Dazed

Dazed - Autumn 2024

For the Impossible issue of Dazed, we celebrate the creative talents harnessing the power of the mind to move mountains: the dreamers, schemers and over-achievers who hurdle the impossible to embrace a future they refuse to stop believing in.

Lighting the way on our covers, self-styled ‘celestial being’ Ayra Starr brings her authentic Afrobeats style to a story lensed by Zora Sicher; Latin trap star Bad Bunny sets the scene for a new musical era by delving into his Puerto Rican past; and Central Cee reflects on the thin line between survival and success in a cover moment captured by Erika Kamano. UK pop trio FLO present a united front ahead of their debut-album reveal; Willow Smith shines bright in a psychedelic cover from

Lea Colombo, reflecting the soul-searching pop star’s wild ride to date; and model Nyajuok Gatdet shimmers under a high desert sun for photographer Mikael Jansson.

It’s an issue steeped in magical thinking, from the fabulist vision of Lagos author Eloghosa Osunde to the absurdist dance-parties bringing cosplaying Batmen and sexy parkour to the streets of Brazil.

Time to stop living “in someone else’s dream”, as Privatise the Mandem author Nabil-Al Kinani says in astory on the future of collective living, and start turning our own into reality.

THE COVERS

FLO
Through heartbreaks and setbacks, Britain’s best young girl group are back with a killer debut showcasing their unbreakable bond, captured in a story lensed by Thurstan Redding and styled by Dazed editor-in-chief Ibrahim Kamara.

WILLOW SMITH
The Smith-family scion opens up on bust-ups with her dad and adventures with ayahuasca in a story to set the senses ablaze, lensed by Lea Colombo and styled by Dazed fashion director Imruh Asha.

AYRA STARR
Photographer Zora Sicher and stylist Kyle Luu bear witness to a sun-kissed coming of age from the Nigerian Afrobeats queen, forced to dig deep after her star-making debut.

CENTRAL CEE
After years spent searching for a future big enough to accommodate his dreams, the London rap star lets it all hang out in a story shot by Erika Kamano and styled by Zara Mirkin.

BAD BUNNY 
He sent streaming records tumbling with his raucous blend of reggaeton, pop, and Latin trap sounds – now, Bad Bunny teams up with photographer Theo Liu and stylist Georgia Pendlebury as he goes back to his Boricua roots.

MK.GEE
A true guitar god for our post-everything musical times, the Philly musician revs up for greatness in a story shot by Quentin de Briey and styled by Imruh Asha.

NYAJUOK GATDET
Photographer Mikael Jansson and Ibrahim Kamara go deep into the desert’s mystery with the South Sudanese model in an otherworldly fashion special.

THE FEATURES

VAGABONDS!
Dreams and reality collide in the magic-realist work of Eloghosa Osunde, who plans to bring her Lagos-set debut novel to the screen.

NO PLANET B?
With the news of a new planet potentially hospitable to life on our cosmic back door, four thinkers give their galaxy-brained take on our future among the stars.

GAO HANG
Utopian ghosts of our digital past pervade the work of the Texas-based artist, who opens up here on the “chaos” inside of him.

Kwanda Forever
Meet the man behind Kwanda, a philanthropic platform campaigning for a more socially just model of fundraising.

THE GAME OF LIFE
It’s your life, as the saying goes, but how to actually live it? Let Becky Burgum be your guide to gaming a system that’s increasingly stacked against us.

THE FULL REPORT
As life on the frontlines of the Israel-Palestine conflict grows ever-more unbearable, citizen journalists are risking their lives – and those of their families – to bear witness to the truth.

WE BUILT THIS CITY
'Privatise the Mandem' author Nabil Al-Kinani and architectural TikTok star Noris Obijiaku share their blueprint for a new era of collective living.

US ELECTIONS SPECIAL 
As Americans head to the polls in a make-or-break moment for democracy, Scout Brobst dives head-first into the madness of the 2024 US presidential elections, from Maga cultists to kids gone coco for Kamala.

TRENZINHOS
An eye-popping report on the rise of the trenzinhos, roving spectacles of the absurd bringing fantasy to the back streets of Brazil.

Cover Price: £5.99