62. With print titles rushing to become digital first,
why are website publishers bucking the trend
and expanding into print?
Press Print
63. dazeddigital.com
For over 20 years Dazed
has embraced creative
rebels, launching and
nurturing talent like:
!
Alexander McQueen
!
The Chapman brothers
!
Gareth Pugh
!
Nicola Formichetti
!
The xx
!
Lottie Moss
!
OFWGKTA
!
Lana Del Rey
!
Florence + the Machine
!
Chance The Rapper
64. Lupita Nyong’o
In January we launched our Girls Rule the World issue
!
Took a risk by putting an unknown actress on the cover
!
Gamble paid off – issue went viral. Two months later
Lupita won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress
!
The issue also marked the end of our monthly print
cycle and the start of a new era…
!
!
66. Dazed spring redesign
Scaled back print production
from 12 issues per year to 6 to
keep in line with our Digital
First approach
!
Redesigned and refocused title
with more fashion content
!
Increased production values,
making the magazine more
collectible
!
Cut “& Confused” from the
logo
67. Why are you so attracted to abandoned
factories?
I’ve had a love affair for a long time with
factories and industry – primarily the
smokestack industry. I love all the textures
associated with it. It’s so much about the
beautiful light and shapes.
When you enter them, is it like walking on to
the set of one of your own movies?
No, I don’t think I’ve ever shot a scene in
factories like these. It’s an incredible mood.
I feel like I’m in a place that’s just magical, where
nature is reclaiming these derelict factories.
It’s very dreamy. Every place you turn, there’s
something so sensational and surprising –
it’s the Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour.
Is the world of these factories akin to that of
Eraserhead and Mulholland Drive?
Yes. Every film has its story. It has to be a certain
place, with a certain light, with certain things
said by certain people. Then you make a world
in cinema that didn’t exist before. The world of
Eraserhead was inspired by Philadelphia, a bit of
an industrial city. I fell in love with Philadelphia
for its architecture and mood. But now all the
cities are looking more and more the same.
The real treasures are going away; the mood
they create is going away. Graffiti is one of the
worst things that ever happened to a city.
Do you have a favourite from the series?
I love all of them. But again, it’s the mood,
shapes and textures – it’s something that thrills
my soul. The way the light can fall on a factory
is the same way the light can fall on a body.
One slight turn of the light and it’s a brand new
thing. It just keeps going on and on and on.
Why did you choose to shoot photographs
of these factories versus a film?
Every medium is its own thing and is infinitely
deep. And there’s a connection, obviously,
between cinema and still photography. For me,
still photography was born out of cinema, but a
still is just one frame that pulls you deeper and
deeper in. It’s about the beauty of one image.
Is the disused industrial aesthetic being
forgotten today?
It’s disappearing. In north England, I was in
search of what I was told would be the greatest
factories. The time I was up there, they were
destroying one smokestack every week.
All the factories were being torn down. It was a
nightmare for me. I couldn’t believe it. I missed
them by just a couple of years.
The photos resonate with a kind of veiled
terror. Is the exploration of good and evil
important to you?
No, but there’s a certain amount of fear
connected to industry for me. As a child,
I grew up in the northwest of America, where
there weren’t any giant factories, none of
that mood. But my mother was from Brooklyn,
so we visited my grandparents a lot, and
there it was a whole different story. I got a
big fear of subways and the certain smell of
a city. Sometimes these factories capture
some of that. But mostly, it’s a kind of beauty
connected to fire and smoke, steel, concrete,
glass and all kinds of incredible machine parts.
And nature reclaiming them. The whole thing is
a dance. And it’s beautiful to be in that dance,
photographing it.
Does nature reclaiming industry have to do
with the failure of technology?
It has to do with change. Those factories have
served their purpose. What’s happening now
are smaller, more efficient, less dreamy things
that don’t have the same feel of power and
majesty. It’s a little depressing. But I do like
contemporary mixtures too.
Can you choose one image in the world that
really gets under your skin?
Naked women. The human body is very
special, and throughout time people have been
painting and photographing it, and there’s a
reason for that.
Anything to add?
Everybody’s different. So when someone steps
in front of a photograph, it’s a unique experience
they’re having. It doesn’t matter what the
photographer or filmmaker says. The work has
to speak to the people.
David Lynch’s
factory fantasyland
Text Christine Jun Photography Brad Elterman
David Lynch’s factory photographs – now on show at The
Photographers’GalleryinLondon–revealthegreatfilmmaker’s
lifelong fascination with abandoned industrial buildings. The
architectural compositions echo his most revered work – think
of the claustrophobic attack on domesticity in Eraserhead, the
looming shacks of Twin Peaks, the vortex swirl of Mulholland
Drive’s nightmarish party scene. The black-and-white stills
depict menacing silhouettes, gutted interiors and billowing
smokestacks, using blurred light and layered textures to
stretch the possibilities of photography to their outer limits.
Until March 30, 2014, David Lynch: The Factory Photographs, The Photographers’ Gallery, London. A book of the exhibition is out now, published by Prestel
96 97
69. François Nars
and the immaculate makeover
Famed for creating Madonna’s Sex face with Steven Meisel and for shaving
off Kristen McMenamy’s eyebrows in 1992 – an act that became emblematic
of the grunge era – François Nars has spent his career exploring the
transforming power of make-up. In the haze of New York’s electric 80s and
90s scene, he paved the way for a look that elevated the likes of Linda
Evangelista and Naomi Campbell to supermodel status, releasing his own
make-up line
(including the
Orgasm and
Deep Throat
blush shades)
that offered
the same
possibilities
for women
across the
world. Despite
spending his life
collaborating as
both a make-
up artist and
photographer,
Nars has always
been attracted
to isolation, and
has taken this
to its logical
extreme by
buying his own
remote private
island in Tahiti.
Did you always have
hopes of owning a private
Island?
It wasn’t planned at all – well,
maybe deep inside of me!
I probably liked islands as
a kid watching movies, but
I’ve never been like, ‘Oh my
God, I want to own an island!’
I’ve always been attracted to
the tropical and love the idea
that you’re on the other side of
the planet. It’s mindblowing to
see places that are still totally
untouched. At the same time,
it’s wild owning a place like
that – it can be a big burden
and there’s a lot to maintain.
Do you know much about
its history?
Oh yes, I’ve done lots of
research! I bought so many
antique books. A French
architect, Christian Liaigre,
helped me build the house,
so we looked at its culture
and architecture. Of course,
we read about Gauguin’s time
there and writers like Pierre
Loti who spoke about this part
of the world.
There’s also a certain
darkness to these islands,
as you captured in
your photo book Faery
Lands: Tahiti.
Yes, the islands are sort of
black-and-white in a way.
The last thing I wanted to do
was to have the book in colour!
I started finding people on
the street or on the side of
the road and asking them
if I could take their picture.
It was almost old-fashioned
portraiture, like people took
pictures back in the late
1800s or early 1900s. Then,
for the landscapes, I travelled
to different archipelagos.
The one I loved most was
where Gauguin did most of his
work, the Marquesas Islands.
They’re so remote and
untouched, but also very dark
– something you don’t really
expect from French Polynesia.
Were you always
dreaming things up as a
teenager?
Actually, I was a pretty lonely
teenager. I loved being by
myself and had very few
friends. So, yes, I would lock
myself up into a dream world.
I would skip school to go to the
movie theatre. I watched a lot
of movies. It was practically
empty during the week, so
I would just skip school and
watch fabulous European
movies! You know, I wasn’t
going to see blockbusters
but the really underground
movies. It was really the best
thing I’ve ever done.
Then the dream came true
when you hit New York in
the 80s!
Yes, it was exhilarating. I was
lucky enough to meet Steven
Meisel, who was a really
big mentor for me. We built
something strong together
by creating all those girls –
models like Linda and Naomi.
We really did create them.
I mean, we worked hard but
we played hard too. I used to
videotape all of our shoots
during the day and then at
night we would all watch them
back. The best moment with
Steven was probably when
we did the Sex book with
Madonna in Florida. We had so
much fun doing those crazy
pictures with her.
What were your first
impressions of Linda and
Naomi?
I remember when Naomi first
came to the studio. She’d
barely modelled and was so
incredibly shy, so she just sat
in the corner. I started painting
her and I thought, this girl has
potential. Steven and I fell in
love with Linda. It’s funny, she
said to me that if she didn’t
make it in the next year she
was going to quit. I did like,
3,000 different looks on her:
we bleached her hair and we
cut her hair off. I think she
wouldn’t deny it, but Steven,
myself and Oribe (Canales)
were really the ones that
created Linda Evangelista!
And what was the most
extreme transformation?
The most extreme? Well, our
goal was to always make the
girl look larger than life, to
create superstars. No matter
how crazy the look was we
never gave up on making
them look beautiful. That was
always our motto. I mean we
dyed Linda’s hair so much –
it went from platinum blond
to bright red and black – and
I tweezed her eyebrows so
much I had to build them up
completely from scratch!
I didn’t like her natural ones.
Is there anywhere else in
the world you would like
to explore?
You know, in a crazy way,
I always wanted to go to New
Guinea and Papua and do
a book in the middle of the
jungle on all of the primitive
tribes. It’s probably very
difficult to do, but they wear all
of this incredible tribal make-
up and the way they dress
themselves is quite inspiring.
The Tahiti book took 12 years
to do, going back and forth.
So, who knows! If I come back
alive and have not been eaten
or killed!
imagecourtesyofStevenMeiselandArt+Commerce
Text Isabella Burley
Image: Kristen McMenamy in American Vogue, October 1992, shot by Steven Meisel. Make-up by François Nars
108 109
71. Dazed’s new print cycle has enabled
deeper digital expansion, including an
original video vertical, exclusive
longreads and a news feed focusing on
fringe digital youth culture
!
We are uploading at least 18 new pieces
of content every day
!
In March we achieved:
!
1.5 million unique visitors
!
7 million page views
!
Overall 500% growth in one year
Dazed Digital
83. ALEX CAPES,
HUMAN AFTER ALL
!
“Digital publishers are always exploring new channels. Print is just another channel. Collectibility is
key – people still have bookshelves to fill. I think the misnomer is that it’s all about digital versus print.
It’s not a battle.”
Why are digital publishers investing in a
“dying medium”?
KIRSTY DARE,
PROTEIN
!
“The Protein journal is never going to be a revenue channel that matches what we do on the digital
side of things. The editorial in the journal is as strong if not stronger than the output on the web, but
the ad network we work with is the commercial core of our business. We just enjoy making a printed
magazine - we love to produce something that you can actually hold (and send to our Mums).”
MARCUS FAIRS,
DEZEEN
!
“It is a massive battle between organisations and brands, in print and online. It’s brutal. One of the main
reasons why websites are making magazines is that advertisers love print. Someone asked Tyler Brûlé,
who started Wallpaper* and now runs Monocle, ‘What advantage does print have over the internet?’ And
he said, ‘The back cover.’ The back cover is insanely valuable to advertisers. Even with precise internet
metrics, they love it. If your journals aren’t making any money you need to get a new sales team.”
84. ALEX CAPES,
HUMAN AFTER ALL
!
“I think the content has to have something interesting about it. You need strong
voices as well as strong sales tactics. When you identify with a brand, you kind of
want them in your life. Eventually more consumer publications will cut out the
middle man and be made by brands.”
!
Do consumers trust the editorial remit
of e-commerce magazines like Porter?
KIRSTY DARE,
PROTEIN
!
“What publisher isn’t in bed with brands anyway? That’s how the advertising model works. In
terms of Porter, they’ve positioned themselves as an authority in terms of the brands that they
select that they have on the site. The fact is, if you’re a style-obsessed, fashion-hungry user
online, you actually trust them as a source. They’re seen as an authority in the fashion world.”
MARCUS FAIRS,
DEZEEN
!
“If you believe in the brand you’ll put aside all those old fashioned print values. That’s why print was
dead because attitudes were locked in a 19th century model of journalism where the reporters were
on one floor and the sales team were on another floor. That business model isn’t valid any more. If
they trust your taste, they’ll also buy stuff direct from you. Brand eco-systems must expand to
survive. And print publishers have to find new ways to distribute content to get the edge.”
85. ALEX CAPES,
HUMAN AFTER ALL
!
“I like the idea of short-form print and long-form online, I think that could be
something that we will see. Long-form doesn’t mean good though. If it’s a good
article that immerses you it doesn’t need video, it doesn’t need distractions. I
think niche publications will continue to do really well, just the same way as
vinyl has continued to do well in its own small way. I think magazine shelves
will disappear. How long have WH Smiths got?”
How will magazine content change?
KIRSTY DARE,
PROTEIN
!
“Print is great for a number of things, but we can’t forget how or why the
internet is so great and that’s the technology – we can do much more with
the content to go beyond the words. Social media has got readers used to
shorter and shorter text, but I think there’s a growing appetite for long
form content to view offline.”
MARCUS FAIRS,
DEZEEN
!
“We started off with long content on the internet and people weren’t used to
reading on screens so it got shorter. Then it got even shorter. But I think we’re
going to see a switch. Print has the limitation of space and a printed image is still
a lot more rewarding in a lot of ways than a web image; you don’t have to rely
on electricity, wi-fi or anything like that. So that’s my paradoxical prediction:
print will go short form and the internet will go long-form.”