HTSI editor’s letter: summer with Sienna

It’s been two decades since Sienna Miller first exploded onto the public consciousness as a vivacious starlet in the films Layer Cake and Alfie (in which she starred with 2000s icon and man-crumpet Jude Law). The year summed up that post-Cool Britannia period in which culture, politics and fashion for a short time all aligned. And, like so many things that have marked 20 years this summer – see also Mean Girls, the rock band Keane and Facebook – Sienna too has been enjoying a glorious renaissance in recent months.

The first signs of revival came at the Chloé show in February, where she was seated front row at designer Chemena Kamali’s debut for the brand. She later came to a celebratory dinner where, as luck would have it, I was seated next to her and her boyfriend, Oli Green; she chatted away about having just had a baby, her relatively new relationship with someone several years her junior and her feelings about being recrowned the queen of boho style. I have met Sienna a few times over the years, and I’m always impressed at how delightful, funny and kind she is. She may have been a vanguard in exposing the phone-hacking scandal – a clearly gruesome experience – but she is defined by her indefatigable optimism, her effervescence and her refreshing lack of guile. 

Plus, she looks amazing. Hence, it was natural to ask her to star in this August issue: her sunny aura still casts an extraordinary spell. She talks to Carola Long as she embarks on another chapter in her life. The only pity being that she has yet to act in a story quite as dazzling as her own. 

A hairstylist often ends up being a therapist, fixer and friend

Jennifer Garner is another stalwart of good humour who always seems to see the best in life. For HTSI she talks about her 20-year friendship with Adir Abergel, the hairstylist and groomer with whom she has collaborated since the days of the cult television show Alias. I’m always impressed by how attached celebrities become to their “glam squads”, people with whom they might spend days over the course of weeks and months. So intense and intimate is the relationship, a make-up artist or hairstylist often ends up being a therapist, fixer and friend. Abergel and Garner – who have partnered on a range of products for the haircare brand Virtue – are no different: he’s firmly part of the extended family. Her mother considers him “her own personal hairstylist”, and he styled her daughter Violet’s hair for her senior-year portraits.

For my part, I am taking you to South Tyrol, the pastoral region of the Dolomites with which I have become obsessed. Having spent some time in fancy spa lodges, I was intrigued to see what other hospitality is offered in those hills, so I visited two different hotels offering alternate flavours of Tyrolean luxury. 

From the fragrant Alps to the inner city: Laila Gohar summers in New York. I thought the complaints about the city subway’s intolerable humidity were an exaggeration until I got stuck in a heatwave there last year. Laila has a simple solution to summer dining and how to stay cool. Keep the menu super-simple – and serve up a few chilled soups. 

@jellison22

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