The November issue tends to go to print about the same time as London Fashion Week, which means I invariably find myself signing off on layouts while frantically shuttling between the shows and the office. In fact, I’m writing this just hours after the week’s finale: Burberry’s show at Chelsea College of Arts, a collection buoyed by youthful optimism right from the opening look. This season the schedule was packed with reasons to be cheerful – Seán McGirr’s first outing for McQueen in London, for starters, an exhilarating show that took place under the hallowed arches of Lincoln’s Inn. Newcomers, such as Steve O Smith, who staged an intimate salon-style presentation in the drawing room at the Royal Academy of Arts, made their presence felt too.
And then there was the debut that we’d all been waiting for: Christopher Kane’s very first collection for Mulberry. “It feels so good to be back,” says Kane, who spoke exclusively to Vogue’s Sarah Mower for this issue before his show. I’m thrilled to have some of my favourite pieces from his new collection featured alongside the interview. In his research, Kane unearthed the origin story of Mulberry’s founder, Roger Saul, an entrepreneur who started his business on his kitchen table in Somerset, aged just 21, back in the 1970s. That proximity to the countryside informed Kane’s new vision for the beloved British heritage brand. “It wasn’t London-centric, it was regional,” he says.
Elsewhere in the issue, model Neelam Gill travelled back to her hometown in the Midlands for an extra-special family reunion ahead of Diwali. “My first memory of Diwali was Mum putting candles in every room,” says Neelam, 31, who was photographed by Vivek Vadoliya for the story with her younger sisters, Jasmine, 25, and Millan, 13. Neelam arrived on set with a treasure trove of outfits left to her by her late mother, Rajan Kaur Gill, who died of cancer in 2023. Those precious heirlooms helped shape the fashion narrative for the shoot. “She was a make-up artist and took a lot of pride in her appearance,” says Neelam. “I remember her putting on her gold jewellery in the mirror. I was so in awe of her beauty and used to love sitting for hours watching her get ready.” Shot at the Mallory Court Country House Hotel in Leamington Spa, a short distance from where Neelam and her siblings grew up, the resulting editorial is both a celebration of the festival of lights and a tribute to her late mother.
Next up: a rendezvous up north with the unstoppable Ruth Madeley. The actor speaks with writer Frances Ryan at her home in Bolton about her forthcoming leading role in Being Heumann, the much-anticipated Apple Original biopic of US disability rights activist Judy Heumann. Directed by Oscar-winning director Sîan Heder, the film is already getting awards-season buzz. With custom looks from adapted-fashion designer Victoria Jenkins in the works, Madeley’s red carpet style is bound to be winning too.
Finally, it gives me great pleasure to introduce first-time British Vogue cover star Lola Young. Her breakout hit, “Messy”, was virtually inescapable back in 2024. With music that’s charged by the raw nerve of vulnerability and emotional grit, the 25-year-old singer has been compared to Adele and Amy Winehouse. “Young is the kind of great British punch-in-the-gut songwriter whose rare talent stands out among her generation,” writes Kate Lloyd, who interviewed Young as she prepares to release her fourth album. Styled by Harry Lambert and shot by Mel Bles, the accompanying images offer a portrait of the artist as she comes into her own.