The "Almost Famous" Issue and Why NYLON Earned the Premise

The "almost famous" conceit only works if the editors have actual taste—here are forty-five people you don’t know yet, pay attention. Most publications that attempt this kind of curation are just surfacing whoever already has the best publicist. NYLON was different, had been different since its 1999 launch, because it occupied the intersection of fashion and music as though the two things were naturally part of the same conversation rather than awkward co-tenants sharing a masthead. A band could appear between two fashion spreads without anyone having to explain why.

The issue was made available as a free PDF, which felt like the right distribution for a magazine that knew it was competing with screens rather than pretending it wasn’t. Forty-five newcomers, chosen by people who cared, in a format you could actually keep. The best magazine issues work like time capsules—here is what was about to happen—and this one did exactly that.