Whimsy Is So Back: Inside the mixed feelings Medievalcore Magazine Launch

The cover of The Medievalist, a limited-edition print magazine from mixed feelings. (Courtesy of mixed feelings)

Church was in session on the evening of August 14 under the vaulted ceilings and stained glass of Judson Memorial Church in Greenwich Village. Pilgrims and merrymakers, young media starlets and errant knights flocked to pay their respects for mixed feelings, a youth-forward publication owned by Condé Nast about mental health and internet culture, which recently launched its first-ever, limited-edition print magazine on all things medievalcore. 

There is The Medievalist magazine, which you can purchase on Shopify for $24, spread out on a table — glossy, deep red, starring content creator Anya Tisdale in Joan of Arc-esque regalia, the sort of chainmail outfit more likely to ensnare a they/them than successfully fend off an invader’s spear. But the draw is also the launch party itself, complete with mead, whiskey punch, a medieval themed cake competition, and a costume contest — all in celebration of medievalcore’s “interwoven threads through fashion, literature, pop culture, food, idolatry, and more” according to the invitation, punctuated with a glittering, dripped-out sword.

“If you’re here it’s because you’re a fucking freak and you’re unhinged!” mixed feelings Founding Editor Mi-Anne Chan, in a flowy white gown, called out to the crowd. Everyone cheered in assent. I take it as a compliment: the Gen Z readers who turned out are earnestly weird. Queer, in the original sense of the term. The kind of people, including me, who would show up via subway in full medieval glam just for the bit.