A Feel For Fashion: Ben Cobb

Ben Cobb is the editor for the Evening Standard's ES Magazine. Previously, he was the editor-in-chief of Another Man for 10 years and Co-editor-in-chief of LOVE magazine. A renowned fashion journalist and tastemaker, he is widely known for his unique tailored style with its undeniable nod to the '70s. Cobb is also a true film connoisseur. He wrote the biography of filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky and has produced short films for Nicholas Winding Refn.

What creates an emotional response for you in fashion today? 

It's always the same things: beauty, elegance, escape, fantasy.

What are you most curious to know about how designers work, how a collection comes together?

I’m interested in starting points — the inspiration and references — and how this translates into the clothes.
 

In what ways are you seeing progress in fashion mirroring progress in the wider world? 

Sadly, so much progress and change is performative. Fashion is good at dressing the surface — it's an image-based industry, after all. But authentic, fully integrated progress? We've got a long way to go.

If you could change one aspect of how we experience fashion today, what would it be?

I would like there to be less.
 

What stands out as the most potentially disruptive influence on fashion in the near future?

I don't think it's AI, I think that will be just another tool in the creative process. The most disruptive influence on fashion is its need to be entertaining. For better or for worse, the fashion industry is now showbusiness.