Tracy. Styling by Harriet Mays Powell and Doria Santlofer.    (Photo: Guy Aroch)

Intimacy is one of life’s richest pleasures, so for this issue, we decided to explore relationships—friendships, in particular. The subjects of two of the fashion stories in the following pages—“c u later” and “The Virgins”—aren’t professional models; they’re overlapping groups of friends whose easy comfort with one another is clear from the photos and who (small world) also turn up in the story of Internet photographers taking pictures of their friends. Work makes for intimacy, too: In Mike Albo’s look at the world of male models, it’s the plop-on-my-couch closeness that sustains Petey and his compatriots. Without each other to hang with, these guys would be lost. And Bert Stern’s photos of the ultimate fashion icon, Kate Moss, show a woman who’s completely at ease revealing herself to the camera; Amy Larocca’s interview tells us she’s also deeply fond of her boss, Sir Philip Green, the owner of Topshop—or, as Moss calls him, Uncle Phil.

And this season’s fashions? Wafty fabrics, gentle proportions, some drama in the form of shiny little dresses, giant bangles, high heels, and tiny bags. Interesting, in other words, but also comfortable. Kind of like an ideal friend.

Related:

• Archive: “Features”
• Articles by Harriet Mays Powell
• Table of Contents: Feb 23, 2009 issue of New York | Subscribe!