Highsnobiety Magazine Issue 16 – Lil Miquela

Highsnobiety Issue 16 will explore the theme of “Awakening." In a post-“fake news” world, where influencers—and wannabe influencers—curate their lives to appeal to Instagram’s almighty algorithm, Lil Miquela jolts us from our dead-eyed scroll and gives us a one-way ticket to the uncanny valley. At over 1.1M Instagram followers (and counting), she is the world’s biggest computer-generated influencer. Her mere existence challenges our assumptions of “reality.”

As the founding principles of the genre continue to be watered down for the masses, FTP (FUCKTHEPOPULATION) are militantly dedicated to streetwear’s underground, uncomfortable roots. They’re as far from the Paris runways today as Supreme was in 1995, and they wouldn’t have it any other way. We asked FTP to “hijack” our cover. Their approach? A “rest in power” tribute to the departed Chicago drill pioneer Fredo Santana. A portion of proceeds from this cover (and the sales of an accompanying Highsnobiety/FTP Fredo Santana T-shirt) will go to support Santana’s child. We also profile a range of independent thinkers across fashion, music, and design, including LA-by- way-of- D.C. songstress Kelela, NYC creative studio LQQK, Atlanta music producer Metro Boomin, inimitable Italian clothing brand Stone Island, Canadian street fashion pioneer Raif Adelberg, and many others to share their stories and outlook on the state of our world.