There are times when putting together these pages we can’t help but question what it is all for. Where does image making, or even poetry, fit with the Syrian crisis, countless natural disasters or a war in Ukraine that has been going on now for almost a year?
Are we deluded to even be thinking about fashion in what should surely be purely utilitarian times?
The idea for an issue dedicated to resilience came as I witnessed the readyto- wear shows in Paris, in real life for the first time in a long moment. While the undertones of many of the collections hinted at a hardship to come, there was a particular claustrophobic congregation set outside of Paris in a mud pit that spoke directly to the harsh brutality of the world we are living in. Sitting there, enveloped in a specifically created stench, desperately wishing for home and my family, I was perhaps unexpectedly struck by a glimpse of true beauty. And it took my breath away. Restored my hope. In that moment, I realised why I had come back to Paris in the first place.
History has shown us it is only through falling down, do we understand the need to stand up. Most revolutionary thought has been created under oppression or arrest and great art, time again, has been born from deep pain. It was Hemingway’s experience in WW2 that led to his words, “The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.”
This ‘Resilience Issue’ is a salute to finding this strength. It is a celebration of Pride in its original sense and an embrace of Love in all its forms.
While suffering is inevitable, creativity in service of our souls can be a kind of emotional rescue.
Beauty against distress. Creation as an incubator of hope. Art as a form of resistance.
To learn about our cover star, Lucy Rosiek, read more about this industry icon through our model profile. To experience the Resilience issue in its entirety, the March edition of RUSSH will be available on newsstands from March 2 and through our shop online. Find a stockist near you.
