February's Editor's Letter

We did it! January’s done and – I hope you’ll agree – it was relatively painless. Things were no less busy and exciting at the SL office, despite easing ourselves into the new year. We’ve been hard at work filming and recording a seriously good new beauty podcast series hosted by our friend Lisa Potter Dixon (I don’t want to say too much, but some of the industry’s biggest and most-respected names have graced our studio in the last week); we paired up the brilliant Nadine Baggott and Jo Good to discuss ageing with confidence (podcast coming soon); and welcomed mega names, from TikTok’s Coco Sarel to YouTube legend Tanya Burr, onto the SL Show sofa.

February sees the return of the Business, Careers & Finance Edition – this time we’re taking a look at a day in the life of a revered interior designer, plus asking a PR disruptor how they made it to the top. Live shopping with the team is back – if you haven’t tuned in before it’s a fun, slightly chaotic try-on and chat through the best new fashion out there – and you can shop as they go. Plus, over the course of fashion week we’re going to be on hand and backstage showing you the bits you actually care about, including our ‘fits and what the coolest guests are wearing.  

Personally, I’ve used the last month as an opportunity to devour all the books, TV, films and podcasts that a busy end of year didn’t allow for. I ploughed through The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis – 600 pages of Beverly Hills glamour, twisted murders and angsty teens – and laughed and cried at Deesha Philyaw’s The Secret Lives Of Church Ladies. I was thrilled Jon Ronson returned with part two of his epic Things Fell Apart podcast series (do give season one a listen if you haven’t already), and binged part two of his granular analysis of how our cultural and political divide became so wide. I’m also loving Why Do You Hate Me?, a new BBC podcast exploring extraordinary cases of online hate and trolling – the episode ‘I regret posting online that I was Madeleine McCann’ is particularly wild. And, speaking of wild stories, if you’re not watching Griselda on Netflix you’re missing out on fun, dramatic newness from Sofia Vergara (with none of that Modern Family polish) and the team behind Narcos. 

February is birthday month for me, and I’m excited to tick off some hot spots, including the Cotswolds’ most-hyped openings, Estelle Manor and The Bull at Charlbury. And while I’m trying to save any purchases for the new season, I have an ever-growing fantasy wish list of things I’ve seen, including Pernille’s iconic camellia Chanel heels, The Row’s Margaux bag – which is being touted as the new Birkin – and Khaite’s impossible-to-get-hold-of studded Benny belt. Perhaps the birthday gods will be kind to me…

Have a wonderful February,