Anja Rubik by Carter Smith for Vogue UK, June 2005 ‘Island in the Sun’

Do you remember this editorial? For some reason, I have a very vivid recollection of the precise moment I read it- I was 16, and it was a warm Saturday afternoon. I’d become interested in collecting British Vogue- (a collection I began in December 2004. That was the issue in which Sienna Miller made her Vogue cover debut, and it featured the incredible Tim Walker shoot, ‘Fashion Pantomime.’) Anyway, I remember being struck by Anja’s ethereal ‘beach-babe’ quality and thinking, ‘who is this?’ only for her to later have her hair chopped off and emerge as one of the new elite ‘it’ models of the decade.

I know there are too many summery spreads currently doing the rounds, but I just couldn’t resist sharing one of my old favourites with you. Here’s hoping you guys get the chance to head to some tropical island this summer. I know I want to!