Summer 2011 —
Ozon’s summer 2011 issue is the ‘Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?’ issue, laterally devoted to the topic of violence. Fortunately for those who find images of gratuitous violence a bore or hard to stomach, the editorial team behind this Greek title approach the topic in a much more understated and cerebral way. In fact, one can safely say that it’s much more of an undertow than an active entity in most of the content.
Ozon’s mode is to offer up a menu of numerous articles on many different topics, subjects or people drawn from almost all aspects of contemporary life. Hence, coverage of trendy fashion designers sits side-by-side with features on documentary photographers covering less than glamourous aspects of societies in flux or offbeat performance artists.
Amongst the notable articles on the fashion front, London’s designers get a good deal of coverage in this issue. Alaska (can we assume that this is the same Alaska of Spanish punk underground fame?) interviews rock chick couturier Pam Hogg who continues to be a cult favourite with music celebrities for her flamboyant figure-hugging glam. The interview is accompanied by Julia Kennedy’s shoot of Ms Hogg’s work. Alaska also enters the ring for a second round, this time with JJ Hudson aka Dr Noki whose NHS label has gained a groundswell of following amongst east London’s art and fashion kids for showing that values like sustainability and recycling need not have anything to do with muesli-coloured corrective frocks or Eco-Jesuit self-righteousness. Dr Noki’s approach to environmentally friendly fashion has proven that it can be entirely congruent with a wry over-the-top aesthetic straight out of London’s famed underground club psyche.
Still on the fashion front, Marios Kalamaris’ shoot, styled by D’arcy Foxx, is the most notable of the contributions carried in the title under the ‘Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?’ umbrella. It’s taut black ‘n white imagery that plays with suggestions of both punk and the fox hunt unfurls a sexy and rather unsettling chic with violent sensual subtext.
And of the many notable and interesting stories on topics other than fashion, those such as the one on Italian documentary photographer Frankie Nazardo and his work on the glue-sniffing street gangs of Nepal or Lala Lopez’ interview with NYC-based artist Dan Colen demand that one lingers.
June 2011 116 Pages
Do The Hidden Art of Wrestling Gisele Vienne Glue Gans Wasted Youth The Casualties Lovett / Codagnone Daniel Colen Polly Morgan You Really Want To Hurt Me Beauty P.L.Us
Danai Dragonea
Panos Papanagiotou
Our Take —
Ozon magazine is one of Greece’s most successful magazines to come out of the newfound freedoms of the 1980’s that the country shares with some of its Mediterranean neighbours. Like numerous magazines in other parts of Europe – particularly the UK- its roots lie in covering vibrant urban culture; what was once called ‘the underground’ without the slightest sense of irony. And, like many of these magazines, the content is often geared towards a youthful audience, eager to stake out its individual generational identity. Hence, music, street culture and urban trends are all part of its usual offer. Also like these magazines, the fashion offer that forms a key part of its promise is based in a big dose of reality – attainable street brands – and a little dash of aspiration – high-end fashion that does not come cheap.
As a magazine published approximately ten times a year, Ozon has to be fairly of-the-moment. Thus, it’s art direction favours a clean modular and blockish approach enabling it to fit the dense diet of factoids and actual information on the items covered into the title. This is no mean feat in the international issue, published in both Greek and English. Yet, despite this directness, the title manages to bring a lot of creativity into the way that it approaches its fairly democratic content on topics like fashion. This immediacy should not, however, be mistaken for shallowness: in its coverage of topics such as art, design and architecture, it’s very grown-up.
