Designed for curious minds, "What's Contemporary Now?" engages various thought leaders across cultural industries taking in their broad, compelling perspectives and unveiling their common threads.
Hosted by Christopher Michael
Produced by Sasha Grinblat
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Why Media Still Needs Gatekeeping with Chris Black
Season 7 · Episode 6
Monday, November 9, 2026 • Duration 52:56
Chris Black has made a career out of having opinions, trusting his instincts, and finding ways to turn his interests into a living. Best known as one half of the podcast How Long Gone, he has also built a career as a creative consultant and entrepreneur, most recently with his American-made clothing brand, Hanover. But working independently isn't quite the carefree proposition it can look like from the outside, and Chris is refreshingly candid about the uncertainty, discipline, and stomach for money it requires.
In this conversation, we get into his reverence for legacy media and why he still believes in the value of gatekeepers and specialists in an increasingly generalist culture. We also talk about the late Glenn O'Brien as a model for making a living across creative worlds, the disappearance of sellout culture, and what it means that everyone has become a creator. It's an entertaining, opinionated conversation about independence, ambition, media, and the cultural habits we may be ready to leave behind.
“Everyone wants to quit their job. I see people with these jobs and I'm like, bro, you're making 300 grand a year and it doesn't seem like you have to do that much. Like, just do that. [...] There's no reason to throw that away unless it's really teed up for you.” Chris Black
Episode Highlights:
00:00 | Intro
00:45–03:22 | Discovering Punk, Hardcore and the DIY Ethos That Shaped His Career
01:45–03:22 | Why Everyone Should Work in a Store at Some Point
03:22–03:51 | The Financial Realities of Working for Yourself
07:49–09:31 | The Stomach for Money and the Realities of Consulting
09:31–10:20 | The Freedom of Working Independently Versus the Security of a Salary
10:20–12:19 | In Defence of Gatekeepers and the Value of Editorial Curation
11:20–12:19 | Everyone Is a Generalist, So Where Have All the Specialists Gone?
16:17–17:39 | Glenn O’Brien and the Art of Doing Whatever You Want
17:48–18:44 | Has Sellout Culture Become a Thing of the Past?
20:40–21:29 | Why Getting High on Your Own Supply Is the Beginning of the End
21:19–22:42 | The Secret to How Long Gone Is Simply Showing Up
24:40–26:24 | How Celebrity Culture Changed the Podcasting Business
26:24–27:40 | Why Being Surprised Is the Best Part of Having a Podcast
29:29–31:37 | Letting Go of the Legacy Media Dream and Embracing YouTube
39:25–39:58 | Sobriety as a Natural Ending Point
40:09–42:15 | Why Chris Black Started Hanover and the Case for a Baseline American Wardrobe
47:44–49:12 | The New Luxury Is Being Able to Disconnect
48:46–50:10 | The Problem With Optimising Every Second of Your Life
49:12–50:10 | Does Botox Fill the Black Hole in Your Heart?
50:17–51:19 | We're All Thinking About Ourselves Too Much
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Adam Baidawi on Who Gets to Define Modern Masculinity
Season 7 · Episode 5
Monday, November 2, 2026 • Duration 45:46
Adam Baidawi may be in the early days of his role as GQ’s global editorial director, but he’s already making headlines with some controversial, if not questionable, choices in cover subjects. Whether you thought Tom Cruise was the right choice, thought he looked good or bad, or questioned if the timing actually made any relevant sense, it’s hard to deny the scale of attention and conversation the cover and interview generated. In this episode, Adam shares how he reverse-engineered his ideal career, how he plans to tackle the idea of modern masculinity as the editor of the most recognized men’s title, and why he believes candor is essential to cutting through the noise. He even pushes back on a few of my own points, which, for me, is always the sign of a great guest.
Episode Highlights:
00:00 | Intro
01:31–02:19 | Growing Up Australian While Holding On to His Family’s Cultural Identity
02:20–04:52 | The Sisters Who Shaped His Cultural Education
04:52–06:48 | Putting His Hand Up for Literally Everything
08:00–10:01 | Imagining a Career in Reverse
10:03–11:29 | Flying from Melbourne to England for a Chance at British GQ
11:31–13:47 | Finding His Own Leadership Style Through Experience
14:21–15:35 | Why Curiosity Is the Essential Prerequisite for an Editor
17:50–19:09 | We have More Access to Information, but there’s Less Discovery
19:46–21:29 | The Editor’s Responsibility to Inspire a Reaction
22:41–23:56 | Is the Monoculture Dead, or Have We Lost the Power to Create It?
25:20–26:10 | An Editor’s First Responsibility Is to the Audience
26:59–28:00 | The Editor’s Role Is to Curate
29:17–31:51 | Why Lecturing an Audience Rarely Changes Minds
32:28–35:05 | Rethinking the Guest List and the Value of Intimacy
34:00–36:25 | Why Intimacy and Curation Matter More Than Scale
37:02–37:38 | Expanding GQ Beyond Fashion and Entertainment
38:00–39:52 | Meeting Audiences Wherever They Choose to Engage
40:35–41:43 | Why Video Journalism Deserves the Same Rigor as Print
41:57–43:41 | “Candor Is What’s Contemporary Now”
43:41–End | The Value of Honesty in Contemporary Culture
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Selena Forrest on When Life Goes From Wrong to Right
Season 7 · Episode 4
Monday, October 26, 2026 • Duration 37:29
Selena Forrest's journey from “wrong” to “right” has been marked by a series of peaks and valleys. Her beginnings weren't easy, and success wasn't a cure-all, but somewhere between the two, she's managed to find herself in the lessons along the way.
At the height of her career, Selena hit an all-time low, walking out on a show she was set to close and seemingly setting proverbial bridges ablaze with some of her longest standing supporters. Choosing to enter rehab and embark on a different path, she's since come to see herself in a new light, both personally and within the industry at large. In this conversation, she reflects on the challenges of her childhood, the extraordinary opportunities modeling afforded her, and the perspective, growth, and newfound wisdom she's discovered through sobriety.
A rare glimpse behind the curtain of one of the industry's most recognizable faces, this is a conversation filled with candid stories, hard-won perspective, and valuable takeaways about what it means to find your way back to yourself.
“Are there really any failures? If you learn from it, are you really failing?” - Selena Forrest
Episode Highlights:
03:20–05:31 | Meeting Her Mother for the First Time at Seven
05:33–06:55 | How Childhood Trauma Shaped Her Ability to Trust
06:57–08:33 | Being Discovered at 15 and Told to Get a Nose Job
12:49–13:57 | Choosing Recovery Over Walking a Fashion Show
14:34–15:34 | “The Alcohol Wasn’t the Problem. It Was My Solution”
16:44–18:11 | Why No Amount of Covers or Campaigns Could Make Her Feel Beautiful
18:23–19:07 | Healing as a Daily Choice
20:25–22:24 | Why Representation Matters for Girls Who Look Like Her
21:34–22:29 | Why She Believed One Person Who Called Her Ugly Over a Thousand Who Said She Was Pretty
22:29–24:30 | The Danger of Reducing Someone to a Single Moment
23:21–24:30 | How Other People’s Judgments Reflect Their Own Insecurities
24:30–25:44 | Curating Ourselves Versus Actually Knowing Ourselves
24:30–25:44 | Learning to See Herself Through Kinder Eyes
25:54–26:45 | Finding Community and Reciprocity Through Recovery
27:46–28:51 | Redefining Failure and Choosing Herself Over Professional Success
29:00–30:10 | When the Fashion Industry Knows Your Story but Doesn't Ask How You Are
31:16–32:46 | Separating Her Identity From Her Modeling Career
31:22–32:46 | Sobriety as an Accomplishment No One Can Take Away
32:46–35:19 | Why Friendship, Therapy and Mutual Care Matter Now
32:46–35:19 | What Is Contemporary Now? Connection and Friendship
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Alastair McKimm On Gratitude & an Addictive Personality
Season 7 · Episode 3
Monday, October 19, 2026 • Duration 48:39
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
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Becoming A Cultural Phenomenon with Willy Chavarria
Season 7 · Episode 2
Monday, October 12, 2026 • Duration 01:05:17
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.
“It's not like I haven't been beaten down to shit a million times in my life, because for sure I have. It's just that I've continued to get back up.” - Willy Chavarria
Episode Highlights:
02:18–03:17 | Growing a Fashion Brand From the Ground Up
03:58–06:20 | Growing Up an Outsider and Finding His Imagination
06:20–08:25 | How San Francisco’s ’90s Club Culture Changed Everything
09:54–12:24 | Why Personal Style Matters More Than Fashion
12:24–14:06 | Fashion as Perception, Storytelling and Self-Expression
14:07–15:58 | The Work History That Taught Him How to Build a Brand
15:58–17:40 | Starting a Brand at 40 and Knowing When You’re Ready
17:40–19:24 | Letting Go of Regret and Taking Control of Your Destiny
19:45–22:32 | Building a Brand Around Positivity, Inclusivity and Human Dignity
22:32–25:11 | When Political Conviction Becomes Part of the Brand
25:27–28:40 | Finding Joy in the Middle of a Horror Show
32:17–34:09 | The Ambition to Become the Next Ralph Lauren
34:10–38:42 | Redefining the Boundaries Between Menswear and Womenswear
41:47–44:04 | Why Loyalty Is Radical in Fashion
44:14–46:12 | Casting as Emotional Storytelling
48:34–50:57 | Why Paris Represents a New Chapter for Fashion
53:38–55:27 | Taking Fashion Beyond Clothes Into Music, Film and Entertainment
55:27–57:21 | Silencing the Inner Saboteur and Learning to Say “So What?”
57:23–58:38 | Taking Willy Chavarria Global
58:38–01:02:38 | Building a Life and Business With the Person You Love
01:02:40–01:04:39 | What Is Contemporary Now? Thinking Bigger Than Ourselves
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How H&M Democratized Luxury Fashion
Season 7 · Episode 1
Monday, October 5, 2026 • Duration 47:32
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.
In this conversation, Johansson considers what fashion must preserve in an increasingly technological and commercial landscape, from the value of craft to the need for greater individuality and optimism.
“I think we need more optimism also, because if we're not optimistic, what is the point of doing anything really?” - Ann-Sofie Johansson
Episode Highlights:
02:18–03:17 | The Making of a Fashion Creative, Growing Up in Sweden
03:17–04:40 | Swedish Values and the Culture of Collaboration
04:44–06:00 | How London’s ’80s Club Culture Changed Her View of Fashion
06:06–07:18 | When a Personal Passion Becomes a Creative Career
07:56–09:31 | Four Decades at H&M, Staying Curious in a Changing Landscape
09:40–11:43 | The Karl Lagerfeld Collaboration That Democratized Luxury Fashion
11:43–12:53 | How Designer Collaborations Bring Creative Worlds Together
12:53–13:59 | Beyond Designer Labels, Rethinking the Meaning of Luxury
13:59–15:30 | Cultural Relevance and Creative Instinct in Choosing Designer Collaborations
15:46–18:19 | Commercial Appeal vs. Conceptual Design, What Audiences Want from Fashion
20:23–23:15 | H&M Studio and the Search for New Creative Possibilities
23:39–28:00 | Fashion, Image-Making and Technology, Rethinking the Runway with Nick Knight
28:00–32:35 | Fashion’s Responsibility to the Next Generation of Designers
32:35–33:14 | Instinct and the Qualities of Great Design
33:14–34:17 | Why Optimism Matters in Creative Culture
34:17–35:34 | Finding Your Voice in a World of Constant Visual Influence
35:34–37:07 | Illustration and the Importance of Craft
37:07–40:09 | AI, Human Creativity and the Future of Design
40:09–41:15 | Can Fashion Become More Individual in an Era of Globalization?
41:15–43:15 | Social Media, Algorithmic Echo Chambers and the Future of Trend Forecasting
43:16–44:17 | How Brands Participate in Contemporary Culture
44:17–46:27 | The Cultural Connections Between Fashion, Art, Music and Literature
46:27–47:00 | What Is Contemporary Now? The Timeless Value of a Good Conversation
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The Fifth Fashion Week, How Copenhagen Rewrote the Rules
Tuesday, February 3, 2026 • Duration 40:12
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.
“Fashion weeks were falling out of sync with the world around us. They were celebrating fashion in a bubble, while everything else was changing.”
CEO Cecilie Thorsmark
“What feels contemporary now to me is generosity.”
COO Isabella Rose Davey
Episode Highlights:
A reflection on Copenhagen Fashion Week’s evolution from a regional showcase into a global platform with cultural and economic impact over its 20-year history.
Insight into how Cecilie Thorsmark redefined the purpose of a fashion week, shifting it from celebration alone to a system that engages with responsibility, progress, and accountability.
A candid discussion about implementing binding sustainability requirements, including the real challenges of enforcement, support, and industry resistance.
An exploration of why sustainability works best as infrastructure rather than storytelling, and how Copenhagen embedded it into participation itself.
A deep dive into CPHFW NEWTALENT and what emerging designers actually need today, beyond visibility, including mentoring, financial literacy, and long-term business support.
A reframing of the term “emerging designer,” challenging age-based definitions and highlighting reinvention, experience, and second chapters.
A conversation about the advantages of being small, agile, and human, and why Copenhagen’s scale allows for experimentation and intimacy that larger fashion weeks often lose.
A thoughtful examination of why brands should be allowed to end, evolve, or transform without stigma, and how creative energy changes form rather than disappears.
Cultural insight into why Copenhagen feels different, touching on quality of life, generosity, openness, and the city’s ability to foster genuine connection during fashion week.
A closing reflection on what feels contemporary now, distilled into two values that define the platform’s ethos moving forward: responsibility and generosity.
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On the Road in Copenhagen
Monday, January 26, 2026 • Duration 00:41
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.
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Yoon Ahn on AMBUSH, Subculture, and One Foot In, One Foot Out
Season 6 · Episode 14
Monday, January 19, 2026 • Duration 50:01
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.
Episode Highlights:
A childhood shaped by movement and solitudeGrowing up between Korea, Hawaii, California, and Seattle, Yoon reflects on how constant relocation fostered independence, imagination, and an ability to adapt quickly to new environments.
Solitude as a creative advantageTime spent alone became a space for imagination rather than isolation, laying the groundwork for curiosity, inner confidence, and long-term creative resilience.
Subculture as a formative educationFrom Seattle’s grunge era to Tokyo’s club scene, Yoon describes how underground culture, music, and nightlife taught her more about identity and community than any formal training.
Discovering design through curiosity, not strategyHer path into graphic design and later fashion emerged organically through interests in magazines, presentation, and visual storytelling, rather than a predefined career plan.
Being paid to learn as a philosophyYoon frames early jobs, including PR and corporate design work, as opportunities to learn on someone else’s dime, reinforcing her belief that no experience is wasted.
AMBUSH as an organic unfoldingWhat began as jewelry made for friends evolved naturally into a brand, then into a platform, driven by experimentation, relationships, and responding to real demand rather than market forecasting.
Tokyo as a creative accelerantMoving to Japan exposed Yoon to layered subcultures, cross-pollination between music and fashion, and a culture open to hybridity, shaping AMBUSH’s DNA.
Fashion as communication, not productYoon describes fashion as a visual language for expressing identity and connection, rather than simply clothing or commercial output.
AI as a tool, not a replacementShe speaks openly about embracing AI as a powerful assistant that can accelerate research and execution, while insisting that creative intent and thinking cannot be outsourced.
What feels contemporary nowFor Yoon, being contemporary today means fearlessly pursuing who you are, resisting algorithmic pressure, and staying grounded in humanity, curiosity, and purpose rather than chasing scale.
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Asad Syrkett on Interiors, Identity, and the Human Touch
Season 6 · Episode 13
Monday, January 12, 2026 • Duration 47:58
Asad Syrkett joins What’s Contemporary Now? for a wide-ranging conversation about design as a cultural language and the quiet ways environments shape identity, memory, and access. From a childhood spent moving through New York City’s homes, department stores, and streets, to a new chapter living and working in Milan, he reflects on how early encounters with the built world formed a lifelong curiosity long before he had the vocabulary of architecture or interiors.
Grounded in his background in architectural history and editorial leadership, Asad speaks to why design is never neutral, how interiors hold narrative and emotional weight, and why aspiration today feels less about status than self-knowledge. As attention splinters and taste is increasingly mediated by screens rather than experience, the conversation returns to what endures: craft, context, and the human touch as the most contemporary forces shaping how we live now.
“If you like it, I love it. I’d rather a space reflect real engagement with the self than something copied from Instagram.” - Asad Syrkett
Episode Highlights:
Living in Milan versus passing through itAsad reflects on the shift from visiting Milan for work to truly living there, and how permanence deepens relationships, curiosity, and cultural exchange beyond the churn of Salone and design week.
A childhood shaped by environments, not fashionGrowing up in Harlem and New York City, Asad became attuned early to how homes, retail spaces, and objects reflect identity, class, and aspiration, long before he had the language for design.
The built world is never neutralFrom department stores to shop windows, he describes how cities teach us, early on, that design encodes power, values, and social difference.
Curiosity as a lifelong engineRaised by a family deeply invested in culture, music, books, and dance, Asad traces how being encouraged to ask questions shaped his editorial and intellectual instincts.
Why architectural history unlocked everythingStudying architectural history at Columbia gave him context and language for instincts formed in childhood, connecting design to authority, religion, economics, and social structures.
A career guided by sustainability of curiosityMoving between journalism, design studios, digital media, and business wasn’t about restlessness, but about building an intellectually sustainable life around design.
Context over aestheticsAs an editor, Asad emphasizes that interiors don’t exist in a vacuum, they are social, political, and emotional artifacts shaped by history, access, and intention.
Access versus upward mobilityHe challenges the idea that design is about “upward mobility,” reframing it instead as access, self-knowledge, and environments that reflect inner growth rather than status alone.
Italy as a culture of makersLiving in Milan has sharpened his appreciation for Italian design’s deep respect for craft, family-run production, and material knowledge passed down through generations.
What’s contemporary now: the human touchIn a digital, accelerated world, Asad argues that the most contemporary thing is work shaped by human skill, physical effort, and deep commitment to craft, things technology cannot replicate.
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