A look back to some of the fascinating features and interviews we published this year – from Alessandro Michele on his Gucci to Jenny Holzer on the power of the word in art
1. A close look at Christopher Kane’s A/W18 show in the context of its direct inspiration: The Joy of Sex, a now almost canonical, but at the time highly controversial, 1970s “gourmet guide” to exploratory sex by Dr Alex Comfort. Sophie Bew explores the references, connotations and the duality of femininity that Kane presented in the show. Head here to read more.
2. Cosey Fanni Tutti was sex-positive and making pro-sex-work art bafflingly long before those terms existed. Here she looks back on her work in the context of current feminism – the progress that’s been made and the challenges that still exist – accompanied by a gallery of her work from the 70s and 80s. Head here to read more.
Jacket and trousers from The Archive of Elton John, designed by Annie Reavey, 1973. Swimsuit by GucciAnOther Magazine S/S18. Photography by Craig McDean, Styling by Katie Shillingford
3. “When Gucci started, it was another age. If you bought a Gucci bag, you belonged to the jet set. The jet set doesn’t exist any more. I’m trying to speak to the world, to everyone.” Alessandro Michele discusses Gucci in the 21st century, and his vision for an “inclusive Gucci universe” with Susannah Frankel in AnOther Magazine S/S18, alongside shots of Saoirse Ronan wearing clothes from the archive of Elton John – designs that Gucci revived on the runway and for the singer’s 2018 tour. Head here to read more.
Dress and crystal-harness by Gucci. Bra and metal bracelets by Slim Barrett. Brass and crystal bracelets by Reine Rosalie. Ring from Pebble London.AnOther Magazine A/W18. Photography by Craig McDean, Styling by Katie Shillingford
4. “Girls, dancing and witches.” In AnOther Magazine A/W18 Dakota Johnson discusses Suspiria’s “triple threat” with Another Man’s editor-in-chief Ben Cobb and delves into issues of womanhood, staying connected to your body as a woman, and the raw, fearless femininity of the matriarchs in her family. Head here to read more.
5. Joel Smith, curator of a New York exhibition on Peter Hujar, draws focus from the photographer’s renowned images of Susan Sontag and Candy Darling in order to unpack the complexity of his lesser-known works and what they can tell us about a creative unwilling to participate in the cult of personality. Featuring a gallery of Hujar’s striking and dramatic works. Head here to read more.
Models after the Azzedine Alaïa Fashion Show, Paris, 1986, Arthur Elgort, Courtesy of Arthur Elgort
6. Alexander Fury remembers friend and era-defining designer Azzedine Alaïa, from his love of working in black, to his international influences and their roots in his comfortability “anywhere in the world”, as The Design Museum’s retrospective on the designer opened in London. Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell all feature in images by the likes of Arthur Elgort and Ellen von Unwerth, alongside Alaïa and his stunning creations. Head here to read more.
AnOther Magazine S/S18. Photography by Willy Vanderperre, Styling by Katy England
7. Versace is a house built on family, “sit[ting] easily among the dynasties of the Borgias and Medicis”. Donatella Versace doesn’t often talk about her brother Gianni, but here, with Alexander Fury in AnOther Magazine S/S18, she looks back on his legacy and memories of his final show, with what Fury observes as relaxation, ease. Head here to read more.
AnOther Magazine A/W18. Photography by Willy Vanderperre, Styling by Olivier Rizzo
8. In another interview from our Autumn/Winter 2018 issue built around Luca Guadagnino’s Suspiria, Tilda Swinton discusses her role in the project – which the pair have been discussing for 25 years – why we need horror as a genre (citing Slavoj Žižek), Jungian archetypes, and the “awesome shadow potential” of the feminine with Susannah Frankel. Head here to read more.
9. In a talk given at Tate Modern for the UK release of his 2013 book of essays White Girls, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Hilton Als discussed understanding the AIDs epidemic retrospectively, from a contemporary stand point; identity as character; and the move in London culture towards addressing issues of class, gender and race earnestly and without the awkwardness of past British politeness. Tish Wrigley looks at his new work, its empathy and its origins in the author’s place as a “perpetual outsider”, and collects his most lucid moments from his evening at the Tate Modern. Head here to read more.
10. Jenny Holzer looks back on her 1977 work Truisms (the origin of the recently re-popularised “Abuse of power comes as no surprise”) and Inflammatory Essays (1979-82), reflecting on the role of language and words in art. For Holzer, word art is democratising – it is “accessible to an audience that’s not wholly familiar with art history,” especially when wheat pasted onto the streets of 1970s New York. Head here to read more.