Cheaper than a pair of Prada's!
Written: Feb 29 '00 (Updated Mar 03 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Brought an interest in good design to the masses
Cons: Lily white models
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| adnix's Full Review: Wallpaper* Magazine |
Wallpaper* is one of the most influential magazines to emerge in the past decade. Clean, modern, and decadent, the magazine set the tone for the dominant look of the last two years. From ads for Target to the Banana Republic catalog, its artistic style has been adapted and diluted by virtually every company seeking to capture the 20-30 something market. And that damned asterisk has shown up everywhere!
But I digress. Wallpaper* is a fantastic read where you are immersed in a jet-set world of cutting edge hotels, supersonic jets, modern furniture, and minimalist fashion. A fashion reporter I know described it as a cool "Martha Stewart's Living." The graphic design and photography are delicious eye-candy and a welcome relief from the David Carson-esque design that still retains a certain popularity. Wallpaper* also created a resurgence in fashion illustration by introducing us to Jordi Labanda and Maurice Vellkoop, among others, whose illustrations give the magazine a warmth that it would otherwise lack.
But like every great design, there are some flaws. The writing is a tad weak and drops designer names like InStyle drops celebrity names. But there are usually one or two readable articles per issue. My wife and I usually skim over the rest. I have noticed that while Wallpaper* purportedly sells itself as a global magazine, its use of models is rather Euro-centric. In my collection spanning two years worth of issues, I have seen fewer than 10 models of non-European descent. The British Empire once spanned across the entire globe, so you think there would be more than white models at London modeling agencies. And last time I checked, it's a 10 hour non-stop flight from London to L.A. so why do we have to wait a month after it came out in Europe to get the next issue?!
Whether the magazine will gain in popularity remains to be seen. Its limited print run (under 200,000 per issue I think), cover price, and the fact that it is not aimed at a mainstream audience may doom it to obscurity among the InStyles and Vogues of the magazine rack, but then part of the pleasure of buying Wallpaper* is when people ask you "What is that?" and reply nonchalantly, "This, oh it's Wallpaper." My wife and I are hooked for life.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
adnix
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Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
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