‛Each human choice made along the way to that final product leaves an immaterial imprint. In forming a ready-to-wear business, I think we can create positive change by making more objects that possess that powerful energy simply by slowing down and growing with intention. Being highly intentional about what materials are used, who is sewing the garment, and who is making the pattern, every step of intentionality creates a final result that deeply affects people.’
For decades, the region has been presented to the outside world through a familiar set of images: silk roads and textiles, nomadic traditions and craft, ornament and folklore. While these references remain an important part of the story, they can obscure a more complex reality. The countries that make up Central Asia have spent the last century negotiating dramatic political and cultural change. Centuries-old traditions, the experience of Soviet modernity and the decades following independence all continue to shape contemporary life. It is perhaps unsurprising, then, that questions of memory, inheritance and belonging recur so frequently in the work of the designers emerging from the region today.
‘Books are a very special format, both as a source of knowledge and as physical objects. They hold a certain weight and presence, and there is something very tactile and intimate about engaging with them. Compared to digital research, they feel more focused and, in a way, more precious.’
‘I find beauty in sadness because it’s an emotion that is ever-present for everyone; I feel sadness every day. But when I face those heavy emotions through my collection, life feels a little lighter, and the garment-making practice itself becomes meditative.’
To celebrate the launch of A Manual For Living Curated for Nike, A Magazine Curated By gathered friends and collaborators at Drop City during NikeAir_Lab for Milan Design Week 2026.
A Magazine Curated By and Nike, Inc. are pleased to present A Manual For Living Curated for Nike, a special project exploring the internal intelligence of the global sportswear brand known for its relentless innovation in service of athletes.
‘I’m drawn to the books by their cover, their texture and design; it must catch my eye instantly for me to pick it up. I need a book to intrigue me! I like to spend the whole day reading through my initial selection, as there might be books by many artists I don’t know yet. I can spend more than two hours in a single bookstore, checking every book until I am exhausted. Then I go sit down and get a coffee. And then come back to it again.’
‘There’s a relationship between chairs and clothing. Clothes and chairs are objects that function for the body. Each chair is different: even ones made of the same material, the interpretation might be completely different. Like here at this table, all the chairs are made of wood, but each has been designed and treated in a unique way by the designer who made them. For me there’s a link between this and say a pattern for a shirt, where each designer interprets the same thing differently.’
‘We don’t fight.’ The statement is delivered without emphasis, simply as fact. In fashion, volatility is reframed as creative energy. Raised voices, late pivots, visible intensity — these are common. Encouraged, even. But Awa Malina Stelter and Stephanie Gundelach, the founders of Opera Sport, are not interested in that way of working.
The morning after their Autumn Winter 2026 show in Copenhagen, Anne Sofie Madsen and Caroline Clante look as though they have not quite come down from it. Sleep has been scarce. After the show they went out with the team — a few beers, a late night.
Among eroded rock formations and ancient Nabataean ruins lies an oasis of sorts, one that nourishes the spirit of AlUla, Saudi Arabia. A community gathers at this oasis: Villa Hegra, the latest Saudi-French jewel in the constellation of cultural villas.
When I arrived at Nicklas Skovgaard’s Copenhagen studio, he was standing outside in the snow sipping a small cup of coffee and smoking a cigarette. He wore a navy-blue Nike baseball cap and a simple navy coat over a button-up shirt and trousers, the kind of pared-back outfit that has become something of a uniform for him. He and his team had moved into the space just only a month earlier, he said.
Bishop Mariann Budde in conversation with Willy Chavarria
Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue’s Senior Archive Editor, in conversation with Jemma Pinueva
Paola Ramos in conversation with Blake Abbie
Carla Sozzani and Sara Sozzani Maino of Fondazione Sozzani in conversation with Blake Abbie.
The team at Brodie Sessions sits down with Copenhagen-based musicians to explore the city’s experimental pop scene, delving into creativity, collaboration, and what makes the local music community so distinctive.
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