The editor of British Vogue since 1992, Alexandra Shulman originally pursued a career in the music industry before following in her parents' footsteps as a journalist, working for Tatler, the Sunday Telegraph and GQ. With Shulman at the helm, Vogue courted controversy by publishing photographs of a young, extremely slim Kate Moss, but Shulman also championed positive changes in the fashion industry by writing an open letter to designers in 2009 arguing for larger sample sizes. Her 2012 debut novel, Can We Still Be Friends, has just been published as a Penguin paperback.
FILM
Zero Dark Thirty
I saw Kathryn Bigelow's film last week and thought it was a wonderful example of how to create suspense, even though everybody knows the outcome. It's very well edited, particularly the storming of the terrorists' compound.
MUSIC
Natalie Merchant: Space Oddity
The V&A are doing a big Bowie exhibition in March, and he released a new single recently, so I was surfing my iTunes and found this live acoustic cover. Having a female singer do it at a different tempo, using her powerful voice, draws out the song's narrative.
EXHIBITION
Amongst Heroes – The Artist in Working Cornwall, at Two Temple Place, London
I love the light that you get in Cornwall, how it differs depending on the area you're in, so I'm looking forward to an exhibition displaying historical work from the two artists' colonies of St Ives and Newlyn.
THEATRE
The Judas Kiss
David Hare's play about Oscar Wilde, with Rupert Everett as Wilde and Freddie Fox as the destructive Bosie, has just transferred to the Duke of York's. I'm not a great Wilde fan but I've heard that Everett gives an incredible performance, really inhabiting the role, so I want to go and see that.
BOOK
The Examined Life, by Stephen Grosz
I haven't had psychoanalysis but I'm intrigued by this collection of case studies from a successful analyst. His interpretation of the reasons behind his clients' problems are often as weird as their behaviour. Each one is a mini-story, some interesting, some less so.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Juergen Teller: Woo!
I've worked with Juergen for 20 years so I'm very keen to visit this exhibition of portraiture and personal work at the ICA. He has a singular viewpoint; whether he's photographing a flower, a couture dress or an old man, you would know the image was by him.
