This was a very good talk. I don't mean to sound surprised - I wasn't - but it's worth stating plainly how good this podcast interview with Aleks Cvetkovic was.
It was fun - we laughed and said 'exactly!' a lot. But it was also substantive. Not too much about how I started (which everyone's heard by now) but about whether honest reviews have a place in fashion; about Aleks's experiences of working at menswear magazines; and about our aim for sustainability, not profit.
I want to do it all over again, but I'm not sure I can. At least until Season Two.
What does my average working week look like? Why am I writing about Margiela and Givenchy? What were Aleks's two beloved velvet jackets?
Hear it all in the podcast, embedded below.
Of course you can also hear the talk anywhere you get your podcasts, by searching for HandCut Radio.
This is episode 1 in Aleks's new podcast series, but he has actually release episodes 2 and 3 this week as well: with Isabel Ettedgui and a combined one with Tony Madsen-Sylvester and Scott Fraser.
I particularly recommend the second one. Neither are obvious people to get on a menswear series, but they're great value. Voices like theirs should be heard more.
Good luck to Aleks going forward, and I was honoured to be episode 1.
More on the HandCut Radio website here.
Your episode, and especially the one with Tony and Scott, were excellent. I like Blamo as well, but this is much more sharp. Less biography, more insight.
As expected, a fascinating interview! Well done to Aleks and Simon!
Hi Simon,
It’s funny that you mentioned it during the podcast: I am sort on the same spot as you, trying to educate my taste in furniture. Can you recommend any resources on the topic?
Like with menswear years ago, I find it hard to find something substantial, a part from glossy magazines.
Not currently, no Ludwig. Do let me know if you find anything you could recommend.
Really enjoyed this! Interesting, insightful and fun. I will be tuning into Hand Cut Radio on a regular basis.
Very interesting and enjoyable.
It’s amazing, with the exception of the internet, how much the future of fashion and media treads in the footprints of the past.
Substitute King’s Road for Clifford Street and Thackeray’s and The Village Gate for Drake’s and A&S Haberdashery and you’ve gone back to the future in a heartbeat.
Next, somebody – probably Simon – will be extolling the virtues of Basswegan boat shoes or rediscovering Timberland.
Probably the big difference today is the tremendous quality that brands like ‘Private White’ are putting out there and for the future I think that provenance and longevity are going to be significant factors. Our preoccupation with climate change will dictate that.
Hi Simon,
It was interesting that you mentioned during the conversation that you regard Permanent Style as a magazine. which I think is correct, given PS has many of the features (I don’t mean necesssarily text-only) one associates with a magazine. My question is: Does that mean you are considering the other feature of magazines – either now or in the future – subscription-only services? Cheers
Hi Ralph,
Thanks, and very good question. It is something we’ve looked at, but decided not to pursue for the moment. I think it’s hard to move from a free-content model to a subscription one, and the shop has been so well supported in recent years that it has done a very good job at funding Permanent Style’s work. To be honest I see that as a better long-term model for magazines: retail funding journalism.
Hi Simon, what suit are you wearing in the picture?
My Dege & Skinner tobacco linen
Great discussion, Simon.
Have long thought there ought to be a Permanent Style podcast. You hinted at the idea here – do you have plans to launch one?
Not currently Harry, sorry. It’s one too many things at the moment. It’ll be more video if anything – a bit more visual
Shame! But fair enough 🙂
Hi Simon,
For me your episode is a lonely high point, aside from a few (apparently accidental) entertaining biographical passages.
Hearing interviewees gush about their product or service to an interviewer armed only with mellifluous compliments is saccharine and infuriatingly boring.
It’s disappointing as it misses an opportunity to ask revealing questions & to inform us about the milieu of its unquestionably interesting guests.
There’s merit in aiming higher than being the podcast equivalent of The Rake’s advertorial fluff. This project, however, doesn’t venture there. Rather, it resembles a public relations consultant’s CV in audio form.
Pyc