Words Llivane Lawson  Photography Madeleine Penfold L to R: Aïssatou and Soulemane Tounkara We’re only a few seconds into our phone call and I sense that Aïssatou Tounkara and I have a fair bit in common. As two French Black women who moved abroad to pursue their passions, we swiftly connect and move from one subject to the other. We touch upon our careers in England — she played with Manchester United for a year until August 2023 while I’ve been a Londoner for almost a decade. We discuss our ethnic backgrounds from West Africa — her roots are in The Gambia, and my family originates from ..read more

Words by Naomi Accardi The very first time I landed on Thebe Magugu’s website back in 2020, I was immediately swept up in awe. Every aspect of the brand, from the beautiful clothing and the innovative artistic direction, down to the storytelling bits, resonated with what I look for in a fashion label. Apparently, I am not the only one. Hailing from the city of Kimberley in South Africa’s Northern Cape, Magugu’s climb to the top of Europe’s most prestigious fashion circles started at an early age. As a child, he would study the very runways he would grace with his refined creations years later ..read more

Words, Creative Direction, and Production Felicia Pennant  Photography Jessica Eliza Ross Mary wears a Christopher Kane dress and adidas x Paolina Russo gloves. Mary Earps (affectionately Mearps) is unapologetically herself. Unfazed by back-to-back shoots at a Manchester studio the day before she heads on holiday, with England Women’s World Cup 2023 squad announcement due at lunchtime, the charismatic goalkeeper greets the team warmly and pokes fun getting into model mode. A rapid ‘Mary’s into Aaliyah and old school R’n’B’, decides the playlist and the 30-year-old’s Best FIFA Women's Goa ..read more

Words Ambi Nahal  Photography Sami Kimberley  Artwork ChaChaanTeng  To celebrate the April 2023 launch of Converse x Liverpool FC (LFC)’s exclusive capsule collection, Rain Castillo is the sunshine bursting through gloomy Northern clouds when she takes SEASON zine to tour the places in Liverpool where she expresses her creativity through music and dance. The singer and The Voice UK season 11 semi-finalist is one of five diehard Reds – alongside broadcaster Rubi Deschamps, multidisciplinary artist Sterling Rose Kelly, rapper Dayzy, and commentator and campaigner Roopa Vyas – sta ..read more

Words SEASON zine Artwork ChaChaanTeng  To give us an unprecedented insight in her songwriting process, accomplished singer and guitarist Rain Castillo shares handwritten lyrics from an original song about her town Liverpool that she’s currently working on.  The Voice UK season 11 semi-finalist is one of five creative Liverpool fans who are fronting Converse’s new partnership with Liverpool FC and modelling the exclusive capsule collection that dropped on April 6th. ‘The city as a whole is very accepting of everyone with different backgrounds, people brought up in different ways,’ s ..read more

Words SEASON zine Artwork ChaChaanTeng  Consider the playlist that Rain Castillo curated for SEASON zine, in celebration of her taking centre stage in the new inclusive Converse x Liverpool FC  partnership, as the quickest way to get inside the singer and The Voice UK season 11 semi-finalist’s musical brain.  The 24-year-old is the embodiment of the exciting ways that new-gen Liverpool fans are expressing their creativity, and she models the exclusive Converse x Liverpool FC (LFC) capsule collection that dropped on April 6th. ‘Being a Red doesn’t just mean wearing a jersey or s ..read more

Chances are, with our screen time understandably increasing to new heights as social distancing continues, that you’ve probably spotted a football creative or two that you really like scrolling through social media. Designers, photographers, illustrators, filmmakers, and more are putting their own spin on football culture, pushing boundaries, broadening minds, boldly crossing over with fashion, music, photography, and art as well. Below, our Fashion Director Georgina Hunt shares 10 of her favourites, an incredibly talented bunch, in the hope that you’ll finish reading this as inspired as she i ..read more

Words Abbie Claxton Hazy heads and scratchy voices the day after the Lionesses brought football home, I sat down with one of the greatest players to have represented England, Rachel Yankey MBE. ‘It’s just mad. I don’t think I have any words,’ she says first. With a lot still to shout about in the women's game, it seemed only natural to relish in the highs, especially as the footballer-turned-coach and former Ceebies host helped elevate the sport to a new level, and focus on pushing for diversity across the board. Yankey, 42, is also an ambassador for Starling Bank, alongside two Euro 2022-winn ..read more

Words Flo Lloyd-Hughes Ada Hegerberg is beaming with warmth and familiarity when I talk to her over Zoom, world’s away from the celebrity name she’s become. The incredible Norwegian footballer instantly refers to me by name and we laugh about the time I accidentally tweeted the wrong numbers for her ridiculous goal record for Olympique Lyonnais Féminin in Division 1 Feminine and the UEFA Women’s Champions League. An activist at heart and the first female footballer to win the Ballon D’Or, Hegerberg stepped away from the Norwegian national team in 2017 over a lack of respect for women’s pl ..read more

Words Felicia Pennant Wearing a Britney Spears-style headset and Arsenal training gear, Lotte Wubben-Moy is trying to remember her first North London Derby. ‘I don't think I'd be able to give you a date. But it would have probably been spent at my auntie's, just off Upper Street in Islington. She had season tickets to all the Emirates games,’ the half English, half Dutch 23-year-old admits eventually. ‘It's basically being among the sea of red and white, feeling that collective unity and motivation to smash Tottenham. In most of my experiences, we've been able to do that.’ Since September 2020 ..read more