This article contains affiliate links; if you click such a link and make a purchase, we may earn a commission.Samira Nasr’s April Editor’s Letter: Why We Dedicated This Issue to the Idea of “Now”

Samira NasrWed, March 25, 2026 at 12:08 PM UTC

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Samira Nasr’s April Editor’s LetterInez & Vinhood

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I’m writing this in March from Paris, where we’re seeing the (spectacular) fall fashion that will be in stores in September. It’s hard to stay in the moment, particularly when the moment is hard to look at. Our hope, with this issue dedicated to the idea of Now, is that it serves as a reminder to be in the now—that it is possible to find, even within its chaos, the motivation and inspiration to create something beautiful and urgent.

I feel that way about what artist Lauren Halsey has created for her community in South Central Los Angeles. Halsey’s new sculpture park/installation, sister dreamer: lauren halsey’s architectural ode to tha surge n splurge of south central los angeles, transforms a corner of Western Avenue into a monumental courtyard celebrating the neighborhood that has shaped her. Blending Egyptian-inspired architecture and local iconography, the park functions as both a public artwork and a gathering space. “For the first time in my career, I’m presenting a project where I’m speaking to and with my community,” Halsey tells writer Danyel Smith.

Artist Lauren HalseySTEVEN TRAYLOR

Anne Hathaway has often been an avatar for a particular moment in time. Photographers Inez and Vinoodh captured the megawattage of her stardom—all black leather and red lips and glossy hair. In our cover story, executive editor Leah Chernikoff writes about the ways in which the actor has embodied a kind of millennial hustle and earnestness—thanks in part to roles like Andy Sachs in The Devil Wears Prada, which she reprises next month in the sequel—that have sometimes been met with skepticism or even derision. Chernikoff finds the actor, now 43 and with two children, in a reflective place, open about the ways that kids and life demand flexibility, while also remaining focused. “If I know that I’m working hard, I can live with who I am,” she says.

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We could all use a burst of optimism right now, and photographer Viviane Sassen and stylist Laëtitia Gimenez Adam’s fashion story, shot amid the stunning vistas of the Canary Islands, offers the perfect dose, showcasing the most striking looks of the season.

It’s easy, when the “now” feels so overwhelming, to throw your arms up. The portfolio of performers, writers, and creators that we have photographed—including the musical-theater star Joshua Henry, SNL’s Veronika Slowikowska, writer Min Jin Lee, and budding director Maude Apatow—are doing, making, and creating, despite the paralytic pressure of this moment. It is filled with so much hope, and their extended interviews, which can be found at harpersbazaar.com, are a beacon. As the poet Danez Smith writes, “It is the work of artists, thinkers, teachers, and writers—those of us who build dreams with our hands—to keep alive the imagination that is required to make the future happen.”

Writer Fran Lebowitzparker woods

Last year, when we approached this theme for the first time, we called on inimitable cultural critic Fran Lebowitz to help make sense of it—or at least rant about it. We asked her to revisit the topic, and she delivered with her signature clarity and zing. “It’s not like I want things to be faster and faster, but [young people] apparently do want them to be faster and faster, so that there can be more and more things,” she says. “But the problem is that ‘more and more things’ are not better and better things.” So take a tip from Lebowitz and focus on some really good things. I hope you’ve found a few places to start in these pages.

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