The Last Magazine launches!
Posted: September 5th, 2008 | Author: Jauretsi | Filed under: SW Editorials | Comments OffStarworks First Column
(Premiere issue of The Last Magazine)
This Fashion Week introduces a new publication to the already fickle audience of fashion readers. The creators of this baby, however, have the proper stripes and credentials to blow us all away — so much that Starworks decided to officially contribute a column to a magazine for the first time. The dimension of each issue is large newspaper-size print (with pages that can also serve as posters). For each issue, Starworks will zero in on which actor/actress we believe is worth paying attention to — that means Greg Krelenstein will act as curator/booker pinpointing his favorite new talent, while I’m the gal to meet and interview the young gun. The photography, of course, is top notch.
We’re happy to introduce The Last Magazine to the market, but first, we asked the founders Magnus and Tenzin some questions:
Jauretsi: What exactly is The Last Magazine, its mission statement, and how often will it be published?
Magnus & Tenzin: The Last Magazine is a platform to present a new generation of talent in all kinds of artistic expression. It can be seen as a mix of a newspaper and an art book. It will be published biannually. It’s based around us and our friends which are all represented in the first issue: Camilla Akrans, Maciek Kobielski, Martin Lidell, Paola Kudacki, Keegan Singh, David Mushegain, Nicolas Moore, Robbie Fimmano, Sally Lindley, Matthu Placek, Abbey Drucker, Alex Beck and many more. We want it to be our own little movement. We see it as our mission to bring out new talented, artists, writers, musicians, directors, designers etc. We wanted to utilize the advantages of print which is mainly the format and the image quality. Things that work better for other media will be placed on our website — like shorts, animations, music videos etc. We usually sum it up as “all things new – at last”.
Jauretsi: Tell me a little bit of both your backgrounds. Are there any other major players involved we should know of?
Tenzin: I was born and raised in Switzerland, studied economy, and worked in investment banking for credit suisse for about 5 years. I was doing some modeling on the side and one day I got to meet Stephen Gan, Cecilia Dean and James Kaliardos of Visionaire, at a fashion show I was in. I think that was in 1997. We kept in touch and became friends. I ended up quitting the banking job and moved to New York to intern at Visionaire. It was right when V Magazine was born or the idea of it. Stephen has always been like a big brother to me. I learned so much by knowing him, and working with him in the magazine and advertising world. After 5 years at V Magazine, I worked at Box with Pascal Dangin — also an amazing personality. He is just a very smart man with great ambition. It was a great experience working with him. And now… well, working with my good friend Magnus, enjoying our little joint venture very much!
Magnus: I’m Swedish, born in Uppsala where I went to music school and university. I moved to New York to play music. I got picked up by Starworks founder Alana Varel (then model agent at Next) and that was my way into the fashion/advertising industry. I met Fabien Baron on a shoot with Mikael Jansson and Karl Templer, and I eventually started interning at Baron&Baron, where I’m now an art director. There are no other major players, and I’m really proud of that… we made it happen without backers which means that it’s all our own thing and we have no one to answer to… except each other…
Jauretsi: What have you learned from the trials and tribulations of self-publishing and what advice do you give others on the DIY approach?
Tenzin: Everything is possible. That’s what I learned from my peers, and working on this project with Magnus. It really is true. You just have to give it your all and have good people around you supporting you.
Magnus: Tenzin probably has much more experience on producing a magazine than me. I’m just very stubborn and I knew that it was somehow possible. Not how, but I knew exactly how I wanted it to look. It’s very gratifying to actually hold it in your hand. It was really a team effort and the combination of our backgrounds that made it possible. It was much more complicated then I thought, but at the same time you get just so into it, that you just go…. and there was never once that I felt like it wouldn’t work. Having said that, we had a lot of help and I guess through our previous experience and background we had a lot of connections and support. My only advice would be to really think about why you want to do a magazine before you start. If you don’t have an answer to that you’re in trouble.
—————
The Last Magazine will be published 2X a year.
The official launch for The Last Magazine is during Fashion Week, September 11, 2007 from 8pm to Midnight. Hosted by Julia Restoin Roitfeld, Arden Wohl, and Harley Viera Newton (Read our introduction to Harley here) . The DJ of the night = A Touch of Class. The event is not open to the public, but I’m sure our readership knows exactly who to call to get in…. see you all there!
