An Exclusive Sneak Peek Inside mixed feeling’s First Print Issue
In a thrilling turn of events, Polyester favourites and collaborators mixed feelings are turning their hand to print with the launch of The Medievalist, a limited edition mag exploring the current obsession with “medievalcore” in pop culture. This brand new offering explores medievalism’s place in literature, fantasy, food and fashion today.
From recipes to poems, art and essays, this 48 page issue is the deep dive into romantasy and Ren Faires that we’ve all been waiting for. In this exclusive sneak peek before tomorrow’s launch, mixed feelings preview pictures from the inaugural edition and answers our questions about the new publication.
“I’ll admit when I pitched a medieval package to our founding editor, Mi-Anne Chan, I did it out of pure selfishness. I’m 1) a passionate nerd and 2) in love with things that are gaudy, over the top, and freaky.” Logan Tsugita, art director at mixed feelings tells us. “Within the mixed feelings visual universe, we like to create worlds. And world building in a medieval setting? That’s just nerd 101. I took inspiration from the many hours I’ve logged listening, watching, and playing Dungeons & Dragons. I got really into Berserk (for a couple days) and for some reason I became so obsessed with Tim Curry’s performance as the Lord of Darkness that I watched the 1985 Ridley Scott movie Legend starring Tom Cruise… twice. (It’s bad).”
Logan continues, “The issue is filled with a mix of realistic medieval analysis and also moments of hard fantasy. I’m not a medieval scholar like some of our contributing writers, so I hope people don’t mind that I colored outside the lines. I wanted people to feel pulled to play, to dress up, and to fantasize. Plus, Mi-Anne said mf can be “a little hornier this year” and I really took that to heart. I think when times are tough, people tend to get even more cartoonish. We revert into archetypes, play like we’re kids, and get back into collecting toys. And times are definitely tough, so why not pick up a sword and some fake animal ears?”
“I’ve loved mixed feelings since its conception! I wrote my first piece for them about lip combos a couple of years ago and it feels so full circle to be doing makeup for such a fun shoot. This whole production has been such a sweetly quirky culmination of talent and passion, and it makes me feel so seen.” Anya Tisdale, the multidisciplinary artist and content creator spotlighted in these images adds. “Everyone worked incredibly hard on bringing all of these visuals to life and creating a whole world inside of the mf universe — I think world building is so important in any form of media and everyone at mixed feelings is so great at doing that. You can really see everyone’s individual creativity shine in this production. It’s awesome to be a part of.”
“When Anya signed on to do makeup and model for this photo spread, I had this idea of her becoming two characters that interacted with each other even though they exist in different realms. I pitched her two separate looks that I called “The City Knight” and “The Cursed Fae”. One would be a steadfast and serious knight and the other a faun from a deadly fairy realm, inspired by the Fey Wild in D&D. In my photo series, the knight calls upon any form of magic or god for power and the faun answers her call by plane-shifting to her realm and gifting her with cursed magic.” Logan notes. “So a lot went into this spread, but I think what really makes it sing is the intricate makeup looks by Anya, the styling from Mi-Anne and Amalie MacGowan, our editorial director, and the final editing of the photos.
The Medievalist will be available to purchase from 15th August via mixed feelings or Soho News International.
