Limited Edition
ECLECTIC - Love who you are
We want to tell you something you might not already know. If you’re a regular reader of Sublime, then you are an eclectic, and that is no bad thing.
Someone is eclectic when they take and use elements from several different sources – religion, philosophy, style, culture, dogma – to forge their own set of beliefs, views, tastes and style, or simply their way of doing things.
The good thing about eclecticism is that it is not something that you can put a finger on. As soon as you try to classify or label it, you’ll fail.
Most contemporary popular culture in the West is eclectic. Our views and tastes are being influenced all the time: a romantic of the 18th century is not the same as one of the 21st century. You may think that you have a definable style, or sharp political views, or deep convictions which are pure and untouched. But you live in 2011, and if you don’t recognise that you are influenced by a myriad sources, that only makes you an eclectic in denial.
The trend towards eclecticism will only increase, which we think is a healthier approach in a cosmopolitan world.
When we meet editors from other publications, the comment about Sublime is always that the magazine is quite eclectic: ‘You mix nature with fashion, clean energy with music, current affairs with crafts, innovation with social enterprise.’ Although they like the magazine, they can‘t categorise it, and this leaves them feeling uncomfortable. Not to mention our distributor, who is always puzzled about which shelf Sublime should be placed on.
When talking about people, there is a certain naivety in believing that we can classify and label others in terms of demographics: ethnic minority or majority, or age; whether they’re Muslim or Christian, national or immigrant, wealthy or not-so-wealthy, academic or artistic. We can be any of these and, in a moment of time, none of them.
By our very nature, people don’t fit into categories. Those who like to categorise need to come to terms with the idea that we are a generation of curators who don’t buy into set-in-stone philosophies, political frameworks, marketing profiles or fashion looks.
If someone wants to label you, just tell them you’re an incurable eclectic.
Laura and Damian Santamaria
Editorial Directors