Highsnobiety turns 20 this year—and we’re celebrating with the friends, family, and creative partners that have helped build our platform into what it is today.
What started in 2005 as a streetwear blog has become a global platform for the style-obsessed and culturally fluent—a community of creators, collaborators, and boundary-pushers who shape what’s next. And what better way to mark the moment than by looking back at some of our most iconic covers—the images that captured a shift, a mood, a movement. From underground heroes to mainstream disruptors, these covers have defined our stamp on culture for two decades.
This anniversary year is also about collaboration. So, as we celebrate twenty years of Highsnobiety, we’re teaming up with XL EXTRALIGHT®—a material innovator and long-time collabo partner that have themselves been rewriting the rules of design for 30 years. Since the ’90s, XL EXTRALIGHT® has quietly powered some of the most recognizable products in fashion and footwear: think Off-White, Loewe, Maison Margiela, Camper, and beyond. What started as an Italian industrial experiment has become a global creative ingredient—a material synonymous with lightness, flexibility, and design without compromise.
To mark the dual milestone, we’re bringing back a cult favorite: the XL EXTRALIGHT® bag. Made from the same hyper-lightweight material used in some of the most innovative footwear and design collabs of the last three decades, this bag is featherlight but built to take a hit. Water-resistant, durable, and soft to the touch. For HS20, the XL EXTRALIGHT®️ bag returns as a limited-edition carry-all, packaging our anniversary shirt but standing on its own as an everyday essential.
To celebrate the milestone, we’re also looking back at some of our favorite Highsnobiety covers from over the years—the ones that defined eras, shifted perspectives, or just hit at exactly the right moment. We asked some of the Highsnobiety big dogs to share the covers that still stick with them, and why.
Hendrik–First Cover
The first Highsnobiety print magazine and its cover were launched for the homecoming of what used to be the fashion industry's biggest trade show: Bread & Butter Berlin. I was working at Firmament at the time, which in this specific moment was one of the leading shops in what some call “this thing of ours" or "our space". Next to icons like Hideout and SlamJam, Firmament was one of only 5-6 Supreme wholesale accounts, when they were still doing that (can you imagine?), before Tyler wore the box logo hoodie on Jimmy Fallon and all of them blew up together, taking over the world.
The energy that David also who owned SOTO at the time, which was the louder, annoying little brother type of competitor around the corner from Firmament—and his small team had back then in 2010 was insane. No matter "the rules", they would always go for something and only ask for forgiveness later. That summer, without much of a plan, they came out blasting with the release of their first ever print magazine, which took over Berlin—including Firmament—for that week, when all important people from the industry were in the city.
In an era that was purely dominated by secretiveness, OGs and industry standards, David was one of the first ones to operate at a different frequency, and from there helped change and steer the game until today.
Plus, can you find the spelling mistake on the cover?
Herbert Hoffman–Rosalía
This fall 2024 cover with Rosalia turned our heads after it turned her body. We loved that she was up for such an acrobatic and twisting shoot. The outfits were amazing but Yis Kid's vision for the poses against gravity made this cover iconic.
Kerstin Groth–Kobe Bryant
The Highsnobiety cover with Kobe Bryant means the world to me because Neil Bedford’s black-and-white images don’t just show the Mamba—they reflect the strength, focus, and greatness I’ve always looked up to, capturing the GOAT in a way that feels eternal and deeply personal.
Lucy Thorpe–Pamela Anderson
I mean it's Pam... what more is there to say? But, here I go: someone as famous and iconic as Pamela Anderson is a huge milestone for Highsnobiety. She's one of the first and most important mega-stars of the modern era. The weight and stature of Pam working with us as she enters her latest chapter is just incredible, and I love the broader place this cover holds within both our own story and hers.
Ufuk–Colette
In true collaborative spirit, our special edition peel-away sticker cover with iconic concept store Colette was created to celebrate their 20th anniversary for S/S 2017. It came out shortly after my first year at Highsnobiety, and now look at us: We are turning 20 ourselves - barely legal baby. We teamed up with several Parisian artists who designed unique stickers exclusively for this cover. As you’d expect, it was highly limited and produced only for fans of Colette and Highsnobiety - two tastemakers in bed together for the first time, we later worked again with Colette on their documentary "Colette, Mon Amour" and a merch capsule to honor the store's legacy. We knew right away this was one for the books.
