IN CONVERSATION: BLAKE ABBIE, ALL IN THE EDIT

The eyewear aficionado trying out the latest arrivals in the MYKITA HAUS showroom.

A modern-day renaissance man, Blake Abbie is a writer, editor, actor, curator, and longtime friend of the MYKITA HAUS. On a recent visit to Berlin, we caught up with him to talk about his multifaceted career, his creative approach, and some of his latest projects.
 
The newest issue of A Magazine Curated By (Issue Nº29), is curated by Danish designer Cecilie Bahnsen. Framed by the question “What is forever?”, the issue unfolds as a meditation on the beauty of everyday moments – between parents and children, sisters and friends – and the formative experiences that continue to shape creativity.
 
Blake has also been instrumental in celebrating A Magazine’s 25-year anniversary, curating a two-part exhibition in Shanghai, A Culture of Convergence, showcasing both the designers from the history of A Magazine paralleled with an exhibition of 24 of China’s most visionary contemporary designers. From editorial storytelling to large-scale cultural projects, Blake moves seamlessly between worlds, shaping narratives that are as meaningful as they are visually striking.
 
Here, he talks to us about his upbringing, his creative philosophy, and the many roles he navigates across the worlds of publishing, fashion, and performance.
 

What can you tell us about the process behind A Magazine Curated By – does each contributor really take over?

Blake Abbie: Each issue is different: some people want to be very involved, others less so. Then it’s up to me and my team to respond and build something from that.  But it’s always a conversation, I make sure that each magazine includes an external point of view  ok their designer’s world as much as an internal one— you can’t always see yourself as well as others see you; that’s what makes this project so fascinating.

A Magazine Curated By is a bi-annual publication with each issue dedicated to a different fashion designer.

What kind of gets you going creatively, would you say? 

BA: I mean, I’m a very altruistic person. Every story I pitch has meaning; it can’t just look good. Even if I don’t spell it out, there’s always a reasoning behind our editorials. In our issue with Willy Chavarria, we had a portrait series by Stephan Ruiz of people who were formerly incarcerated, exploring their relationship with the American penal system and their lives after that – just beautiful portraits with quotes. And Peter Do’s issue focused on Vietnamese American stories. It wasn’t political, but it really affected the community, which is what I ultimately want to achieve with my work. Other issues, like Erdem’s, have conversations about queerness and family. With Cecilie’s issue, there’s a beautiful conversation between Sara Maino and her mother Carla Sozzani about their relationship which is really touching.
 

How does the process actually work? Do you approach people?

BA: It’s both; I do take time reminding the designers and teams we would like to make an issue with. But people do also approach us. Designers often want to do the magazine – it’s a bit of a creative’s dream. We’re lucky to have incredible designers in our history. But we don’t always say yes. It has to feel timely and authentic. 
 

So what would you say that you look for there? I mean, you said timeliness, authenticity…

BA: It’s not only about making beautiful clothes – a lot of people can do that. But I also need to see the world the designer is building, the community around it. That’s harder than it looks. It might sometimes feel too early, but we’ve always been right on time when the issue comes out.
 

Tell us a bit about your other life as an actor – how do you divide your time, around fifty-fifty?

BA: No, absolutely not fifty-fifty right now. I was on a reality show a couple of years ago – Bling Empire – but that wasn’t really acting. I was the relatable one. I took the train, I biked – that’s me. Doing that project was fun because, as an actor and editor, I had a feeling for how they would edit me. I wasn’t inauthentic, but I was conscious of drafting a narrative I felt comfortable with. LA producers often want a caricature – the queer leftist downtown guy, which is who I am, but you don’t want to be a caricature. I remember they told me my outfit wasn’t aspirational. I found that totally offensive, so I started wearing sweatpants – but from Eckhaus Latta (laughs). As an actor, it’s about knowing when to perform and when to hold back. There’s a lot of this mindset that I bring to the magazine too; getting into the brain of a designer is much like a character study.
 

I also read that you trained as a singer.

BA: Yeah, I studied classical singing in university and from that background studied German in Berlin – I was a West Berlin boy! Singing was my original passion and main form of expression. But it’s a very rigid life – you have to protect your voice. I wanted something a bit more free.

Blake wears sunglasses DADA from the DECADES collection.

Can you talk just a bit about how you grew up? What were you like as a kid?

BA: Oh, I was a precocious child, born in Montreal – my dad’s Scottish, my mom’s Chinese. I inherited a sense of resilience and determination from them; both grew up in hardship – my mom lived through the Chinese revolution, my dad through World War II. That striving for more has really shaped me. We moved to Toronto, then Vancouver, which is where my family is and where I really became myself. I grew up just five minutes from the water and the mountains. Vancouver also has an amazing art and music scene – a little hippie, a bit granola. I was fortunate to have First Nations elders visit my school, and that early exposure has had a lasting influence on how I approach storytelling and my work.

 
You divide your time between quite a few cities – where do you feel most at home?

BA: I spend most of my time in New York – maybe 50–60 percent. I also spend three to four months a year in Paris and Shanghai. So I feel most at home in between. My largest groups of friends are in New York and Shanghai.
 
Do you speak all those languages?

BA: I do.  I feel language is the only way to truly learn culture. The way a person thinks is so much connected to syntax and grammar. Like in English, there are virtually no rules, so we are these unpredictable anglophones. Chinese are very direct, also because the language is very direct. There's no past or present. It's straightforward.
 
So, what’s the role of eyewear in your world: utility, fashion, character, all of the above?

BA: I had glasses growing up, then contact lenses in adulthood. Now I see eyewear as an accessory – I don’t wear much jewellery, so I like playing with eyewear in that way. I have six pairs with me in Berlin right now: some sunglasses, some opticals with a bit of tint. 
 
Have you got a current favourite?

BA: You’ve probably seen me wearing the ALPINE quite a bit – amazing running glasses, I just ran a half-marathon in them. 
 
Thank you for this conversation, Blake, and enjoy your time in Berlin!