The 2024 Slappy Awards
Year-end Excellence
Peace, Blessings, Joy and Gratitude upon you.
And speaking of Joy and Gratitude? 2024 was a joyous year for Blackbird Spyplane and mamma mia are we grateful. We held down our slot in the Top 10 of all Culture Sletters, occupying the impressive (yet satisfyingly “cult”) position of No. 9. We published award-winning swag-semiotical explorations into such topics as how “wack people” ruin things, the lie of “timeless style,” and the controversial, widespread use of affiliate links. We went to Paris Fashion Week, helped throw a fantastic party, and at times felt bad about ourselves before remembering that we are very cool and actually feel great about ourselves. We shared core Dos & Don’ts of a Mach 3+ lifestyle, and argued conclusively that streaming is an affront to God.
Also? We tapped in for interviews with SpyGOATS including Adam Sandler, Kim Gordon, John C. Reilly, Father John Misty, Rachel Kushner, Ezra Koenig, Clairo & Conner O’Malley. We put out an instant-sell-out shoe with Obōz, and the world’s swaggiest people loved it. We launched a rich index of all our Home Goods Recon and a brand-new G.I.F.T.S. List you can tap year-round…
That’s just a small slice of the excellence we were inspired to serve up by YOU, the greatest readership across all media. No wonder Business of Fashion inducted us into their illustrious BoF 500, the “definitive index of people shaping fashion.”
Today we’re serving up our annual Year-End Celebration of 2024’s slappiest
pants,
sneakers,
books,
movies,
TV,
music,
new podcast about clothes,
designers,
and more
Blackbird Spyplane remains a subscriber-supported miracle: We skip past the fake s**t and simply write about things because they rock and because we know they will improve your life. It’s called “unbeatable integrity,” and our Classified Tier Spyfriends make possible. Thank you.
Also, the sletter makes a true “gift that keeps on giving” — why not give your friends & loved ones a Classified blessing, too?
Enjoy the 2024 Slappies!
— Jonah & Erin
The Best Clothing Lines (unranked except for No. 1)
Jonah:
🏆 A. Presse - The concept seems familiar: a Japanese line does high-craft unisex takes on classic 20th century menswear styles. And yet! Thanks to the beautiful fabrics, the smart-but-roomy cuts, the styling, and the hushed colors (even the bright red is subtle), their clothes feel cleanly contemporary, exuding zero stuffy “heritage” energy. We first put A. Presse in the sletter in January; til now they’ve been tough to find outside of Japan, but they’re gonna hit a bunch more Mach 3+ shops around the world (shout out to the Spyfriends at Nitty Gritty, Union and Ven. Space for getting to them early) in 2025.
Yoko Sakamoto
Evan Kinori
Man-tle
James Coward
Dana Lee Brown
Auralee
Comoli
Camiel Fortgens
Lemaire
Erin:
🏆 SC103 — Sophie Andes-Gascon and Claire McKinney approach their NYC-made line like a wearable-art project. Equal emphasis on the art and the wearable. There’s something appealingly intimate and diary-like about their collections, full of idiosyncratic one-of-ones, fashioned from repurposed materials. The clothes can feel less cut-and-sewn than collaged together. The duo, who spent time working for Maryam Nassir Zadeh, seem to make only what they like, trusting that these clothes will find their people, “the specific is universal”-style.
Julia Heuer
Lauren Manoogian
Sono
Cristaseya
KasMaria
Cawley
Eleph
Nicholson & Nicholson
Eckhaus Latta
Boldest Spyplane 2024 Proclamation from January that proved true as f**k to the degree it’s gonna remain highly true in 2025 and beyond
The Dozen Slappiest Albums (unranked, but the first 3 are our Top 3)
🏆 Father John Misty, Mahashmashana — read our interview with Josh Tillman about the album and swag matters
🏆 Vampire Weekend, Only God Was Above Us — read our interview with Ezra Koenig about the album and swag matters
🏆 Kim Gordon, The Collective — read our interview with Kim about the album and swag matters
Nilüfer Yanya, My Method Actor
Cindy Lee, Diamond Jubilee
Oren Ambarchi, Johan Berthling, Andreas Werliin, Ghosted II
Mk.gee, Two Star and the Dream Police
Clairo, Charm — read our interview with Claire Cottrill about the album and swag matters
Clarissa Connelly, World of Work
Bladee, Cold Visions
Nala Sinephro, Endlessness
Hesaitix, Noctian Airgap
Most Cooked Graphic-Tee Style
The “ironic” “bootleg” “rap tee.” We’re obviously in a moment when all new graphic tees are on life support and should be subject to strict government quotas. But these specifically are an official no-go, having fully downward-spiraled from their charming “folk gem” origins into to the “abject Reddit Millennial bait” graveyard. This was clear to us when we saw Spyfriend Andrew Kuo tweet about the Aphex Twin design above right the other day…
Best Pants We Copped in 2024