"We’ve been closely following Lily Collins’ increasing love of our region": Letter from the editor

From the very start of Vogue Scandinavia – back when we were just a few editors working in a tiny space in the back of a shoe shop – we’ve been closely following Lily Collins’ increasing love of our region. We’ve watched as she and her husband, Charlie McDowell, honeymooned in Norway, we’ve spotted them eating at Noma in Copenhagen and Cafe Nizza in Stockholm and hanging out with Moomins in Finland (the couple have a great Moomin collection).

But now that Lily and Charlie have purchased their very own home in Copenhagen’s Østerbro, we consider her an honorary Dane. It’s for this reason – and with great pleasure – that we invited Lily to be our very first non-Scandinavian cover star. To see her enthusiasm for and knowledge of the Nordics (for our video, we tried to stump her with a Nordic trivia game – she aced every answer) is so heartwarming, especially given that she’s one of the biggest stars on the planet.

Though Scandinavians aren’t the sort to brag about it, there are plenty of reasons why Lily would fall in love with our little corner of the world. Take, for instance, Toteme, the Swedish phenomenon celebrating its tenth year. I remember getting to know founders Karl Lindeman and Elin Kling – then one our region’s first big bloggers – when we were all living in New York. They were just starting the brand, full of hope, bravado and the very New York belief that anything is possible. And it was. Over the past decade, the couple have turned Toteme into a global fashion power player, carrying the torch of Swedish minimalism into the modern era. At their beautiful anniversary party – which doubled as a celebration of the couple’s 10-year wedding anniversary – I chatted with HRH Prince Daniel about Toteme’s significant cultural impact. It doesn’t get much better than that. We shot the latest collection, the very same pieces that came down the runway at the brand’s Paris Fashion Week debut, on the streets of Stockholm.

Then there’s Marie-Louise Ekman, a woman so singular she’s practically a Swedish institution. The 79-year-old artist has touched every part of Swedish culture, not to mention inspired countless women – myself included – to live fearlessly. Plus, she’s always been so uniquely fashionable, from when she appeared in the iconic Mah-Jong advertisements in the 1970s to today, with her hot pink eyebrows and green glasses. On these pages, you’ll step inside her Södermalm studio and instantly feel inspired (just ask our photographer and print editor, who haven’t stopped talking about Marie-Louise since the day they met).

Also in this issue, a young Danish actress poised to become the sort of major star that will make her country proud. For her Vogue debut, we captured Clara Rosager in Paris wearing high jewellery and couture (no surprise she was previously a model). She’s endlessly charming, charismatic and, of course, beautiful in that totally cool, totally Danish way. In just one day, she became a beloved member of the Vogue Scandinavia family.

On the fashion side, we capture the trend of the season: boho. Championed by Chloé, the new boho is a little pared down, a little polished but still unapologetically sweet and feminine. We put our own spin on it, bringing looks straight from the catwalk in Paris to an industrial parking lot in Västberga. In this issue, we also delve into the Danish brand that pioneered that feminine boho look, setting the tone for the next several decades in Danish fashion. I’m speaking of Munthe, which this year turns 30. Naja Munthe – at that time working with Karen Simonsen – started her brand back when there was no fashion scene in Denmark and, while so many others have come and gone, Munthe has stayed the course and is now bigger and more impactful than ever. This is a story that’s close to my heart; funnily enough, Naja, Karen and I used to co-host a Danish fashion and culture show, Monzoom, many years ago. To see how far she’s come is really something special.

So it ’s really no surprise that Lily loves Scandinavia. Still, we had no choice but to shoot the cover in Paris due to her packed schedule (it was actually the day after she wrapped filming season four of Emily in Paris). So we brought Copenhagen to Lily, capturing her in the Maison du Danemark, an extraordinary cultural space right on the Champs-Élysées (it’s owned by the Danish government). We shot on the roof of the building, which had the most stunning view of the Arc de Triomphe. Only problem was you had to take a rickety ladder to get up there, but Lily didn’t bat an eyelash. She is almost Danish, after all.