Editor’s letter: spring 2024

Taken from the new print issue of THE FACE. Get your copy here.

Everyone, at some point in their lives, has felt like an outsider. It’s a feeling that can be triggered by something as minor as having the wrong trainers at school, or as major as the inequalities in this country around race, sexuality and mental health.

“I’ve always been very embarrassed by myself, like I’m the girl who’s got her dress tucked in her knickers after she comes out of the toilet,” says Charli XCX in her brilliant cover profile by Shaad D’Souza. Here is a chart-topping pop star – the kind you might look at and assume is always on the inside – admitting that the bravado of her music is not always the full picture. As she gears up to release her endorphin-packed, rave-ready sixth album, Charli’s scorching yet vulnerable honesty is a breath of fresh air in today’s hyper-cautious world of celebrity.

The same can be said for our other four cover stars. D‑Block Europe, one of the UK’s most successful rap acts, who despite their near-decade of wins have never been featured on a magazine cover. Nia Archives, the new-gen junglist from Leeds who is redefining Britishness with a bold mashup of Britpop and drum ​’n’ bass. Dominic Sessa, the new kid in Hollywood who’s made awards-season waves with his debut role in The Holdovers. And finally, we’re honoured to have Kristen McMenamy, the legendary model who was teased at school before she was worshipped by the fashion industry.

Elsewhere in this issue, you’ll find all kinds of people carving out their own creative sanctuaries in a world that might not quite be ready for them. We worked with outsider art magazine Raw Vision to spotlight seven artists creating work on the fringes of society, while our Style and Culture editor TJ Sidhu visited Harlesden High Street, a small North London gallery with one big rule: it only shows artists of colour.

As a mixed-race girl raised in the suburbs of Hull, I often felt like an outsider growing up. It was fashion and culture magazines, like the one you’re now holding in your hands, that made me feel like there was somewhere in the world I could fit in. I very much hope this edition of THE FACE does the same for you.

Olive Pometsey, Deputy Editor

London, February 2024