The Future of Fashion: Interview with Olivier Zahm
Style.com recently got together with Frenchman Olivier Zahm for an interesting interview with
Style.com recently got together with Frenchman Olivier Zahm for an interesting interview with the renowned editor and founder of popular independent publication, Purple Fashion. Amongst other subjects, Zahm speaks of the inspiration behind starting Purple Diary, his thoughts on fashion shows, and why he feels magazines are more relevant to fashion than the internet.
So you don’t think the Internet will replace magazines?
The commercial magazines may be replaced, because the Internet is a better place for commerce and immediate information. The Internet is a chance for magazines because it forces the magazines to be more creative and to really explore what they are, what is the essence of a magazine and what a magazine is meant for. And it’s not meant for commerce…Magazines are also made for instruction, for energy, for voyeurism, for sexiness, for pleasure, for a lot of things. Not only a place to sell products. This is why you don’t have any good magazines now in Japan. It’s a disaster because they just consider magazines like an extension of advertising…This kind of magazine, strictly commercial, will certainly disappear because you have more information, more contact, more possibility of buying on the Internet. But a true creative fashion magazine can’t be replaced by a true creative fashion site because it doesn’t exist and it won’t exist. You don’t want to look at a fashion shoot on your screen, do you?
The interview in its entirety can be read here.
Photography: Terry Richardson
