21 May 2013

Journal

Like a BLITZ...



... I am online to write a few words about the new book BLITZ, which got published in April. 

However, first of all I have to apologise for not having written anything in such a long time. I had promised myself that, should I start a blog one day, I would write every week. Pfff, I know, two weeks after my first post it seems I have already forgotten all about my good intentions.

To soothe my guilty conscience, let me tell you about my Saturday afternoon.  
The ICA celebrated the launch of the book with a series of talks and a film screening. I was very excited to see the 80s film Liquid Sky about an alien landing in New York. Unfortunately I only made it to one of the events. 
Well, better than nothing and the panel discussion actually turned out to be quite interesting.
Topics were contemporary Fashion & Style Magazines and the history of BLITZ. Guests were the two founders of the magazine, Carey Labovitch and Simon Tesler, as well as fashion editor/stylist Max Pearmain and the editor of Clash Magazine. 
I really like Pearmain's work for POP and Arena Homme +. His style is very quirky and I guess you either find it awesome or awful. Since I definitely belong to the first group I was thrilled to hear him talk about his work. Okay, I was a bit afraid that he was one of those arrogant fashion people who seem to have such a crappy personality that it's hard to still like their work. Sorry, I got a little off track. I am not getting started on how often I had that experience with personalities from the art and fashion scene. Fortunately that did not happen on Saturday and I can still unconditionally enjoy Pearman's work. 
The discussion was especially interesting concerning the differences in the production procedures of BLITZ and today's magazines. We sometimes tend to forget what an impact the internet and the possibility to create your own blog has had on all creative areas. Compared to reading a blog, magazines can sometimes be rather impersonal. As magazines can become a regular part of our life, it is nice to see the faces behind these magazines.                          


To be honest, I hadn't heard a lot about BLITZ before. 
The magazine was launched in 1980. The same year i-D and The Face emerged. Since i-D is the only one of the three magazines that still exists, I am much more familiar with its style. 
For magazines are often regarded as evenascent, a collection like the book BLITZ changes the perception of a monthly magazine. The intentions and particular visual style becomes apparent. The book focuses on the work of fashion editor Iain Webb who contributed his distinctive style to BLITZ from 1982-1987. Besides the rich visual content the book also compiles original BLITZ interviews and memories of those who are part of the magazine's history; from Vivienne Westwood to David LaChapelle. 
Now I definitely know a lot more about BLITZ and there is one more side-effect I should warn you about: It makes you wanna put on some glamourous (but definitely not office suitable) make-up and raid your parents wardrobe in order to throw on some good old 80s style clothes.            






(Webb, Iain R. BLITZ. As seen in BLITZ - Fashioning'80s Style. London, 2013.)



1 comment:

  1. Anonymous5/21/2013

    if i were to shave i'd look fantastic in my mother's dresses :)

    ReplyDelete