Lately, here at T Australia, we’ve been thinking a lot about love. Familial love, non-binary love and polyamorous love; the love we have for our children, pets and friends. Love is the beating heart of humanity — it binds us and gives us the will to keep going. Love has inspired countless movies, songs, books and plays. But what, exactly, is it?
In this, our first ever “Amour” issue, we examine love in all its complicated glory, unpacking what it means to love and be loved in this day and age, when all the old rules have been abandoned.
In our cover story, “True Romance” (page 68), Lance Richardson ponders the real meaning of love, and finds it with help from the Bard. “Everything can be falling apart in life, you can be metaphorically soaked to the bone, shivering and hopeless, but then you see somebody you love and — the sun comes out,” he writes. He also considers the dangers of dating apps, which force us to emphasise our looks and suppress the messy beauty of what makes us human.
Elsewhere, Ute Junker calls attention to romance novels that are changing the cultural narrative, with authors giving voice to overlooked female characters in classics such as “1984”. “Ultimately, the truest love reflected in these books is not the emotional obsession of one human with another, so often fractured or flawed. Rather, it is our ongoing romance with reading that is centre stage — the passion that readers have for their favourite books,” Junker writes (page 20).
No anthology of love would be complete without devoting several pages to Paris, the City of Love. Learn how two interior designers — partners in both work and life — transformed their dated apartment in the First Arrondissement into a striking oak-lined abode for their family (page 33). Meanwhile, writer Helen Hawkes delves into the special bond between humans and dogs that is particularly notable in Paris, where pooches are doted on and even allowed to dine at Michelin-starred restaurants. “Dogs, no matter whether poodles or Rottweilers, are simply, and have always been, pure, slobbery, unconditional love,” she writes (page 19).
In Australia, French cuisine is back in fashion, with a wave of Paris-inspired bistros beloved for their chic decor and varied menus cropping up (page 32). Coinciding with this trend is the reappearance of the French 75 cocktail on drinks menus across Sydney and Melbourne. The classic tipple, which first gained popularity in the heady 1920s, is enjoying a renaissance using elevated ingredients and modern techniques (page 24).
Finally, writer Kate Hennessy takes us on a trip to Turkey, where female travellers are increasingly flocking and in turn driving a demand for female guides and experiences with local women. Dive into the country’s rich history, which includes the love letters between a sultan and his concubine, and learn about the country’s restoration since the earthquake (page 88).
I’m not one to dish out pearls of wisdom, but I do know that love is about being open to new experiences and feelings. In the words of Katharine Hepburn: “Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get — only with what you are expecting to give — which is everything.”
I hope you love this issue as much as we loved creating it.
Katarina Kroslakova — Publisher, Editor-in-Chief
