Tatler puts a footballer and a Love Island star at the top of the most suitable list
Released: 7:47pm EDT, Oct. 22, 2022 | Updated: 05:39 EDT, October 23, 2022
Almost four decades since they first patrolled the streets of Chelsea in wax jackets and Alice bands, London’s tribe of Sloane Rangers have been officially killed.
Tatler magazine – a bible for young public figures – has revised its little black book of society’s worthiest men and women to replace striped viscounts and Kashmiri girls with sportsmen and TV stars more in sync with the modern world .
Love Island’s Gemma Owen, 19, won the Young Woman of the Year award while her male counterpart is middle-class footballer Mason Mount, 23, who plays in midfield for Chelsea and England.
Love Island’s Gemma Owen, 19, has been named Best Young Woman of the Year
Although Gemma, the daughter of former England striker Michael Owen, has equestrian experience as a Team GB dressage rider, she is known to millions of young Brits as the scantily clad star of a reality dating show.
The cover of Tatler’s November issue features Mount with fashion-it girl Emilia Boateng, daughter of designer Ozwald.
A source said: “Tatler’s editor Richard Dennen has always said he wanted to make the magazine cooler and more modern and says he’s ‘de-sloaned’ the look by eliminating red trousers, tweed and pashminas from the pages.
“Footballers are the new dukes because of their glamorous lifestyle. They are young, have lots of money, are good looking and have a huge social media presence. Old school Sloanes just aren’t that interesting.’
Richard Dennen, editor of Tatler, has “entsloaned” the look of his magazine.
The term Sloane Ranger was coined by style writer Peter York in 1975 to describe a type of wealthy Londoner living in Sloane Square, Chelsea. Until recently, Tatler celebrated their social life on his pages of bystander society, with mostly upper-class white faces attending openings and parties.
But the change of course follows steps taken by Edward Enninful, editor of Vogue UK, to include models and staff from a wider range of backgrounds. It was also taken on by Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, who is Dennen’s mentor.
As The Mail on Sunday revealed, Wintour said at Vogue events, “Why are there so many white people in the room?”
Mason Mount, 23, a midfielder for Chelsea Football Club and England, was named the top-ranked young man of the year
Three Toffs made the Black Book top ten: The Marquess of Lorne, Margarita Armstrong-Jones and Hon Delphi Primrose. A publisher source said: “They’re young, modern and more stylish than a traditional Sloane.
“Lorne is a former Queen’s page and future Duke… but also so big on TikTok. Margarita Armstrong-Jones was the best dressed queen at the Queen’s funeral. High society is changing and so is the magazine. No one reads Tatler to look for Viscount Right anymore.”
Peter York, writing The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook in 1982, denied that the tribe was extinct, adding: “They don’t live in Sloane Square anymore.
“The Sloanes are smart, well-educated people, working for the world’s super-rich in London. Those who have fantastic skills work in law firms and those who haven’t work in real estate agents in Belgravia.’
