It Could Be a Phone Book, but It's About Time

Introduction: Newsletter Time

Oh Vera, Vera... the newsletters never come out on the same day of the week. And you're absolutely right to think that, but life after college is harder to put on pause.

This week I was on a diet... ha, gotcha, you believed it! A diet in terms of reading - I only read physical magazines - those cult ones, and I'm going to tell you about them and the red thread that connects them all. Time in its various interpretations.

The Trio of Publications

So in this magazine mix we have System, A Magazine Curated by, and Interview. The first two titles are biannual and the magazine created by Andy Warhol is bimonthly. All these editions are special in relation to the current zeitgeist or a specific cycle within the publication's own ecosystem.

Before we dive deep into all this, I want to share that this edition of the newsletter is very special to me... Not necessarily because of the content as I catch ideas that flutter in my consciousness and scribble them between the lines of my notebook... And that later take shape almost unconsciously as my fingers type.

In fact, this essay (a freer term than article) fulfills one of the purposes I designed for The Fashion Standup - to use my time to study what has interest in Fashion, but not the time or possibility to study, and make it accessible in a 10-minute read or less.

Confession of a Reader

Now comes the moment to confess - yes, I bought Interview because Selena (Gomez) and Benny (Blanco) are my couple crush... And, even though it's a pop culture magazine, its link to Fashion is enormous - let's not forget it was one of the first jobs of the great André Leon Talley (yes, we'll talk about the MET later this month!).

System - The Return to Origins

System returned to the hands of its founders Elizabeth von Guttman, Jonathan Wingfield and Thomas Lenthal. With the following lineup:

• interview with Lotta Volkova;
• a decade retrospective of Lotta Volkova's archive;
• a letter from New York written by architect Shoehel Shigemetsu about translating brand language into tangible realities;
• the letter from Dubai is authored by the editor-in-chief of the newly launched edition of Dazed MENA (English acronym referring to "Middle East and Northern Africa") - Ahamad Swaid;
• exploring new Fashion education systems at Institut Français de la Mode;
• a conversation between Yohji Yamamoto and Tim Blanks;
• a new journey into the archives, this time to Yves Saint Laurent campaigns with Helmut Lang's signature;
• celebrating 20 years of Dover Street Market and Fashion East's mentorship work;
• a tripartite dialogue between Michèle Lamy, Travis Scott and Josef O'Connor;
• various personalities, diverse perspectives on Prada Spring/Summer 2025 accessories;
• the words of Lauren Sherman in the company of Jonathan Wingfield;
• capturing the essence of a century of Loro Piana;
• and, System's mythical questionnaire this time with Loïc Prigent.

A Magazine Curated by - Commemorative Edition

After 25 or 21 years, depending on how you want to interpret the history of the publication transforming the mecca of Fashion designers into curators and editors of a magazine, A Magazine Curated by called and everyone said "present." So this commemorative edition features:

Dirk Van Saene, Bernhard Willhelm, Hussein Chalayan, Olivier Theyskens, Viktor & Rolf, Martin Margiela, Yohji Yamamoto, Haider Ackermann, Jun Takahashi, Martine Sitbon, Veronique Branquinho, Kris Van Assche, Riccardo Tisci, Proenza Schouler, Giambattista Valli, Rodarte, Stephen Jones, Iris Van Herpen, Delfina Delettrez, Thom Browne, Alessandro Michele, Eckhaus Latta, Simone Rocha, Kim Jones, Pierpaolo Piccioli, Lucie & Luke Meier, Grace Wales Bonner, Francesco Risso, Erdem, Sacai, Peter Do, Glenn Martens.

Like the real phone book was the Index of Interview. This one is left for the images.

About the Reading Experience

Even though I don't want to enter the debate on whether the death of print, of printed press, has been decreed... I want to read a magazine, study it, I don't want to learn how to do yoga, either because the magazine is too heavy, albeit magnificent... or because it's half a meter long. Do I place it diagonally on the desk to be able to underline the top of the page or cross my legs on the sofa to support it on my knees? As design objects, magazines have to function fully, beyond the smell of paper or the stimulus of turning the page.

Time as the Common Thread

Let's talk about notions of time that are common threads. I should note that lack of time made Interview the only one I didn't read from cover to cover. So, I jumped from Bill Gates to my couple crush.

Time and Memory

If I had to associate words with the idea of time - one of them, without a doubt, would be memory. Childhood memories were a point in common for Lotta Volkova and Yohji Yamamoto. The former marked by the USSR province that sparked her curiosity but didn't let her creativity fly. Yohji-san realized early on that he didn't want to be part of an adult society system that ended in wars; also as a child, he realized he was a feminist man.

For Lotta - a creative in the Fashion area, much more than what the word stylist encompasses, recognized for her work with Miuccia Prada - the almost obsessive curiosity she had from a very young age was her saving grace and the catalyst for her recognized creativity.

From obsession to extreme, it was to the extreme that Yamamoto took curiosity to the point that he caused pain to his own body, stopping eating to try to understand why humans had to do it.

Metrics of Time

We use various metrics to measure time, one of them is years. Nevertheless, years and age don't measure friendship. That's what the Tokyo Fashion master (81 years old) proved when he chose to converse with his friend - the painter and visual artist George Rouy, 30 years old, this being the way he participated in the commemorative edition of A Magazine Curated by.

Time and Process

By limiting, we create processes - steps of a creative process or life stages. The iconic hat designer Stephen Jones presented a compilation of sketches and drawings over the years, as well as portraits of himself by other artists. The duo Viktor & Rolf confronted the sketches with photographs of the looks at the Spring Summer Haute Couture 2025 collection show. Currently, most professionals precede their careers with an academic path. At Institut Français de la Mode, the various areas of Fashion are placed in constant dialogue, with emphasis given to management and entrepreneurship beyond Design, challenging the narratives of Fashion education.

Time and Simultaneity

Simultaneity was explored by designer Iris van Herpen through synesthesia, which she argues can be experienced by all human beings. As in the dialogue between Adrian Joffe and Lulu Kennedy and, namely, the reflection on the Dover Street Market and Fashion East projects. London projects that exalt independence in the Fashion sphere.

Time and Evolution

The passage of time leads us to evolve from a personal and professional point of view that leads us to admire the work and merit of others. Something that was notorious in Lauren Sherman's interview where she gives merit to the work of @ideservecouture and Alexander Fury. 

Time and Ephemerality

Ephemerality can be factual or subverted. It was subverted by Haider Ackermann by placing his Instagram stories and posts in a printed documentary object.

Time and Immortality

We may still want to immortalize an event. That's what Simone Rocha and Riccardo Tisci did. Simone Rocha revisited the collection she designed for Jean Paul Gaultier, the first she signed beyond her eponymous brand. Riccardo Tisci recalls his second collection in his own name, before embracing the creative direction of Givenchy.

Time and Cycles

Time ensures its continuity through cycles. The cycle that begins with the reacquisition of System by its founders. The beginning of a new cycle in the personal and professional life of one of the greatest Gen Z icons. The marking of a quarter-century cycle of A Magazine Curated by, which contains other cycles within it.

Within the edition itself that began with Martin Margiela, its first curator, and ended with Glenn Martens, who is currently the creative director of Maison Margiela. Martin Margiela himself had ended his period as a Fashion designer, now giving way to activity as a visual artist. Not forgetting the end of the cycle of Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez as creative directors of Proenza Schouler. Marked by the sharing of memories of the 22 years since they created the brand as students.

Final Reflection

I started by talking about the irregularity of this newsletter in time - and I end by recognizing how time shapes not only these three iconic publications but our own relationship with fashion. While I dedicate hours to reading these magazines, you dedicate minutes to reading my words - and it is in this exchange of time that we build knowledge.

To deepen this conversation about time, memory, and cycles in fashion, I invite you to follow @thefashionstandup on Instagram. There I will share images of these magazines and continue the analysis I started here. Which of these publications arouses your curiosity the most? Tell me!

See you on Instagram, until the next email.

With love,

Vera Lúcia