ISSUE 17: THE CONNECTION ISSUE

For their 17th issue, “The Connection,” HYPEBEAST takes a look at the merging of fashion and sports as embodied by the emoji-touting, millennial soccer star Paul Pogba, who is featured in the cover story. He speaks to us about his meteoric rise to the heights of the sport at Juventus and Manchester United, as well as his effortless injection of a new pop culture sensibility into the beautiful game.

They also visited the meticulously organized studio of prolific contemporary artist Tom Sachs to gain insight into his outlandish creations that blend themes of space exploration with icons of American consumer culture. Elsewhere, HYPEBEAST takes a look at how digital artist Randy Cano traverses the uncanny valley with his psychedelic 3D animations which evoke equal parts fascination and repulsion, granting him a degree of Internet infamy.

Connection also serves to bridge one’s past with their present to powerful effect. The team interviews A-COLD-WALL* founder Samuel Ross, who connects his own childhood in Britain’s council estates to the austere, classless aesthetic of his designs in the midst of the country’s brewing class conflict. In remnants of another childhood, Korean punk designer Bajowoo frankly recounts the curious effect that his pharmacist father had on the creation of his anarchic label, 99%IS-. They also grappled with the curious dissonance between the heavily tattooed, bar-spitting public face of Japanese rapper KOHH, and his reserved, private self in his Tokyo suburban home.

With this issue, HYPEBEAST has also revamped the guide to highlight six spaces across the world that are changing the face of retail and hospitality by connecting disparate influences to create novel experiences — their picks include a Hong Kong restaurant packed to the brim with street art, and a Spanish church-turned-skate park.