Being someone’s first call. Making it into the group chat. We want to be chosen, then act like we barely care. Somewhere between dating apps, career announcements and everyone else’s engagement posts, wanting something has started to feel a little too revealing. So we keep our options open and our expectations low. But what are we missing out on while trying so hard to look unbothered?

AFFECT caught up with actor Maximilian Mundt to talk about desire, masculinity, vulnerability and the freedom to live beyond other people’s expectations

Looking for Halloween costume ideas for 2026? From niche pop culture references to reinvented classics, your best look might already be in your wardrobe. But when dressing up becomes a competition in being chronically online, how much originality does one night really demand?

We caught up with actress Lea Drinda to talk about the roles we play, the expectations we refuse to meet and the beauty of always wanting more. On staying true to yourself, figuring out what really matters and why longing might just be one of the best parts of being alive.

We have more famous people than ever before, but are we running out of actual icons? In an age where millions of followers don't necessarily mean cultural relevance, the idea of what makes someone truly iconic is changing. Maybe the icons aren't disappearing. Maybe we've just stopped sharing the same ones.

Amsterdam-based designer Pauline Blind makes her Paris Fashion Week debut with LoveMachine, a collection exploring AI, female bodily autonomy and femininity. AFFECT joined her backstage to talk building an independent fashion label, the female gaze and turning a dream into reality.

The restaurant, the holiday, the book on your nightstand, the hobby you suddenly picked up. Somewhere along the way, our desires became part of our personal branding. Would you still want it if nobody could ever know?

AFFECT caught up with actor Paul Ahrens, somewhere between returning to Tatort and getting ready for the release of his first cinema film.

Maybe our obsession with bags started long before we knew what an It-Bag was. From the tiny purse we carried as kids to the one sitting on our wishlist today, bags have always carried more than just our things. They carry taste, status, memories and versions of who we want to be. But what actually turns a bag into the bag, and why do we care so much?

Anzeige // What happens when the same starting point is handed to different creatives? At the Nike Berlin Store, Studio Fleece became a space for personal expression, customization, individual style and the different references that shape how we make something our own. Together with Berlin’s creative community, the evening explored what happens when a collection leaves room for personality.

Forget everything you thought you knew about European summer. The new dream destination isn't another overcrowded coastline, it's higher, cooler and surprisingly chic. Cool girls aren't escaping to the coast anymore. They're chasing altitude, cold lakes and mornings that begin with fresh air instead of sunscreen. Welcome to the other side of European summer.

AFFECT caught up with Jella Haase, an actress who has never seemed interested in playing the role people expected of her. Instead, she's built a career on instinct, contradiction, and characters that linger long after the credits roll. We spoke about growing up, learning to trust uncertainty, and why becoming yourself is rarely a linear story.

A new season is not about buying a new personality. To lead you through the overload in the stores, here is Affect’s Spring Guide based on what we saw on the runways during Fashion Week.  

Summer has quietly become a deadline. A finish line for all the habits, routines and self-improvement plans we started in January. We tell ourselves we're preparing to enjoy life more, while often becoming so focused on improving ourselves that we forget to actually live it. Because maybe our bodies were never meant to be assignments. Maybe they were simply meant to carry us through the kind of summers we remember forever.

AFFECT caught up with Emil Larsen, the Berlin-based jewelry designer behind Larsen Jewelry, whose pieces exist somewhere between raw Nordic textures and the restless energy of Berlin. We spoke about growing up, sentimentality, and the strange emotional weight jewelry can carry.

Minimalism was never about owning less. Just less visible consumption. The clean girl aesthetic, quiet luxury, effortless interiors, all of it still comes with a price tag. The less it looks like you tried, the more expensive it usually is.

Being called a “Nepo Baby” once carried real cultural weight, a public naming of the hidden systems of privilege shaping Hollywood and the media industry. But somewhere between memes, magazine taxonomies, and ironic self-awareness, the accusation lost its edge.

There is a particular irony in the way Frida Kahlo exists in the world today. Her face, crowned with flowers, and her iconic brows, stares out from tote bags, T-shirts, mugs, and phone cases. But to reduce her to an icon is to misunderstand the very core of who she was. Frida Kahlo did not paint to be admired. She painted to survive.