STACKING THE ODDS:
THE NEW HIGH-STAKES WARDROBE

CREATIVE & FASHION DIRECTION: KIM PAYNE
PHOTOGRAPHY: VLADIMIR MARTÍ
HAIR: JORDAN ROBERTSON
MAKEUP: JEAN KAIROUZ
SENIOR PRODUCER: STEFF HAWKER
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: DREW BROWN
PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANT: JAYPEE HARDIN
FASHION ASSISTANT: ZEBA ALI
MODEL: REHAM ELBEBLAWY / AVANT MODELS AGENCY
WORDS: DORA BORAS

Once, ‘resort’ dressing meant an edited glamour fantasy: a languid kaftan, a pair of sandals that could survive a polished yacht deck, maybe one talisman pendant for luck in baccarat rooms scented with citrus. The end of 2025 arrives with different atmospheric pressure. Currency swings, flight roulette, weather dysmorphia (freak heat, unseasonal rain), luggage delays, algorithmic discount whiplash, and the ethical hangover of over-consumption have rendered the simple question “What should I pack/buy/wear?” into a probabilistic exercise. The chic response isn’t over-preparation, nor is it performative under-packing. It’s stacking the odds: treating the wardrobe like a portfolio – hedged, liquid, diversified, resilient, all while still reading visually effortless in the holiday frame.

We are in an age of high-stakes dressing, not because the garments themselves are risky, but because every piece now carries multiple jobs: aesthetic payoff, carbon conscience, resale potential, algorithmic recognisability (or deliberate avoidance), emotional weight. The new luxury is intelligence disguised as ease.

“STACKING THE ODDS: THE NEW HIGH-STAKES WARDROBE” IS PUBLISHED IN THE 24TH EDITION OF GRAZIA INTERNATIONAL. ORDER YOUR COPY HERE.