‘Fit In’ Pride Cover 2026

Creative Direction: Eve Weinzirl

Designs & Styling: NNAEJ

Styling: Salomé Jeanne

Photography: Andrea Casetti x Rosa Álvarez Solano

Models: Rue Trvalik & Ashe Turner

Nails: Audrey Sisu

Why acceptance so often come at the cost of authenticity?
I bend to fit your needs
Stretching thin till i cant breathe
Folding corners of myself into silence
Shrinking my colors beneath your comfort
How to exist only in acceptable amounts
Until i no longer recognize the shape of my own freedom

‘FIT IN’ showcases the pressure queer people face to conform to heteronormative society. Through restraints and tension, this series reflects the feeling of holding parts of yourself back in order to belong and feel no fear.
Why acceptance so often comes at the cost of authenticity?

A special Pride Cover from Amsterdam.

MERDE is lucky to be held up by a global network of queer contributors, creatives, and collaborators who pour themselves into every story we tell. This magazine exists because of them, and it exists for them. While we’re not necessarily a queer-themed magazine, we are committed to remaining a space where queerness is not a theme to be explored, but a foundation to build from. A space of radical allyship, visibility, and pride, every month, not just in Pride Month.