Serial overachiever and perennial Best Dressed List inclusion Mitchell Oakley Smith has masterminded a men’s magazine that is intelligent, unpredictable and incontestably beautiful with his brainchild, Manuscript, a must-read among the locally produced mags on the news stand. Manuscript is all about a combination of powerful imagery, spotlighting unique artists and home grown talent. And who represents that criteria better than the latest cover guy (and nude centrefold) Kirin J Callinan, one of the most compelling performers currently creating music?
Mr Oakley Smith told Pedestrian: “When I first started commissioning stories for this issue, I didn’t realise that one would answer the question that another poses. That is: where have all the rock stars gone? Contributing Features Editor Jonathan Seidler bemoans the lack of sartorial, creative, emotional and sexual power of contemporary Australian music’s frontmen, citing Michael Hutchence and Nick Cave as some of the last true icons. And yet flick through the issue and there’s Kirin J Callinan, priest of the underground music scene, fresh off a global tour spruiking his new album.
“He’s got the stage tricks, the fashion wit and the musical talent that had so near vanished in the industry, which is probably why some people find his music so hard to digest. As the accompanying feature notes, at recent concerts there have been walkouts and punches thrown. Kirin has been made out somewhat negatively in the press, and his music videos, usually in collaboration with Kris Moyes, are aggressive, intense. He’s a subversive character, yes, but we wanted to strip all that back (literally so in one shot) and show a softer side – the polite, emotionally complex, intelligent being behind the stage persona.”
Mitchell Oakley Smith kindly gave Pedestrian an exclusive first look at the cover shoot of the bewitching Mr Callinan, photographed by Georges Antoni, styled with mohair turtlenecked precision by Jolyon Mason and grooming by Jenny Kim. The new issue hits news stands on Monday 9 September for $6. Learn more here.
