Your first look at ‘RUSSH’s’ ‘Retreat’ issue- RUSSH

“This was how I knew the sleep was having an effect: I was growing less and less attached to life. If I kept going, I thought, I’d disappear completely, then reappear in some new form. This was my hope. This was the dream.” – Ottessa Moshfegh

How deep is your desire to recede and retract? Do you ever fantasise about a self-preservationist hibernation? Time away from all that has become familiar to refresh the cache, to be completely invisible, unreachable and without obligation. Essentially, closed until further notice.

I’m of course referring to more than a stowaway weekend in a hotel room in a place where you don’t speak the language or a month-long hideout on Hydra, where donkey transport erases the longing to go anywhere at all in any kind of hurry. This is more of a full-scale opt-out of all we’ve signed up for; those plentiful neurological networks in our brain that keep us attached to the same things, day in, day out, forevermore. A bold disconnect from our current narrative to clear ourselves of all we’ve known; the ultimate purge, a lobotomised mind, promising to leave us free, unhinged, inert. Maybe even ready to be born again.

On occasions, I’ve witnessed noble attempts at such a thing, masqueraded as a sabbatical. They seem to come in the form of fasting retreats by Lake Constance and left-behind spreadsheets meticulously detailing every hour missed and precisely what to feed the dog, or year-long road trips documented on Instagram with curated captions. I’ve even – quite unsuccessfully – tried it myself, boarding flights as a means to be able to delegate my mental load. But it never lasts long.

We rush back to routine as a means to survive. Every essence of our being believing that if we cannot show up – for people, places, things, duties – that we won’t get to simply ‘exist’. We say ‘yes’ when we are really thinking ‘no’, driven by a perceived necessity of it being ‘the job’ or doing it ‘out of love’, and fundamentally, a lack of faith that the universe will bring us what we need regardless.

This issue honours the call of retreat and the demand to take refuge in ourselves wherever we are. It gives the space to let go and find our way back to ourselves; this permission to pause being our consent to taking our energy and power back.

Will we sink into obscurity, never to be heard of or seen again? Or will we find a new level of engagement with the world around us, one that allows us to live more on our terms? We’re not so sure, but we’re trying it, and will let you know.

Experience the Retreat issue in its entirety this March, available on newsstands from Thursday 6 March 2025, and through our online shop. Find a stockist near you.

PHOTOGRAPHY Crista Leonard @ Cadence

FASHION Charlotte Agnew

MODEL Violette Meima @ DNA Models

HAIR Kazue Deki @ Calliste Agency

MAKEUP Lauren Aiello

NAILS Chloe Momi

ART DIRECTION Sarah Bassett

STYLIST’S ASSISTANT Lisa Fulchignoni

PRODUCTION Producing Love