Independent art-fashion publication CULTURED Magazine released the April/May 2026 issue, unveiling the annual ‘CULT100’list. Spanning the worlds of entertainment, art, fashion, publishing, activism, and philanthropy, the list gathers 100 people actively shaping and changing culture in real time. The issue, which launches with 406 pages and 13 covers, stars Naomi Watts, Emma Cline, Salman Rushdie, Sombr, David Jonsson, Adam Scott, Marcello Hernández, Carey Mulligan, Keke Palmer, Grace Gummer, Vinnie Hacker, María Zardoya, and Lena Dunham, and is its most substantial issue to date.
CULTURED’s annual CULT100 tentpole event will culminate on Thursday, April 30, at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, hosted in partnership with Valentino and Valentino Beauty. The evening will feature musical performances from Daniel Ceasar, Fcukers, horsegiirL, and Eartheater.
“One quality that unites the honorees on this year’s list is an appetite for risk. Their work has not been focus-grouped to death or flattened to appeal to the widest possible audience. Instead, it’s an authentic expression of what they want to see in the world,” said CULTURED founder and editor-in-chief Sarah Harrelson in the issue’s editor's letter. “If there’s one thing we learn from the labor of love that is putting together this issue, it’s that culture is in restless— and courageous —hands. At a time when everything feels uncertain, that’s something to be inspired by.”
The 2026 CULT100
The honorees in the 2026 ‘CULT100’list represents a curation of household names, fresh-faced, and storytellers. Each one consistently creates compelling work that lasts and chooses risk over reward, courage over fear, curiosity over cynicism, and conviction over covering base.
In addition to the 13 cover stars, the list includes: Gigi Hadid, Tory Burch, Lykke Li, Ego Nwodim, Fred Armisen, Judd Apatow, José Andrés, Maxwell Frost, Phoebe Gates, Ari Emanuel, and many more.
Also Featured
The issue also features John Vincler in conversation with Katherine Bernhardt; a look at what to expect at CONDUCTOR’s inaugural art fair at Powerhouse Arts; Konrad Kay in conversation with London Falling author Patrick Radden; Ivana Bašić and Designer Claire Sullivan, Camille Henrot and Hillary Taymour, and Cato Ouyang and Zoe Gustavia Anna Whalen conversation centered on the New Museum’s “New Humans: Memories of the Future” exhibit; Adam Pendleton in conversation with Gabriela Hearst; a preview of Kenzo’s new collection; Christian Louboutin’s new garden inspired collection styled by Mat Cullen; Valentino’s reissue of the Panthea Bag; Bvlgari’s new minaudières collection; a look at Chanel’s one-of-a-kind chess set shot as described to Amy Verner.
Image courtesy of CULTURED
