Fashion has long chased the unexpected material. Paper now takes center stage in a high-concept editorial that feels both fragile and fierce.
Anya Taylor-Joy appears on the cover of V Magazine’s Fall 2026 issue, V162, wearing original garments built entirely from the stuff. Photographer Nick Knight shot the images against stark black backgrounds. Stylist Anna Trevelyan oversaw the looks.
The September issue hits global newsstands on September 11.
Designers including Miguel Castro Freitas for Mugler, Gaurav Gupta, Zac Posen for GapStudio, Matthew David Andrews, Noel Stewart, Jenny Beattie, AGRO Studio, Macy Grimshaw and Thevxlley created the pieces. Standouts include a geometric gown in bonded tissue paper from GapStudio by Zac Posen. Andrews contributed a crinoline corset dress draped in tracing paper. A massive ruffled paper hat by Beattie adds drama.
Gupta’s engineered paper panels sit over tulle. Mugler supplied a custom paper coat and skirt. Thevxlley offered a full paper suit. Jewelry came from Tiffany & Co. Montblanc joined the collaboration. Taylor-Joy’s mother even wrote “I love you my angel” on set with one of the brand’s pens.
The concept plays on paper’s dual nature. It holds stories, scripts and journals. Here it becomes wearable sculpture. Knight’s dramatic poses give the ethereal textures commanding weight. The shoot celebrates the tactile in a digital age. Taylor-Joy has long kept journals and favors physical books. She packs nearly a full suitcase of them when she travels.
Her career supplies the perfect frame. She broke out in The Witch. The Queen’s Gambit brought her a Golden Globe and wider fame. Roles in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and a cameo in Dune: Part Two followed. She returns as Alia Atreides in the third Dune film later this year. She also executive produced and stars in the Apple TV+ series Lucky. Another producing credit comes with the film Sacrifice.
Friend Miley Cyrus conducted the interview for the issue. They discussed character work, fame and creative control.
“It feels like less of a choice, more of an instinct,” Taylor-Joy said of falling for a role. “My body figures it out before I do.” On producing, she noted it “felt like something I had always been doing, it just now had a job title.”
Fame once left her feeling hunted. She has learned to choose which opinions matter. She still holds high personal standards but now sees value in letting go of perfection.
The cover arrives as she balances blockbuster scale with intimate producing. Fashion remains a constant outlet. She serves as a Dior ambassador and regularly experiments with archival and custom pieces. This paper series fits her taste for transformation and craft. Knight’s images capture her presence with precision. The textures read as both delicate and architectural.
Industry watchers note how such editorials keep actors visible between projects. Lucky has already drawn attention for its heist energy. The next Dune chapter carries heavy fan expectations. Taylor-Joy approaches both with the same curiosity she brings to the page. Paper, like film, starts blank and ends transformed.
This cover makes that process visible.
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