Show Notes
Alastair McKimm returns to What’s Contemporary Now?, this time on camera, to discuss life after 23 years at i-D and the launch of Prototype, a new creative venture bringing publishing, product design, and creative services under one roof. Now also Chief Creative Officer of Visual Talent Group (VTG), McKimm reflects on building a new model for creative businesses, his work with Gap, Marc Jacobs, and Miley Cyrus, and the role of curation in navigating an increasingly saturated world. From editing creative work to editing our own lives, we explore instinct, ambition, insecurity, and the challenge of sustaining a career without losing sight of ourselves.
“What's contemporary now is curation and editing. Whether it comes to work or your own life or how you make your way through the world.” - Alastair McKimm
Episode Highlights:
01:12–01:57 | Leaving i-D After 23 Years and Building Something of His Own
01:59–05:04 | Why Print, Curation and Editorial Judgment Still Matter
05:28–05:52 | Filtering the Noise in an Overwhelming World
05:58–08:17 | Giving Artists Creative Freedom Through Prototype
08:21–10:18 | Rethinking the Magazine Format and Business Model
10:18–12:03 | Building a Democratic Publication Without Hierarchies
18:04–20:39 | Finding Inspiration in the Everyday and Reimagining the Ordinary
21:03–22:35 | How We Give Meaning to the Things We Create
22:35–25:10 | Why We Still Need Physical Objects in a Digital World
25:34–26:51 | Finding His Own Creative Identity After i-D
27:50–29:28 | Learning to Embrace Uncertainty Through Marc Jacobs
29:29–30:40 | The Expanding Role of Creative Direction With Miley Cyrus
34:29–36:55 | Dealing With Criticism, Negativity and the Pressure to Please
36:56–38:14 | Staying Open to the World Beyond the Screen
38:14–39:48 | Creative Ambition, Insecurity and the Need for Validation
39:48–41:13 | Finding the Next Chapter When Your Career Defines You
41:18–44:32 | Work-Life Balance, Recovery and the Danger of Abandoning Yourself
44:11–44:32 | When Bad Habits Become the Price of Professional Success
44:45–45:34 | AI, Print and Why New Technologies Don't Have to Replace the Old
45:44–46:22 | What Is Contemporary Now? Curation, Editing and Clarity
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from What's Contemporary Now?
It’s all about the Big Willy energy these days. What was once an independent, primarily menswear label showing at New York Fashion Week has become a full-blown fashion brand known for staging high-quality productions and often politically charged shows during the Paris men’s collections. The paradox of Willy Chavarria is that, despite the wide reach of his media storms, he’s still being discovered by new audiences even now. The illusion of overnight success is almost always backed by stories of hard work, an enduring willingness to prevail, and a commitment to learning everything one can along the way. His story strikes all of the favorite chords in any good human interest story: growing up as an outsider, learning to live with no regrets, and realizing that we always stand to benefit from thinking big.
As one of the first brands to democratize luxury fashion, H&M helped reshape the relationship between designer creativity and the wider public. From its landmark collaboration with Karl Lagerfeld in 2004, they’ve brought the creative genius of Versace, Margiela, Comme des Garçons, and countless others to the masses. A model that today reigns supreme when it comes to commonly practiced brand strategy and reaching key consumer touchpoints. Ann-Sofie Johansson, H&M’s Creative Advisor and Head of Design Womenswear, has been central to this evolution, along with playing a role in the brand’s dedication to nurturing emerging talent, with the return of the H&M Design Award taking place this November.
Copenhagen Fashion Week marks its 20th anniversary at a moment when the fashion system is being asked to account for itself. In conversation with CEO Cecilie Thorsmark and COO Isabella Rose Davey, this episode examines how a regional fashion week evolved into a platform with global influence, and what that evolution reveals about the future of the industry.
With a quick trip to Copenhagen for the city's 20th anniversary fashion week, we will be attending the shows, interviewing the organizers, and participating on a panel with Vogue business to explore the idea of what a magazine is today. Their impressive programming, in addition to the designers, includes an impressive array of subject matter that warrants a timely exploration and we'll be back on Monday with a full episode sharing all of the juicy details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The episode follows AMBUSH’s evolution from jewelry made for friends to a brand that Yoon describes as a platform, shaped by experimentation rather than a rigid business plan. She speaks candidly about learning in real time, being paid to learn, and why every job and skill eventually becomes useful. From research as a daily practice to AI as a tool that can accelerate creative work without replacing it, Yoon makes a case for staying open, resisting the urge to live in boxes, and trading horizontal expansion for deeper, more human storytelling. Her definition of what feels contemporary now is simple and powerful, pursuing who you are fearlessly, and staying uniquely human in a world increasingly driven by algorithms.