Friday, 30 October 2026

LINKED UP 141

Millennials’ heavy-handed embrace of the style has fuelled its reputational decline. (WSJ)

Revisit Truman Capote’s 1976 AD Spread Before His Personal Treasures Hit the Auction Block
Pieces from the author’s Hamptons house are going up for grabs in November – look back at the tour to build your wishlist. (Architectural Digest)

Home for the Holidays
Herman Miller collaborated with artist Michael McGregor, who works from his studio in São Paolo and visits family in New York during the holidays. His candid, hand-drawn scenes offer a contemporary interpretation of classic holiday stories you know and love, placing you smack dab in the middle of a festive party, beginning to end. (Herman Miller)

Patricia Marshall Develops Some of the Most Exclusive Art Collections in the World. Here Are the Pieces in Her Own Home
The Paris and Mexico City-based art advisor reflects on her first Donald Judd, the Giacometti on her nightstand, and the erotic Picasso drawing that got away. (CULTURED)

In Celebration of Cindy Sherman
Before social media and influencers, Cindy Sherman was exploring the malleability of identity. To mark her new series, Fabric Matrons, at Hauser & Wirth London, friends and admirers from Sofia Coppola to Hans Ulrich Obrist reflect on her work. (AnOther)

The Lens Is Mightier: The Best of Gordon Parks
Take a peek inside the Jack Shainman Gallery’s show Gordon Parks: Voices in the Mirror, featuring images by Parks – and words of praise from Anderson Cooper, Isabella Rossellini, and more. (Vanity Fair)

The Portrait of the Artist With Emilia Wickstead
The fashion designer, who collaborated with Simpson’s on her latest collection film, explains exactly how she makes her magic. (Simpsons)

All You Can Eat
For the past half-century, Paul McCarthy has taken audiences to places unsettling, stomach-turning, and taboo. But there is always a method behind the madness. (Family Style)

Turning Junk Food Into Fine Art With Sam Keller
A look at how this artist’s fried ideas led him to deck graphics and gallery shows. (Jenkem)

After Raucous 99 Cents Only Store Takeover, Artist Barry McGee Is Back for More
Barry McGee, the celebrated graffiti artist who caused an uproar when his pop-up installation at a 99 Cents Only Store on Wilshire Boulevard drew a wild crowd, is bringing his street art to Jeffrey Deitch gallery. (L.A. Times)

Lucien Smith’s Last Paintings Reclaim His Dazzling First Act
The artist, who died at 37, had largely retreated from the art world after skyrocketing early success. A final body of work is an exorcism of sorts. (NYT)

Roxy’s Tales – Patrick O’Dell: Epicly Later’d and Capturing NYC’s Underground
“From film cameras, record stores, and late nights at Max Fish to the early internet that changed how we documented our lives, this Epicly Later’d episode offers a nostalgic look at the people and moments that made New York’s creative underground so special!” (Spotify)

Rachel Tashjian Cuts Through the Fashion Noise
As runway shows become bigger spectacles, CNN’s senior style reporter explains why clothes deserve serious coverage, what legacy media still gets right, and how fashion became a spectator sport. (W Magazine)

Inside PoloFest, a Vintage Extravaganza Celebrating 50 Years of Ralph Lauren in Japan
In Tokyo, the quintessential American brand paid homage to fans from around the globe. (Esquire)

The 76 Ralph-iest Fits From Ralph Lauren’s PoloFest in Tokyo
A legion of RL obsessives descended on the Japanese capital for the four-day celebration, where fans (including André 3000, Tyson Beckford, and more) flexed their holiest Pony grails. (GQ)

Is the Venice Soccer Team Ever Going to Be as Good as It Looks?
Venezia FC, a historically modest club, has become a fashion sensation. But its performance has struggled to match the off-field hype. (NYT)

Paul Rand’s Rules for Building a Brand
The five principles Steve Jobs paid $100,000 for, and why founders should follow them too. (Brand Eye)

Prestige Paint Brands Are the New Status Symbols
Niche wall colours now come with bragging rights. Will the love affair last? (The Spaces)

The Erewhon Effect: Inside the New Wave of Grocery Stores
From Los Angeles to New York and beyond, a new generation of markets is blending natural foods, design, hospitality and buzz, often at elevated price points. (WWD)

Manual’s Camera Shop in New York Is Imbued With “Philosophy of Skate Shop”
Design-build studio Protean Practice and camera company Manual have collaborated on the brand’s first storefront and photo lab, outfitting a Chinatown shop with plywood seating, metallic finishes and baby-pink accents. (Dezeen)

Will Books Survive? 34 Insiders, Experts, and Icons on the State of Literature in an Age of Uncertainty
Authors, publishers, critics, BookTokkers, and literary luminaries get real about the world of books in 2026 – and why they’re not giving up on readers just yet. (GQ)

LIFE Magazine, Chronicler of 20th-Century America, Rises Again
The iconic publication, acclaimed for its visual storytelling, will return as a print quarterly next month in a challenging business environment. (NYT)

How Many T-Shirts Can Be Made in a Minute?
How long does it take to make a T-shirt? The answer depends on which clock you start. (Vogue Business)


Kermit the Gangster Frog? Only in These Vintage Ghanaian Movie Posters
In the 1980s, video clubs in Ghana used hand-painted posters to draw African audiences to Hollywood movies. Now they’re attracting American film buffs. (NYT)

Holidays in United States Bend the Boundaries of Midwest Emo
The indie rock quintet don’t shy away from their inspirations, but on How to Count to Five their ambitions are bigger than genre nostalgia. (The FADER)

Turnstile at the Washington Monument
Blurry photos of faces from the pit. (Monster Children)

Thursday, 29 October 2026

NEPTUNE PAPERS

Issue eleven of Neptune Papers is available to pre-order here.

Wednesday, 28 October 2026

SKEPTA – PANDORA’S BOX

Tuesday, 27 October 2026

HORSES FALL WINTER 2026

More here.

Monday, 26 October 2026

BAWO – WRESTLEMANIA

Using the hook from this is crazy work!

Friday, 23 October 2026

LINKED UP 140

Always Cooking
The creators, coaches and players driving the Black tennis movement forward. (BAGEL)

Virgil Abloh: The Codes
A major survey exhibition spanning 28,000 square feet across The Shed’s McCourt and Darla Moore gallery will feature nearly 1,000 objects exploring Abloh’s multidisciplinary practice and enduring cultural legacy. (The Virgil Abloh Foundation)

Designer Carter Altman is building a label rooted in nostalgia, utility, and the freedom to make it your own. (Sprezza)

“We’re Potty for Vintage Polo Ralph Lauren”
The preppy imprint is getting its own festival. What makes it so popular? (FT)

“Our Town Is Making Jeans Again”: Meet the Firm Reviving Jobs and Skills in Wales
In the first article in a series on high end British manufacturing, we visit the Hiut Denim factory in Cardigan. (The Guardian)

Serving Looks: Why Osteria Vibrato’s Staff Wear Vintage Designer Uniforms
For the founder of Soho Italian Osteria Vibrato, Charlie Mellor, the uniforms are an essential ingredient – and he sources each vintage designer piece by hand. (Broadsheet London)

How Tina Barney’s Mother Schooled Her in Fashion
Raised by a successful model, the acclaimed portrait photographer has long understood the power of getting dressed. (Aperture)

Famous for His Tale of Murder, He Honed His Literary Voice in Fashion
Before John Berendt wrote his classic Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, he trained his keen eye on men’s wear and manners in a long-running Esquire column. (NYT)

Jonathan Anderson’s Closet Picks
The fashion designer and creative director of Dior talks about the captivating details in Stanley Kubrick’s cinema, celebrates Pier Paolo Pasolini’s curation of ensemble casts, and selects favourites like My Beautiful Launderette, Basquiat, and Being John Malkovich. (Criterion)

Ahead of the publication of her new book, Margaret Howell Life and Work, the designer opens the doors to her converted Victorian coach house in south London. (The Observer)

My Little Black Book: The 180 Quarter
The places I love, the things I return to and the experiences that make 180 such a special part of London. (Alex Eagle)

Things I Love: Jesse Jenkins, aka Adip
The Los Angeles-born, London-based chef has made a huge name for himself with his cinematic cooking videos and debut cookbook. He shares 10 things he couldn’t live without, from a “beautifully balanced” knife to his new favourite running shoes. (Broadsheet London)

It’s Sliced Cheese on Bread. And It’s Rocking Copenhagen’s World
The Danish capital is obsessed with this stripped-down snack, and the city’s top bakeries won’t stop until they’ve perfected it. (NYT)

Where Do Trends Come From Now?
There’s long been a little voice in our heads telling us “It’s time to go shopping.” But in the age of hyper-optimised algorithms, who’s doing the talking? (GQ)

Making a Living Off the Art of Gentle Mocking
Alex Hartman has made a mark with his critiques of downtown denizens. Now he’s expanding his gaze beyond Nolita Dirtbag. (NYT)

The New Age of Reading
Alarm about declining interest in books is perpetual. But, as bookselling reaches unexpected heights, James Daunt, the chief executive of Barnes & Noble, thinks a different future is at hand. (New Yorker)

All Hail Dua Lipa, the Pop Lit Queen 
Dua Lipa is famous for her catchy pop hooks – now the singer wants to get fans hooked on books, as she curates the London Literature Festival. (The Standard)

At Work With Takuhito Kawashima, Partners 
Takuhito Kawashima is an editor and creative director based between Tokyo and Paris. He joins us this week as the fourth issue of his magazine Partners is published. (magCulture)

Sourcetype’s Dictionary of the Illegible Explores What Happens When Typography Stops Making Sense
From metal band logos, watermelon emojis and comic book grawlixes to coded messages designed to evade online censorship, SourceType’s new book examines how illegible text can communicate and connect us. (It’s Nice That)



The Whitewashing of Indie Sleaze
As “indie sleaze” has become inescapable online in recent years, a generation of boundary-pushing Black artists have been overlooked. Santigold, Spank Rock, and Kilo Kish remember a scene far more diverse and experimental than today’s nostalgia suggests. (Pigeons & Planes)

Inside the Musical Universe of Baker
Andrew Reynolds, Shane Heyl, and Kevin “Spanky” Long weigh in on what makes a Baker soundtrack so special. (Jenkem)

An Evergreen Lodestar of All That Is Abominable: How Reign in Blood Changed Metal
Ian Winwood looks back 40 years to his first contact with an imperial and imperious Slayer and their third album’s “frenzied scream of wall-eyed mayhem”. (The Quietus)

Let Jacques Greene Teach You How to DJ
Rule number one: No cocaine in the booth. (Hearing Things)

Monday Mixtape: James Goodson of Dazy
“I played ‘Sliver’ by Nirvana in the car taking my son to preschool. It’s on a playlist we keep adding to every time he really connects with a song.” (Fast & Loose)

Wednesday, 21 October 2026

HOW ARTIST ISSY WOOD CHOOSES WHAT TO PAINT

Issy Wood interviewed by Roxanne Bagheshirin Lærkesen at her studio in London, September 2026 for the Louisiana Channel.

Monday, 19 October 2026

BURY ME WITH THE LO ON

The 10th anniversary edition of Bury Me With The Lo On, a book by Lo Life founder Thirstin Howl the 3rd and photographer Tom Gould.

Read more about the book and Lo Life culture here.

Sunday, 18 October 2026

THE BEST DAY IN THE LIFE EVER.

A day in the life of THAMES pro Ludvig Håkansson.

Saturday, 17 October 2026

BORNA SAMMAK

Borna Sammak’s exhibition, The Artist’s Way, is currently on show at Von Ammon, Washington, D.C.

Friday, 16 October 2026

SAINTÉ – FIGURE

LINKED UP 139

For the past four years, the designer has been building a hand-drawn, three-weight type family that pays homage to one of the most beloved players in Arsenal’s history: David Rocastle. It’s Nice That sits down with David and Arsenal Creative Studio lead Johnnie Campbell to get behind the scenes of the mammoth project. (It’s Nice That)

Notebooks at the Ready
Everything to see, do, eat and drink during Frieze Week. (Hero)

The New Generation of London Artists to Know
The new generation of artists in London is attracting the attention of the capital’s top collectors. This is the talent you need to know. (The Standard)

Al Diaz Is Reclaiming the Legacy of Samo©, the Graffiti Project He Created With Jean-Michel Basquiat
Everyone knows Basquiat, but it’s about time you know about his collaborator and Samo© co-creator: Al Diaz, AKA Bomb-One, an overshadowed artist who helped prove that graffiti was more than meets the eye. (It’s Nice That)

Arthur Jafa Is a Major Minor Artist
His New Museum retrospective offers a chance to make sense of a cultural shift. (Artnet)

Adam Pendleton on Black Dada and “Breaking the Rules” as His New Show Opens at Amsterdam’s Stedelijk Museum
The artist presents 11 paintings and eight large drawings – work that sits at the intersection of the avant-garde, abstraction and Blackness – in a new exhibition. (Wallpaper)

On Sex and the Black Gaze: Ajamu X and Quil Lemons in Conversation
To mark the publication of Quiladelphia, a monograph tracing ten years of his photographic practice, Quil Lemons speaks with pioneering British photographer Ajamu X to discuss Black masculinity, queer desire and the politics of representation. (AnOther)

Ambroise Degenne’s First Photo Book Is a Raw Coming-of-Age Diary in Paris
At 19, the photographer’s debut brings together friends, graffiti, travels and the fleeting moments that have shaped his life so far. (Dazed)

Interview: Borna Sammak
Talking Hot Topic and the war on terror. (John’s Music Blog)



The da-Zed Guide to the 90s
As the Tate Britain’s blockbuster exhibition The 90s: Art and Fashion, opens in London, Dazed co-founder Jefferson Hack offers a guide to the decade, drawing on his experience of editing the magazine during that creatively explosive era. (Dazed)

“We Danced Every Night and Hydrated With Vodka”: Why 1990s London Club Culture Was Better Than Today’s
A different club each day, countless chance encounters... and no social media. The 1990s really were better in the 1990s... (The Standard)

Photographer Mert Alas is known for creating iconic moments. First, for his work as half of legendary fashion photography duo Mert & Marcus. Second, for being the life and soul of the party. (Service95)

Where the New York Art World Eats
Here are 35 restos that art types enjoy – or should. (Artnet)

Blood ties and bone-deep ambition are fuelling Miles Cohen and Nick Harwood’s quest for stardom. (The FADER)

Tumblr Is Dead, but Substack Fucked Up Letting Me Embed Videos 
www.brwnopalshine.tumblr.com/3 (The Linx)

Who Chooses the Music at Fashion Week?
The worlds of fashion and music are intimately connected. Here’s an inside look at how design houses and musicians work together to soundtrack runway shows. (Pigeons & Planes)

No Other Way
Taste is intuitive for London gal about town Alex Eagle regardless of scale. Each precious space, each curated piece emanates with an ease that is uniquely hers. (Family Style)

The London-based brand, started by two Americans, has become the most talked-about thing in menswear. (Highsnobiety)


Talking Books With Tom Willis
The literary talk show might not be a genre often associated with being either fun or cool, but Tom Willis has done more than most to reenergise the literary world in London recently. (Drake’s)

The Good-Hang Economy
The comedy-podcast boom is changing our idea of what it means to be funny. (New Yorker)

You Don’t Need a ‘Personal Brand’ 
You just need to build from the core. (Good Practice)

I Subscribe Therefore I Know (Delightful) 

How did we become a generation of digital hoarders? What do we do now? (Girl Online)

The Meanest, Funniest Magazine Ever Is Back
Spy, the long-defunct satirical monthly, is resurfacing its vintage articles about Trump on a new Substack. (NYT)

DAMETALMESSIAH X FABRICLIVE

More info here.

Wednesday, 14 October 2026

CORBIN SHAW’S FEAST OF FOOLS

Feast of Fools is a group show curated by Corbin Shaw at The Groucho Club, bringing together ten artists whose work explores conventions, hierarchies and social codes of the art world. More info here.

Friday, 9 October 2026

DEVSTACKS – SOUL

Listen here.