With each passing issue, our goal remains the same: highlight individuals who live authentically, who create work that inspires us, and above all, who aren’t easy to define. It would be accurate to say that our cover star, Teddy Quinlivan, is all of the above.

I’ve long admired and been a fan of Teddy and what she brings to the fashion and beauty space. Having followed her career closely over the past few years and seen her on the runway in person, I’ve counted her as one of the industry’s most intriguing and exceptional models, and a personal favourite.

What makes the Boston-born model most fascinating are her striking sense of style, wicked sense of humour, and unremorseful honesty—which she shares so generously and eloquently on her Instagram account. She’s passed several career milestones since bravely coming out as transgender in 2017, including fronting an advertising campaign for Louis Vuitton, being one of the faces of Maison Margiela’s Mutiny fragrance, and most recently, becoming the first openly trans woman to model for Chanel beauty.

When we had our eyes set on Quinlivan for our cover, we knew we were going to be in for a special experience. It was a pleasure to see the young model, a consummate professional, in her element as Ellen von Unwerth photographed her for the latest edition of S/ Volume. On a sweltering summer day, deep in the woods of Paris’s 16th arrondissement, we shot 15 haute couture looks that had walked the runway just days before, including designs from Valentino, Dior, Chanel, and Iris van Herpen.

Quinlivan’s bold conviction and determination are echoed throughout the issue in features highlighting creatives around the globe, such as viral makeup artist Mimi Choi (who uses her experience with sleep paralysis to inspire her otherworldly makeup looks) and Fecal Matter (a counterculture fashion brand bringing awareness to the industry’s discrimination and waste problem). And, just like our outspoken cover star, we hope you enjoy the contents of the latest issue of S/ Volume and share our enthusiasm for the shifting of perspectives taking place across fashion, beauty, design, and art—which, in many ways, feel long overdue.