a mag · N^o8487

While we were at Merci, we met up with Dan Thawley, editor in chief of A Magazine Curated By. A Mag was founded in 2001 by Walter Van Beirendonck as a Belgian fashion magazine. In 2004, the magazine separated itself from other fashion magazines with a dynamic and unique concept: It started to invite international designers to curate each issue and feature personalized content inspired by that designer’s unique values, interests and inspirations.

Rodarte, a brand that embodies the California vibe we love, curated the most recent issue and British design duo Meadham Kirchoff will handpick the content of the next issue. In 2009, A Mag also launched A Blog, which features ongoing content centered on the past and present designers and contributors.

Over lunch, we talked with Thawley about the direction of the magazine.


When did you become the editor? What were you doing before?
I became editor in 2010, and have produced A#10 with Giambattista Valli and A#11 with Rodarte. Previously, I was online editor of A Blog as well as a freelance journalist for international titles, in-house with designers and other retail projects.

How do you pick the curators? Is there something that connects all of the curators from past, present and future issues?
We aim to target not only designers with a rich and long history, but new avant-garde names rising through the ranks for their dedication to a unique aesthetic and universe. What connects all our curators is the strength of their creativity, their aesthetic that extends beyond clothes.

The curators are always designers, but I know that you are also very interested by art. Do you think the magazine will ever expand and open up the curatorial position to artists or other types of creative people?
I like to think that the way we work now also offers a lot of creative freedom to the contributors within each designer's issue—hence offering artists and other creatives a lot of room to move and to contribute their work intuitively. We would love to title an artist as our curator one day, but perhaps that would be a different magazine then...

Who are some of your favorite designers and artists now?
We are always watching the Belgians, particularly with the exciting news of Raf Simons at Dior being on the tip of everyone's tongues. Coming out of London I'm interested to see the continuing evolution of designers such as Christopher Kane and Meadham Kirchhoff, and in Paris there are many new talents including the Chinese designer Yang Li (ex- Raf Simons) and talents like Damir Doma and Marco Zanini at Rochas. In art, I'm currently wishing to see the new Lucio Fontana retrospective at Gagosian in New York. I was impressed by Saatchi's Out of Focus exhibition featuring young talents in photography that opened last month in London.

How does the creative process work for each issue? Are the curators free to do whatever they want? How involved are you in the shaping of the content?
We offer carte blanche to the designer, meaning they are free to give whatever content ideas they like, and we help them to shape and realize those ideas by suggesting connections, inciting new collaborations and the logistical side of producing new content as well as sourcing existing content from galleries, institutions, companies and individuals across the globe.

What is next for the magazine?
We'll be launching two issues for 2013, with some unexpected and exciting new curators and special magazine formats that will enrich the A Magazine vision and make for even more collectible issues to come!