magazines

Merch watch: are you consuming culture as a performative act?



The Gentlewoman x Arket tee

Rachel Cusk and Zadie Smith have become, in effect, literary brands — once their names are removed from the context of a book’s cover and placed on a hat or a tote bag.” Terry Nguyen, New York Times.

The merch machine refuses to die. In fact, I would argue it’s only just getting started. The New York Times recently published this article on literary merch, explaining the relatively new popularity of #litcore caps (and totes and tees) that show allegiance to revered writers while telegraphing the wearer’s (perceived) intellectual superiority. The Guardian calls this “consuming culture as a performative act”, while comedian Dan Rosen simply calls it “liberal cringe” (ouch #guilty).

It’s also rampant in media, with mainstream and niche publications going all out on taste signallers. (more…)



Print media – but make it French



Harper's Bazaar France March 2023

Digital media is in meltdown. Again!

Buzzfeed news is dead, Paper followed suit and things aren’t looking too rosy for Vice. Meanwhile, everyone’s sick of Instagram and TikTok is burning us out, one braincell at a time.

It’s enough to send one running to the calm, serene refuge of print mags – particularly French ones. (more…)



Luis Venegas on the underrated craft of designer catalogues and printed matter



Luis Venegas by Fede Delibes

“Every six months, when the season was changing, I took the train from my little hometown to Barcelona and spent a whole afternoon going from Armani to Versace to Donna Karan, all the fashion luxury stores, collecting that season’s paper footprint. I was 13 or 14 years old and carried around a backpack full of catalogues. As for the brands we didn’t have in Barcelona, such as Yohji Yamamoto, I would flick through magazines and go to the gutter, the brand credits: usually on the very last pages, I would discover the telephone number of this or that store. I would ring from the house telephone to Paris or Milan – God knows in what language, some kind of English I hope – and I would request these catalogues. Even though I was a child, they would send them to me.” (more…)



Quote of the Day: Kim Jones, Faith Fanzine



Kim Jones Silvia Venturini Fendi
“Silvia is really funny because she loves techno, she’s a really chic woman, and she’s like, ‘ooh, put some techno on.’ There’s a Jeff Mills mix that we listen to quite a lot.”
Kim Jones on Silvia Venturini Fendi, Faith Fanzine (more…)