Each year, PAPER Magazine chooses people having a particularly impactful year in their respective fields to be part of our annual Beautiful People Issue. These are the brilliant, creative, original and ambitious people inspiring us right now in the worlds of fashion, art, music, activism, acting, dance, and the culinary arts. Below, meet the ten designers, photographers and models, from Molly Goddard to Halima Aden, who are revolutionizing the modern fashion landscape.
Molly Goddard
The West London designer has shown her vibrant, chunky tulle creations everywhere from the Institute of Contemporary Arts to the Tate Modern to the Victoria and Albert Museum as part of their Fashion in Motion Festival.
How did you get your start?
Throwing a party in a church hall during fashion week where all my friends wore clothes I had made, press came and shops bought the collection even though I didn't have a studio or a team.
What is success to you?
Being able to go on holiday and not feel stressed about leaving.
What advice do you have for someone looking to break into fashion?
Work with people you know well when starting out and be prepared to earn no money for a while.
What's the best advice you've ever given?
Buy expensive tomatoes and bed linen.
Photo by Jack Bridgland; Dress by Molly Goddard
Palomo Spain
Not many brands can make a splash as big as Palomo Spain has in the months since presenting their landmark presentation at New York Fashion: Mens this past February. Widely praised for its overt disregard for any traditional gender norms—and, in turn, its embrace of a man who was both strong and elegant without being intrinsically attached to his own sense of masculinity—the designs created by Alejandro Gómez Palomo are celebratory and powerful precisely because they refuse to be categorized, defined, or judged. Their shows, which are routinely staged on sets that are filled to the brim with beautiful floral arrangements, have bounced around from New York back to their native Spain, but are consistently beautiful. As the label continues to expand its genderfuck narrative and grow its audience exponentially—which has already spilled over into its highly suggestive advertising—it's only natural that we are beginning to see the rest of the fashion world finally start to catch up. Who cares about gender in 2017 anyway?
Check out the luxe, floral fall fashion spread we collaborated with the brand on here.
Photo by Carl Timpone/BFA.com
Erika Bowes
The half-Japanese, half-British, London-based photographer and stylist launches her new magazine, Sukeban, this fall.
What trends in your field do you find most exciting / are you most optimistic about? What about your field is frustrating?
I love accessories, so anything glittery and embellished is always a yes from me. I find cultural appropriation by big designers frustrating. Seeing traditional dresses, accessories, etc. worn just for fashion purposes is just bad taste really.
Are you good at giving advice? What is the best advice you've ever given?
I'm good (I think), my advice is truthful and can be quite harsh but someone has to tell people what they know is true and don't want to hear.
Are you good at receiving advice? What is the best advice you've ever received?
Yes, my friends and I are all so open so it's really nice to call my friend and tell them about something embarrassing and they'll know how to help. Best advice: "If you can't afford to buy it twice, then you can't afford to buy it."
Photo courtesy of Erika Bowes
Matty Bovan
The Central Saint Martins graduate (who honed his skills working under Nicolas Ghesquiere at Louis Vuitton as an LVMH Graduate Prize winner) designs clothes that bridge the gap between avant-garde and wearable.
What are you most proud of?
Usually my latest project, as that's what I'm most excited about, but opening the MA show when I was at Central Saint Martins was amazing.
Do critics matter?
I'm not going to agree with everything written about my work, but I will always respect the person who has written it. These are the people who have seen it all, and if I can learn anything about myself via their critique, I would always be grateful.
Photo by David M. Benett/Getty
Adwoa Aboah
Though Adwoa Aboah has been modeling for seven years, it's fair to say 2017 has been her most triumphant year yet. Walking the runways of what seems to be every major brand in the industry (Dior, Chanel, Fendi, Burberry, Marc Jacobs) and gracing the covers of Vogue, Dazed and Love, to name but a few, the Ghanaian-British model has become one of the most sought-after faces in fashion with her striking cropped red hair and constellations of freckles. But what has been just as exciting to watch as her rise in fashion is her work for Gurls Talk, an online forum that supports and encourages young women to open up about mental health challenges and to find a community and support from one another. Inspired by Aboah's own experience dealing with addiction, depression and bipolar disorder (she has been admirably open about these struggles, which climaxed with a suicide attempt back in 2015), Gurls Talk combines essays, videos and advice with live events, including the one-day festival the organization held with Coach this past July in London that featured talks and workshops with Adwoa, Hair Nef, Hanne Gaby Odiele and Karley Sciortino and others.
Photo by Karwai Tang/Getty
Jeanne Damas
With tousled brown hair and a swipe of red lipstick, Jeanne Damas epitomizes that carefree French je ne sais quoi so many want to emulate when it comes to their own style. And now, in a way, we all can, thanks to the blogger/actress-turned-designer's new clothing line, Rouje. Dubbed "Paris' answer to Reformation," the brand features a well curated mix of breezy dresses, loose-fitting blouses and sweaters, coats and only two pairs of shoes — a brown suede bootie and a black stacked heel with an ankle strap — with the idea being that quality trumps quantity and it's better to have a handful of versatile, well-made pieces that you can mix and match than a million things you only wear once. Time to start clearing out our closets.
Photo by Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Getty
Kendra Benson
The founder of line This Woman's Work makes elegant designs that are easy to wear and impeccably made.
What trends in your field do you find most exciting/are you most optimistic about? What about your field is frustrating? What would you like to see change?
I guess I observe trends but don't always know how to participate in them. I think Instagram is incredibly exciting because the degree of separation between me and the customer, buyer, editor, celebrity, etc. has suddenly shrunk to 1. It's also an immediate way to share my work and my aesthetic.
What are you most worried about for the future?
I'm probably most worried about time — like everyone I want more time. I know it's not a new idea, but lately I'm worried that it might be more and more impossible for young creative people to survive in New York City. It's becoming a financially hostile environment for anyone trying to make work and survive - not just in Manhattan but in all the five boroughs. The interesting people need to be in New York to make it New York.
Photo courtesy of Kendra Benson
Henrik Purienne
Photographer Henrik Purienne, or simply 'Purienne,' made his name shooting for everyone from Vogue Spain, Louis Vuitton, Marie Claire, Urban Outfitters and more. While the South African's portraits explore the female form through a wet, hot, hedonist lens, his imagery is always masterfully delicate — each scantily-clad subject transporting the viewer to total tranquility. With a new book, Holiday, which features model and Purienne's main muse, Lilah Summer, the photographer exists in a league of his own.
Vaquera
Since launching back in 2013, the design collective Vaquera has made a splash, showing in subway stations and at China Chalet and making bonnets hot. Helmed by Patric DiCaprio, David Moses, Claire Sully, and Bryn Taubensee, the brand has had a break-out 2017. Early this summer they worked with Hulu on a gorgeous and atmospheric collection of gowns inspired by the Emmy-winning Handmaid's Tale. The label was named a finalist for this year's CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund award. They were one of the many high-fashion designers Lorde wore in her "Perfect Places" video. Their latest runway show for SS18 was themed around "identity crisis," featuring a dress made out of credit cards.
Photo by Albert Urso/Getty