British Vogue Magazine June 2026: Summer

As an editor, I find nothing more satisfying than having my gut feelings affirmed, whether it be landing a smashing cover story – agonised over for several months prior – or simply conjuring the most perfectly dishevelled outfit from a crumpled heap off my bedroom floor in the morning. As a health and wellness geek, I’ve become increasingly obsessed with how the still somewhat mysterious gut-brain axis functions on a physiological level. Some fun facts that might surprise you: did you know that the surface area of your gut microbiome is the equivalent to the square footage of the average studio flat? That it’s home to 100 trillion bacteria? That 90 per cent of serotonin, the all-important feel-good hormone, is made here? In the name of keeping my tummy happy, I’ve tried every funky fermented concoction you can imagine (my current favourite probiotic tipple is a brand of goat’s milk kefir I was served on Instagram) and I’m practically a sauerkraut connoisseur.

In this issue’s summer Wellness special, we go beyond the current cure-alls flooding social media. Take your microbiome, for example: it turns out that the skin is also a major player in the gut-brain axis. There’s light at the end of the tunnel for insomniacs too, with some expert advice on how to get the best sleep of your life. Plus, we take a look at how the science of longevity is shifting the debate on what ageing well means.