At 16, I insisted on painting my room black. Having rather indulgent parents, I was able to get away with black furniture, black carpeting and an all-black wardrobe. To add to this, I had the words of Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' on my soft board and a charming quote by Jean-Paul Sartre on my door: "Hell is other people". By the time I reached college, I had acquired the reputation of an anti-social witch! But a decade later, when I entered the world of fashion, I found that black had another connotation. IT WAS TIMELESS AND CHIC. And if you channelled Audrey Hepburn, you could pull off gamine and Givenchy at the same time. Which is why I am exceptionally grateful that fashion is favouring my all-time favourite non-colour. It means I am finally back in style.

The ELLE September issue is filled with my favourites. There is a superb profile of the delicious Javier Bardem. The feature on north-east India is one that hasn't been explored before – and BEING THE FIRST TO DO IT IS AN ELLE PENCHANT.

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