Every
April for the last 18 years, we've scoured the earth to bring you a
dazzlingly shot portfolio of people who are helping to shape their
cultural moment and looking really good while they're at it. This year,
we decided to blow things out of the water with a mega-edition of
scene-making, earth-shaking, heartbreaking creative folks across a vast
range of disciplines. And because the story happened to coincide with
our American Dream issue, we asked some of them how they define, embody
and/or subvert that elusive ideal. From white-hot fashion duo Eckhaus
Latta to lightning-rod singer and actress Zendaya to cultural critic
Ta-Nehisi Coates and beyond, here are 70 people we only have eyes for in
2015.
MUSIC
SHAMIR � ZENDAYA � KELELA � DEJ LOAF � DOWNTOWN BOYS � THE MARTINEZ BROTHERS � BORNS � UNiiQU3 � YOUNG THUG � MISSY MAZZOLI
MEDIA & TECH
TA-NEHISI COATES � RUBA WILSON � SARAH KOENIG � K-HOLE � MAMRIE HART � ALEXANDRA MARZELLA � CASEY JANE ELLISON � CHRIS MILES � JULIEANNE SMOLINSKI
FILM & TV
ELLAR COLTRANE � GINA RODRIGUEZ � DESIREE AKHAVAN � SHAMEIK MOORE � AUBREY PEEPLES � ANDERS HOLM � LESLIE JONES � BRYSHERE GRAY � LILY JAMES
ART
CHLOE WISE � PETRA CORTRIGHT � ANGELA WASHKO � ALLIE POHL � NATE HILL � SAM MCKINNISS � PHOEBE COLLINGS-JAMES � ARVIDA BYSTROM
FASHION DESIGNERS & STYLISTS
ECKHAUS LATTA � WIL FRY � ANDY LECOMPTE � RYAN ROCHE � 69 WORLDWIDE � PAUL ANDREW � AURELIE BIDERMANN � HARBISON � GYPSY SPORT � ORLEY
MODELS
HARI NEF � BELLA HADID � LUCKY BLUE SMITH � NATALIE WESTLING � TARUN NIJJER � AYA JONES � MOLLY BAIR � CORY BAPTISTE � MICA ARGANARAZ � SOO JOO PARK
FOOD
GERARDO GONZALEZ / EL REY LUNCHEONETTE � SABRINA DE SOUSA & ALISSA WAGNER / DIMES � ELISE KORNACK / TAKE ROOT � JESSICA KOSLOW / SQIRL � SARA KRAMER � JANEEN GUDELJ / THE DONUT SNOB � ALVIN CAILAN / EGGSLUT, RAMEN CHAMP � MILES THOMPSON/ SHED � ALEXANDRA WHISNANT / GATE COMME DES FILLES � ANGELA DIMAYUGA / MISSION CHINESE NYC
Text by Emily Warman, Liz Ohanesian, Abby Schreiber, James Rickman, Kate Messinger, Emily Kirkpatrick, Jacob Muselmann, Elise Gallant, Vanessa Lavorato, Cathy Erway and Leif Hedendal
Photos by Kathy Lo, Albert Sanchez, Rodolfo Martinez, Stella Berkofsky, Diggy Lloyd, Basile Mookherjee and Danny Baldwin [see individual photos for additional credits]
MUSIC
SHAMIR � ZENDAYA � KELELA � DEJ LOAF � DOWNTOWN BOYS � THE MARTINEZ BROTHERS � BORNS � UNiiQU3 � YOUNG THUG � MISSY MAZZOLI
MEDIA & TECH
TA-NEHISI COATES � RUBA WILSON � SARAH KOENIG � K-HOLE � MAMRIE HART � ALEXANDRA MARZELLA � CASEY JANE ELLISON � CHRIS MILES � JULIEANNE SMOLINSKI
FILM & TV
ELLAR COLTRANE � GINA RODRIGUEZ � DESIREE AKHAVAN � SHAMEIK MOORE � AUBREY PEEPLES � ANDERS HOLM � LESLIE JONES � BRYSHERE GRAY � LILY JAMES
ART
CHLOE WISE � PETRA CORTRIGHT � ANGELA WASHKO � ALLIE POHL � NATE HILL � SAM MCKINNISS � PHOEBE COLLINGS-JAMES � ARVIDA BYSTROM
FASHION DESIGNERS & STYLISTS
ECKHAUS LATTA � WIL FRY � ANDY LECOMPTE � RYAN ROCHE � 69 WORLDWIDE � PAUL ANDREW � AURELIE BIDERMANN � HARBISON � GYPSY SPORT � ORLEY
MODELS
HARI NEF � BELLA HADID � LUCKY BLUE SMITH � NATALIE WESTLING � TARUN NIJJER � AYA JONES � MOLLY BAIR � CORY BAPTISTE � MICA ARGANARAZ � SOO JOO PARK
FOOD
GERARDO GONZALEZ / EL REY LUNCHEONETTE � SABRINA DE SOUSA & ALISSA WAGNER / DIMES � ELISE KORNACK / TAKE ROOT � JESSICA KOSLOW / SQIRL � SARA KRAMER � JANEEN GUDELJ / THE DONUT SNOB � ALVIN CAILAN / EGGSLUT, RAMEN CHAMP � MILES THOMPSON/ SHED � ALEXANDRA WHISNANT / GATE COMME DES FILLES � ANGELA DIMAYUGA / MISSION CHINESE NYC
Text by Emily Warman, Liz Ohanesian, Abby Schreiber, James Rickman, Kate Messinger, Emily Kirkpatrick, Jacob Muselmann, Elise Gallant, Vanessa Lavorato, Cathy Erway and Leif Hedendal
Photos by Kathy Lo, Albert Sanchez, Rodolfo Martinez, Stella Berkofsky, Diggy Lloyd, Basile Mookherjee and Danny Baldwin [see individual photos for additional credits]