Last year, our art director, Chris Rowat, started advocating for us to stop using themes, which have been an integral framework of our magazine for 18 years. The gall of him.

The Power Issue. The Holy Issue. The Colour Issue. The Burl Issue. The Home Issue. The Obsession Issue. The Party Issue. Themes have been an essential editorial and design guide for our publication, particularly our features section. But after some good discussion, we decided to drop the themes. We’re not sure if it’s for good, but there’s something exciting about the strangeness of what’s unmapped. And, this is still a kick-ass issue, even without a theme. Enjoy #42.