“Emancipation and the freeing of oneself is to embrace what has been and too what is to come, so this is why I am returning to this moment in our timeline to further show you the full circle moment I am now feeling.”

Covering our Winter 2020 issue, poet and model Kai-Isaiah Jamal looks back to 2017, when they shot their first editorial as Kai with Wonderland. Reflecting on that summer day and the full circle moment they feel, they write an open letter “that authentically and directly speaks to a younger version of myself at the start of a pivotal and transitional time.”

“The piece is a warming reminder to keep going,” Kai says, “no matter how high the odds are stacked against you.”

Pre-order the Winter 2020 issue below…