

“You can learn so much about a place through its style”
From Senegalese surf chic to the Parisian vintage scene, a city’s style is a unique snapshot of its culture, says fashion editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson
Search by destination, accommodation or landmark
Adults
Children
Ages 0 to 17
As a stylist and fashion editor, you wouldn’t expect Gabriella Karefa-Johnson to choose Paris as a bucket-list destination, given that she’s there twice a year for Fashion Week. But she rarely gets to see more than her hotel room. “I’d love to actually enjoy the city, not be running around in the back of a car all the time. I don’t think I’ve ever been on a proper vacation there,” she says.
Now 32, Karefa-Johnson became the first Black woman to style an American Vogue cover in 2021 and has dressed the likes of Vice President Kamala Harris and tennis legend Serena Williams. It’s been 12 years since her first, very memorable trip for the magazine—as a fashion assistant, shooting a supermodel in Paris.

“We were on the roof of the Palais Garnier shooting this incredible picture where she stood next to a statue and the wind was blowing her skirt. My job was to make sure the skirt didn’t hit the ground. So I was on the edge of this building, looking at a panoramic view of Paris, and the only thing I could focus on was this damn skirt, thinking, ‘It cannot hit the ground or I’ll lose my job.’ By the end of that trip, I thought, ‘I can do this.’”
That was, until the flight home. “I cut it too close, missed the baggage cut-off, and got stranded in Charles de Gaulle with the trunks. It was my first big mistake in the fashion industry. But it’s OK. I survived.”
Her job has taken her all around the world, giving her a unique lens through which to see a city’s cultural scene, from the influential surf style in Senegal to Tokyo’s ultra-specialized thrift stores. It’s an underrated way to get to know a destination, as fashion can reveal so much about a country’s history, culture, and attitude. (And all that travel has also made her appreciate something else that she believes is hugely underrated: “I’m a fan of airplane food,” she insists. “I would eat it at my house.”)
Spending half her life running around the world’s great cities in the name of fashion means Karefa-Johnson prefers a gentler pace on vacation. “A beach, a lounge chair, a frozen cocktail and earphones in—don’t talk to me for five days. It’s decompression. My vacation is about minimal movement,” she says.
Gabriella’s top people-watching hotels
The Hotel Bel-Air, L.A.
“The Hotel Bel-Air in L.A. is pretty dang stylish,” says Karefa-Johnson. Since it opened in 1946, its boldface guests have included Judy Garland, Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe, who did her last photo shoot there before she died. “It’s an old-Hollywood-glamour vibe, with the swans and the tiny pool shrouded in palm trees. I’ve only stayed there once, but I really loved it.”
Book nowShangri-La, Paris, France
“This is a very chic hotel bar. It used to be a private residence [of one of the Napoleon family]. It’s right across the street from Palais d’Iéna, where Miu Miu shows. After the show, everybody goes there to have a cocktail because there’s a gap in the schedule.”
Book nowRitz Paris, France
“I hope I’m not going to get cancelled as being, like, the bougie girl, but Bar Hemingway here has very good style watching. It’s at the back of the hotel so not a super-obvious place to go. It’s a bit intellectual because it’s said to be where Hemingway would write.” Its walls are lined with images of the author, but its 25 seats also played host to his friend F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Book nowHoshinoya Tokyo, Japan
“Now that is a stylish hotel. I traveled 17 hours to Tokyo to do a photo shoot for one day, then 17 hours back. I was an emotional mess. It was midnight, we hadn’t eaten or slept, and the last picture we took was in the hotel’s onsen, a traditional Japanese hot spring. They give you a kimono and tabi socks, and pump natural hot spring water up to the roof. It was a cleansing experience. I was like, you know what? 17 hours is worth it. This is really special.”
Book now
How to suss a city through its style
Find ways to discover a place
“I don’t have time to explore places, but Paris is a city where I look out the car window and things catch my eye. That’s how I found Thankx God I’m a V.I.P., my favorite vintage store. The entire store is color coordinated and has amazing leathers and shearlings. I try to make every moment a moment of discovery. If I’m outside a fashion show, I look around to see where the best place on the Seine is to sit, or the best pizza in a piazza in Milan, or the best pub trivia night in London. You find things without actively seeking them.”
Seek out unlikely fashion destinations
“There’s nothing cooler than an American cowboy, and New Mexico has amazing Western wear and incredible jewelry. It’s almost like a time capsule stylistically; you feel like you’re shopping the best 1990s style—there is a real grunge vibe to their thrift stores. They also have the best cocktail in the world, a St. Rita. It’s a margarita but with Saint Germain, a French elderflower liqueur. Truly divine.”
Bag the best thrift buys
“I love proper thrift—thank God so many people don’t like fashion, because they had no idea what they had and now I got it for 59 cents. Every fashion capital has incredible thrift and vintage stores. Paris has a big market called Les Puces (literally ‘The Fleas’) with amazing, well-curated vintage. In Shinjuku or Harajuku in Tokyo, you’ll find everything from a dedicated old rap T-shirt store to a traditional geta sandal. I go to the back of the store and work my way to the front, because they put the flashy stuff in the front, but the back is where you find the real gems.”
Find skincare bargains
“A French pharmacy is like the most iconic medi-spa in the world. It’s the best for over-the-counter face creams and serums. I always buy Homeoplasmine by Boiron, which is basically a Vaseline, so it’s a lip gloss, an eye highlighter, a blush mixture—truly the stuff of legends.”
Get to know the culture
“My family is Sierra Leonean, and West Africa is so vibrant. I did a photo shoot in Senegal about the way surf culture is depicted as a White culture, but some of the best surfers and some of the best breaks in the world are West African. We went to an amazing fish restaurant perched above this cove, where surfers jump off the veranda into the water. Surf style that people attribute to Americans came from there. It’s a freaking coolness, and it’s doing a lot with a little. And then the women! My God, the regalia they wear day to day. Give it up for the ladies of Senegal.”

Lara Kilner
Writer
Lara Kilner is a lifestyle journalist who has contributed to The Times, The Telegraph, and more. She has traveled extensively through five continents, but her most memorable trip was the one on which she met her Malaysian husband.

Scan the QR code or select one of the links below.
More travel tips
-
Inspiration
6 winter sun getaways to warm your soul
January 2025 -
InspirationUnited States
6 of the best Lunar New Year celebrations in America
December 2024 -
EuropeSet-jetting
A Gladiator fan’s guide to Europe
November 2024 -
GuidesMexico
A cultural guide to Tulum
October 2024 -
InspirationTravel Tips
Chris Burkard: “The landscapes I’ve seen have changed me”
August 2024 -
InspirationTravel Tips
Dascha Polanco: “Travel keeps my family connected”
July 2024 -
InspirationTravel Tips
A-Trak: Travel secrets of a superstar DJ
June 2024