Date of Premiere Issue : September / October 1999
Editor-in-Chief : Stephen Gan
Art Direction : Greg Foley, Florentino Pamintuan
Publisher : Visionaire Publishing
Dimensions : 11" x 17"
Frequency : Twelve Issues/Year
Country of Origin : United States
Website : www.visionaireworld.com
Statement
It's fall, and say goodbye (thank God!) to clamdiggers, knickers, Capris, or whatever you've named those horrible short-long pants we've been seeing around all summer. Fall's version, such as Prada's wool ones, worn with high boots, work much better. Boots, after all, are at the top of my list of things to look for as the weather changes. Other hot cold weather trends for men? Long, long, long, long pants. I was at a backstage fitting in Paris recently where a model tried on a pair of pants that outlengthed his legs by at least a foot. He walked over to the designer only to be told, "The only problem is the pants. They're too short."(!) Speaking of length, hair for men is simultaneously the longest and the shortest that it's been in seasons. Goodbye to gelled and spiky electric shock styles. Hello asymmetric haircuts with a definite graphic quality. Other things to live for? The chance to wear a Saint Laurent har (a challenge that will take some bravery), a Raf Simons cape (a feat even more daring), and ony one of Helmut Lang's storm trooper ensembles (super!), and Gucci's one-of-a-kind embroidered hippie pieces (how much and whom do I call?) What does all of this mean for menswear? There's a "couture" spirit in the air. And in the end, don't we all crave a little glamour, luxury, and finery in our lives? It's what fashion is all about, no? But it's rumoured there's more to life than fashion. Which is what V Magazine is all about. Fashion mixed with all of the other stuff that makes life interesting. (For V1 the theme happens to be menswear.) The concept is visual: one page, one image, one storyÑas if you had lined up forty-four television monitors and tuned them to different stations. You, our "viewer," want to know it all, see it all, and try, at least, to buy most of it.
Mr. V