Photographer ILYA LIPKIN and fashion editor GERRY O’KANE shot a turbo story of nine men in fashion for our new issue, accompanied by a series of stunning short films. ■ You haven’t seen them yet? How come – they’re over on Instagram. ■ Actor JAMES COPESTAKE in GUCCI, TikTokker VICTOR KUNDA in PRADA, and many more. Consider this the official first glimpse of our 42nd issue full of glamour and intrigue… Officially out in print on 17 April.

Shoutout to ROMAIN KREMER, the French designer of CAMPER and MUGLER fame (who won the prize in Hyères 21 years ago, where we first met) for this new line of shoes. ■ Called MONTÀ, the shoes are crafted by utility shoe specialists SCHWANGAU in Hungary, so they’re sturdy and handsome. Above, that’s me on the left and ROMAIN on the right, both wearing the ‘Transfleuron’ low boot at ROMAIN’s Paris showroom last January. ■ The designer is redeveloping his eponymous label into a men’s couture line, alongside various design consultancies and this MONTÀ project. ■ I asked him earlier this week how he feels reflecting on this recent showroom season? “It allowed me to discuss the status of fashion today and what it could be tomorrow with many people from the industry. Lots of good stuff came out of it. One is to keep going, stay passionate, and do things your way. In a time when everything has to be so performative, I believe there’s only one way to go: your own.” 

Shoutout to MICHAEL BULLOCK, our friend and long-standing contributor. ■ MICHAEL has been working on a new book, out this week, about Fire Island and art. The magical strip of land not far from New York City has long been a magnet for the queerest of artists: OSCAR WILDE, WARHOL, MAPPLETHORPE, HUJAR, HOCKNEY, the list goes on. GRETA GARBO loved it there. JOHN & YOKO allegedly wrote ‘Double Fantasy’ on Fire Island. Sadly, Aids had a devastating effect on the island, and in the early 21st century it was regarded “tacky” and to-be-avoided. ■ But thanks to two local art initiatives, FIAR and BOFFO, the island is buzzing again. ‘Fire Island Art: 100 Years’ is a brilliant book that will have you dreaming of summer holidays instantly. With essays by AA BRONSON, SAM ASHBY, FABIO CHERSTICH and indeed MICHAEL BULLOCK (that’s him above, left, with PAUL KOPKAU in 2014, back when Hipstamatic was a default camera setting). Clothes off, dive in!

We made a collaborative capsule collection with MANGO, the omnipresent Spanish retailer! You’ll see and read a whole lot more about it in the new issue of Fantastic Man, but the 22-piece collection of fun, print-led garments will already be available from mid-next week. Keep your fashion eyes peeled…

And a shoutout to EDOARDO FERRARI, a recent Fantastic Man assistant who wrote a beefy 454-page tome about the relationship between fashion and graphic design. ■ EDOARDO conducted his research at JOP VAN BENNEKOM’s studio, resulting in ‘Il brusio della pratica – La dimensione operativa dei designer tra moda, graphic design e art direction’, entirely in Italian for your pleasure. I’m sure it’s good, and it looks great. ■ Given EDOARDO’s months spent in the studio archive, many of our magazines appear in the book. There’s even a picture of me (p.241) from 2000, unearthed from JOP’s legendary magazine ‘RE-’. ■ What did the process teach EDOARDO? “Learning the stories and processes behind every image and page is a complicated journey to undertake with a silent but narrative tool like printed matter. A personal mission was to establish the role of designer-as-author rather than just a problem solver. Within fashion and visual culture, you can truly see the potential for this freedom: the pleasure of trying, making and telling.” Indeed! ■ The book isn’t for sale, but a free PDF is available to all here.