“For me, it kind of started out as an exploration. I hadn’t really written or experimented with pop before, I’d only really written classic music, so it was a tool for me to explore a new realm and also work with you. We’d never done anything musically together before, but we had grown up our whole lives with an underscore of music. It was the first time we sat together and actually created something new. It started as an outlet, but it quickly turned into a cool band now.”
Favouring the limelight from a young age, William Gao is now set on playing his most important role to date: himself. Marking the first cover star of our Autumn/Winter 2023 issue, the actor and musician sits down with his sister and Wasia Project bandmate Olivia Hardy in their London family home for another raw recording session. Preorder the issue now!
William Gao wears Kenzo
Photography by Rhys Frampton
Fashion by Efe I
Interview by Olivia Hardy
Words by Ella West
Editorial Director Charlotte Morton
Editor Ella West
Art Director Harry Fitzgerald
Grooming by Sandra Hahnel
Production Director Benjamin Crank
Producer Isabella Coleman
Production Assistant Lola Randall
Photography Assistants Josh Showell, Allan OPM and Ethan Elliott
*This photoshoot was conducted prior to the commencement of the SAG-AFTRA strike.*
