For some girls, shaking up the status quo is in their DNA – and a new wave of fearless females is taking over Dazed’s annual “Girls Rule the World” issue. Leading the charge is Lorde, the New Zealand pop prodigy who hot-wired pop culture’s feminist conversation at the age of 16 and has been firmly in the driving seat ever since. Photographed on the cover by Ryan McGinley, she meets fellow cultural fire-starter Lena Dunham for a summit on sisterhood, the healing power of Taylor Swift, and the trials of being a modern youth icon: “I came into this with such a strong viewpoint – even when I was 13 or 14, my sense of self felt too permanent for anyone to fuck with.”

Also: Dej Loaf, hip hop’s most exciting new voice, tells Tim Noakes how she’s making macaroni of the haters; Saint Laurent muse Julia Cumming ascends to garage-rock sensation; Timbaland protege Tink takes the crown as R&B’s next great hope; gender-blurring NY underground star Hari Nef shines in a no-holds-barred interview and 14-page shoot with Collier Schorr, and cult Hollywood actress Jessica Lange talks about her life as a supernatural siren.

In fashion, trans trailblazer Andreja Pejić reflects on her rise from child refugee to catwalk royalty in a story shot by Jeff Bark, runway icons Pat and Anna Cleveland keep it in the family, and Karl Lagerfeld hears the sound of music in his Chanel Métiers d’Art show, exclusively photographed by Charlie Engman in the Von Trapp family residence. Plus, we select the best of the pre-fall collections as Marlene Marino and Elizabeth Fraser-Bell relive teen dreams, Johnny Dufort and Lotta Volkova kink up androgyny, Yelena Yemchuk and Katie Shillingford call in the girl gangs, and Richard Burbridge and Robbie Spencer get goggle-eyed with model of the moment Molly Bair.

Elsewhere: we peek beneath the mask of riotous rapper Leikeli47, A$AP mob-ster Chynna talks tough, director Crystal Moselle introduces her bizarre breakout film The Wolfpack, and we meet feminist art collective The Coven.

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Song featured in trailer: Leikeli47 - Heard Em Say