Alister Mackie has made a name for himself in both the print and the fashion industry, thriving in a highly competitive environment. Whether serving as a creative director for a magazine or styling runway shows, his work is distinct and memorable. We are very grateful to have had the opportunity to talk to Alister and touch on various topics, from his early inspirations to smoking in classrooms. We hope you take something away from this just as we did!
HELLO ALISTER! TO START, I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW WHAT YOUR FIRST INTRODUCTION TO PRINT WAS AND IN PARTICULAR, WAS THERE A MAGAZINE YOU CAN REMEMBER BEING DRAWN TO AND ENJOYING?
The magazine that I bought and read myself was SMASH HITS. It came out every two weeks and I would buy and re-read it, cutting out the pop stars I liked. I felt a connection to the writers and the humour in the interviews. I would have been 14/15 years old in 1984/85, so there were a lot of amazing pop stars around I liked, like The Smiths, The Cure, Annie Lennox, Marc Almond…
But the first fashion magazine I bought was ID, the issue with Sarah Stockbridge on the cover, wearing the Westwood crown, in 1986. I had no clue what it was, but the cover spoke to me and I quickly became obsessed with everything in it.
I was living in suburban Scotland and the London scene seemed so far away, and so exciting. I fantasised about being there. I would send off for badges, posters, and anything associated with ID and then later, THE FACE. I read all the books they recommended and tried to see all the films. The clothes seemed like a long way off at this point—way too expensive.
FROM STUDYING FASHION DESIGN AT Central Saint Martens, WHAT WAS IT THAT MOVED YOU INTO STYLING?
At CSM, as we prepared for our MA graduation show, I began to learn what styling was, without realising there was no actual title or job description, but it was essentially the invention of the characters that would wear the clothes. This became the most important element to me in preparing the presentation.
I was learning about street casting, makeup, hair, what the shoe sizes were, what music they liked, and everything that made them come alive. I made jewellery and put their names on the clothes. It became very personal.
HOW WAS THE EXPERIENCE OF WORKING AT DAZED UNDER KATY ENGLAND?
I was assisting Katy England at the same time I was at CSM throughout my second year. Being on set with her and getting excited about ideas, roaming around London hunting for vintage stuff or going out, the experience was invaluable—it was a really formative time for me. We worked together and went out a lot getting dressed up—without realising I was learning a lot while having a great time.
I must also mention Louise Wilson, my teacher at CSM, she was more than a mentor to me, I had a deep affection for her and would spend as much time as possible in her office.
Smoking when allowed, eating sweets whilst watching her direct the fittings with other students—everyone who studied with her will tell you how much they learned.
She was both blunt and sophisticated at the same time, serving both wit and drama and often fear.
HAVING SUCH A DISTINCT STYLE OF YOUR OWN…WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR BIGGEST INSPIRATIONS?
Early inspiration was Derek Jarman. His films were being played on Channel 4 around 1986 when I was 16. I taped them and watched them over and over not fully understanding them, but there was this queerness that I was attracted to. He inspired me to apply to the Glasgow School of Art to study painting, where I met him…
My biggest inspiration to go to Saint Martins was John Galliano, his drawings spoke to me from an early age, it is why I wanted to go to London to study, so I applied and got on the MA course.
YOU’VE WORKED WITH SO MANY INCREDIBLE NAMES AND RESPECTED CREATIVES. HOW DO YOU FIND THE PROCESS OF COLLABORATING? AND HOW IMPORTANT DO YOU FEEL COLLABORATION IS?
I like to collaborate, it’s very important to keep things moving but you have to be able to negotiate and allow others to take over when it’s their turn. Some people cannot handle this, they have to control everything which eventually results in stiffness.
It takes a certain confidence to be able to share ideas and truly collaborate.
I was lucky to work with very strong designers like Alexander Mcqueen and Marc Jacobs, great talents, who themselves collaborated with film-makers, artists, and choreographers, so I saw this happening at an early stage.
HOW WAS THE LEOPARD BORN? IT’S SO GENEROUS IN CONTENT, THE MIXING OF EDITORIALS, ART, INTERIORS AND VINTAGE PRINT THROUGHOUT IT’S BEAUTIFULLY DONE.
The Leopard Issue One came from a desire to make a magazine project with no “credits”. Working on Another Man, it had become very advertiser or celebrity-driven, and I wanted to make something cultural that was “queer“ to me and very lo-fi. So I got a very small team—all local—and we worked from my studio.
The meetings were really fun and informal, and most of the commissioning or reaching out was done on Instagram. It was very casual, like 90’s style.
Fashion shoots were done in our local area and we photographed students and young designers.
We combined this with the archive features of people we felt have a similar point of view and are exploring ideas of personal intimate art and self-promotion or self-projection.
It all worked and had a cult title feeling to it. In no small part down to the graphic design by Jaimie Reid and the team who put it together and created the punky lux look and feel of it.
I CAN ONLY IMAGINE THE ARCHIVE YOU HAVE. WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVOURITE THINGS THAT YOU’VE COLLECTED?
The most special thing in my archive is a scrapbook from Cecil Beaton. It’s a big leather-bound album from 1970, which he has stuck in photo prints, magazine cuttings, invitations, correspondence and anything else he felt like. It’s been done over a year and it’s almost like a for-runner of something like Instagram. Obviously, it’s been done with incredible taste.
It’s something very precious to me, as the idea of collecting and combining images has always been inspiring.
I also have a set of Avant-garde magazines, including a hand-printed issue with Marylin Monroe printed in fluorescent ink—the images are very beautiful.
This is really a great inspiration for magazine making and taking the idea of a magazine as art. I’ve collected After Dark Magazine and FILMS AND FILMING—both great 70’s titles. In fact, most of the best things are from that time.
We hope you have enjoyed reading such a unique and invaluable insight into the personal experience of such an exceptional creative and his thoughts on working within two major industries. A massive thank you and a huge amount of appreciation for Alister for taking the time out to speak to us, looking forward to seeing more of your work throughout The Leopard, Scenery and more soon!
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The latest issue of Scenery is now available.