What's Contemporary Now?

By What's Contemporary

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.

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How many episodes does What's Contemporary Now? have?

The podcast currently has 69 episodes available.

What's Contemporary Now? episodes:

January 20, 2025The Line Sheet and Everything Lauren Sherman
While many in the fashion industry were already well-versed in the work of journalist Lauren Sherman, the early days of The Line Sheet sparked rumblings across the dinners and drinks that often define the social musings through which the industry connects. Having captured everyone's attention, she went on to launch her podcast, Fashion People, and has since amassed a dedicated audience.
In this episode, Lauren shares her personal journey while helping us dissect the cultural moment we’re navigating—a world fractured into countless niches yet searching for universal connections.
From the evolving role of journalism in an oversaturated media landscape to the rise of authenticity as a cultural currency, Lauren offers a compelling look at what it takes to thrive in a world that rewards staying true to yourself.
“There's no need to compare yourself to other people because everybody is coming from a different perspective. And so, I don't believe in objectivity in any way. I think that people who claim it exists should strive for it, but you also have to know that it's not a real thing.” - Lauren Sherman

Episode Highlights:
Lauren knew at a young age that she was interested in journalism, specifically fashion, but somehow ended up studying computer programming first.
Her two biggest influences early on were Liz Tilberis and Jane Pratt, who were the editors of Harper’s Bazaar and Sassy, respectively.
The business aspect of her career in journalism was not planned, but it was the first way she found to get into the industry.
Having come up during the time when conglomerates like Kering and LVMH were first taking shape, and the industry was rapidly becoming big business, she learned early on how important the business aspect of the fashion conversation actually was.
Joining Fashionista during the heyday of blogging, Lauren was suddenly expected to churn out several pieces a day. It was there she learned to write without having time to pick up the phone to sources and instead relied more exclusively on her own perspective about the topics she was writing about.
Despite being rooted in fashion, both The Line Sheet and Fashion People speak to broader cultural issues, from Ozempic to musical chairs with creative directors at major fashion houses.
Lauren breaks down the reality behind the seismic shifts in the luxury sector and consumer behaviors shaping them.
The impressive efficacy of certain creative choices is often beyond the reach of data farming and analytics platforms, and can end up getting overlooked by those who now exclusively let data govern their choices.
Critical thinking is not taught in schools, and the impact of that missing link is evident in the cultural behaviors we often encounter today.
According to Sherman, we live in such a fragmented culture that, to succeed, you must truly understand what’s right for you and do what’s right for you. Those who do that often achieve significant success.

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40min
January 13, 2025Opinion Without Identity: The Allure of Staying Behind the Curtain with @boringnotcom
Comment sections are often awash with bold opinions, many of them originating from anonymous or private accounts. Some might attribute this to the suffocating grip of modern political climates, while others may see it as little more than cowardice in action. Yet today, anonymity is no longer confined to the comment box; it’s spilling over into the growing world of creator accounts, where individuals deliberately choose to remain faceless. For today’s guest, freedom of speech is at the heart of this decision, and, let’s face it, part of what makes it so compelling is the unshackled nature of content that exists beyond the constraints of identity—content untethered from the finite definitions that attach themselves to people, with all their associations, traits, and the labels that so often reduce us to mere concepts. The debate around regulation and fact checking is, of course, alive and well, particularly in an age where information battles are fought daily. But how much weight does this carry in the world of fashion media? Well, the jury’s still out—but Boringnotcom, naturally, has something to say about it.
“I feel like there's always going to be those people who are going to want to be anonymous because not everyone wants to be in front of the camera.” - Boringnotcom

Episode Highlights:
Boringnotcom is an avid YouTube user who once contemplated becoming a creator on the platform, only to ultimately realize they didn’t want to be in front of the camera.
Originally inspired by content creator @stylenotcom, they were drawn to the catchy nature of the blue squares—while finding it a tad reductive—and believed they could do something better.
Having found the fashion industry to be repressive and confining, especially when it comes to having an opinion and constantly considering advertisers, @boringnotcom was created as an opportunity to break free from those constraints and speak without filters.
While the account offers plenty of personal opinion, much of its content resonates with others’ experiences, touching on topics like DEI and the challenges often faced in the industry.
They remain 50/50 on whether this account, originally started for a bit of fun, will be shut down or continue, as demand for their content continues to grow.
For @boringnotcom, Anna Wintour has done an incredible job, but fashion no longer allows for any one figurehead to dominate.
When it comes to collectibility, they’ve never considered Self Service a magazine—after all, magazines, for them, are something you throw away.
Luxury, for them, has had the creativity drained by the greed behind the machine. Today, one has to search extensively to find something truly different amidst the widely accepted codes of major houses.
The conversation around DEI, sustainability, equal pay, and gender equality must continue—not just in fashion, but in the world at large.
For @boringnotcom, being contemporary means practicing freedom of speech and fearless creativity.

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28min
January 06, 2025Why W Magazine Matters (Again): A Conversation with Sara Moonves
The Best Performances issue of W Magazine is here, marking the unofficial start of awards season with its iconic event this past weekend. To kick off our own season, we’re sitting down with the woman behind it all: editor-in-chief Sara Moonves.
Born into a world of celebrity and culture in Los Angeles, Sara’s path to leadership was anything but handed to her. From high school internships to assisting legends like Sally Singer and Phyllis Posnick, she built her career with determination and a deep passion for the arts.
As W's first female editor-in-chief in its 53-year history, Sara has revitalized the brand, expanding its print cycle to meet the demands of its thriving digital audience. Today, W Magazine remains a collectible beacon of creativity, bridging the worlds of art, cinema, music, fashion, and celebrity.

Episode Highlights:
Moonves grew up in Los Angeles, voraciously consuming arts and culture from a young age.
While still in high school, Sara interned at Vogue and later assisted legends like Sally Singer and Phyllis Posnick before becoming a fashion editor herself.
Upon inheriting a nearly defunct W Magazine as its new Editor-in-Chief, Sara had to convince reluctant advertisers that the brand was still a worthy investment.
In March 2024, W debuted its first digital cover featuring Beyoncé, timed to the release of her album Renaissance. The most awarded artist in Grammys history generated over 3.5 billion press impressions and 348 million social impressions, sparking overwhelming demand for a print edition.
While other print publications scaled back their number of print editions due to industry-wide reductions in readership and ad spend, W's print issues were so successful that the brand added another to its lineup in 2024.
Overall, W Magazine saw double-digit revenue growth year-over-year in the first half of 2024, encompassing all three platforms: print, digital, and experiential.
By bringing cultural icons like Steven Spielberg into the fashion fold for the first time, W’s brand world and content offerings are often more varied than many of its contemporaries.
Sara became the first female Editor-in-Chief in the brand's 53-year history.
Published by Rizzoli in 2022, W Magazine: 50 Years/50 Stories was the first of what Sara envisions as many brand extensions that leverage the magazine's storied history.
For Sara, being contemporary means pushing boundaries, tuning out the noise, and always moving forward rather than backward.

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42min
December 23, 2024 Season 5 Trailer
As the curtain falls on one year and rises on the next, we find ourselves poised at the edge of a new season—one brimming with conversations that illuminate the creatives shaping, and at times challenging, the culture of today. These are the architects of their own narratives, and as we wander the corridors of their storied lives, we uncover the alchemy of realized dreams, the art of navigating uncertainty, and the wisdom to know when to push forward and when to step back.
This season’s roster of editors-in-chief, designers, journalists, CEOs, creators, and talents invites us to ponder not just the answers they offer but the questions they compel us to ask ourselves. Join us as we embark on this journey—new episodes every Monday, starting January 6th.

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1min
September 16, 2024 We Want to Hear From You
It's that time again where we end the season and take pause to review where we've been, where we are, and of course where it is that we'd like to go with this conversation. As always, we want to hear from you, our listeners. What type of topics you'd like us to tackle. Who are your dream guests?
DM us on Instagram or email us at [email protected]. If you've enjoyed the show, leave us a review and we'll be back soon with more episodes answering the insatiable question, whats is contemporary now?

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1min
September 09, 2024Journey Through the Lens of Suzanne Koller: From Vienna to Paris and Beyond
Suzanne Koller, a Paris-based fashion stylist and art director, is renowned for her impactful contributions to the fashion industry. Cofounding Petronio Associates in 1993 and Self Service Magazine in 1994, she worked with prestigious clients and curated a unique creative vision. Transitioning to become the fashion director of Vogue Paris and later M le Magazine du Monde, Koller continues to shape the industry with her collaborations and editorial work. More interested in holistic artistry than anything else, Koller keeps herself out of her comfort zone to stay curious and true to herself—which is what’s contemporary now.

Episode Highlights:
Koller, who was born and raised in Vienna, feels “very Austrian.” She moved to Germany, and then to Switzerland, where she studied graphic design. She’s lived in France for over 30 years.
Knowing from her teen years that she wanted to be an art director, Koller saw the glamour of working for a magazine. She became an intern at Elle magazine in Paris before interning in graphic design at Glamour—where she was first introduced to the idea of working in fashion.
As a consultant, stylist, and art director, Koller found it exciting to make her own way with Self Service and to change hats, working with smaller magazines to avoid creative constraints.
Koller focuses less on fashion and more on individual subjects, orienting herself toward documenting women through time in collaborative projects.
Driven by long-standing obsessions, her current interest is finding emerging talent and working with a new generation of creatives.
Keeping herself out of her comfort zone helps maintain her energy and curiosity even as she considers herself a workaholic.
Koller is not driven by nostalgia but more inspired by the now, whether in the supermarket perusing ingredients, going to a museum, people-watching, or taking a flight. She believes in the significance of “emptying [her] brain” periodically.
In an age of over-engagement with social media, what’s contemporary to her now is staying true to oneself.

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24min
September 02, 2024The CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund: Melitta Baumeister and Henry Zankov on Doing It Your Way
Melitta Baumeister and Henry Zankov, the 2023 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund winner and runner-up, are two trailblazing designers working at the intersection of quality and artistry, exploring the tension between fantasy and commercial viability one thoughtful design at a time. Baumeister, a celebrated designer known for her sustainable and ethical approach, launched her eponymous brand in 2011. Her innovative designs merge modern aesthetics with a commitment to environmental consciousness, setting a high standard for sustainable fashion. Henry Zankov, who debuted his label in 2019, combines avant-garde design with exceptional craftsmanship. His background—from his Russian roots to his American influences—shapes his unique, trend-defying vision. Both designers present a singular take on the importance of intention, curiosity, and sculpture—and how to run a label as a business. For Zankov, fashion’s ability to express intention is what’s contemporary now, while Baumeister sees “being concerned about the future” as the zeitgeist.
Episode Highlights:
Born into a family of tailors in Germany, Baumeister studied tailoring and fashion from an early age.
Zankov was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and arrived in the US at the age of nine. Growing very close to New York City in the ’90s, his first interactions with English and the West were mediated through MTV.
Launching his own label in 2019, Zankov was interested in creating a recognizable visual language unique to his perspective after working as a consultant for years.
To Baumeister, production difficulties are “finding the right people to work with; being so many positions in one, from the production manager to the pattern maker to handling sales; understanding even how wholesale and fashion is working.”
Zankov speaks about the need to “reset” how we consume, living slower and more intentionally curated lifestyles.
Regarding the tension between fantasy and commercial viability, Baumeister says her solution—at the intersection of artistry and sales—is “all in the fabric.”
Zankov starts with a concept every season, aiming toward a curious customer with inner soulfulness and wisdom.
Both designers cite the CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund as an incredible support for their creative practice.
Baumeister notes that wholesale gives more reach and territory, while direct-to-customer sales offer more constructive feedback and relationship-building opportunities. Zankov highlights the importance of using both, though DTC allows him to make more accessible garments.
Zankov sees fashion’s ability to express intention as what’s contemporary now, while Baumeister sees “being concerned about the future” as the zeitgeist.

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35min
August 26, 2024Fashion, Film, & Fantasy: The World of Shona Heath
Set and Production designer Shona Heath creates enchanting, dense, and detailed worlds. Dreams within themselves, her visions have been manifested across the pages of top publications, and in collaborative partnerships with the likes of Tim Walker, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Prada, Miu Miu, and SHOWstudio. Her style seamlessly blends contemporary and vintage elements, showcasing a unique, fantastical aesthetic—brought to life through paper sculpting, painting, photography, and prop-building. Most recently, her work on Yorgos Lanthimos’s 2023 film Poor Things won an Academy Award for Best Production Design. In an age of worldbuilding, Heath shares a journey from the countryside to imagining entire realms, underlining that creativity plays a role in designing our everyday lives.
Episode Highlights:
Growing up in the British countryside in a modern sixties home, Heath remembers an upbringing spent outdoors, where she became intrigued with visions of scale; her mother’s crafts were also a deep influence.
She started her career in costume design and was moved to create a set from paper for Dazed, which turned into requests for shop windows and later collaborations with Tim Walker.
Heath’s creative process begins with words or an image, but usually, the former encourages original image-making and visualizing.
She sees tools like AI as potentially good research tools but detrimental to her own particular craft; its use depends on the artist and their authenticity.
She recommends working independently rather than starting as an assistant to an established artist, as then you know how to forge your own path first.
Though she used to feel that she experienced “excessive input” when doing a project, she now feels she can better communicate her vision and appease clients and collaborators up front.
She prefers the immediacy and direct access of working in photography to working on film sets; Heath remarks she wouldn’t be interested in doing a period piece that didn’t have an added element of creativity like Poor Things—a film she worked on with James Price, whose decades of film expertise Heath leaned on.
Fashion’s tendency for retro revisits and zeitgeist trends plays well into her work (as opposed to interior design, which she says has more of a lag time between trends and the trend’s appearance in the culture).
Her work on Poor Things won her an Academy Award for Best Production Design.

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29min
August 19, 2024The Muse and the Dream: Dara's Story
Dara is a model, stylist, and fashion director at Interview magazine. From her beginnings in San Diego to the iconic runways of New York, Dara speaks of a journey that is a testament to creativity and conviction. Recognized for her bold, visionary style, she views fashion as an art of crafting desire and glamour, where the method of persuasion is as crucial as the message itself. Her styling for Hunter Schafer and Troye Sivan highlights a unique blend of raw talent, intuitive expertise, and hard work. She’s walked the runways for Marc Jacobs, Kenzo, and Moschino; posed across the pages of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar; and styled for an impressive array of brands like Calvin Klein, Tom Ford, and Miu Miu. What she sees as contemporary now is everyday optimism—and fluidity in interpretation, just like images.
Episode Highlights:
Growing up in San Diego with a creative mother and a pop-culture-obsessed father, Allen recalls watching Disney movies, writing in cursive, immersing in arts and crafts, and wanting to be an animator.
She describes herself as a child being in her own “little world,” a feeling that contributed to her strong sense of self as an adult.
With a level of conviction required for creative pursuits and an early interest in image-making, Allen cherishes the performative aspects of both modeling and styling.
Her career in New York took off quickly, through connections to Candy magazine, the VAQUERA label, and stylist Ian Bradley.
Allen says the unique thing about her generation’s access to information—and noise—is “this real emphasis on understanding your history and the context and everything that kind of surrounds what we’re doing.”
Allen became fashion director at Interview magazine, thinking of the role as writing with clothes and writing with photos.
She recognizes a sense of absurdity in the fashion world and emphasizes the performative aspects of everyday life.
When asked what’s contemporary now, Allen says, “optimism; levity,” and speaks to enjoying even the challenging parts of the work, and fluidity.

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34min
August 12, 2024Zoe Ghertner on the Importance of Connection in a Fast World
Zoe Ghertner is a photographer renowned for captivating work blending art, fashion, and documentary storytelling. With a keen eye for detail and an innate sense of composition, Ghertner’s imagery transcends conventional boundaries. A New York native based in Los Angeles, her work often reflects the vibrant energy and diverse landscapes of Southern California. Ghertner’s portfolio includes collaborations with leading fashion brands, such as Miu Miu, Chloe, Wales Bonner, and Hermès, as well as publications, such as American and British Vogues, i-D, Self Service, and W. Through her lens, she invites viewers into a world where reality and imagination converge.

Episode Highlights:
Ghertner had a very imaginative childhood, where she learned the importance of positive, clear messaging.
Ghertner has partnered with Fee Steinvorth to create neoNutritions, a new vision of wellness rooted in spirituality and connection, with more of an interconnected focus on education compared to other health and beauty regimes.
She sees what’s contemporary now as a sense of connectedness that resonates despite a modern overabundance of images.
Saying that photography and consumerism go hand in hand, Ghertner speaks to the struggle to achieve and sustain commercial success while also holding to the values deeply rooted in her work, such as unwavering attention to her subjects.
Despite working with digital imagery and print media across personal projects and commercial collaborations, Ghertner says each effort informs another and that she’s a natural multihyphenate creator.
Her first shooting of model Małgosia Bela was a breakthrough in “being able to work with someone with skills and ability.” She went through a phase of digging deeply into her subjects before garnering enough experience to represent that research and those conversations in the final imagery.
The support of women in the industry—such as Phoebe Philo, Miuccia Prada, Grace Wales Bonner, and Gabriella Hearst—has “allow[ed] me to grow and step into their worlds, which expands what my picture is about as well.”
Speaking to how images can traumatize or trigger elements of culture as a whole, Ghertner says her reaction to the male gaze and mental health advocacy are “a big part of the what and the why of how I’m making the pictures I make.”
Having moved to warm and sunny California to experience a better quality of life, Ghertner experienced a shift in perspective akin to experiencing motherhood for the first time and creating a new body of work—and a new book.

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28min

FAQs about What's Contemporary Now?:

How many episodes does What's Contemporary Now? have?

The podcast currently has 69 episodes available.

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