Little White Lies’ new issue encapsulates the genre-defying eras of Tilda Swinton

Chameleonic, androgynous and versatile, Tilda Swinton is well known for her gargantuan body of work with auteurs such as Derek Jarman, Jim Jarmusch, Lynne Ramsay, Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Wes Anderson. Encompassing art films and blockbusters, she’s as hilarious as she is heartbreaking – simply put, she’s an icon of cinema. However, when you have an actor who disappears into roles (quite literally – in Luca Guadagnino’s Suspiria, she is completely unrecognisable as an elderly doctor) sometimes there’s no easy place to start. In the September issue of London’s acclaimed film magazine Little White Lies, Tilda Swinton has an entire issue to herself, broken into distinct eras of her life as opposed to the typical retrospective fanfare, which felt more like a “funeral than a fiesta”.

Alongside a presentation of classic films and artefacts, this issue features some of her most vital collaborators as well as typically striking and consistent illustrative design across every page. “We gathered illustrators who would have a sense of fashion with a quirky twist,” says Laurène Boglio, art director of this issue. “To distinguish the different eras, we have different type/layout styles to match the look of each decade, but without being too cliche.” For David Jenkins, editor of LWL, figuring out the starting point of the issue’s design was the most fun part. “This concept of having a magazine that is composed of five miniature imaginary magazines was something we’ve been discussing for about three years. We’re always glad that eventually we get to do these things that we’ve kept hidden away in a drawer for so long,” says David.

Relying on Tilda’s shape-shifting nature to allow LWL’s cover star to exist in several guises opened up a world of illustrative possibilities – for example, this issue brings in illustrator Nick Taylor, who was “in charge of creating Tilda paraphernalia”, allowing every page to be filled with filmic easter eggs. As well as that, LWL always try to create a sense of belonging or familiarity – “It’s a mix between coming back to the font foundries I love, like Kern Club, or starting from scratch and creating our own alphabet for titles or drop caps,” says Laurène. “For this Tilda special, I purchased multiple new fonts to match each era represented, and five complementary colours were selected, one for each decade, by comparing different movies she played in throughout her career. We assigned one colour per decade while keeping using them all in moderation throughout the magazine.”

Little White Lies is a collectable magazine that honours the importance of re-readability of film criticism as well as re-watchability of cinema – they go hand in hand. David, a lover of movies, thinks the best cinema is often “timeless and resonates beyond the era in which its made”, just like how Tilda Swinton’s performances transcend beyond time periods and even genders. “We’re trying to create stories and present them in a way where their half-life isn’t instantaneous and they’re not tightly hooked to a specific moment,” says David. “With this special issue about Tilda Swinton, we’ve been able to take the ideal to the next level, as it’s a very contemporary reflection on a life and on work which, in some cases, has been around for nearly 40 years.”