Taste. A word once revered, now makes us shudder.
For centuries we have tried to define, refine and acquire it. And yet in this moment, we seem more intent than ever on proving we possess it. As a social discourse, taste has reached saturation; its codes repeated to the point of consensus. Tasteful, once understood as a reflection of our values and instinct, is now algorithmic. And just as taste was heralded as a critical faculty to edit our way through artificial intelligence, our deep obsession with it seems intent on killing it. Death by preoccupation.
But what of the tyranny of taste? Its disciples use it to denote belonging: a covert but instantly recognisable bag of finely grained calfskin. The precisely garnished martini set against an identifiable restaurant table. A high-contrast custom serif font. Donald Judd minimalism. The ‘copy-paste’ cult around certain tastemakers where who you follow and fan over defines you.
We discern and curate to differentiate ourselves as cultured, considered, elevated. As being of taste. And yet somewhere in amongst our watching, studying, saving and compiling, we have arrived at something John Waters called “creatively nauseating”.
Because isn’t taste supposed to be about something much more internal? A conviction. An inexplicable pull in arbitrary directions. An expression of our unique lived experience; all we have seen, felt and loved.
Doesn’t it have a place in creation? In resistance?
One could argue bad taste has never stood in the way of progress, insecurity around taste has. The kind that makes us reliant on others to tell us if it’s ‘good’ before allowing ourselves to like it.
This issue is a call for permission to choose something more intuitive. Something that feels more us. An encouragement to live without a reference. To follow the inexplicable pull. To be on a whim.
Did you know that Judd had more than 13,000 books in his library? But it wasn’t just a canon of literature, philosophy and architecture. There were Icelandic sagas, supernatural stories on ghosts and Mexican cookbooks. For all the precision of his work, his curiosity and inspirations were broad and untethered.
Perhaps this is taste. Not the curated bookcase but freedom in what we choose to put on it.
Our taste is our own. Or it should be. Let Taste Live.
Experience the Let Taste Live issue in its entirety this September, available on newsstands from Monday 7 September 2026, and through our online shop. Find a stockist near you.
PHOTOGRAPHY Daphne Nguyen @ B&A
FASHION Hannah Cooper
MODEL Josephen Akuei @ Priscillas
HAIR Pete Lennon @ AP—REPS
MAKEUP Isabella Schimid
DIGITAL OPERATER David Deas
PHOTOGRAPHER’S ASSSITANT Nick Shaw
SECOND PHOTOGRAPHER’S ASSSITANT Marcus Solomon
STYLIST’S ASSISTANT Koby Dulac-Daley
SECOND STYLIST’S ASSISTANT Jade Carpenter
Feature image: DIOR jacket, skirt, shoes and bag; TIFFANY & CO. earrings and rings.
