And yet, in other images, touch is indicative not of romantic partnership but simply of personal comfort — another force that governed every shoot in this issue — and the unwavering tenderness felt among friends: a hand delicately placed on a shoulder, say, or the resting of one’s head in the lap of another, as the actor Antonio Banderas does, on one of our eight covers, with the actress Rossy de Palma (“Old Friends”), the latter of whom would soon begin filming “Parallel Mothers” with the other friends in this portrait, the actress Penélope Cruz and the director Pedro Almodóvar, who wrote the script during quarantine. “These aren’t strangers,” notes Li. “There’s trust, clearly.” And it’s that sense of trust, combined with a strict observation of Covid-19 rules, that so many of us have lived by for the past year, seeing friends only when it’s safe (and declining to when it isn’t). It’s a testament to the lengths many of us will go for the friendships we treasure most — and, in that, a promise that we are not bound to be forever on our own.
On Cover 3, from left: DANIEL KALUUYA wears a Salvatore Ferragamo coat, $2,800, shirt, $430, and pants, $730, ferragamo.com; Berluti shoes, $2,520, berluti.com; and his own jewelry. LENA WAITHE wears a Kenzo jacket, $1,025, and pants, $760, kenzo.com; John Elliott T-shirt,$98, nordstrom.com; and her own hat, jewelry and shoes. MELINA MATSOUKAS wears a Prada sweatshirt, $2,410, skirt, $3,250, and shoes, price on request; Khiry earrings, $625, khiry.com; and her own rings and anklet. WILLIAM HAZEL wears a Burberry hoodie, $1,320, and overalls, $5,500, us.burberry.com. ALISA REYNOLDS wears an Hermès coat, $10,800, hermes.com; Phlemuns shirt, $275, phlemuns.com; Eileen Fisher pants, $168, nordstrom.com; Jill Platner earrings, $275, and necklace, $8,500, jillplatner.com; and Ugg x Molly Goddard shoes, $420, Dover Street Market New York, (646) 837-7750. SHIONA TURINI wears a Schiaparelli jacket and pants, price on request; Hermès top, $1,100; Darius Jewels necklaces, $10,336 and $13,640, dariusjewels.com; and her own ring and earrings. CYNTHIA ERIVO wears a Loewe top, $3,800, and skirt, $2,100, loewe.com; Giuseppe Zanotti shoes, $795, giuseppezanotti.com; and her own jewelry.