To change the world, you have to throw a better party than those destroying it.” This oft-repeated maxim of the environmental movement kept coming to mind when putting together this issue. 

Beautifully dressed and full of joy, the leading lights of the UK’s preloved fashion scene seem to be having an absolute ball. As we meet them in this issue’s cover story, it’s clear that, for them, there’s nothing austere or self-righteous about secondhand clothes – they’re just more interesting and often more affordable. Wearing used instead of new happens to be a smart environmental choice, too. 

As demonstrated by the vintage dresses hanging on my clothes rail, the quality of which today’s fast fashion can’t touch, I’m a longtime devotee of the secondhand treasure hunt. Fashion has always been a driving force for change, and it’s exciting to think what other positive shifts it might sweep along with it, as opting for used clothing moves from fringe to more mainstream wardrobes. 

For Isabella Tree, a pioneer in the rewilding movement, joy is a “wilderness where people are insignificant”. In the upside-down world of breakdancer Karam Singh meanwhile – who you’re likely to hear much more about when the Olympics roll into Paris this summer – the pleasure and fun he’s found in his sport has endured since he was a boy. 

Embracing ageing, rather than battling it with botox and ‘beauty’ products, is another joyful front that we unmask in this issue. And the joy of discovering something new is tantamount to magic for Frank Cottrell-Boyce, writer of the London Olympics opening ceremony, who tells us about his latest venture. 

Beautifully dressed and full of joy, the leading lights of the UK’s preloved fashion scene seem to be having an absolute ball

All good things must start somewhere; like the bra that a cancer survivor has designed for herself and other women who’ve had mastectomies, or like starting a career on a fish and chip stall for Adejoké Bakare, who recently became the UK’s first black female chef to win a Michelin star. 

And when it comes to literally throwing a better party, adapting to changing times is key. Nightlife has been a particularly hard-hit sector of late, but some UK venues that have recalibrated post-Covid see signs of hope in doing things differently. “It’s not about hedonism, it’s about feeling human again,” the founder of one told us.

That’s a party I want to be at.

Cover photo by Will Sanders