Harper's Bazaar May 2022

Imaan HAMMAM Photographs by RENELL MEDRANO Styling by MARIKA-ELLA AMES Sora CHOI Photographs by AMY TROOST Styling by VIRGINIE BENARROCH Jill KORTLEVE Photographs by JOSH OLINS Styling by TONY IRVINE Lauren HUTTON Photographs by CASS BIRD Styling by KATELYN GRAY IT’S EASY TO SAY THAT BEAUTY is everywhere, but it’s often difficult to find. Beauty, though, isn’t just about what’s visible on the surfaces of things. Despite all of the efforts to reduce it to a set of standards to achieve or aspire to, beauty isn’t purely about the physical or the aesthetic. It can be an emotion, a sensation, an instinct, a spirit. Feeling beautiful often has much less to do with external validation than with something much more inward. Beauty doesn’t conform; it isn’t fixed. In many ways, beauty…

I wish we could have made 2,000 covers to represent our beauty issue. That feels like a number that could more adequately capture and celebrate the expansiveness of beauty. Still, in the images and words of the women who appear on our covers—Imaan Hammam, Jill Kortleve, Sora Choi, and Lauren Hutton—I hope our readers can find something that resonates, that feels familiar, that reminds them of their own beauty. These women represent four of fashion’s leading faces; they’ve walked the runways in New York, Paris, and Milan, modeled for some of the biggest beauty brands, and lent their images to giant advertising campaigns. They represent what is beautiful now, and they have all worked to broaden and diversify those once overly narrow standards. But that’s beauty on the surface. When…

Last month, pop phenom Anitta released her fifth studio album, Versions of Me, featuring her hit single “Girl From Rio.” “I explore different types of rhythms in the album: Brazilian funk, rock, and pop,” says the 29-year-old, who sings in Portuguese, Spanish, and English. “I love to be a chameleon that wakes up every day and decides which woman she wants to be.” Already a star in Brazil, Anitta, born Larissa de Macedo Machado, reached new heights in 2013 when the video for her track “Show das Poderosas” went viral. She released her self-titled debut album later that year, earning a Latin Grammy Award nomination, and has since collaborated with Cardi B, J Balvin, and Saweetie. “I want to bring Latin culture and beats to the global stage,” Anitta says.…

1 LISTEN TO RED BALLOON The third album from Grammy-nominated New Orleans soul group Tank and the Bangas is a meditation on injustice in America and a celebration of Black life. Out May 13, it features 16 funk-infused tracks—including the dis-cotinged single “No ID”—with guest performances by Questlove and Big Freedia. 2 STREAM CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS The new Hulu series based on Sally Rooney’s 2017 novel follows 21-year-old Frances (Alison Oliver) as she and her best friend—and ex-girlfriend—Bobbi (Sasha Lane) become entangled with an older married couple (Jemima Kirke and Joe Alwyn). 3 SEE “TAKASHI MURAKAMI: STEPPING ON THE TAIL OF A RAINBOW” Opening May 21 at the Broad museum in Los Angeles, the artist’s new exhibition examines themes like globalization, postwar Japan, pop culture, and religious iconography in a…

MARIKA-ELLA AMES STYLIST: “Imaan Hammam on Staying Grounded,” page 98 “I turn to the dreamlike beauty in the cinema of Federico Fellini and Jim Jarmusch, the graduate designers constantly proposing new notions of beauty, and nature. Jamaica will always strike me with its unfathomable beauty.” CASS BIRD PHOTOGRAPHER: “Lauren Hutton on Going Your Own Way,” page 122 “My understanding of beauty is getting more acutely defined and rooted in what is not man-made or man-altered. I have a bias toward the cracks and experiences worn by our bodies. I love age; I love the proof of life it shows and the beautiful accumulation of years.” KATELYN GRAY STYLIST: “Lauren Hutton on Going Your Own Way,” page 122 “I try to find beauty in the everyday. The changes in the rhythm…

I opened my gallery in Lagos, Nigeria, about seven years ago to amplify the voices of young contemporary African artists like Marcellina Akpojotor, Tonia Nneji, and Ameh Egwuh, all of whom I represent. That’s part of why I opened a Los Angeles location in 2021: to provide a gateway to the international market. Prior to working in the arts, I worked in a corporate environment. My wardrobe is so much more laid-back now. If I want to feel sexy or be more casual, I can. The only prints I wear are on a fabric called adire. It’s an indigo-dyed textile made in Nigeria by Yoruba women. Those prints are all the rage here now, but I’ve been wearing them since before people thought they were cool. About 70 percent of…