Welcome to My Inaugural Newsletter

The new weekly dispatch from the desk of Derek C. Blasberg

In many ways, this was inevitable. I love writing. Always have. And, I’ve spent the last two decades doing everything possible to stay digitally relevant. Friendster, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat. Wait, whatever happened to BeReal? I guess it was either launch a Substack or write erotic poetry for OnlyFans.

So, here we are. Welcome to AND ANOTHER THING!

To my new friends: Hi, it’s great to meet you. I’m a Missouri-born, Manhattan-based writer, editor, and curator. I’ve spent my entire career in the style space, more of a cheerleader than a critic. I’ve attended hundreds (maybe thousands?) of fashion shows and exhibition openings, and I still get goosebumps when the lights go down on a runway or I climb into a tuxedo for a night at a museum. Pinch me!

To my old friends: Thanks for sticking around. This fall will mark my 25th year as a New Yorker, which blows my mind because I still identify as a small-town boy trying to make it in the big city. I only lived in Missouri for 18 years, but I’ll never lose my Midwest twang. Hi, Mom!

What can you expect from my new corner of the internet? AND ANOTHER THING is a weekly dispatch—part diary, part time capsule, everything that’s lingering in my mental inbox. I’ll share where I’ve been, who I’ve seen, and, obviously, what they were wearing. Come here for personal photos, stories, observations, and the kind of style-adjacent wisdom one collects after working in the fashion, art, entertainment, and tech worlds for a quarter century.

I’ll share the articles that my friends are dissecting in our group chats—and I'd love to hear what you think about them, too. For example, Sofia Coppola’s recent i-D cover story sparked a lot of wistful millennial reminiscences among my girlfriends, who also hunted for Easter eggs in her daughter Romy’s recent TikTok. (Is that a camera-shy Sofia buried in a copy of ‘HTSI,’ the Financial Times supplement? And are her pink PJs from Schostal?) I’ve been envious of the 27-year-old who speaks dozens of languages and surprises tourists with his mastery of dialects. (I minored in Spanish at New York University and I’ve retained nada of it.) A continued hot topic: What do we think about the current rounds of fashion designer musical chairs? Who’d have thunk the old designer from Gucci would now be at Valentino, the old Valentino designer would be at Balenciaga, and the guy who was at Balenciaga would be at Gucci, like a fashion industry daisy chain? (I’m a prude, so please tell me if I’m using ‘daisy chain’ in a sexually appropriate context.) Speaking of sartorial unhibitions, I’m happy to flesh out Alexander Skarsgård’s recent red-carpet forays with anyone in the comments section.

I’m also looking forward to recapping articles I write elsewhere, such as my DISPATCH column in Harper’s Bazaar and the ‘Fashion + Art’ series at Gagosian Quarterly, and providing some behind-the-scenes context to them. In February’s issue of Harper’s Bazaar, I wrote about taking Pamela Anderson for lunch to celebrate her critically acclaimed performance in Gia Coppola’s film ‘The Last Showgirl.’ The thought of breaking bread with the ultimate ‘Baywatch’ babe would have made my suburban teenage self squeal. (What? Like you didn’t watch ‘Baywatch’? By the way, where is the David Chocachi Renaissance?)

When I get the hang of things in this Substack universe, I’m looking forward to hosting private Q&As, creating videos, and all the other fun stuff I see folks doing around here. But let’s take it slow, Substack.

And oh yeah, throwbacks! I’m proud of my history in this business, and I’m happy to revisit my highlights. Some of you may remember my Interview magazine column ‘Fast + Louche’ from 15 years ago. Recently, I was digging around an old hard drive and unearthed a file of layouts, and—wow—they read like they were faxed from another dimension. How many of you know what a fax machine is? (Please, lie to me if you don’t.)

More importantly, what will you not find on my Substack? For one, recipes. The only thing I know how to make in the kitchen is reservations. If you’re here for tips on how to make banana bread, keep scrolling. I also don’t care about cryptocurrencies (didn’t we learn our lesson with NFTs?) or fad workouts. For the record, I’m a Barry’s bootcamp enthusiast, and, no, that’s not an #ad. (Not yet? Barry, DM me!)

Lastly, this isn’t a political forum. I find the offensive rhetoric of Trumpism as exhausting and dangerous as you do, and yes, public policy may come up from time to time, because how can it not? (Leave NPR alone, for F’s sake.) However, plenty of newsletters are already dedicated to dissecting every single day’s political crises. (I’m looking at you News Not Noise, the column started by my friend, former White House correspondent Jessica Yellin.) I want this space to be devoted to people who crave enlightened conversations around style, art, interiors, parties, and the general, chaotic glamour of the zeitgeist.

By the way, that doesn’t mean this world can’t be serious. What we wear, the things we put on our walls, the movies we pay to see, the places we dine—all of these represent who we are and what we want in our lives. I love exploring how pop culture reflects our times, and I’m annoyed by trolls who think creative people are flippant or irrelevant in moments like these. Please, consider this a safe space for fashion fans.

A newsletter like AND ANOTHER THING has been on my mind for a long time. When I met Emily Sundberg from Feed Me over vodka martinis last summer, she became my millennial muse. I got home and scrawled “Launch a Substack” on a Post-It note, which is still stuck here on my laptop. Confession: One reason it took me so long to launch was that I couldn’t decide on a name for it. At first, I was going to call it SOCIAL CLIMBING, but I thought it was too on the nose. I worried UNDER THE INFLUENCE, which was a reference to the creator economy, might have been misunderstood by my mom’s sorority sisters. Finally, out came AND ANOTHER THING, which I say in my “creepy drunk uncle” voice every time I type it. This feels like the right moment to pull the trigger, and I’m excited to lean into your inboxes.

One final thought: I turned 43 last month. On my birthday, I posted a pic of 18-year-old me on Instagram to honor my younger self, a closeted gay guy who dreamed of moving to New York and becoming a fashion professional and starting a family. If you forgot to give me a present, consider subscribing to my newsletter. Or, even better, forward this newsletter to your most culturally astute, best-dressed friends. Of course, no pressure to go PAID right away—let’s pace ourselves. Get to know each other a bit, and see how this goes.

Wow, thanks for reading all the way to the bottom! I’ll see you next week.

Stay safe and chic,

Derek C. Blasberg