When we started thinking about The Agency Issue, our minds automatically turned to establishmentarian entities – corporations, government – agencies centered around stability and control. Yet Agency also denotes autonomy – and the responsibility, hard work and failures which come with it. The faces within this latest issue of HYPEBEAST Magazine are those who, after paying their dues, are now making the most of their achievements. This issue follows their uphill journeys as they carve out their places in the world.
The Agency Issue has a decidedly rebellious streak. In typical Palace-fashion, the skate team risked life and limb for this issue’s cover, skating into oncoming traffic alongside the fuzzy tri-ferg character who made his first appearance on Instagram as @gassy_unboxer420, the label’s troll unboxing account. As Palace turns ten years old, Lev and Gareth tell us about the label’s motley beginnings, just as tongue-in-cheek now as they were in their irreverent younger days. Ai Weiwei, highly experienced in the art of sticking it to the man, gives us his thoughts on activism today and what it takes to live a meaningful life. Willo Perron, the man responsible for giving us iconic imagery the likes of 808s & Heartbreak and 4:44, speaks to us about how he unintentionally formed the now-ubiquitous role of creative director and on breaking into the art-fashion industries with Kanye back in the days when it was still hard to imagine the two side-by-side.
However preoccupied this generation may be with
looming environmental worries and bleak dreams of homeownership, sometimes there’s humble cause to celebrate; we have yet to witness another time in history where every individual has been so free to be their
own person.
We speak to Mat and Robbie from Bravado, the minds behind merch for the likes of Astroworld and Kids See Ghosts, and why it’s more than just a T-shirt. Paria Farzaneh, one of London’s top emerging designers, tells us about what it’s like to break into the fashion industry on her own. Another story of freedom won through hardship is that of Scott Tepper, who tells us about his days sneaking into F.I.T. design courses, the exact number of photos currently on his phone (42,708), and on keeping Ignored Prayers a creative agent free from commercial pressure. Then there’s the photo essay from SHABBAAAAA.
HYPEBEAST Magazine Issue 24: The Agency Issue is a collection of stories which demonstrate just how much sacrifice and blind, bullish stubbornness is needed to bring a vision to life. Yet this snippet of conversation with Mr. Ai Weiwei probably sums it up better than we can: “It brought me some very beautiful moments, and of course a lot of hurt and struggle. But it’s worth it, you know.”
HYPEBEAST Magazine Issue 24: The Agency Issue is now available on HBX.com and at select retailers,
specialty bookshops and newsstands around the world.
HYPEBEAST
ISSUE #24
THE AGENCY ISSUE
MAGAZINE
HYPEBEAST
THE AGENCY ISSUE
ISSUE #24
