As an editor, I find nothing more satisfying than having my gut feelings affirmed, whether it be landing a smashing cover story – agonised over for several months prior – or simply conjuring the most perfectly dishevelled outfit from a crumpled heap off my bedroom floor in the morning. As a health and wellness geek, I’ve become increasingly obsessed with how the still somewhat mysterious gut-brain axis functions on a physiological level. Some fun facts that might surprise you: did you know that the surface area of your gut microbiome is the equivalent to the square footage of the average studio flat? That it’s home to 100 trillion bacteria? That 90 per cent of serotonin, the all-important feel-good hormone, is made here? In the name of keeping my tummy happy, I’ve tried every funky fermented concoction you can imagine (my current favourite probiotic tipple is a brand of goat’s milk kefir I was served on Instagram) and I’m practically a sauerkraut connoisseur.
In this issue’s summer Wellness special, we go beyond the current cure-alls flooding social media. Take your microbiome, for example: it turns out that the skin is also a major player in the gut-brain axis. There’s light at the end of the tunnel for insomniacs too, with some expert advice on how to get the best sleep of your life. Plus, we take a look at how the science of longevity is shifting the debate on what ageing well means.
At 92, Joan Collins is living proof that age really is just a number. In The Dame & The Duchess, writer Hayley Maitland visited the legendary actor at her home in London’s Belgravia to talk about her starring role in My Duchess and, naturally, found her fit as a fiddle: wrapping up a session with her personal trainer no less. Based on the last years of the life of Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor, the new film is one Collins has wanted to bring to the screen for more than 30 years. Photographer Venetia Scott was granted exclusive access on set, capturing Collins and her costar Isabella Rossellini in the aristo opulence of legendary costume designer Sandy Powell’s creations for the film.
Elsewhere, a summer of sport approaches. We gathered the hopeful stars of the England cricket team at Lord’s, the key backdrop for the Women’s T20 World Cup coming to the UK in June. Not only does it promise to be a thrilling tournament for the Brits, but a turning point for the women’s game on these shores. It might also be possible you are aware of another World Cup taking place this summer. We asked man of the hour, and one of England’s biggest footballing hopes, Declan Rice to sit for portraits and spend a little time with us ahead of travelling with the Three Lions to North America. Undoubtedly a prince among men, the midfield Arsenal star has made all the right fashion moves of late too: he turned heads on the runway at Labrum a few seasons ago and has scored multiple times on the red carpet in Burberry and Prada. For his first appearance in British Vogue, he talks to features director Olivia Marks about fan pressure, style choices and what it means to navigate the highs and lows of the beautiful game.
Finally, I’d like to take a moment to celebrate our radiant cover star, Anok Yai, for what is a particularly meaningful story. Shortly after she graced the stage at last year’s Fashion Awards in December, winning model of the year, the 28-year-old revealed she had been suffering from a life-threatening heart condition. In a candid interview with Vogue’s Funmi Fetto, Yai explains how she quite literally faced death in the months that followed. Now firmly on the road to recovery, she is joined by her mother and father in this issue for an editorial that is a triumphant reclamation of life. “I didn’t want to create an obvious image of overcoming or dramatise her pain,” says photographer Rafael Pavarotti, a longtime collaborator of Yai’s, who shot the story. “There’s something very beautiful when someone goes through such a delicate experience. They’re more present, more alive; fragility becomes strength. And these images really speak to that.”
Cover image: Anok Yai wears silk-knit dress, Chanel. Make-up by Dior Beauty. Skin: Dior Forever Skin Glow, £52. Lips: Rouge Dior Balm, £41. Eyes: Diorshow Overvolume Waterproof, £38. Brows: Diorshow On Set Brow in Black, £30. Hair by L’Oréal Professionnel. Tecni.Art All-in-1 Performer, £20. Tecni.Art Fix Max, £22.50. Tecni.Art Fix Design, £18. Hair: Jawara. Make-up: Peter Philips. Nails: Anatole Rainey. Tailor: Nicolas Guichard. Set design: Mary Howard. Photograph: Rafael Pavarotti. Styling: Kate Phelan.