ADEJOKEÌ BAKARE: CHEF
Born in Nigeria, Bakare (JokeÌ to friends) started with a pop-up in Brixton and quickly flourished into one of London’s brightest stars. That she is the first British Black woman to win a Michelin star is a travesty but as head chef of Fitzrovia’s Chishuru, she’s put West African cuisine firmly on the map. The Evening Standard’s food critic Jimi Famurewa called her ‘one of the most blisteringly gifted and original chefs in the city’.
CLAUDIA WINKLEMAN: TELEVISION PRESENTER
Deserves to be here for her fringe alone, but it’s on The Traitors where she’s really come into her own. The friendly, supportive face we love from Strictly? Forget her! Strutting around the castle joking about murder and making withering remarks about contestants, Winky 2.0 has absolutely nailed the art of stern power.
ANGELA RAYNER: POLITICIAN
Let’s face it, 2024 is a big year. Huge. Rayner is always challenging our class assumptions, pushing the boundaries for women and, importantly, plain- speaking truth to the reprehensible powers that be. And while there will always be divisive topics at play, it’s likely Rayner — the second most popular MP in the country, FYI — is poised to be spending a lot more time at No10 by the end of the year.
CHIOMA NNADI: EDITOR
Dame Anna Wintour’s right hand at US Vogue, where she headed its digital output, has now been drafted back here to head British Vogue. Raised in London (she was on the Standard’s features desk in her early years), impeccably dressed (archive Westwood, eat your heart out), Nnadi is one of our city’s greatest reclaimed assets.
CORA CORRÉ: MODEL AND ACTIVIST
Granddaughter of the late, great Dame Vivienne Westwood, 26-year-old CorreÌ has made it her mission to continue her grandmother’s legacy through The Vivienne Foundation. As much of an activist as she was a groundbreaking fashion designer, Westwood sought to combat climate change, stop war, defend human rights and protest against capitalism. As one of London’s fiercest activists, CorreÌ is taking the fight forward.
DR HELEN O’NEILL: WOMEN’S HEALTH PIONEER
Egg freezing, fertility MOTs and taking control of what’s going on in there has become a buzz topic, but decentering it from a couple’s quest to make a baby and putting that power in women’s hands alone is still a new frontier. Step forward O’Neill, lecturer and founder of reproduc- tive empowerment platform Hertility Health. Telling us we’re ‘not ovary-acting’ in our desire to check our fertility, she has bestowed confidence and autonomy to women.
OLIVIA COLMAN: ACTOR
From the moment she uttered her Wife of Bathly ‘c**t!’ on the red carpet for Wicked Little Letters, we’ve renewed our obsession with Colman. She’s played the Queen, become a national institution and didn’t get a scrap of bother for taking on the oil giants with her spicy ad Oilblivian. Plus, we still correspond mostly in Peep Show bon mots. A legend in her own lifetime.
SHON FAYE: WRITER
Author, journalist and trans activist Faye read English at Oxford — but don’t mistake hers for a high-falutin’ Saltburn rise to power. Always seeking to recentre the lives of underprivileged trans women, with her book The Transgender Issue: an Argument for Justice, she sought to redress the balance of power for LGBTQ+ folk, and her podcast Call Me Mother tracks the legacy of the community’s queer heroes.
LITTLE SIMZ: MUSICIAN AND ACTOR
Islington rapper Little Simz has been on an unstoppable roll since her independently released third album Grey Area back in 2019. That releasescooped her a Mercury Prize nomination, and then three years later she won the whole thing with the exceptional Sometimes I Might Be Introvert. As well as starring in Top Boy, she revealed herself as a member of the enigmatic R&B collective Sault late last year.
DILARA FINDIKOGLU: FASHION DESIGNER
The British-Turkish Saint Martins grad has crafted a style so wonderfully maximalist and unique. From the infamous Joan’s Knives dress worn by Emma Corrin for ES Magazine to the heavily corseted neo-Gothic designs of her latest AW24 collection, Findikoglu has become a favourite of the likes of Doja Cat and Kylie Jenner. Some have even called for her to head-up Alexander McQueen.
LEENA NAIR: BUSINESS LEADER
Proudly British-Indian, Nair is the most high-profile woman of colour helming a global luxury brand. She previously led the company culture and human resources division at Unilever before taking up the post of global chief executive at Chanel in 2022. The appointment raised eyebrows, but under Nair the fashion house will see more emphasis on storytelling and draws on her 30 years experience to navigate the brand post-pandemic.
DINA ASHER-SMITH: ATHLETE
As the Paris Olympics draws near, of all the Team GB hopefuls we’re rooting for, there’s none more than Orpington-bred Dina Asher-Smith. At 28, this will be her third time representing us at an Olympic Games, having won bronze for 100m relay at both Rio and Tokyo, and becoming the fastest British woman on record. Plus she came up through the same grammar school as tennis champ Emma Raducanu and actor Gemma Chan.
DAME PAT McGRATH: MAKE-UP ARTIST
This year started with a bang for Dame Pat, as the latex look skin she crafted for Margiela’s Victoriana couture show broke the internet. Having worked with John Galliano since the 1980s, the synergy melted our minds. But with four decades at the celeb-face (Naomi Campbell and Paloma Elsesser her main muses), and seven years since the conception of her mega successful Pat McGrath Labs line, she is our official beauty queen.
NADIA LEE COHEN: ARTIST AND PHOTOGRAPHER
Basically the love-child of David LaChapelle and Cindy Sherman, this Essex girl is taking over the art world one magazine cover at a time. She photographed Kim K and Lana for Interview, and directed BeyonceÌ’s latest Texas Hold ’Em Super Bowl slot. However, her ultimate subject is herself; in her book Hello, My Name Is, she created 33 fictitious characters and transformed herself into them.
REBECCA FRECKNALL: THEATRE DIRECTOR
The woman behind two of the hottest shows of recent years — A Streetcar Named Desire with Paul Mescal, and Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club that kicked off with Eddie Redmayne and Jessie Buckley — is remarkably understated in person. That quiet, considered confidence — not to mention the imaginative, insightful work — is why ‘Frecks’, as she’s known, is so well loved by those who work with her. One of theatre’s most thrilling talents.
EMILY MAITLIS: BROADCASTER
Another person ready for an intense election year is broadcaster and former Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis. While her podcast, The News Agents, really flies as our go-to political source these days, she’ll also witness not one, but two screen adaptations of that Prince Andrew interview. Pizza Express should give her a gold card for the perpetual name-check.
DUA LIPA: SINGER
It’s not all outings with her new Masters of the Air beau Callum Turner and influencing us to dye our hair cherry red. Not many pop stars have a hit single, launch a Barry’s Bootcamp off-shoot and cameo as a movie mermaid (thanks to Cher, who flippered the way) in a few short months. But Dua is a woman at the height of her creative powers. This year, she’s levitating.
MOLLY MANNING WALKER: FILM-MAKER
After bagging a credit as a director of photography on Charlotte Regan’s debut Scrapper, and releasing a string of shorts, this fast-rising Ealing director (and the founder of grassroots footie team Babe City FC) made one hell of a debut with her first feature film, How to Have Sex. Set on a raucous girls’ holiday to a Greek party resort, it uses the teenage rite-of-passage to delve into the thorniness of consent.
GRACE LADOJA: MUSIC EXECUTIVE
Ladoja made her name in music management and helped turn Skepta into a household name. One of London’s most respected cultural advisors and curators, she’s worked with mega brands from Nike to Fenty, and even launched her own music festival, Homecoming, in Lagos. She’s business savvy, too, one of the first to join the dots between fashion, music and brands, co-founding Metallic Inc, with a stellar roster of talent. CV envy? Us?
EMMA THOMAS: FILM PRODUCER
Oppenheimer. Tenet. Inception. Dunkirk. We know them as Christopher Nolan films, but they’re just as much Emma Thomas films. Thomas, who has known Nolan since university and married him in 1997, has produced all his features, and runs their production company, Syncopy Inc, despite her father, on her graduation, trying to steer her towards the civil service. She made the right choice, although perhaps she should run the civil service.
MARGOT HENDERSON: CHEF AND RESTAURATEUR
Nestled in a suburban haven near Brick Lane is Rochelle Canteen, which is unlike the crop of eateries designed with Instagram in mind. Instead, Henderson strips it back to basics, focusing on what’s important: the food. The New Zealand-born restaurateur cut her teeth at hotspots like Quality Chop House and now counts writer and caterer among her many talents.
HONEY DIJON: DJ AND PRODUCER
Since her jubilant move to London, club legend Dijon has been spotted on the ES Magazine party decks a number of times. And what an honour that is. Having risen to fame through the Chicago dance scene, the producer, DJ and electronic musician is a hot commodity on the fashion scene, has become an outspoken trans rights activist and last year picked up a Grammy courtesy of her work on BeyonceÌ’s Renaissance. Is there anything she can’t do?
MARTINE ROSE: FASHION DESIGNER
Before Dior and Balenciaga sent oversized silhouettes and sportswear-inspired designs down the runway, Rose honed her signature style with subculture and streetwear references, positioning herself firmly at the forefront of menswear. The designer has lent her creative eye to a steady stream of collaborations, including Nike and Timberland, and this year she’s guest creative director of British footwear institution Clarks.
OLIVIA DEAN: SINGER-SONGWRITER
Dean’s first EP, OK Love You Bye, was recorded in a converted east London pub and landed her an immediate contract with EMI. Gaining superstar status before ever producing a full-length album, it’s no wonder her 2023 LP, Messy, debuted at No 4 and secured a Mercury nomination. Neo-soulful melodies pour out of this artist’s pipes like fresh honey on a warm spring morning.
