Let’s Make a Magazine
by Eric Wilson
Their latest project, set to make its debut in May, is a deep-thoughts magazine about the fashion industry, called System. The mission is to explore the milieu of fashion, like what happens when a star designer leaves a house, or when an e-commerce site overtakes a traditional retailer, more so than its products. (They originally wanted to call the publication Circus but thought otherwise.)
The magazine, which will appear twice a year and has a $100,000 per issue budget pooled from consulting projects done by von Guttman and Niedzielski, is already rousing the ire of big publishing. Especially when the team lands gets like their inaugural cover: the first in-depth interview with Nicolas Ghesquière, the designer who shocked all of fashion last fall when he left Balenciaga. The issue also includes profiles on Yves Carcelle, the business executive who steered the phenomenal growth of Louis Vuitton, and Azzedine Alaïa written by the curator Hans-Ulrich Obrist, as well as photo portfolios by Patrick Demarchelier, Juergen Teller, Karim Sadli and Neville Wakefield. A testament to System’s potential, Sauvé’s involvement has been a particular point of contention with the top brass at Condé Nast, where she is also senior fashion editor at W magazine. Von Guttman and Niedzielski have negotiated the stylist’s continued involvement in their independent venture, but the talks, they say, have required real diplomacy. After all, Niedzielski says, “We want to publish a second issue.” Stay tuned.
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