What's Contemporary Now?

Zoe Ghertner is a photographer renowned for captivating work blending art, fashion, and documentary storytelling. With a keen eye for detail and an innate sense of composition, Ghertner’s imagery transcends conventional boundaries. A New York native based in Los Angeles, her work often reflects the vibrant energy and diverse landscapes of Southern California. Ghertner’s portfolio includes collaborations with leading fashion brands, such as Miu Miu, Chloe, Wales Bonner, and Hermès, as well as publications, such as American and British Vogues, i-D, Self Service, and W. Through her lens, she invites viewers into a world where reality and imagination converge. Episode Highlights: Ghertner had a very imaginative childhood, where she learned the importance of positive, clear messaging.  Ghertner has partnered with Fee Steinvorth to create neoNutritions, a new vision of wellness rooted in spirituality and connection, with more of an interconnected focus on education compared to other health and beauty regimes. She sees what’s contemporary now as a sense of connectedness that resonates despite a modern overabundance of images.  Saying that photography and consumerism go hand in hand, Ghertner speaks to the struggle to achieve and sustain commercial success while also holding to the values deeply rooted in her work, such as unwavering attention to her subjects. Despite working with digital imagery and print media across personal projects and commercial collaborations, Ghertner says each effort informs another and that she’s a natural multihyphenate creator. Her first shooting of model Małgosia Bela was a breakthrough in “being able to work with someone with skills and ability.” She went through a phase of digging deeply into her subjects before garnering enough experience to represent that research and those conversations in the final imagery.  The support of women in the industry—such as Phoebe Philo, Miuccia Prada, Grace Wales Bonner, and Gabriella Hearst—has “allow[ed] me to grow and step into their worlds, which expands what my picture is about as well.”  Speaking to how images can traumatize or trigger elements of culture as a whole, Ghertner says her reaction to the male gaze and mental health advocacy are “a big part of the what and the why of how I’m making the pictures I make.” Having moved to warm and sunny California to experience a better quality of life, Ghertner experienced a shift in perspective akin to experiencing motherhood for the first time and creating a new body of work—and a new book.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Editor-in-chief of all la Repubblica magazines, Emanuele Farneti, is an influential figure in the fashion and design industries. Born in Italy, Farneti’s career trajectory skyrocketed as he took the helm of esteemed publications like Vogue Italia and L’Uomo Vogue. His keen eye for style, commitment to innovation, and passion for storytelling have propelled these magazines to new heights, earning him global accolades. A fusion of tradition and modernity characterizes Farneti’s leadership, analyzing the DNA of magazines to establish and evolve a language and direction better suited for contemporary society. Episode Highlights: He comes from a family of journalists who worked for Italian weekly “Panorama,” so he was “literally born within a newsroom” and has “childhood memories of the good old days of print media, where this group of talented journalists in their 30s, in the middle of the 70s were having a lot of fun playing poker and doing beautiful newspapers.”  Informed by a classical education, he studied law while training as a television and print media journalist, starting with sports before moving on to fashion. Known as “a true magazine maker,” Farneti knows the importance of working with a brand’s DNA, which he says can evolve but should remain true to itself.  Remembering Vogue Italia’s pandemic coverage, Farneti remarks that the ability to use fashion to address largerquestions and have a voice about what’s important is crucial.  As the director of D-la Repubblica, he’s adept at addressing a general audience with various and surprising topics united under the banner of good writing.  Focusing on making the most beautiful monthly-style, weekly-produced magazine possible, D sets itself apart for the quality and depth of its reporting in beauty, fashion, society, art, and lifestyle sections. The three limits of D as a print magazine: 1) it takes a long time to come together and is in circulation so briefly. 2) print quality and paper are low when working on a weekly basis. 3) there’s no international distribution.  One of the issues he’s more proud of came out last year and was completely dedicated to Afro-Italian or second-generation Italians, conceived, styled, and photographed by second-generation Italians themselves. The magazine is launching a men’s monthly on June 24. With D, Farneti oversees three different titles plus a newspaper covering the broader spectrum of fashion and beauty. When asked what’s contemporary, he says teamwork, and that his coworkers “are all bringing so many ideas, so many opportunities and such a good energy to the magazine.”  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Italian fashion designer Francesco Risso is renowned for his offbeat, innovative approach to contemporary clothing. He learned how to cut and sew from the age of eight with any fabric he could find, going on to study fashion at Florence’s Polimoda, New York’s FIT, and London’s Central Saint Martins. As creative director at Marni since 2016, Risso gained prominence by infusing the brand with vibrant colors, eclectic patterns, and playful aesthetics. His charming exuberance and unique ability to blend craft with modernity sets him apart and captivates audiences worldwide. What he sees as contemporary now is simple and uncontrolled by trends and a fast-paced industry: food and sex. Episode Highlights: Risso’s early years were spent not talking in a hectic and blended family home in Genoa, where he communicated by making things with his hands. At 8 or 9 years old, he began making clothes, scavenging clothes from his grandmother’s closet to cut and sew. Studying the classics and art, Risso “escaped” from his loud family by moving to Florence, knowing he would make clothes.  He found in the dance, clubbing, and rave scenes a way to escape from the constrictive traditional forces in Italy at the time when he considered himself goth and an outsider. “Provocative, and visceral, and obsessive.”: Risso talks about how he accepts a darker side of his outlook as a complement to his lighter and romantic side. He notes one of his mentors, Louise Wilson at Central Saint Martins, taught him to base a world around a garment without using typical fashion references.  Risso read a Virginia Woolf piece in which she invites her friends to the countryside and tells them not to bring clothes, as to leave behind a kind of social structure, and this inspired him to lose reference points.  On the secret of merging creative freedom with commercial success, Risso champions trust, pleasure, and courage,and living in the moment rather than for the final product. Marni Jam is one example of interdisciplinary creativity that Risso works into the brand, expanding music into fashion. To Risso, what’s contemporary now is “sex and food”—two exchanges he finds beautiful in that they build community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pierre Rougier, a distinguished fashion publicist and founder of PR Consulting, boasts a career spanning several decades. After studying political science in Bordeaux, Rougier honed his skills in Paris and London with Hermès, Yohji Yamamoto, and Maison Margiela before making his mark in New York in 1993. There, he directed communications while representing icons like Helmut Lang and Alexander McQueen. Establishing PR Consulting in1997, he catapulted emerging talents like Narciso Rodriguez and Nicolas Ghesquiere, then at Balenciaga, to prominence, also fostering brands like Proenza Schouler and Hood By Air. Renowned for discovering and championing young designers, Rougier continues to hold the opinion that a strong vision and sometimes counter-trending codes are often the precursors to a designer’s success. Episode Highlights: Rougier grew up far from the front of culture, and though his interests in fashion were indirect at first until he moved to Bordeaux—a larger city—to study.  He started his work in fashion boxing Hermes products before moving to London, still employed at Hermes, learning English and partaking in ’80s gay club culture there. Yohji Yamamoto employed Rougier to work a PR position, giving him his first taste of serious work and long hours associated with the industry. Using his London connections, he opened his own PR firm as the Antwerp Six were coming into the spotlight, and worked under Martin Margiela for four years, until he felt that his aesthetic and vision were too overwhelmingly connected to that one house. Moving to New York, Rougier worked as communications director for a company that held brands like Vivienne Westwood, Helmut Lang, and Michael Kors. Rougier speaks on learning that the antithesis of what's trending is always on the precipice of an arrival. He says the conversations in fashion are less now about what designers like and more about what designers find that works, and is successful.  Before the internet, there were few photos of shows and most people waited to see items in stores to determine the zeitgeist; now, Rougier says, the urgency of marketing makes everything “extremely transactional.”  He says it’s fair to say that in fashion, elitism has trended out with a shift to exclusive community identities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Willa Bennett, a trailblazing force in media, is the editor-in-chief of Highsnobiety, steering the publication to new heights of innovation and influence. A Forbes 30 Under 30 luminary, her journey began at Seventeen, pioneering its queer vertical before igniting social strategies at GQ, and championing diversity as Condé Nast's global co-chair. The American Society of Magazine Editors recognized her for social media excellence and video programming, and her leadership at Highsnobiety garnered recognition in the Digiday and Muse Awards. Highlighting the importance of authentic narratives in connecting with young audiences, what she sees as contemporary now is pushing the boundaries and shaping the future of media—even if that means tuning out the background noise and tapping into real community.  Episode Highlights: Bennett grew up in LA, balancing two passions: masculine menswear magazines and hyper-feminine ballet practice. Talking about her early passion for vintage finds and retro styles, Bennett says experimenting with styling became another medium for her, “like writing.” She grew up reading publications like Teen Vogue, Seventeen, Nylon, and Dazed—publications she says understood young consumers and which she still keeps a few print copies.  Bennett moved up through various roles in the industry at a time when social media marketing was in its more raw, early stage. Her role at Highsnobiety gives her creative freedom in that it moves with the youth culture and its fast-paced, creative, adaptive, and reactive workplace environment. Bennett is ahead of the curve, balancing personal perspective with editorial consideration and curation. Her team at Highsnobiety pushes a particular and intentional editorial vision, championing designers and talent that they want to carve out a space for.  Some of Bennett’s favorite cover stars have been Billie Eilish, Andre 3000, and Pamela Anderson, though she felt strongly about the Dries Van Noten cover.  Bennett has spoken about forming real connections as a priority over solely professional relationships, despite how “transactional” the industry can be.  Under Bennett’s eye, Highsnobiety’s niche is to move in tandem with the zeitgeist instead of against it, never telling readers what to do or who to wear.  Bennett considers real-life events crucial to foundational community building, saying, “that to me is a way bigger metric of success than like any influencer with 16 million followers posting one slide that everyone’s going to skip over anyway.”  She’s published poetry collections benefitting The Audre Lorde Project for queer youth.   For Bennett, deleting social media is what’s contemporary now, surprisingly.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FRAME cofounder and chief creative director, Erik Torstensson, is a pioneering figure in the fashion industry. He created Mr. Porter, co-founded and led creative agencies Saturday Group and Wednesday Agency, and co-founded and helmed Industrie magazine. With a keen eye for branding and digital strategy, Torstensson has successfully deployed unique marketing and communication approaches across his roles. He’s driven FRAME's global reach through culture-catching campaigns and collaborations, often fronted by top talents like Gisele Bündchen, Karlie Kloss, and Amelia Gray. As an outside-of-the-box thinker, he shares insights into conscious design, digital strategy, brand partnerships, and his recent obsession with AI. Consistently setting new standards for what’s contemporary, Torstensson advocates for curiosity, naivety, and the restless courage that comes from using an outsider's perspective to his advantage. Episode Highlights: Growing up as an only child on a farm in the Swedish countryside, Torstensson remarks on the importance of boredom to his creative development and the necessity of simply finding something to do.  Slow-paced life didn’t suit him. He began to enjoy traveling, dancing, and skateboarding, which held both collaborative and independent creative potential. After working at interiors magazine Wallpaper, Torstensson helped launch Industrie and Man About Town magazines—the former had cover stars like Anna Wintour, Edward Enninful, and Naomi Campbell.  Outside of quantitative efforts in brand identity, ad campaigns, and editorial work, Torstensson says, “It’s not really about you. It’s about who you work with, who you surround yourself with.”  FRAME was a community-led “passion project” stemming from Industrie. It was built not necessarily on denim but on the idea of perfecting any single product with a particular aesthetic in mind, in this case, “the FRAME woman.”  Working on a budget to produce and market FRAME’s aesthetic has led Torstensson to think out of the box. Torstensson discusses a brand’s life cycle and its different versions, from starting out as a hot newcomer to becoming more organized and productive to later cutting through the media landscape with more sensational marketing.  On the level of scale and production, AI gave Torstensson a great new tool he likens to Photoshop, making him quicker and more effective.  Having a strong team, a partnership with Jens Grede, and the luxury of slowing down have gone hand in hand with an increase in confidence in his work over the years. He foregrounds the importance of knowing your strengths and leaning into them, going with your personal passions—“Just do it.” Torstensson recommends reevaluating what’s contemporary and what will last every five years or so, not being afraid, and learning to evolve. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James Harris and Lawrence Schlossman, hosts of the podcast Throwing Fits, are influential figures in menswear with decades of fashion and media experience. Hailing from New Jersey and Manhattan, respectively, Schlossman and Harris lend their understanding of men’s fashion to those in the know, with their podcast featuring guests discussing current fashion trends and personal style. As makers, they’ve begun designing sought-after garments like mesh shorts and cut-and-sew overshirts. Well-known for their chemistry, they describe themselves as yin and yang, with Harris joking and Schlossman sharing insights. Their personal styles reflect their expertise and passions—a sexy Scandinavian look for Harris and a unique take on heritage brands for Schlossman. They both value quality and investing in well-made items, and prioritize organic experiences, exploration, curiosity, and discoverability. Episode Highlights: Schlossman and Harris’s origin story of work and personal partnership was born of necessity and involved building a social calendar around whatever was available to them. They worked together at Complex, “failing upwards,” with a fashion video show that took off based on their dynamic before moving on to more strategic and brand partnerships roles. As they moved up the ladder, both felt creatively constricted by red tape and constrained by creating content that catered to advertising dollars.  Schlossman and Harris started their podcast in January 2020 with a sense of having zero stakes—and they say this mentality is what paid off.  Retaining their independence is important to them in a clinical media landscape; it keeps their listeners interested in their irreverence voice.   Now that they make their own designs and collaborate with their favorite brands, such as Our Legacy, Schlossman and Harris contrast their well-made designs with “guys who get dressed for the internet.”  Their audience is “incredibly enthusiastic and incredibly savvy and smart,” Harris says, and respects their underdog style and pursuits.  They cite a robust list of favorite brands, like Eckhaus Latta, Connor McKnight, Angelo Urrutia, Stoffa, Sunflower, and Our Legacy as references and masterful brands of the moment.  When asked what’s contemporary now, Harris offers “the fragmentation” and “the challenge of how people can eventually find their people,” while Schlossman says “motivation and doing things because they actually make you feel good,” which is inherent to his interest in dressing.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Robin Givhan renowned for her insightful fashion commentary, seamlessly integrates fashion into broader cultural discussions. She started as a writer on the Detroit techno scene beat before making her way into fashion journalism. Emphasizing the importance of being a generalist, Givhan talks To Christopher Michael about her early experiences in fashion and how they continue to shape her trajectory and approach today. She speaks of political representation and fashion’s crucial ties to identity, underscoring the need in today’s landscape for a higher standard of reporting in fashion journalism. By exploring the intersection of politics and fashion and the balance between storytelling and crafting, Givhan reveals profound insight and a unique perspective as an influential voice in journalism. Episode Highlights: Talking about her childhood in Michigan, Givhan loved reading and writing and stumbled unintentionally into the fashion sector after writing about Detroit's techno scene. Covering menswear was "a very gentle entry point" into fashion and allowed her to focus on the details, quality, endurance, and longevity of garments. Describing her entry into womenswear as marked by gatekeepers—who were frankly mean—Givhan was stubbornly determined and interested in the fashion scene's character-driven nature rather than its more consumerist elements. Givhan is careful to distinguish between general interest reporting and the reviewing that is natural to "a fashion ecosystem."  Givhan notes that she doesn't necessarily have a stake in what's happening, which makes her a good critic. There is a difference between social media influencers, who are engaging, and actual historians, who can give information to journalists, and critics, who can "connect the dots" for the public at large while being held to higher standards.  The way people consume media is changing, though Givhan is optimistic that voracious readers will always exist. She sees significant progress in some political realms; the pendulum always swings, oscillates, and zigzags.  Givhan outlines sociopolitical fashion as a tool for education, a kind of shorthand for identity, and a means of representation. Is fashion dependent on anchors or hooks from the culture at large? To Givhan, it's engaging enough to stand on its own, while fashion as an industry tends to rely on mainstream media for support. Givhan contrasts companies like Dries Van Noten and Versace, which remain inside the fashion realm, to labels that use celebrities to inspire growth. What's contemporary now is being comfortable in the gray spaces.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Daphne Guinness is a style icon and creative force. Heiress to the Guinness brewing dynasty, she transcends her lineage as a fashion muse, designer, and philanthropist. Renowned for her avant-garde fashion sense—and her extraordinary couture collection—Guinness seamlessly blends artistry and eccentricity, distinctly weaving past sartorial narratives into the contemporary. Her collaborations with designers like Alexander McQueen and Gareth Pugh have left an indelible mark on the fashion world. But beyond fashion, she is a musician, and writer with a flair for the dramatic and the unexpected. A self-described pessimistic optimist, Guinness is an enigmatic persona and a captivating perennial figure in both high society and artistic circles worldwide.  Episode Highlights: Guinness says her formative years were a mixture of “art, stoicism, military thought, and surrealism.”  She’s interested in philosophy and the Stoics and calls herself happy to be an outcast.  As a child, she lived in a monastery in Spain with no other than Salvador Dali as a neighbor— “he put me up to make some of my best pranks as a child.” On the pre-1999 era of Daphne Guinness, she says she was never a society wife, only a mother, hermetic.  Her friendship with magazine editor Isabella Blow, her relative “in spirit,” exposed her to things and people most people would only ever dream of or see in a film. Guinness’s otherworldly aura and fantastical upbringing seems perfectly normal from her perspective.  She was mentored by David Bowie, who spotted her as a singer. She recently released “Hip Neck Spine,” which has a music video directed by the legendary Nick Knight.  Philanthropic efforts are crucial to her; Guinness sponsors a CSM scholarship every year.  She considers herself a pessimistic optimist, exhausted by putting her heart and soul into her art and music—she sees what’s contemporary as pessimism, but she’s “Team optimism.”  She sees the beauty in human error and process, saying, “I like to do things the old-fashioned way.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Editor-in-chief, stylist, and creative consultant Katie Grand is renowned for her relentless creativity and influential contributions to the fashion and print industries. Born in the UK, Grand’s visionary approach propelled her to the forefront of fashion journalism, where she served as the editor-in-chief of renowned publications, such as POP, Conde Nast’s biannual Love magazine,and most recently Perfect. Her collaborations and innate ability to spot emerging talent landed her roles as a creative consultant for major fashion houses and solidified her status as a tastemaker. Long at the forefront of what’s contemporary and experimental, today, she continues to shape the landscape of contemporary fashion with a perspective that often upends the industry’s cyclical norms. Episode Highlights: Grand is a marathon runner; she sees fitness and endurance as ways to expand her interests outside of fashion. She came into “nerdy” or “outsider” friendships in Birmingham, growing up ice skating and attending cultural events together; through this scene, she found out about publications like The Face and i-D. Her father brought her to London as a child to shop.  What’s kept her on the pulse of the fashion world—from social media revenue to the evolution of print magazines—has been following her instincts and respecting when she finds herself feeling bored with something. Grand talks about balancing the support of working under a big corporation with a need to collaborate with people who share her lack of rigidity and need for freedom. She discusses the difference between magazines like Dazed, The Face, and i-D, biannuals, and monthlies, and working on different production timelines.  Grand cites putting Beth Ditto on the cover of Love as something akin to putting Kendall Jenner on a Marc Jacobs runway, in that both changed the industry dramatically and immediately.  Highly invested in social media engagement and quantitative measures of viewership, Grand notes that the evolution of print has been toward more and more careful renderings of the medium, down to the investment in paper quality. Speaking about future generations in fashion, Grand remarks that she’s optimistic about their opportunities given social media’s reach but cautious and concerned about the use of AI cutting artists out of their work. When asked what’s contemporary now, Grand says, “AI.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New York–born Greg Krelenstein, cofounder of global creative studio gk-ld, lets his instinct for what’s contemporary guide his matching of talent to brands, magazines, and collaborative projects. Formerly a third of the DJ collective The Misshapes, he also directed editorial operations at fashion and communications agency Starworks Groups for 14 years before establishing his agency with partner Lisa Duckworth. Krelenstein is a force in the fashion world, renowned for his ability to shape and direct the images of celebrities and brands, whether they are at the cutting edge of the zeitgeist or were famous decades ago and are seeking a comeback. “A mother hen to young indie stars” and “permanently 12 months ahead,” Krelenstein is an industry visionary with innate instincts for fashion and culture shifts and modes—and the wisdom to take a moment to get a sense of what feels right. Episode Highlights Born in Brooklyn and raised in suburban New Jersey, Krelenstein grew up visiting the city and eventually pursued a communications and media degree at NYU. As interested in celebrities on magazine covers as those working behind the scenes to produce the shoots, his first passion was not for the fashion world but for film and music. Krelenstein was the editorial director at Starworks for 14 years before opening gk-ld with partner Lisa Duckworth. He started in film publicity, working with niche magazines and organically growing his clientele to form gk-ld as an industry insider.   Krelenstein sets his ideas apart by taking chances and choosing collaborations, celebrities, and situations that represent something fresh within magazines developing unique identities. On maintaining decades-long obsessions with certain celebrities, Krelenstein remarks that past monocultures inscribe them in the collective mind, and that peoples’ current attention spans are so short that re-referencing and “comebacks” have social capital.  Krelenstein says he intends to create overall images as an image director rather than cater to trends.  At an auspicious age, Krelenstein can understand the importance and use of both print and digital operations.  Talking about his experience with the #mycalvins campaign, Krelenstein says the ads that you really remember are the ones that appear to be produced from a genuine creative mindset by the designers in the house—and that he’s excited by proximity to those productions. His metric for success is when talents experience their own organic growth, in addition to brand alignment; he calls himself both a psychiatrist to some talent and a kind of cultural anthropologist.  Emphasizing the importance of trusting his instincts, he states that what’s contemporary now is taking a moment to breathe and get a sense of “what feels right.”  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Paloma Elsesser is a trailblazing model, advocate, and writer heralded for her unapologetic celebration of body positivity and diversity in the fashion industry. Growing up in Los Angeles, she navigated various artistic pursuits before finding her niche in modeling—later going on to win Model of the Year at the 2023 Fashion Awards. Her career skyrocketed after being discovered on Instagram by Pat McGrath, leading to collaborations with renowned designers, brands, and publications like Miu Miu, Vogue, i-D, Marni and Balenciaga. Elsesser's advocacy extends beyond the runway as she addresses issues of representation and inclusivity. With her distinctive style, eloquence, and charisma, she continues to redefine the model and inspire a generation globally. Episode Highlights: Born in London and raised in California, Elsesser is of Chilean, Swiss, and African American descent to a family of thinkers and what she likes to call “punk” as well as spiritual. She was encouraged to lean into all of her interests, and now considers applying the curiosity she experienced in her childhood to her work. She studied psychology and literature in New York City. She was interested in mental health, substance abuse, literature, and writing, often writing and publishing her poetry throughout her adolescence.  Her writing for The Cut was profoundly personal and a cathartic opportunity to discuss representation.  Elsesser surrounds herself with a community (a “social diet” of people) who also prioritize her commitment to openness and advocacy, though she feels the language around and scope of cultural diversity is still limited.  She navigates the intersection of her voice and communicating the things that matter to her while also understanding the complexities of the commercial aspect of being a talent by pacing herself with slow change and being “obsessed with accountability.” Having stepped back momentarily from social media, Elsesser attempted to “navigate unfettered burnout” of microdramas, gaining confidence from conversations with Richie Shazam and Julia Fox. She’s chosen sobriety for 12 years and sees her lifestyle as a way of both avoiding pain and avoiding causing pain.  Joking that what’s contemporary now is Ozempic, she says what is always contemporary is curiosity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While fashion has become culture's greatest Trojan horse, it's only natural that there should be a show exploring both the contemporary landscape and modern-day human experience through its lens. You'll find both the unique and universal in these conversations that illuminate the pulse of our times as we ask different creatives and thought leaders the ever-present question, "What is contemporary now?"  In our upcoming season, we've lined up extraordinary guests, including a Pulitzer Prize-winning fashion critic, a brand founder who could give a masterclass on how to do it right and win at life, and award-winning designers, magazine editors, and cultural icons, both established and new. Tune in for new episodes starting Monday, May 27 with Paloma Elsesser, Greg Krelenstein, Katie Grand, Robin Givhan, Dara, Suzanne Koller, Pierre Rougier, Zoe Ghertner, Willa Bennett, Erik Torstensson, Daphne Guinness, and many more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hanan Besovic, the content creator and fashion commentator behind @ideservecouture, shares his unconventional journey and outsider perspective into the fashion world. Moving from Croatia to the US, Besovic garnered a significant following on his platform during the COVID lockdown, using it to channel and convey his perspective on fashion—which he comes by through sheer obsessive passion. His honest and timely critiques often challenge traditional norms in the industry. Besovic details the evolving role of influencers, advocating for discernment in evaluating their contributions to fashion discourse. Expressing admiration for Gen Z’s assertiveness and knowledge, he navigates the industry with a focus on community-building and networking, while maintaining an authenticity that he sees as all too often lacking on social media. His overwhelming fashion insight gives him a unique perspective laced with nuance, allowing him to see what’s contemporary now as both the influence and image of businesswoman Kim Kardashian, as well as pervasive mediocrity that comes from the industry’s exclusivity and commercialism. Episode Highlights: Serendipitous start: Introduced to fashion in 2010 after seeing a McQueen show, Besovic transitioned from hospitality to fashion after a move from Croatia to the US and following a layoff from hotel work during the pandemic. Following a passion: Though he treated fashion as a hobby, joking that he failed algebra because of his obsession with Giovanna Battaglia Engelbert, he found a role in the scene during the COVID lockdown. Superfan: Citing Plato’s Atlantis and the Horn of Plenty, Leigh Bowery lips, and Dior silhouettes, Besovic recounts how McQueen’s show was “a perfect introduction to fashion because I got a history of fashion in 13 minutes.” Ending up on a panel for Show Studio, through which he had first been introduced to the fashion world, was a full-circle moment for Besovic. @ideservecouture: Having been called a content creator, a fashion critic, and an influencer, Besovic sees himself as a commentator, remarking on how the fashion world has changed to include more critiques like those pushing for body diversity.  On influencer culture: Besovic sees the importance of having a discerning view on social media, where unresearched or misinformed influencer opinions on fashion proliferate alongside those of influencers who have dug deeper into the contemporary moment and its historical roots. Gen Z: Likening the feeling of maintaining an outsider perspective among the insiders to those that look down on Gen Z, Besovic notes that he admires the younger generation’s activeness and knowledge of their value. Organic growth: Quoting a drag queen, Besovic says that “goals are preplanned disappointments” and prefers relying on organic personal—and social media—growth. Navigating the industry: Besovic’s advice to young designers is to work more toward networking and building community, as he does on his platform. “Nice, genuine, and down to earth”: Besovic’s contemporaries don’t have the same egos as most in the industry, and Besovic himself is happy to forgo sources of status, like physically attending the shows.  “I like to know the reality of the things.”: When asked whether the world needs the 24/7 dream or fantasy of fashion on social media, Besovic insists that the world needs to know instead that everything’s not as perfect as it looks. When clothes speak for themselves: Besovic says storytelling is crucial to a collection, except when garments are too good to need a narrative. Dream job: Besovic thinks he would be a good consultant for brands like Givenchy, which don’t understand their worth or history.  Polarities: For Besovic, the Kardashians are what’s contemporary now (still), because “no one can dispute how smart of a businesswoman she [Kim] is.” On the other hand, additionally, what is contemporary now is “mediocrity, it’s commercialism, it’s lack of creativity.”  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

French photographer Robin Galiegue has carved a distinctive niche in the world of contemporary photography, captivating audiences with a refreshing vision of beauty, style, and attitude. Galiegue's early experimentation with makeup, styling, and photography laid the foundation for a career marked by raw energy and a timeless aesthetic. Seamlessly blending fashion, portraiture, and reportage, his notable projects include a recently published book and work with directional publications like Vogue Italia, Self Service, and Harper’s Bazaar France, and collaborations with brands such as Saint Laurent, Isabel Marant, Tom Ford, and Hermès. In a world where he sees people molding into different personas online, Galiegue believes what is contemporary now is being oneself, in work and in life. Episode Highlights: Early ambitions: Born and raised in Lille, France, to artistic-minded parents, Robin Galiegue always had ambitions to move to a bigger city and first felt drawn to images and fashion at 14 in directing a photo shoot with his sister.  The big move: Dropping out of school at 16, Galiegue attended photography school in Paris, deciding over the course of five days.  Without reference: Coming to school with zero cultural exposure to photography, Galiegue gained technical expertise and was driven to work, though he knew little English and was not assisting.  Nerves: Even as a big name in the industry today, Galiegue is nervous about approaching collaborations, such as with legendary model Linda Evangelista. Hard to sit still: Being in Paris—or in large, bustling cities—incites Galiegue’s desire to work rather than relax; he sees them as villages that offer bursts of energy. “Shooting has to be fun”: Known in the industry as a kind presence, Galiegue has an intuitive understanding of when to be firm and when to prioritize kindness.  Merging visions: Galiegue enjoys working with brands, stylists, and collaborators with strong voices to make something exciting and new.  Finding inspiration and peace: Traveling, meeting new people, having friends not in the fashion industry, and discovering new cultures keep Galiegue engaged in his creative work after hours.  What’s contemporary now: Galiegue sees so many people playing roles on social media, so what’s contemporary or necessary now is being yourself.  Fear of AI: Galiegue is not interested in AI and is more scared of its potential to replace collaborators and artists. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices