Abby Champion • Vogue September 2023

The final piece of Daniel Libeskind’s master plan to develop the 16 acres in Lower Manhattan destroyed in the September 11 attacks is nearing completion. The Perleman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC) opens in 10 days with an ambitious program for its inaugural season, but not before Vogue’s September Issue has first previewed it. Photographer Norman Jean Roy and fashion editor Max Ortega stage their autumn collections story in the state of the art performance space. Enter Abby Champion, fresh on the heels of her Vogue Hong Kong cover story this month, wearing an embellished Miu Miu halter dress and Cleef & Arpfels earrings. She’s pictured whisking in the kitchen with renowned chef Marcus Samuelsson, who will open a restaurant at PAC. Central to the theater’s design is its ability to reconfigure itself in some 60 iterations—from a standard proscenium to an intimate black box and beyond. Small wonder that Abby Champion finds herself at the cutting edge with Fashion Month just days away from starting. All that awaits is a standing ovation.

Credits include: Publication, Vogue September 2023; Title “The Shape of Things to Come”; Photography, Norman Jean Roy; Fashion editor, Max Ortega; Hair, Joey George; Makeup, Fulvia Farolfi.