Magazine Layout

Having previously made a design that had a socio-political agenda, I wanted to turn in a completely different direction and create a project that falls on the commercial side. This idea was sparked by seeing the works of Alexey Brodovitch and the way he showcased high fashion in the 1940’s to mid 50’s. I’ve always been impressed with the level of sophistication and style women had during that period and I therefore wanted to create a magazine layout that would reflect the era and its fashion. 

When looking at formal characteristics in Brodovitch’s work, I noticed that they are often black and white, the models were extremely elegant, sophisticated and chic. Also, the juxtaposition of image and type in his designs was very unique and kept a minimalist style. Additionally, the large type and blur in my design were partly inspired by his layouts (under).

 Bits and pieces of these formal aspects brought to my mind the main inspiration behind my design: Coco Chanel.

An iconic fashion designer, Chanel revolutionized women’s fashion in the post WWI era. She liberated women from tight corsets and typically feminine, vibrant and over-the-top clothing and replaced them with a simplistic, black and white, sophisticated, streamlined and somewhat masculine styles. 

 Although the Chanel brand has been modernized and is nowadays still on top of the fashion scene, having Brodovitch as my initial inspiration, I wanted to create an homage to the traditional Coco Chanel. This idea is shown through the use of an interview (taken from a televised interview and translated onto text in English). The decision to incorporate this interview in particular was due to the fact that it made her personality shine through the best. She was known to be very composed, straightforward, blunt, confident, and stern, which shows in that interview. Also, I wanted the imagery to reflect on Chanel’s essence and I therefore made the design black and white, the model is wearing black and her pose is creating an allusion to Chanel by ambiguously mimicking one of her famous portraits (above). To have the effect of an allusion rather than literal depiction, the model is out of focus on the right photo and her face is cut off on the left one. 

Choosing not to incorporate Chanel’s portraits and using my own photographs made my layout more personalized, which is a quality I wish to have in my projects. Also, the writing of “Coco” throughout the layout was of my own making (Illustrator) and I decided to place it there to frame the interview as well as to create a poetic link between the two images for continuity. Moreover, to recreate an actual magazine article, small details such as the heading of “Fashion” was added, the titles to each image were subtly indicated in the corners, the issue and the name of the magazine was incorporated as well as adding page numbers.

Photo titles (at the top corners).










Personal photos.
                              

My article:

“Nothing is more aging than trying to look younger, it’s the stupidest thing a woman can do.”

Coco Chanel: I saw that three days ago in the street. A man slapping a woman. She deserved it. I’d been watching them for a while, thinking that if she didn’t shut up, he’d slap her. And he did.

- Do people recognize you in the street and talk to you?

Coco Chanel: Yes. Often, too often to my taste, I find it tiring. People that come and say hello to me; no I don’t know them, I’m sure I’ve never seen them, but you have to pretend to be polite, shake their hand… People I’m with ask me who they are… I don’t know. What do you mean you don’t know? No I don’t know. They seem to know you really well. If it pleases them, so be it, but I’m sure I don’t know them.

- How do you manage to be both varied and true to yourself in your creative process?

CC: If you move away from style, you have to start over and over again, it’s impossible. Unfortunately, this is what is happening at the moment. Some couturiers are really good couturiers but they change every week, and this is the reason why I’ve created my own style. I couldn’t do it if I had to come up with something new every week, you’d end up creating very ugly things.

CC: I’ve been fighting all couturiers for the past two years on those shorts dresses. I find them indecent. To show one’s knees, they need to be perfect, they are an articulation. Do you know what’s been happening to me? When I walk into restaurants men look at me and applaud me because I’ve spoken against showing one’s knees, that it was awful, pointless and hardly ever pretty and that if they had any idea of what the body is like, they’d know if you have bad knees you also have bad hips, too large.

I’ve got nothing against knees if they’re pretty. And I believe that if you show everything off, you don’t want anything anymore. It’s like people presented with their favorite dish after being force-fed food. They’d say no on that day. It’s a bit like that.

CC: I’ve got a really, really beautiful clientèle. This is the only thing I’m truly proud of. I’m convinced there isn’t a house in France with a clientèle like mine. From all around the world you understand, the best from all around the world and I don’t blush when saying so, it’s bold to say, but it’s the truth. You can check it, I believe anyone who dresses well in the world dresses here.