Q&A with Glossi Mag’s Cody Rooney

For those who are new around here, Matte PR publishes Glossi Mag – an online publication covering all the stuff we love: fashion, music, design, art + culture. And for those that have been our day one homies, thank you for the ongoing love and support!

We’re letting you inside the mind of Glossi’s creative director to get a sense of where its aesthetic is rooted. Allow us to introduce you to Senior Contributor and Content Coordinator, Cody Rooney.

Cody’s been a part of our fam since 2017 and we’re still not really sure how he balances being a writer, photographer, model, and master of the shirtless selfie (follow him on Instagram and you’ll understand what we mean) – but he does it well!

What drew you to work for Glossi Mag?

I’ve always found I have an intrinsic desire to share my artistic perspectives and my creative inspirations in a critical and analytical way. I wanted to write for a publication with substance and that truly cared about art and culture. The tone, aesthetic and the content we cover was such a perfect fit. I felt Toronto really needed a publication like Glossi Mag and since  I started contributing, it has become a platform coalescing so many of my passions into one cohesive project.

Speaking of passions – you’re a writer, photographer, and model. How do you integrate all these skills into your work at Glossi Mag?

I think I’m an artist at heart, and if you look at my photography it’s often quite dark and uncanny – I have a penchant for the abstract, but I also have an obsessively analytical mind. I think it’s this strange combination that contributes to my tone and how I approach my work. The photographer in me is obsessed with curating aesthetics and the academic in me is obsessed with dissecting them.

It’s not enough for me to say, “hey, this is aesthetically pleasing”, or “this is a great couture collection”. I always try to understand the cultural influence and significance of anything I’m writing about; to understand what makes it sublime or alluring.

As for being a model, I’ve been doing it since I was 12 years old, so in a way, it has been really formative in giving me a good sense of work ethic over the years.

What’s your favourite topic to write about?

I absolutely love writing about fashion. When I get excited by a new aesthetic or collection or designer, I become obsessed with trying to understand why it is so appealing to me, and how I can extrapolate to apply it to a larger cultural paradigm. The oscillation of different aesthetic sensibilities in popular culture is such a fascinating barometer of the larger cultural consciousness. An article I really enjoyed writing recently was “The Death of Streetwear” because I felt this fatigue where every collection was starting to look the same, and I started thinking, “okay… I have an idea of what excites me right now, let’s see if designers are following suit.” It’s those moments I enjoy the most.

Where do you draw inspiration from for your articles?

From the world around me and my own observations. I only ever write about things that I wholeheartedly love or believe in, and I tend to only write about them if I feel that I have a perspective or opinion that has not been widely spoken about or shared. Whether it’s a new genre of art, or an underground artist’s new album, or a photographer I love, I think the essence of Glossi Mag and my own style of writing is not content for the sake of content –  it is content with a specific purpose and vision.

For first-time readers, which Glossi Mag story would you recommend?

That is a really tough question. I have so many favourites, but I think I’ve always been really proud of “Post Internet Art: New Media Narratives and the New Aesthetic.” It might be a complete personal bias as this is probably my biggest artistic and academic obsession and the subject of the thesis I’m currently writing, but I think it showcases how Glossi views popular culture and contemporary art through a critical and relevant lens.

You’ve interviewed countless creatives, artists and business thinkers. Who has been the most memorable and why?

Definitely iconic New York nightlife photographer John Simone ahead of his RuPaul retrospective in 2017. As a photographer myself, I found his career so fascinating. He told me so many stories about New York City in the 1980s and the culture of club kids and queer nightlife back then. He gave me a complete history of the biggest names in queer culture from a firsthand perspective, and it was completely surreal and full circle that a few years later I was partying with some of those very people in New York City and talking with them about John.

What Instagram account are you loving right now?

I’ve been obsessed with this account called Meta_Visions. If you know anything about me, it’s that my sense of humour, and my artistic tastes are extremely dark and warped. This account is so weird, it’s just basically anything and everything that makes you feel weird or uncomfortable. My friends and I love sending them to each other.

BONUS ROUND: THIS OR THAT

Me time

A relaxing day on the beach or shopping spree in the city

Honestly, I love fashion more than anyone I know, and aesthetically speaking… shopping all the way. But I am a notorious sun worshipper, and I would live on the beach if I could. So, at the risk of being basic, I’m gonna say the beach.

Office snack

A soft cookie or bag of chips

Definitely cookie. Sweet over salty always.

Favourite fashion weeks

New York or London

As much as I love New York City, (it’s my favourite place on earth), London Fashion Week has such a distinct aesthetic and the city has such a vibrant emerging design scene. The young creatives there are truly the visionaries of the industry.

Milan or Paris

I know that Paris is supposed to be the be-all and end-all of fashion weeks. But Prada shows in Milan… and I have an unhealthy obsession with Prada.