but it’s always in your heart, and you always feel it very heavily,” she shares. “It’ll be hard for a while. Love hurts, but you have to pull through.” Bella pauses reflectively before adding, “But I’ll always respect him, and I’ll always love him. Sometimes you want to be sad about it or handle it differently, but at the end of the day, you never want to burn a bridge that you’ve fought so hard to build.” —ELAINE WELTEROTH
SISTER ACT Bella effortlessly mixes sweet pieces like a hat from Stephen Jones for Ryan Lo and a Zadig & Voltaire dress, $348, with punk studded Coach 1941 boots. Off-White c/o Virgil Abloh sweatshirt. Opposite page: Jesse Jo wears a What Goes Around Comes Around vintage leather jacket. Ashley Williams bra, and long-sleeve shirt, $158. Amo jeans, $260. Details, see teenvogue.com. In this story: hair, Didier Malige using RenĂŠ Furterer; makeup, Francelle; nails, Rica Romain for Chanel Le Vernis; set design, Gerard Santos at Streeters; production, PRODn at Art + Commerce.
HOT PURSUIT
A date isn’t hard to find. But for the fashion-obsessed, true love is a meeting of the minds—and wardrobe. And hair. MODEL TAMI WILLIAMS sets out to find her perfect match. PHOTOGRAPHED BY OLIVER HADLEE PEARCH.
Jaxyn wears an Off-White c/o Virgil Abloh sweatshirt. Vans sneakers, $70. Opposite page: Tami and Jordun wear Off-White c/o Virgil Abloh. Details, see teenvogue.com. FASHION EDITOR: JULIA SARR-JAMOIS. TEENVOGUE.COM
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CHECK MATE Tami and Cesar wear Christopher Kane. Unif bodysuits, $49 each. Opposite page: Alexander and Tami wear Gypsy Sport. Details, see teenvogue.com.
I
f you’re obsessed with style, there’s no limit to where you’ll find sartorial inspiration. For Tami Williams, 18, sometimes that means taking cues from the opposite sex. The Jamaica native, who moved to New York in 2016 and is signed with Elite New York, has been experimenting with her aesthetic since she could walk, so when we asked her to try out a slew of drastically different hair-to-toe looks inspired by the guys in this shoot, she was psyched. “Fashion has been my passion since I was little—even if I wasn’t modeling, I would be involved in the industry no matter what,” says the runway darling, who has worked with everyone from Chanel to Valentino. “The most fun
part about it is trying out different things and being daring.” From superstraight strands and bejeweled accessories to braided buns and bloom-studded blazers, the twinning looks reflect the gender-bending fashion (and subsequent deconstruction of traditional notions of masculine or feminine dressing) that was served up by brands including Gucci and Anna Sui for spring. Though Tami remains tight-lipped about her own romantic pursuits, she agrees that borrowing from the boys resulted in some seriously swoonworthy outfits. “Fashion allows us to dream even when we grow up and has the power to make us feel something very strong,” she notes. It’s a labor of love, indeed. —ARIANA MARSH
CREW LOVE From left: Jay, Trè, Tami and Brandon wear Gucci. L. Erickson USA turbans, $98 each. Details, see teenvogue.com.
HE SAID, SHE SAID
Tami and Erin wear Ashley Williams. Opposite page: Lyndon and Tami wear Fenty Puma by Rihanna. Details, see teenvogue.com.
BEAUTY NOTE:
Pin-straight hair requires an extra dose of shine post-flatironing. Infuse strands with a silky softness via Pantene Gold Series Intense Hydrating Oil.
FRINGE BENEFITS
From left: Don, Tami, and Kyle wear Anna Sui. Lucchese boots. Opposite page: Kaleb and Tami wear Alexander Wang. Details, see teenvogue.com. In this story: hair, Jawara Wauchope at Bryant Artists; makeup, Susie Sobol at Julian Watson Agency; nails, Eri Handa at MAM; production, Elise Connett at JN Production.
LET’S
TALK
ABOUT
Clockwise from top left: HARLEY WEIR; ED TEMPLETON; INDIGO LEWIN; CASS BIRD; PIERRE-ANGE CARLOTTI; BENJAMIN ALEXANDER HUSEBY; ED TEMPLETON; MAYAN TOLEDANO.
SEX
The year is 2017. Yet much of the DISCUSSION SWIRLING around young people and SEXUALITY only involves preventing PREGNANCIES and STIS— not how to negotiate, or even talk about, fluid sexualities (odd, given that 40 percent of Gen Z does not identify as completely straight). Or the ROLE that PORN PLAYS in TEACHING us how to do it (especially since we grew up with computers in our pockets). It’s TIME for a more ADULT conversation, don’t you think? ➤
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COMPUTER LOVE
In the age of HIGH-SPEED ACCESS TO PORN, it’s easy to see how adult entertainment has become the NEW SEX ED. But what exactly is it teaching us? By Jane Helpern
N
ot long ago, getting the real deal on sex meant talking to camp counselors or your coolest friend’s older sister. Now Wi-Fi will do. Today, there are millions of pornography sites, and they’re not lacking in visitors. Last year, pornhub.com reported 23 billion visits. According to the site, more Americans visit than those from other countries, but it’s not all guys: In one 2008 study of university undergraduates, 62 percent of girls reported being exposed to porn before the age of 18 (though not always voluntarily).
62% OF GIRLS REPORTED BEING EXPOSED TO PORN BEFORE THE AGE OF 18 The big story about porn and teens has been its reported effects on the teen psyche, with a chorus of commentators saying it can trigger everything from a fear of intimacy to body issues. Yet some experts say we’re missing the point. “The issue isn’t porn. The issue is that we don’t talk about sex in the real world,” says Cindy Gallop, a sex-positive feminist who aims to offer an alternative to porn
through her website, makelovenotporn.com, an educational and social platform that focuses on demystifying real-world sex. “Many issues are laid at porn’s door that should be laid at society’s,” Gallop explains. Such issues as consent, rape culture, and the fact that women are far less likely than men to achieve orgasm during intercourse could be worked out in a healthy dialogue but are too often glossed over on-screen. Thanks to the Internet, even young kids are being exposed to hard-core porn. To prevent that from becoming de facto sex education, Gallop encourages frank discussions about sex—treating porn as just another form of entertainment and inviting readers to share and discuss their true-life sexual experiences. Of course, some teens will take any intel they can get. “There are things that can be learned by watching—say, how to kiss—that serve as guidelines for inexperienced people,” says Andrew, 18, who admits porn is a bit staged. Anyone who thinks they’re watching a documentary is bound to be let down in real life, says Adrian, 24. “You will rarely find someone who puts that much effort in the act of sex [as they do in porn].” He watches it up to three times a day. Corie, 21, says that porn does set an example—but not necessarily a healthy one. “It puts pressure on people to do things they’re uncomfortable with just because they think it’s the right way to do it,” she says. The most exciting—and effective—way to learn about sexuality, according to Gallop, is pretty low tech: “Our message is talk about sex, openly and publicly,” she has said. When it comes to sexuality, like so many things, only the truth will set you free.
KISS & TELL Does a first KISS hint at your FUTURE RELATIONSHIP status? Tina Ferraro reports.
hat constitutes a “good kisser?” Whether it’s full lips, the right amount of tongue, skyrocketing levels of attraction, or all three and more, kissing is completely subjective—which is tricky, since the success of a budding relationship can hinge on basic hookup skills. Believe it or not, scholars are hard at work studying the chemistry of kissing—and not the romantic brand of chemistry that makes us feel all loveydovey. The official term is philematology, which means, quite literally, the science of kissing. Experts (yes, pros who study kissing are actually a thing!) are less concerned with whether people are “bad” or “good” kissers than with the chain reactions that a single kiss can set off in the brain. “Romantic kissing doesn’t just make you feel warm and fuzzy. It’s ultimately a mechanism of mate assessment,” says Helen Fisher, Ph.D., a biological anthropologist and chief scientific advisor for Match.com. “You may not be consciously aware of it, but your body and brain are.” As gross as it sounds, exchanging saliva is like sipping a chemical cocktail of hormones. Varying levels of these hormones can potentially function like a love drug, and the act of kissing can light up the pleasure center in your brain as soon as your lips meet. “The mouth is a gatekeeper to the body,” Dr. Fisher notes. “A great deal of information is collected by both the lips and the tongue.” Research shows that saliva contains trace amounts of testosterone, which could account for men’s tendency to be sloppier kissers—some believe that the transfer of testosterone via tangling tongues can be an unconscious prelude to sex. Kissing may also further fuel your romantic fire by boosting levels of oxytocin—known as the cuddle hormone—in long-term relationships as well as lowering cortisol levels to promote a sense of calm in your mind and body. This could explain why you may have been drawn to someone until a first kiss mysteriously extinguished the attraction. “I like to call this the kiss of death,” Dr. Fisher says with a laugh. Blame bad technique—or perhaps mismatched saliva. ➤
OLIVIA BEE
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MANY ISSUES ARE LAID AT PORN’S DOOR THAT SHOULD BE LAID AT SOCIETY’S
It’s kind of crazy to think that two little words—“gay” and “straight”—could be enough to explain the COMPLEX IDEA that is human sexuality. Is it any surprise that some of us CHOOSE NOT TO ABIDE by them? By Corinne Werder he coming-out moment: It has been a part of pop culture for decades, spanning from ’90s TV sitcoms to YouTube videos. But for some people, the concept of coming out doesn’t quite work, because labels like “straight” and “gay”—along with the idea of being “in” or “out”—are starting to feel too narrow, overlooking an entire swath of sexuality. “The binary still exists, but we’re realizing more types of sexuality reside between and outside those two categories,” says Juliet, a 13-year-old who identifies as pansexual (see “Word Search,” right). Her attitude is characteristic of Gen Z (used to describe people born
T
CLOUDY RHODES
FLUID NATURE
starting in the mid-’90s) and the current cultural climate. According to a survey by trend forecasters at Innovation Group at J. Walter Thompson Intelligence, when asked to assign a number to their sexuality (0 being “completely heterosexual,” 6 being “completely homosexual”), 35 percent of Gen Z youth fell somewhere in the middle—compared with 24 percent of millennials. Perhaps more telling: Only 48 percent of Gen Z identified as “completely heterosexual.” But more and more people seem to be comfortable living in the in-between. “I identify as sexually fluid,” says Mysterie, an 18-year-old transgender man. “My desires have changed a lot throughout my life.” President of the Gay-Straight Alliance at his university, Mysterie—and many younger LGBTQ people—identifies somewhere between straight and gay. Of course, nuance has always existed within the LGBTQ community, but this new way of thinking is gaining mainstream acceptance. While coming-out moments used to make headlines on national magazines (à la Ellen’s “Yep, I’m Gay” Time cover in the ’90s), today’s celebrities are just as likely to leave their sexuality ambiguous. Consider that actors like Kristen Stewart and Cara Delevingne don’t hide their relationships with women, yet neither plays by the Hollywood narrative of “gay or straight?” Amandla Stenberg also used social media to get her message across, taking to Teen Vogue’s Snapchat to identify as bisexual, but in a later video she said she “would also use the word ‘pansexual.’ ” Adding,“I feel like for people who don’t necessarily know that vocabulary…it’s easier for me to just say that I’m bi.” That knowledge may be expanding. Miley Cyrus broadened the national vocab when she said she was
pansexual, something that only a decade ago would have caused USA Today readers to spit out their coffee. Celebs aside, the Internet has been an amazing place for making us all more sophisticated about sexuality. “I’ve used YouTube and Tumblr to help educate my friends and family,” says Mysterie, who first discovered the term “sexually fluid” on a digital video. The irony is that by ditching conventional labels, we’re finding more words to talk and learn about love.
Word Search
It may seem contradictory to follow a piece about the pointlessness of labels with a glossary of…labels. In fact, we debated even running this, but ultimately decided it was important. While we’re all in favor of a labelless society, the reality is that LANGUAGE IS A CRITICAL TOOL with which to smash the cis-het patriarchy. The list below is by no means exhaustive, as sexualities— and their definitions—are EVER EVOLVING. Think of this as a starting point to talk about how you feel.
Asexual: Someone who doesn’t experience sexual attraction, though this doesn’t mean they aren’t interested in romantic relationships. Pansexual: Someone who is attracted to people regardless of their biological sex or gender identity. Aromantic: A person who experiences very little romantic attraction for others, if any at all. That doesn’t mean they don’t experience sexual attraction. Demisexual: A person who needs to establish an emotional bond before experiencing sexual attraction. Gray-asexual: A person who experiences limited or very occasional sexual attraction. That level may have different degrees, depending on the experience.
Girl-ish Young, gay, and feminine as hell, writer NICOLETTE MASON explains why SEXUALITY shouldn’t dictate your style.
I
can trace the moment I knew I liked girls right back to a boy: Taylor Hanson. When I first laid eyes on the long-haired 14-year-old singer of the all-brother trio Hanson, I paused and said to my friend Danielle, “I don’t know if that’s a boy or a girl, but I think they’re really hot.” I was in third grade, and part of my after-school ritual was calling Danielle to watch music videos on MTV together and gossip about the day. I didn’t realize the weight of what I had admitted—honestly, I’m not sure I even knew what it meant. But Hanson’s 1997 single “MMMBop” was undeniably catchy, and Taylor’s keyboard playing and blond hair swaying back and forth captivated me. My attraction to a person like Taylor, who wasn’t distinctly male or female at first glance, planted the seeds of my own queer identity. In the years that followed, before I understood that I was interested in girls, the boys I crushed on were sensitive and gentle and always objectively pretty. In high school I developed a crush on a tall senior on the girls’ basketball team, whose blonde hair also swayed back and forth. She looked like Taylor. That’s when it finally started to click. As a young teenager, I wondered if maybe I wasn’t interested in long-haired pretty boys but rather the girls they reminded me of. It was a confusing time. I was the kind of girl who loved makeup, wore skirts and dresses exclusively, plastered my walls with fashion editorials, and wanted all-pink everything. Yet society taught me that being queer meant that I had to be a tomboy and chop off my hair. By keeping a stereotypically girly look, people automatically assumed my sexuality because of my style. I wondered if there were other girls like me out there. I felt invisible. Years later, I was introduced to the word “femme.” It’s a queer gender identity that adopts aspects of traditional femininity. While this looks different for everyone, to me it meant applying lipstick and nurturing those I love. Though it might seem retrograde, that conscious adoption of femininity is quite subversive—especially in the context of queer relationships. Learning that I did not have to conform to a masculine aesthetic and could actually love wearing pencil skirts and pursue queer relationships was pretty revolutionary. As progressive as we’d like to think our society is, people don’t always know what queer looks like, which is probably why some are often surprised to hear that I am not straight. It took me a while to figure it out myself. Negotiating your own identity is a process—one for which I’ll always have “MMMBop” to thank.
Lena wears a Lacoste coat, $445. Opposite page: Grace wears an Eckhaus Latta jacket. Details, see teenvogue.com. FASHION EDITOR: EMMA WYMAN.
IN CONVERSATION
LENA & GRACE DUNHAM
As the generation-defining show GIRLS comes to a close, LENA DUNHAM and her sibling, poet and activist GRACE, talk family, gender, politics, and pushing boundaries. PHOTOGRAPHED BY YELENA YEMCHUK. ➤ TEENVOGUE.COM
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In this story: hair, Nabil Harlow for Balmain Hair Couture; makeup, Tracy Alfajora at Jed Root; nails, Eri Handa at MAM.
W
ith a best-selling book, a feminist newsletter, “Lenny,” her own podcast (Women of the Hour), and her groundbreaking TV show Girls, 30-year-old Lena Dunham is indeed the voice of her generation, living the dream IRL that on-screen stand-in Hannah Horvath has been aspiring to ever since we first met her nearly five years ago. Twenty-fiveyear-old Grace Dunham, who recently moved across the country to Los Angeles to develop Support.fm (a crowdfunding platform to raise bail and bond for trans and gender-nonconforming people), is more trepidatious when it comes to the spotlight, but her commitment to political activism and speaking out about gender identity is no joke. The children of New York artists Laurie Simmons and Carroll Dunham are cut from the same fearless cloth, tending not only to their careers and the state of America but their tenacious, glorious bond, which is as worthy an endeavor as any. —ANDREW BEVAN GRACE DUNHAM: I already know that you think the six years before I was born were the best six years of your life. LENA DUNHAM: I remember very clearly being an only child and the rage that came with having my only childhood taken away from me. I also know that if you hadn’t been born, I would be minus many qualities, like empathy and the capacity to properly socialize and to share things. Since your gender presentation has become
more complex and personally defined, I feel as close to the experience of having a brother as I do to having a sister. GD: If I think about it, that’s probably what your experience was like when I was 5, too. LD: A hundred percent. Because you were a 5-year-old who was like, “I’m not a girl. I’m wearing a leather jacket.” GD: It was a true refusal of femininity. LD: More than you even do now! GD: You, on the other hand, were like, “I vow to forever love pink, lace, and hearts.” LD: I’m supergirly, and even wearing a suit is new for me. I always found you to be so adorable. What is cuter than a 4-year-old in a pair of overalls and a leather jacket? No one in our family felt critical of it. Our parents didn’t seem to have any panic or need to define what was going on with you genderwise. They just let it unfold. When you became more radical and outspoken, you started to seem more familiar to me than you had in a long time, and we actually got a lot closer. GD: It’s really hard trying to be somebody that you’re not. It didn’t foster a ton of closeness. LD: You always call me “sissy” and are very focused on the fact that we are sisters—you still feel like you’re sisters with someone, right? GD: Yeah! I don’t even see sisterhood as something that’s gendered. I feel more connected to sisterhood than brotherhood. It has such a powerful political history, and it’s not about some notion of biological. It’s about the choice to support one another and grow together. LD: Sisterhood is radical, and brotherhood is, like, war.
GD: You’re my sister, who I’ve been sisters with since I was born, and I think each of us has probably built other sisterhoods since then. LD: But you probably like me better than the other people because I’ve been your sister for the longest. GD: Exactly, sissy! And I get to tell you things that maybe other people don’t, like that I worry about how the success of Girls, the Hillary campaign, and your social media presence have made you so public all the time, whether you like it or not. LD: To name-drop, Gloria Steinem said to me that activism is a long game, and you have to be really careful about burnout. There are definitely periods of time when I feel like I’m running on an empty tank of gas. After the election, I sank into a very deep depression. Instead of feeling like I could mourn, I was going to the grocery store and had girls being like, “What are we going to do?” And I’d be like, “I don’t know. This is the first time I’ve been out of the house in three days!” It was definitely a moment when I felt like my identity was preceding me, and it was really tiring. GD: Yeah, I mean your art is seen by many people, and you speak from a very visible platform. A lot of the work that I do isn’t meant to be visible, and I definitely don’t feel like I should be or want to be in the most public position. People getting made into individual heroes or spokespeople is sometimes really detrimental to the collective efforts of political organizing. I have dealt with auxiliary visibility that has to do with being connected to you, more so than the actual work I’ve done and will keep doing. LD: It makes me stressed for you that people make assumptions about you based on your connection to me. I always wish that I could erase that for you. GD: It’s sweet when you’re protective of me. But I get the
assumptions people make! I understand. There are lots of people who grew up the way we did, Lena, who aren’t critical of the structure of society and aren’t necessarily thinking about other ways things could be. LD: Recently, you helped me—I’d made some joke about wanting people in the Senate and Congress to keep their big stupid penises away from me—and you were like, “You know, a joke like that could actually be hurtful to someone who doesn’t identify as male but has a penis.” I was like, “Blah, blah, blah, it’s my right to say that about penises.” And then I thought about it, and I was like, Oh, how isolating would that be if you were a person who didn’t identify as male, or a man who had survived assault, who was oppressed in all these different kinds of ways, and then someone who you read about was identifying political oppression with your sexual organs? GD: I’m glad we had that conversation. And you help me see the impact of my actions in new ways. There was that time we had these long-standing plans, and I ended up hurting your feelings and being a total a-hole and selfishly blew you off for some reason that didn’t even make sense. We got into this fight, and I did my coping mechanism of making it about political differences. You said, “Listen. I love you, but sometimes it feels like you’re focused so much on these structures that maybe you don’t see your own actions, especially how they affect me.” You are one of the primary people in my life who is always pushing me to go in and look at myself and look at my actions and how they affect other people. I don’t want to be that archetype talking about revolution who’s an hour late to things that matter to the people I love. LD: That makes me so very emotionally fulfilled, Grace. Thank you. I think we will always learn a lot from each other.
IF YOU HADN’T BEEN BORN, I WOULD BE MINUS MANY QUALITIES, LIKE EMPATHY AND THE CAPACITY TO PROPERLY SOCIALIZE AND TO SHARE THINGS —LENA
Courtesy of the Dunhams. Opposite page: Details, see teenvogue.com.
Lena and Grace snapped by their mother in 1998 at their Connecticut home
The siblings head to a wedding in 2000 wearing looks from Urban Outfitters’ sale rack.
CAN WE TALK? Postelection, one thing is clear: We’re not as connected as we thought we were. The solution? Put down your phone.
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“A lot of the world feels so much entitlement in other people’s lives, which is so crazy,” Gigi has said, on a social media break of her own to focus on her work and the relationships that are meaningful to her.
VIRTUAL REALITY When Faith, 17, moved from a Philadelphia suburb to a new school in New York City (“one of the ones that Gossip Girl was based on,” she adds), the first few months were rough. “It was hard for me to make friends.” Feeling insecure, she used her phone as a PR tool, posting perfectly captioned stories that made it look like she was having the time of her life. “I wanted to make people back home think I made friends instantly,” she says. “In reality, I was struggling.” Now that she’s found her own crew, she’s grown more TEENVOGUE.COM
THEO WENNER
T
he morning of November 9, many young liberals found themselves in a state of shock. “Who on earth voted for him?” they asked. In the following months, articles would surface about the so-called social media echo chamber: Were we all just trading pithy comments with like-minded people? Today, we are more connected than ever—the Internet has given us a peek into one another’s relationships, breakfast bowls, makeup routines. Still, it’s clear that social networks can stretch only so far. That’s why some teens are souring on them and choosing to invest their time becoming reacquainted with people in the real world. In fact, unplugging may be the chicest thing you can do right now: Justin Bieber, Kim Kardashian West, Selena Gomez, Kendall Jenner, Miley Cyrus, and Gigi Hadid have all recently taken a hiatus from Instagram.
BY PUTTING DOWN THE PHONE, WE’RE OPENING UP THE WINDOW FOR REAL DIALOGUE skeptical about social media. She also doesn’t feel compelled to get it all on film. At a Coldplay show, she sang instead of Snapped (“I’d rather enjoy the music”), and sitting down to a recent dinner, she and her friends piled their phones in the middle of the table (“It made the night so much better”).
Clockwise from top left: Rex Features; courtesy of @purposetour; courtesy of @mileycyrus; courtesy of @gigihadid; STEFANIE KEENAN/Getty Images.
CONNECTING, IRL “Young adults are beginning to take a more mindful approach to social media,” says Jacqueline Nesi, a researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who studies teens and social media. “This may explain the rise in apps like SelfControl and Anti-Social.” (Both prevent you from falling into a Facebook hole.) And that no-phones-at-dinner policy? Nesi says we are likely to see it popping up on more tables. When Olivia, 20, found herself glued to virtual acquaintances’ Snap stories, it bugged her. “I was always picking up my phone and wanting to see what other people were doing all of the time, and that curiosity wasn’t normal,” she says. She eventually deleted her Snapchat. Ananda, 17, had the kind of Insta-following that any start-up would kill for. Before long, it became a total chore. What started as a place to share vegan recipes and cute outfits quickly became her “brand,” something that demanded daily upkeep. Her fans constantly direct-messaged her with praise and invites to meet up. “It was really sweet,” she says. “At the same time, it was so time- and energy-consuming—it wasn’t how I want to build friendships.” As she started posting less, her following dropped. (“That gave me anxiety,” she says.) Finally, she just closed her account. “I do miss it, but I have time to spend with my real friends.” “Social media relationships aren’t real relationships,” says Faith. “It’s always weird when you see someone who follows you and you follow back, but you don’t say ‘hi’ to each other when you see them in real life.”
EXPANDING YOUR NETWORK If a digital detox sounds too scary, know you don’t have to go completely dark. Stash your phone in your bag at the next party, or see if you can go the weekend without looking at it. Who knows what kind of conversations you might have without the crutch of Instagram. While social networks have done an amazing job of connecting us
with others, ditching them—even for a while—can force you to expand yours. By putting down the phone, we’re opening up the window for real dialogue, something that many feel was gravely missing leading up to the election. Instead of hearing out the other side, some suggest we were too busy checking out the Instagram Explore tab or reading stories that popped up from news outlets we “liked.” At a time when there are so many issues—and splintered perspectives—we may need to break out of our selfselected networks and have a more nuanced discussion. “Debating behind a screen is certainly the easier route,” says Faith, “but I see a huge problem with kids relying on apps to get their viewpoints across. I find that in-person conversations, especially about controversial issues, are much more productive.”
SELFIE PRESERVATION It’s not surprising that some teens would want to unplug: Ditching social media—even for a hot minute—is seen as novel among young people who can’t remember a world without it. “My sister calls it ‘going ’90s,’” says Ellen, age 19. “When [people] didn’t have phones and didn’t even need them.” Today, Ellen and her friends go ’90s for kicks. Yes, there are practical issues (see ya, GoogleMaps!), but the payoff is incredible, she says. “Being away from your phone, posting less, letting moments be what they are, engaging with those in front of you—it all just improves your quality of life,” says Ellen. “Not everything needs to be shared.” –JESSICA MATLIN
DIGITAL DETOX JUSTIN BIEBER
DEMI LOVATO
KENDALL JENNER
MILEY CYRUS
GIGI HADID
Whether to maintain their privacy or sanity, these celebs have taken a social media breather.
SASHA Fierce Breakout star SASHA LANE may be Hollywood’s newest LEADING LADY, but she’s keeping it all the way real with every step. PHOTOGRAPHED BY AMY TROOST.
THE FAST LANE Sasha wears a Xuly.Bët dress, $390. Aries Arise shirt (worn around waist), $124. Carven choker, $120. Adidas Originals slides, $30. Details, see teenvogue.com. FASHION EDITOR: BETH FENTON.
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he story of Sasha Lane may as well have been custom-built for the annals of Hollywood folklore. A 19-year-old with a heart of gold goes to Panama City, Florida, for spring break. A British film director happens to be on the beach and casts the girl, with her mesmerizing brown eyes and locs that swing down her back, in her next feature film, more or less on the spot. Only one hitch: The newly minted actress is awkward, doesn’t like attention, and has zero acting experience, let alone la-la land pipe dreams. She’s a Texas State University psychology and social work major trying to find herself. The way she remembers it, the movie seemed like a way to get out of her rut—not to get famous. “I think I have a completely separate version of this than a lot of other people who chase this dream all their lives or grew up in it,” she confesses. For Sasha, landing the role of Star, a wayward, softhearted teen in Oscar-winning director Andrea Arnold’s acclaimed American Honey, was less fantasy fulfillment than stumbling upon the puzzle piece or a high-voltage on switch that had been missing all her life. “I felt helpless and incomplete, and I needed to fulfill my purpose and get to a place where I could love myself,” admits Sasha, now 21, her wide eyes simultaneously innocent and astute. “I struggled with mental health issues as well as being in a place where my
look and mind were seen as odd and unprofessional. By the end of the week hanging out with Andrea, I felt so whole and complete, so I was like, sure. I’ll hop in your car; I’ll make a movie. It wasn’t something I’d ever dreamed of doing, but I wasn’t meant to do anything else.” Sasha’s journey begs a host of what-ifs. What if she hadn’t been on the beach the day Ms. Arnold strolled by? What if she hadn’t trusted this near stranger? What if Arnold hadn’t discovered that Sasha had the poise and raw natural talent necessary to carry an entire movie? Sasha most certainly wouldn’t be having an early-bird dinner with me at an otherwise empty Italian restaurant on the west side of Manhattan. “I couldn’t figure out how to be happy in this world,” she says, sporting a red oversize hoodie (with the word “vibes” all over it) and kicking her Adidas Superstars together under the table with the panache of a skater girl. “The way I think about it is, what if I wasn’t feeling so low to think that I had nothing left to lose by saying yes to the movie?” Last year’s release of American Honey slammed Sasha right down on the map, deeming her Tinseltown’s newest cool girl and a fashion darling (she’s the latest Louis Vuitton muse). “It’s been difficult to navigate,” she admits. “The hardest part is a lot of people get me all wrong, and they think the fame is what’s fun about this.” She shrugs when I tell her she is, in fact, the cool girl everyone is clamoring to talk to and dress. “There’s only a very small part about all of this that I enjoy, but it’s worth it,” she says. “Everything else is what makes me uncomfortable or anxious or confused and full of a lot of emotion.” The actress had to take a break after the surge of attention that came with her debut. “It’s a double-edged sword that could really destroy me if I’m not careful,” she says. “I needed to regroup and figure it all out. Money and fame and all of those things won’t support you when you’re having a breakdown. That’s not going to make you look in the mirror and think, Wow, I love who I am.” Rather than obsessing about how she looked at last night’s event or what she is going to wear to the next one, Sasha focuses on the responsibility and privilege that comes with her sudden notoriety. “I can be an inspiration and not just an actress. I used to wish I had someone to look up to ➤
A STAR IS BORN Stella McCartney top and pants. Huf x Thrasher jacket (worn underneath), $90. Teva sandals, $60. Opposite page: Fila jacket, $100. Unif T-shirt, $52. Details, see teenvogue.com.
BEAUTY NOTE: Hydrate thirsty locs or braids with Carol’s Daughter Loc Butter. A blend of soybean oil and shea and cocoa butters infuses each strand with moisture.
LOCS OF LOVE Louis Vuitton vest and shirt. Opposite page: Coach 1941 dress. Unif top (worn underneath), $85. Details, see teenvogue.com.
who looked like me,” she adds. “There’s people out there who can say, ‘Wow, she has natural hair and came from a certain mental and physical box, and she’s doing this!’ It’s cool to be a part of a change in the right direction. Even if people aren’t at that point, I’m gonna push them there.” Sasha first got her hair locked her junior year of high school, to her mother’s initial dismay. “I went through a lot of sh*t for it, but I’m really happy I did it. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more free or beautiful than I did when I first got dreads—I can’t imagine myself without them,” Sasha tells me, caressing a few strands with pride. “I’m not going to let anyone make me feel bad or dirty or gross about my look. I’ve always had a lot of hair, and it’s always been really curly and out there. So unless it was completely straightened or slicked back, no one was ever happy and satisfied with it.” Sasha says her signature ’do sometimes baffles hairstylists on shoots. “It really hurt in the beginning, because I felt like that 7-year-old girl again who is in a white hair salon, and I felt so ugly or like a burden,” Sasha tells me. The Texas-born
daughter of a New Zealander mother and an African American father, Sasha was a well-mannered kid who played basketball and loved reading books in her closet. She always felt like an outsider, and that sense of not belonging hasn’t gone away. “I’ve had people call me a house slave. People think I’m not black or white enough. Or professionally they’re like, ‘Oh, she’s mixed. She can’t play this white role,’ or ‘It’s just we want a black girl, but you’re too light, and we won’t get enough credit for a black girl.’” Although she calls Los Angeles her current base, Sasha has spent most of the last two years couch surfing. “I want a home with my stuff in one spot. Then everything else can be as wild and spontaneous as possible, and I’ll have one ounce of stability,” the actress explains. Her romantic life is similarly in flux. “I have met a soul mate of mine, but we weren’t meant to be together, like as far as on this earth,” she says, not naming names. More consumed with politics than she once was and determined to do a meaningful follow-up project, Sasha will next
appear alongside Chloë Grace Moretz in The Miseducation of Cameron Post, a film that hits home with the current state of our government. “It’s about gay conversion camps, which are part of the political conversation now,” Sasha points out. As Sasha works on her tiramisu (winking at me to follow suit), she considers her current predicament and the pressure she feels not to squander her opportunities. “I think I’m on this journey for a while. If I can keep doing it in a way that feels good with me, then I’m going to keep at it,” she says. In what way will you move forward that makes you feel good, I ask. She fixes her eyes on me and begins to recite an answer that she’s clearly already given serious thought to: “Don’t put me in a box because I have dreads and tattoos or assume I’m a hippie. I’m not obligated to be anybody’s anything. I’m a human. I will make mistakes. I will change my mind. I will figure things out as I go. I want people to see something authentic and real and achievable. You don’t have to become a movie star. And you don’t have to straighten your hair. You don’t have to be the girlfriend or
the side chick or the cute one or the sexy one. You can be just whoever you are, and people are going to see that and they’re going to love it. And that’s how you’re going to succeed in life, mentally and physically.” As a sometimes-jaded 30-something New York writer who has made a career out of profiling “cool girls,” I tend to secretly (or not-so-secretly at times) roll my eyes during an interview. Now, though, my eyes begin to well up. There is something so refreshingly honest and vulnerable and in tune with this particular burgeoning star. She’s confident but never cocky, street smart but not sassy, happy but without schmaltz; she’s niche but universal. The slightly try-hard cosmopolitan restaurant is now buzzing. The all-white crowd (myself included) is clad in a palette of black and charcoal, alternating between bites of truffle orecchiette and sips of Pinot Noir. Sasha Lane, in her red Forever 21 hoodie, with her hair piled high, a faint smile playing on her lips as she enjoys the last of her tiramisu, is the breath of fresh air we all need right about now. —ANDREW BEVAN
HONEY CHILD Isabel Marant vest. Mira Mikati hoodie. Opposite page: Michael Kors Collection sweater. Unif top (worn underneath), $88. Chromat shorts, $195. Ash sneakers, $298. Details, see teenvogue.com. In this story: hair, Tina Outen at Streeters; makeup, Karan Franjola at Management + Artists; nails, Ami Vega at See Management; set design, Josephine Shokrian Studio.
I can be an inspiration and not just an actress
THE CLIMB Troye wears a Marc Jacobs jacket. What Goes Around Comes Around vintage sweatshirt, $298. Gosha Rubchinskiy sweatpants, $149. Details, see teen vogue.com. FASHION EDITOR: TOM GUINNESS.
TROYE
SIVAN IS NOT JUST ANOTHER PRETTY-BOY POP STAR
He came out on YouTube—and now Troye is one of music’s biggest rising stars. The singer opens up to his friend, actor Hari Nef, about the power of song, family, and being queer in the public eye. Photographed by Ryan McGinley.
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ast year we lost three men of the ’80s who redefined
what
it
meant to be a rock star: David Bowie, Prince, and George Michael. Through their music, videos, and fashion choices, each man bucked conventional norms of masculinity, transcending gender norms and sexuality to create not just singles but art. In 2017, we have Troye Sivan, an openly (and unapologetically) gay pop star, living proof to the entire industry that, yes, the world is finally ready. Here, Troye shares an intimate conversation with his dear friend Hari Nef, the transgender model and actor who’s creating a new normal in her own right. — EDITED BY PHILLIP PICARDI HARI NEF: I was thinking about our relationship, and there was some serious platonic courtship on Twitter, leading up to us meeting IRL. You were talking about how you were using the Internet as a window into checking out what other people were doing and relating it to yourself. TROYE SIVAN: I don’t know what I would have done had I not found the Internet. I found a community of people who I really liked and who I felt got me. I remember the first time I ever watched footage of the Pride parade, or the first time I started discovering music. It formed who I am as a person. I always felt different in a lot of ways and didn’t really know how to express that. HN: Do you think the Internet has played a significant role in sort of fast-tracking your sense of self? TS: A thousand percent. I had an anonymous account on every gay forum there was. I used to make accounts and talk to people about my problems. I felt so much kinship with these people who were dealing with the same exact sh*t that I was. It just made me realize that there was potential for things to get better, and that’s what ended up pulling me through. HN: So much of my experience is exactly what you’re
talking about. I think it’s this invisible private thing, but it’s so important. I wanted to talk about your coming-out video, which seems like this pivotal moment for you personally. You posted it three years ago, and it has more than 7 million views. What inspired you to make the video? TS: I used to go on YouTube and search “coming out.” That was something I did on almost a daily basis for a long time. After I came out to my family, I felt like I owed so much to that community and what I think is a sacred part of YouTube. I also happened to have a big audience at the time—I’d been making videos since I was, like, 12, so I was thinking I could use this platform to really go for it. By the time I made that video, I was out to my friends and my family for well over a year. I’d been so comfortable with myself that the thoughts of strangers didn’t bother me at all, but I was nervous from a career point of view. I was well aware of the fact that most of my fans were girls, and I thought I might lose them. HN: Coming out is so fascinating to me because on one hand, it’s this beautiful channel of communication that you establish between you and the people in your life, but I struggle with it. I think that it centers straight people, ➤
INLouis THE WILD Vuitton sweater. Opposite page: Coach 1941 shirt, $195. What Goes Around Comes Around vintage sweatshirt (worn underneath), $450. Melet Mercantile vintage pants, $168. Details, see teenvogue.com.
cis people, and people who aren’t out because we are who we are regardless of who we tell. TS: I know what you’re saying. Before I came out, the thought of someone calling me gay, even when I knew very well that I was, was petrifying. I saw coming out as a way to take control of that situation and own it. I was in negotiations to sign my record deal and had heard horror stories of people who are told to stay in the closet by people in the entertainment industry because it’s better for work. For my own sanity, that wasn’t going to fly. Instead, I woke up to a congratulations e-mail, and everything was all good— I’m really grateful that my label was with me from day one. HN: Coming out shows that as LGBTQ folks, we are ever resilient, and this is a compromise between living authentically to our own sense of self and living within a cisgender heteropatriarchy. Post–coming out, I really admired you because I struggle off and on with the pressure and responsibility of being a public person and a member of the LGBTQ community at the same time. What’s your secret? TS: I’ve realized how, in being a loud voice for myself, there are other people like me who will see that and appreciate it. All I’ve ever wanted growing up was someone I could look at and say, ‘Oh, that person’s like me.’ HN: After the world learned of you as a queer artist,
did you ever feel pressure to speak on things for an entire...I guess I’m just projecting now. TS: I think where you can get caught up is in thinking that your voice is more valuable than anyone else’s. I’m very aware of the fact that I literally think I’m the most privileged kid on the planet. A lot of being a good voice is knowing when I have a place to speak and when it’s appropriate. And to speak from the heart when I do. HN: Obviously, queerness plays a role in music. The same way I feel like I was put on this earth to be an actress and a model, I think you were put on this planet to be a pop star. But how do you make a supervulnerable song, like “Heaven,” and bring it onstage in front of thousands of people night after night? If I’m acting and I bring too much of myself to the role, it becomes unsustainable for me to work within the character as a professional. TS: I love pop music. I think that pop should never be a dirty word. To me, [songs are] like living things that grow and change as I do. “Heaven” was written when I was 19, and it was about my coming-out experience from when I was 15. I felt a little emotional when I was writing it, and I had to think about things I hadn’t felt in a really long time. Then it became about something completely different when I hit the road. When I’m onstage, I’m looking out and I’m seeing all of these
GOLDEN HOUR What Goes Around Comes Around vintage jeans, $178. J. Crew socks, $17. Church’s shoes. Details, see teenvogue.com.
other people’s stories. I’m feeling their hardships and successes—I can see it in their faces, in their eyes. HN: Your fans love you so much, and they look to you as a role model. What is your responsibility to them, but also within that, what is your responsibility to yourself? TS: I’m just trying to show people that you can be queer, live your life, and be happy. But I want to tell a lot more than just my story, because I feel like it’s almost boring. I’ve been given this platform, and I want to do my best to give the voice that I’ve been given to somebody who maybe wouldn’t have had that voice otherwise. I feel like I lucked out that I was born at the right time, that now the world is ready for an openly gay male pop singer. Now I’m going to try my very hardest to pass my baton to the next person who’s even more other than me. HN: The last weekend we hung out, I think we were all grieving a little bit. It was right after the election, and we went to a Trump protest together in Boston. That was a special and unforgettable experience for me to be with people I love so much at a time when there was so much pain around us. What have you been feeling since the election? I know you’re Australian, but I think it’s touched all of us. TS: It has touched all of us. I plan on spending a lot of my life in the United States, [but] I think I’ve gotten to the point
where I’ve accepted defeat in the fact that Donald Trump is going to be president. But it doesn’t change my opinion. I let myself grieve for a little bit, but the most comforting thought in the world to me is that LGBTQ people have always existed. To think of all of the hardships and all the regimes that LGBTQ people have survived—we are such fighters. I have faith in us as a people. I know that we can survive this. HN: I think that’s the right approach. We need to move forward and protect one another and survive under what I can only call a regime. It needs to start with the people around us and the resources that we can fortify locally. So I would say I’m right there with you. I guess speaking more broadly, looking toward the future, what’s next in 2017 for Troye Sivan? TS: I am looking forward to not being the center of my own world. A few times the past couple years, I’ve looked around the room and asked, “Why are all these people around me?” So a lot of 2017 is going to be about being a good loved one to others. I know that everything could change, I could release a flop album tomorrow, my career can go down the toilet, I could lose all my friends and go back home...and I know that my family would still be there for me and still be able to bring me such joy, connectivity, and peace in my life. To be honest, it all comes down to family. For me, that’s it.
A LOT OF BEING A GOOD VOICE IS KNOWING WHEN I HAVE A PLACE TO SPEAK AND WHEN IT’S APPROPRIATE
BUBBLE BOY Marc Jacobs coat and shoes. Valentino shirt. Melet Mercantile vintage pants, $168. Opposite page: Gosha Rubchinskiy jacket, and shirt, $374. Details, see teenvogue .com. In this story: hair, Didier Malige using René Furterer; makeup, Niki M’Nray at The Wall Group; set design, Robert Sumrell at Walter Schupfer Management; production, Hen’s Tooth Productions.
#MOOD Two steps to doll-like eyes: Lancôme Drama Liqui-Pencil Longwear Kohl Eyeliner in Côte D’Azur and Grandiôse Extrême Mascara. Taylor wears a Dior dress. Eres bra, $160. Falke tights, $48. Miu Miu shoes. Details, see teenvogue.com. FASHION EDITOR: ZARA ZACHRISSON.
TAYLOR’S
LAWS OF
ATTRACTION Besides drawing hundreds of thousands of likes for her every move, supermodel/ Insta queen TAYLOR HILL has figured out a few things about real love. PHOTOGRAPHED BY DANIEL SANNWALD. TEENVOGUE.COM
VOLUME 1 2017 137
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hile Taylor Hill will never walk into a room unnoticed, dressed in her red pullover and jeans—and before hair and makeup—there is something totally everygirl about her the morning of her Teen Vogue shoot. “People don’t realize my age,” says the 20-year-old Victoria’s Secret Angel and newest face of Lancôme. “I’m really just a nerd.” In the six years since being discovered at a horse ranch, the Denver native has been modeling and meeting people around the globe, learning a thing or two about love along the way. Rule number one: If someone doesn’t get your goals, move on. When Taylor was a teenager, “boys didn’t understand what I was doing. I couldn’t connect with anybody,” she says. “I felt so much more mature than they were—it was like talking to my younger brother!” Today, Taylor is in a two-year relationship with Michael Stephen Shank, a former model who understands the demands of her career. “He’s never sad when I’m leaving [for a job], and he never guilt-trips me to come home,” she says. “I would never sacrifice things in my life for somebody who wouldn’t do the same for me.” If you can find someone who gets you, that’s great, but in the meantime, she says, “don’t take dating too seriously.” Prioritize your friends—even after you’re blissfully coupled. “Hang out with your girls! I hate the idea of a life revolving around boys.” —JESSICA MATLIN Above: Sleek is always chic. Get the look with Herbal Essences Soft Control Crème Gel. Preen by Thornton Bregazzi dress with slip. Ashley Williams earrings, $170. Right: Skin-care obsessed, Taylor swears by the Lancôme Génifique Youth Activating Second Skin Mask. (“I want to eat it,” she jokes.) Valentino dress. Mercedes Salazar earrings, $173. Details, see teenvogue.com. In this story: hair, Edward Lampley using Amika; makeup, Violette at Management + Artists; nails, Honey at Exposure NY; set design, Josephine Shokrian Studio.
LAST LOOK Jazmin and Cat wear Mulberry dresses. Carel Paris shoes, $290 each. Details, see teenvogue.com.
EXIT STRATEGY
Making moves? Grab your girl and plan an unforgettable departure in a ROMANTIC DRESS that’s better from the back. 140 VOLUME 1 2017
TEENVOGUE.COM
Fashion Editor: Katie Sapp; hair, Maggie Connolly using Oribe.
PHOTOGRAPHED BY LIA CLAY.