The first time Dua Lipa went clubbing, she was just a wisp of a tween girl in Kosovo. The UK-born pop star realizes how absurd it sounds as she explains it. Seated in her home office in London, flanked by shelves teeming with books, she thumbs through her phone for a blurry image of a photo from that fateful night-as if to prove to the two of us that it did indeed happen. At the center of the photo is a young Lipa dressed in white crochet, smiling brightly next to her much taller cousin and an entourage of stylish women.
Clubbing is a Lipa family tradition; it's also why she wasn't fazed when, while out one night on New York City's Lower East Side with Charli XCX, she ran into her parents partying at The Box. "We celebrate everything and anything, and we just love a party," she explains. "When I go to my aunt's house, it all starts off pretty tame.....Then the music comes on, and we're all dancing in the house. And that's a Tuesday!"
Now 28, Lipa has since made a name for herself as Britain's leading lady of disco. On the dance floor, she plays an almighty oracle, a savvy young agony aunt for lovelorn club kids, desperate for the sobering real talk she's dispensed in hits like "New Rules" and "Don't Start Now."
But long before she penned feminist electro-pop smashes that now stream by the billions, her family knew her as just Dua, their precocious eldest daughter who left Kosovo as a teen to fulfill her pop star dreams by herself in London. That's when she fully harnessed what she calls her "big sister energy" in her life and music; one can hear it now in the unshakable authority with which she sings her songs.
"She is such a big sister," says songwriter Caroline Ailin, who first recognized Lipa's insightful nature when they met almost a decade ago. "You process your feelings [with her], but you also walk away feeling empowered."
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
The Surreal Life of Tyla - Inside the dizzying, meteoric rise of a true African pop star.
The night before the Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics, Tyla was unusually calm. The South African singer was about to give a surprise performance at the Prelude to the Olympics, held at the Fondation Louis Vuitton and attended by celebrities from Zendaya to LeBron James.I was asked to do the event by Pharrell [Williams, Louis Vuitton Men's creative director], so it was insane-an instant 'Yes, she says. Sometimes I'm nervous, like I'm really nervous. But this time, Tyla looked forward to the show the entire day.
Wellness - Amazing Grace - Actress Toks Olagundoye was making people laugh on TV while managing intense treatments for breast cancer.
My work makes me really happy, says Toks Olagundoye, an acting veteran who plays Olivia Finch on the Paramount+ reboot of Frasier. That's one reason she stuck with the hit show's first season despite a shock diagnosis: During the course of preparing for and filming the series, as well as Paramount+'s Fatal Attraction, she underwent chemotherapy and six surgeries to treat breast cancer. Feeling healthy ahead of Frasier's Season 2 launch on September 19, she talks to ELLE about her healing story.
Shanghai Rising - An international fashion presence and an appreciation for the city's own talent are powering a renaissance in China's largest city.
A year ago, Louis Vuitton wrapped the giant warehouse space housing Fotografiska Shanghai in electric blue. The occasion? "Nóng Hó, Shanghai" (Shanghainese for "Hello, Shanghai"), a four-week cultural festival of book clubs, architecture tours, and live music to promote the maison's City Guide Series. "Everything was built in 48 hours, whereas in London that would've taken weeks," says Shem Jacobs, a recent transplant to Shanghai and Fotografiska's director of partnerships, Asia. "The efficiency here is really amazing."
The Power of Kindness
To mark National Hispanic Heritage Month, Lauren Sánchez and Nina Garcia come together for a conversation about identity, education, and civility.
The Gift of Ketanji Brown Jackson
In an exclusive profile and a new memoir, the history-making Supreme Court justice is telling her story.
Gaining Momentum
Vaccines, targeted meds, and a new way to stop hair loss? Breast cancer research is reaching a breakthrough point.
The Miami Glam Squad
The city's rising cohort of beauty entrepreneurs is leading the Latine beauty boom.
Golden DAYS
Tiffany & Co. pays tribute to Elsa Peretti's legacy.
THE CULT OF COZY SEASON
Forget \"New year, new you.\" Fall has us all turning over a new sartorial leaf.
Scarlet WOMAN
For one Latina novelist, reclaiming the color red turns out to be the ultimate power move.