15 Years of Another Man, According to the Team Behind It

Alister Mackie, Creative Director

Favourite cover: I think the best cover we ever did was the first one of Joaquin Phoenix – it was really, really good and it set the tone for the kind of man we want to talk about. But my favourite cover would be the Harry Styles series because of the huge excitement of bringing them out and the opportunity to work with a celebrity at that stage of their life, when he was really coming into his own. Having the freedom to have three different covers, and three different haircuts, it was really unique to have someone of Harry’s level of fame, just at the right time. That was the most exciting cover launch.

Favourite shoot: There was a series of shoots I did with Nick Knight, which were really experimental. We did one in the first issue, which was princes and poets and construction workers, cut and stuck together with beautiful still-lifes of paint explosions taken by Nick. That was the start of many great shoots with Nick. One of my other favourite shoots was the first shoot I did with Alasdair McLellan for Another Man, I hadn’t worked with him for a while and we shot the model Ton. It was just a coming together of me and him and the boy that felt so right, and really summed up the fashion I was into at the time. It made the cover of the Another Man book and still stands up today as one of my favourites.

Favourite feature or interview: Tim Blanks has written some really great, anarchic, out-there pieces for us. I liked the ‘Homme Fatale’ one he wrote, which was the idea of this male character who is based on these icons that I was always referencing in the magazine – Alain Delon, Mick Jagger, Bryan Ferry, Lord Byron – those iconic faces of the 60s and 70s, when there was a bit more glamour. I think Tim summed it up with that title.

Favourite memory or moment: A unique Another Man moment was the Rolling Stones issue. I was able to take my obsession with Mick Jagger and make the whole issue about that. The feature that we shot with Willy was a fantastic experience of getting into the archive, meeting with the people who run the Rolling Stones archive; seeing, touching and even being able to wear some iconic garments through decades, way back to very, very groovy London time. It was incredible to see in real life, the pieces that have been in your head for so long. We had Georgia May and Gabriel Jagger, Bobby Gillespie, Katy England, Wolf Gillespie, and all those people appearing in the story, as well as the props. It was a great way to work, to be so thorough. Willy just went for it, doing the covers, bringing out something in each of them, as well as cataloguing the iconic garments.

What does Another Man mean to you? It’s been a very free space for me to tell stories and I’ve treated it like that. Every issue I’ve worked on has come from a hard-copy scrapbook, very old-fashioned. It’s allowed me to bring in loads of different contributors and meet people. Every issue has been a personal project and new universe, things that I’ve seen around and wanted to bring in. We’ve also had great parties, which have brought it into real life and celebrated our community of friends, with great music and outfits and glamorous moments.

Katy England, Senior Fashion Editor-at-Large

Favourite covers or shoots: Shooting Vincent Gallo with Collier Schorr was one of my highlights – I didn’t know that Vincent is such a fashion enthusiast, and we could be fashion geeks together for a whole day. Another Man introduced me to Tim Walker and we worked together with the amazing Shona Heath on an epic Tarot-inspired shoot. I love the centrefold each issue, so was excited to shoot Julia Cumming and James Jeanette on a motor bike with Sarah Piantadosi for that. It is a luxury to have freedom when contributing to them.

You already know it’s an Another Man cover with or without looking at the title at the top. They are direct, it’s someone who I am normally interested in, shot in a simple, cool yet sensual way. Alister Mackie is a brilliant creative director, over the years he has established such a strong direction, look and mood for the magazine which has put it a level above the other men’s titles.

Favourite memories: Shooting in Tucson Arizona with Niall O’Brien in 2012 was quite an extreme trip. I hadn’t been doing editorial for a long time and I wanted a very different kind of shoot experience. Going away for a whole week with a photographer who I had never worked with before was throwing myself in at the deep end. The crew was just four people – Niall, myself, Wes Olson (the producer) and Will Blanchard (our model). We stayed in motels where I was too scared to undress for bed incase I was bitten by something, we argued, it rained a lot, we had a great laugh and we came home with beautiful pictures and firm friendships – a real privilege.

What does Another Man mean to you? Another Man is a leader not a follower. It means that with each new issue I am guaranteed to be shown something unique and creatively exciting. I love that each issue has its own special mood which is so spot on.

Ellie Grace Cumming, Fashion Director

Favourite covers: King Krule, Lana Del Rey, Bobby Gillespie, 21 Savage, Willem Dafoe, Ezra Miller, Dilara Findikoglu, Jarvis Cocker, Joaquin Phoenix.

Favourite shoots: Alasdair McLellan and Alister Mackie’s collaborations are very special, Lana del Rey, My Back Pages, Jarvis in a Cave, Elias, Ton, Chloë Sevigny! Katy England’s stories also extremely important for Another Man, her collaborations with Tim Walker, Collier and Paolo all up there. For my own work; Lias Saoudi as Johnny Rocket with Sarah Piantadosi in Sheffield; Druid boys with Ari Marcopolous; Romanian witches and locals in Transylvania with Max von Gumppenberg and Patrick Biernert. Casper Sejersen's son Leo and his group of friends in a Clockwork Orange Undercover collection, 21 Savage ...

Favourite feature or interview: Recently through the Archive section we have featured work of some of my favourite artists including McDermott and McGough, Linder Sterling, Penny Slinger and Peter de Potter. In our ‘Romance & Ritual’ issue, Nick Cave edited the whole section, an extremely rare glimpse into his world.

Favourite memories: Too many wonderful memories! Looking back, the magazine has given me incredible opportunities to travel on adventures to weird and far-flung places. Highlights include Angkor Wat in Cambodia with Kim Jones and Julia Hetta to shoot his latest Louis Vuitton collection, a road trip through Spain with Vinca Petersen and Joe Skelton in a truck with a suitcase of clothes, Marrakesh in 40-degree July heat with Pieter Hugo, Shinjuku Tokyo to shoot Kim Jones’ Dior collection with legend Keizo Kitajima, and the Drakensberg Mountains with Kristin-Lee Moolman, Atlanta, Georgia with Harley. Many visits to Los Angeles and a tour of Scotland with Alasdair McLellan and Alister Mackie, all journeys I will never forget.

What does Another Man mean to you? Working alongside Alister Mackie and our team for the past ten years has been incredibly inspiring, through Another Man we explore and celebrate the whole spectrum of counterculture: fashion, art, literature, music and film. Working with all our dream collaborators, artists, photographers and designers. It’s a magical and important home for all us teenagers that used to flip through Avant Garde, Egoiste, Oz, Zig Zag, Smash Hits, The Face and Dazed.

Thea Charlesworth, Commissioning Director

Favourite cover: So tough! Skepta is up there. That was a fun shoot to be part of. Vincent Gallo was definitely unique, too.

Favourite shoot: Tim Walker and Katy England’s Romance and Ritual shoot is just sublime. Alasdair, Alister and Jarvis in a cave in Yorkshire is also a one-off.

Favourite feature or interview: Ah so many, Chris Smith’s Psychodrama commission for Issue 26 with Tim Blanks was a lovely start to a long-term friendship and collaboration.

Favourite memory or moment: The feeling of seeing the issue in hard copy for the first time is always joyous. It’s such a team effort. Also, wrangling the music mafia for 21 Savage, negotiating with Vincent Gallo, Sky Ferreira in a merkin, hustling King Krule out of bed with a Caribbean takeaway, the list is endless ...

What does Another Man mean to you? On a personal level, it’s family and a medley of the most interesting, wonderful and creative people I know. As a magazine and brand, it’s an important voice for past and future generations. Over the years, it’s really grown from teenage adolescence to a wise old owl.

Hannah Lack, Deputy Editor

Favourite cover: So many, but I’ve always loved the very first, Joaquin Phoenix in 2005 – he’s grown into such an extraordinary actor and unconventional Hollywood star since, he was absolutely the right person to kick us off.

Favourite shoot: I loved what Ellie Grace Cumming and Harley Weir pulled off with 21 Savage in a sketchy part of Atlanta, particularly after hearing the behind-the-scenes stories ...

Favourite feature or interview: Travelling to a snowy hilltop in Switzerland with the very gifted photographer Crista Leonard, to document HR Giger’s museum of creepy phallic aliens, in a (supposedly) haunted ex-coven while avalanches thundered down the hillsides ... Crista and I have found ourselves in many memorable places thanks to Another Man, including a witch’s cottage in a stormy Cornish village and rifling through Luchino Visconti’s private papers in Rome.

Favourite memory or moment: Ben Cobb and I took the train to the middle of France for a feature on the ostentatious collection of clothes and objects Rudolf Nureyev amassed in his lifetime – Nureyev was notorious for never picking up the bill in a restaurant, but he was infinitely generous with himself – gold leather jackets, thigh-high boots, silk kimonos, Turkish rugs ... but my favourite things were his stage-battered ballet shoes and a disintegrating address book with Andy Warhol’s number scribbled in it.

What does Another Man mean to you? The never-boring people I work with, past and present, who manage to be brilliant at what they do without taking themselves too seriously.

Jo Evendon, Producer

Favourite cover: My head says Issue 20 – Dane DeHaan, shot by Willy Vanderperre and styled by Alister Mackie. It’s such a powerful portrait which captures the Another Man spirit perfectly. But my heart says Issue 23 – Harry Styles, shot by Alasdair McLellan and styled by Alister Mackie, for obvious reasons.

Favourite shoot: Christopher Smith’s series of eight self-portraits, depicting characters from a ‘Map of Love’, all while wearing pieces from Gucci’s S/S19 collection.

Favourite feature or interview: Vincent Gallo’s uncensored open letter to the world, purely because of the build-up to receiving the text. I think the whole team were pretty on edge about what to expect, including the Dazed Media lawyers.

Favourite memory or moment: There’s been so many memorable moments at Another Man, although finishing this issue may be at top the list. The team worked relentlessly to get Issue 30 to the printers, just as London and New York (where our art director, Laura Genninger, and design team are based) started shutting down because of Covid-19. The office officially shut a day later ... Culture must continue!

What does Another Man mean to you? Magic and madness ...

Reuben Esser, Fashion Editor

Favourite cover: The King Krule one, for sentimental reasons. It’s the first shoot I assisted Alister on. It was inspiring to see how he operated. I ended up working for him for five years.

Favourite shoot: It has to be the Rolling Stones archive shoot with Willy and Alister. We had full access to the band’s incredible archive and iconic stage outfits. That was a mind-blowing experience for me to be able to touch these things, even though we probably weren’t allowed to.

Favourite feature or interview: The ‘Archive Earth’ Document from Issue 28 is still relevant and probably useful to read again right now.

Favourite memory or moment: Definitely when I went to Mississippi to style a shoot with photographer Chris Rhodes for Issue 29. We hung out with these amazing guys who invited us to Red’s blues nightclub. This photo of dancer Ellis was taken outside the club.

What does Another Man mean to you? I see Another Man as a big biannual timestamp of today, but with a deep appreciation of the past.

James Campbell, Fashion Market Editor

Favourite cover: I’m going to be biased for my favourite cover and say Issue 27 by Tim Walker. This cover was from an epic shoot that was styled by Katy England, who I was still assisting at the time. We were down in Dorset for a few days and this picture was taken towards the end of the first day. There were only a few of us in the field with Tim as Thilo Muller, the model, was to be naked on the horse. I remember looking around and realising where I was and what we were doing and how beautiful the light was and Thilo on this white horse naked looking so natural and it was a real moment, which you don’t often get while shooting as there are always a million things needing to be done. Working with Tim and his team is always special and that trip was really fun! For that picture to then end up on the cover (with no fashion!) was really special and now it’s in the V&A in Tim’s exhibition.

Favourite shoot: I’m going to be biased again and say Skepta by Harley Weir and Katy England in Issue 25. Spending the day with Skepta, do I need to say more?

Favourite feature or interview: I really liked Sean O’Hagan’s interview with Nick Cave in Issue 6 for the release of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ 14th studio album DIG!!! LAZARUS DIG!!!. I have always loved Nick Cave his romantic darkness, and as a fellow Australian living in England this interview touches on that idea of being an outsider. Cave is so private and O’Hagan’s obvious history with him seems to open him up and he’s quite candid about his creative process.

Favourite memory or moment: My favourite moment is now! 15 years of Another Man, our 30th issue in the year 2020 during a pandemic that is seeing the world press pause – and weren’t magazines supposed to end when the World Wide Web came along? Culture must continue, this is something to fucking celebrate!

What does Another Man mean to you? As a young person growing up in Australia, magazines like Another Man were an escape into a fantasy-land so far away from my reality. To now be a part of the team that works so hard on this biannual publication, and is still under the visionary work of creative director Alister Mackie, I feel very privileged. People often ask what the point is of a cultural fashion men’s biannual publication these days and I always think of what someone very wise pointed out to me, ‘for that kid in Australia so faraway from the runways of Paris to know that they are not alone and that there are others out there that dream like them’.

Ted Stansfield, Digital Editor/Features Editor

Favourite cover: The Harry Styles one by Alasdair and Alister. It is iconic! I have it on my living room wall.

Favourite shoot: It’s a tough one but I think it might be Viviane Sassen and Mattias Karlsson’s shoot in Issue 4, simply because I love Viviane’s pictures. I also love Nick Sethi and James Campbell’s Grace Wales Bonner story, which was shot in Rajasthan, and Ethan and Alister’s Ashton Sanders story, for the sheer glamour of it.

Favourite feature or interview: I always think a good feature changes the way you think, and Xerxes Cook’s interview with Dr Lawrence Blair for Issue 28 did that for me. It’s wild, and I still think about it quite often.

Favourite moment or memory: I think it’s the ongoing memory of working with people who I love and share a point of view with.

What does Another Man mean to you? What I’ve always loved about Another Man is that is possesses a certain male glamour. I don’t think male glamour is something that is talked about very much, and I don’t really see it in other magazines, but Another Man – and Alister’s point of view, specifically – has it in spades. It has a beauty, an elegance and also a decadance. Ben always talked about the Another Man character being both rebellious and romantic, too, which I always loved. Other than that, it goes back to that thing of a point of view – I’ve always been an oddball and at Another Man I’ve found a community of fellow oddballs, who share my outlook on fashion and culture. I treasure that.

Jordan Duddy, Fashion Coordinator

Favourite cover: Joaquin Phoenix is one of my favourite covers from the archive, it still looks so current and relevant 15 years on. I also love the Ezra Miller cover shot by Willy Vanderperre and styled by Alister Mackie. The cover and inside story really emcompass the aesthetic that has come to define Another Man.

Favourite shoot: There are so many good shoots looking back through our archives but the one that stands out for me is from Issue 2, shot by Mark Segal and styled by Alister Mackie, which features a number of male models on the beach alongside Kate Moss. It is dark, romantic and has a nostalgic element to it. The sepia-toned images and contrast between the beach location, the casting and punk styling elements works so well.

Favourite feature or interview: I’m always excited to see the art-based features and interviews in each issue, it’s incredible that the magazine gets to work and collaborate with iconic artists such as Peter de Potter, Penny Slinger and Jake and Dinos Chapman.

Favourite memory or moment: Some of my favourite moments have been the travel shoots for the magazine, in the past few years Ellie and I have travelled to places such as Tokyo, South Africa, Morocco and Romania. These shoots are always a challenge, whenever we shoot on location it is venturing into the unknown a bit. It’s an incredible experience to be in a city or landscape and see everything come together on set in the pursuit of that perfect image.

What does Another Man mean to you? At an industry level, Another Man has been helping to define and expand the perception of menswear and masculinity for the last 15 years. On a more personal note, Another Man for me has been a big part of my education in fashion, I started working for the magazine straight out of university so it’s been a formative part of how I understand fashion today.

Bella Kavanagh, Fashion Assistant

Favourite cover: Although the interview with Vincent Gallo was controversial, we still printed it and I think the cover is perfectly in tune with the magazine’s message – Vincent in shorts and cowboy boots, folded arms looking small on his red fold-out chair – his throne. 

Favourite shoot: Mark Segal and Alister Mackie’s editorial for Issue 2. It’s shot on a beach with a wide cast but they are all individual characters, part of their own tight tribe. There’s a feeling in the photography of isolation and loneliness and Mackie has made a shirt and dickie bow tucked into a pair of trousers and some Topshop shirts seem totally otherworldly and cool. It’s a timeless story.

Favourite feature or interview: Dennis Cooper’s Q&A for Issue 10. Dennis Cooper is one of my favourite writers, in the interview he is asked “How do you feel about being described as ‘one of the most dangerous writers in America?” “I think that was like the silliest thing ever ... To me my work is all about emotional confusion and then how language fails that emotion,” he replied. “But others say, ‘Yeah but he just writes about prostitutes, drugs and killing boys’. But maybe someday they will understand.” Another Man is the magazine that understands that things that are unknown and scare us are beautiful.

Favourite memory or moment: Being on set with Ellie and Casper shooting the Undercover special for Issue 29. We were in Copenhagen, it was boiling hot and the kids were skating and running up the side of motorways wearing these amazing oversized A Clockwork Orange-inspired looks.

What does Another Man mean to you: I first bought AnOther as a teenager. Being from Birmingham you could only buy fashion magazines a couple times a year from the WH Smith in town so I bought everything I could find. Although it was a magazine, I thought my dad would also like it – I remember reading an article about Aleister Crawley in the same issue. Another Man has its own voice and has always stayed true to it, there is something for everyone, a showcase for current fashion, politics and culture dipped in a nostalgia and weirdness.