When you step foot onto the hallowed grounds of Monk's House, a 16th-century weatherboarded cottage in the village of Rodmell, you can simply feel the weight of its near 400-year history.
At first, an unassuming farmer's cottage, then the home of Virginia Woolf and her husband Leonard (purchased for a mere £700 in 1919), Monk's House has been lovingly preserved – still full of its past owners' books and artwork collections; a place where writing and ideation by one of the 20th century's greatest minds could be pursued with abandon. Sheltered away from the London Blitz, Woolf would write Mrs. Dalloway here, The Waves, and Between the Acts.
For the cover story of our May 'Ideas' issue – an issue centred on our processes of thought, on epiphanies, curiosities, inspirations and the little illuminations that light our way – the Woolfs' refuge in the South Downs was the place where this sentiment was made manifest.
For the pages of our 'Ideas' issue, model and artist Vilma Sjöberg takes us on an intimate journey through Monk's House, dressed in CHANEL Métiers d'art 23/24 collection.
CHANEL dress, belt and necklace.
Left: CHANEL jacket, top, skirt, belt and necklace. Right: CHANEL coat, shorts and brooch.
Left: CHANEL coat, dress, earrings and necklace. Right: CHANEL jacket and scarf.
CHANEL dress, scarf, shoes and bracelets.
Left: CHANEL coat, jumper and shoes. Right: CHANEL coat, jumper, skirt and belt.
CHANEL jacket and brooch.
Left: CHANEL cardigan, jumper, earrings and necklace. Right: CHANEL jacket, top, skirt, shoes and belt.
CHANEL jacket, shorts and earring.
To experience the Ideas issue in its entirety, the May edition of RUSSH is available on newsstands from 16 May and through our shop online. Read more about the inspiration behind the issue in Jess Blanch's editor's letter. Wanting to purchase the Ideas issue in person? Find a stockist near you.
