Monday 26 January 2009

Editor's Letter: First Draft

My tutor, Judith Watt, has asked for the first draft of our Ed's Letter! It does seem rather early, but it's suppose to help clarify our intentions in terms of the magazine... so here's a snippet of mine!

Welcome to the first edition of Amuse Me, a new seasonal magazine produced in London exploring identity, fashion and emotion.

The name stems from a 'musing’, to be absorbed in thought. It is also a challenge put to the magazine to engage and inspire women. My aim is to inform and communicate ideas of fashion and image using the visual as “an aesthetic medium for the expression of ideas, desires and beliefs circulating in society”. Delving into the historical world of fashion and design to discover the skills and inspirations involved in producing a garment or shoe or even a piece of art. Playing with clothing to tell a story. Showing that fashion is about more than covering modesty, it is politics, sex, a personal statement, religion, belonging, rebelling, conforming. It is seeking individualism. It is vanity. It is powerful. It is wasteful.

This issue will tackle, “What does Feminism mean today?”

I will present this at my crit with Judith on Tuesday morning!

5 comments:

  1. Yeah - I'd read that.

    You forgot something though - the means of production, distribution and exchange. It's impossible to have a full understanding of any product without proper coverage of the industry that produces it. You know what most fashion magazines need? A good business editor. And it shouldn't just be about "shocking findings at high street fashion factory in India" - it should be about Buyers, Merchandisers and Factories as well as Designers.

    What I'm saying is - in the same way that you need to cover publishing sometimes in Literary Reviews you need to cover retail and production along side the art of fashion and clothing.

    That's what I think anyway.

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  2. I would read this magazine for sure.

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  3. Thanks so much for the comments!

    David: Yes, I was actually thinking about the retail side of things, Joan Burstein is at the top of my wish list!

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  4. Joan Burstein would be cool, but I was thinking more about Sir Philip Green and Sir Stuart Rose actually - I used to work for a company that supplies them - it gave me a chance to see some of the workings the clothing industry that I hadn't thought about till then - the complicated relationships between the supply side of the market in Asia and the demand side market here in the UK and how that effects the products you buy.

    Sorry if the fist comment came off a little harsh ;-) You have a cool and interesting blog here.

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  5. You wasn't harsh, I appreciate constructive criticism! Thanks for taking the time...

    The magazine will ideally be a space to motivate and inspire young women and so I aim to feature inspiring women who have accomplished something and/or are pushing boundaries.

    In terms of retail Jane Shepardson or someone like Mary Portas perhaps?

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