Capsule #37 ft. Catriona Innes

Hello hello,

Hope you had a nice week 🖤

In today’s issue we’re spotlighting three models of the moment, all walking in runways this month, who are pushing the fashion industry to change. Plus, a look at some excellent hair (and accessories) from this week, and a call for us all to get to the dancefloor.

Editor and author Catriona Innes is also here to share her Hot & Not with us. 🌻

Thank you for reading!

Holly x

Fashion Week-adjacent thoughts

Amidst looking at runway photos and reading write-ups of fashion shows this week, I had a realisation: models - specifically who gets to be one in a high fashion environment - have shifted since I was a teenager. There are obviously still ideals (thin, white, cheekbone-rich muses) but there are more and more people who either look or stand for something a bit different. I’ll pull out three to show you what I mean. 

1. Paloma Elsesser

A London-born, New York-based curve model who was discovered by Pat McGrath on Instagram. She’s got multiple, global Vogue covers under her belt, has appeared in campaigns for Fenty Beauty and Nike, and won Model of the Year at the 2023 British Fashion Awards. Things are going WELL. 

Then last week she published an essay in The Cut, in which she said that she prayed not to win that award. Her fears were affirmed when social media was flooded with offensive comments, from faceless strangers and also Kanye West, who said she was part of a conspiracy to “push obesity to us.” On being a model and a figure for representation, she said: 

It felt like a pivot to genuine authenticity - something we say we’re all about, but never really are. Traditional etiquette around politeness and gratitude, especially in an industry so steeped in legacy and hierarchy, is the norm. Everyone is so lucky to be here, so grateful. But even if those things are true, you can’t feel those emotions every day. I think it’s extremely cool for Paloma to say that. It’s a circuit breaker that may prevent a later, heavier admission, like the ones we see in interviews with stars in their 50s and 60s who reveal how they were treated badly at the start of their careers and would speak up if they could go back in time.

If you like the sound of Paloma, this old interview with her from 2015 (the year she was discovered) is worth a read. She talks about studying literature, writing poetry, and needing to be around family to ground herself. It’s super nice.

2. Kai-Isaiah Jamal

A South London poet, performance artist, model and trans visibility activist, who also happens to appear on the biggest runways in the world. They walked for Burberry last week at London Fashion Week, and made history in 2021 as the first Black trans model to walk the runway for Louis Vuitton. In the words of the late Virgil Abloh, Kai-Isaiah is “the voice of their generation.” 

In a recent interview for Highsnobiety’s ‘Not in London’ series, Kai-Isaiah celebrates the roots of their working class, immigrant family. They talk about the fashion choices that derive from the Afro-Caribbean ‘Sunday best,’ like “aunts in Versace heels that they definitely can't afford, but they're like, I need to prove to everyone here that I can afford them.” This is a model bringing their culture and values into everything they do; the antithesis of a blank canvas. Kai-Isaiah has also publicly called out the UK government for trans cleansing, which publicists might advise against to avoid upsetting brand safety. Again, it’s an industry reset to watch this happen in real time.  

3. Florence Huntington-Whiteley 

As you suspected, this is Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s sister, but her vibe is completely different. Her style is masculine and androgynous, and she uses her modelling profile page to say openly that she won’t wear certain feminine clothes, and prefers to have a chat upfront with brands about what kind of stuff will work for her. She sees her work as more than just a service to fashion, more a way of challenging the binary and what it means to be and look like a model in the industry.

Her candid captions on Instagram share an insight into where she’s at in her journey around gender and self expression, which I find to be a refreshing take on the bland, faux authenticity we see so many higher profile people adopt on the platform. 

These three models show us that the newer voices within fashion, who have sway but are by no means at the top, are actively steering the industry in a new direction. If nothing else, it’s a vote of confidence for working with what you’ve got, and leaning into the things that make you feel good. There’s only so much bending one should have to do. 

Next up!

Interesting and gorgeous things happening on people’s heads this week (AKA the only way I can categorise some good hair and hair accessories). 

1. Solange has red hair. Truly the colour of the moment, expertly carried on the backs of Ms Knowles and Dula Peep.

2. Jessie Bush is bringing the spring bandana a little early and it works. Turns out you don’t need to be in a summer dress for this one.

3. Gigi Hadid working the wet look BUT with a wavy root. The poker straight vibes of this look usually makes it feel super intense; I like how the waves make it feel a little less vampy red carpet and a little more day-time-but-make-it-fashion.

I wish I was above this but I’m not… 

And that’s Zendaya and Tom Holland’s earnest romance. In an clip from her Buzzfeed puppy interview, Zendaya is asked who from the Dune 2 cast has the most rizz. Tom Holland, she answers, a man famously not in Dune. To quote the tracklist from Taylor Swift’s unreleased next album, our girl is down bad.

And of course the internet dug up this old clip of Tom explaining his lack of rizz. His only hope, he admits, is having someone fall in love with him. I love these two. They seem like they don’t spend too many hours on social media, talk about their feelings, and remind each other when it’s not that deep. Long live!

And finally…

This newsletter isn’t a) about science or b) an authority on mental health, but I saw this graph and wanted to share it with you. It was shared by scientist and author Erik Hoel, who writes a newsletter called The Intrinsic Perspective.

New research has tested the success of various methods in alleviating depression. Lots of what we’d expect - therapy, exercise - but look at that top line. This is only one study, granted, but 👯‍♀️dance👯‍♀️ is the top thing, and so many of us know it but we need the reminder. It’s being alone in your room with the latest album you’re obsessed with, dancing in the mirror like you’re twelve again. Or the dancefloor with your friends and lovers, the joy of the rhythm enough to block any thoughts of the future. What are you doing this weekend? And can you make dance part of it? Here’s a video of Addison Rae dancing at Charli XCX’s Boiler Room set last night for inspo.

This week, Catriona Innes popped into Capsule to share what’s 🔥hot🔥 and what’s not 🙅‍♀️ …

Catriona is an award-winning writer, who is currently Commissioning Director at Cosmopolitan UK. Her romcom novel The Matchmaker is out now, and she also writes about grief in her newsletter, Crocuses In The Snow.

📺 Watching: This weekend I’ve got JLo’s film, This is Me… Now queued, and my friend has also recommended the Oslo trilogy (three films, of which The Worst Person In The World is the third). I had no idea there were two more, which are called Reprise and Oslo, August 31st. 

📖 Reading: The Charli XCX profile in The Face, which is a good dose of honesty about the industry, and this article from Savannah Bradley for HALOSCOPE whether cool-girl underwear brands are really much different than the old Victoria’s Secret, and what women actually find sexy. Stick around for the final paragraph!

🎧 Listening to: MADRA, the debut album from Galway band NewDad, and Kelela’s new remixes album, which will fill the slot of getting ready to go out for that dance we talked about. 

After a few London Fashion Week shows, one thing is clear: that 2010s inspiration isn’t going anywhere. Inspired by Masha Popova’s AW24 show, Lulu anticipates chunky, beaded jewellery, like the big necklaces you’d layer on from Topshop as a tween. Again, early examples might make you feel uneasy, and then suddenly you’ll feel a shift and think, why not adorn my body like this? 

If you’d like to adopt Lulu or one of her friends, click here to learn more.

Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear how you’re finding Capsule - let me know here. And if you have a friend who might like it, please forward on 🥺

See you next week 💋