The medium is the message

At this point one could expect a discourse about the legendary communication scientist, Marshall McLuhan, who shaped the alike legendary phrase, which serves as our current issue's subtitle. But instead of boring you with theoretical excursions, I'd prefer to use this space as a stocktaking of our beloved medium, which is off course our message.

Like the virgin got to the child, we got to edit a magazine for the streetwear-branch. In the beginning it was a simple contract work, to produce a 'young' supplement for the established Fashion Today. A short step for us, regarding the existing know-how through our agency work as well as through our long-time, personal background in the streetwear- and media-scenes. Due to our ambitions and visions, we got beyond the original scope very soon. Consequence of our consequence was the full take over of the title, accompanied by the re-design and increase of pages and print run.

We've been asked quite frequently these days, how we could risk to launch a new magazine in times like these, means, in this times of tight economic situation. Actually a good point, and to tell the truth, we would have probably been afraid of the financial risks, if there wouldn't be some objective reasons, beside our affinity for streetwear and media, which induced us to go.

On the one hand there is the fact, that our market-segment, the street-, jeans- and howeveryoucallit-wear, has stable turnovers and even partial increases, against all trends in the rest of the fashion industry. On the other side we regard this mag as the companion of the changes on the German and European markets, which last but not least get obvious within the changes in the German trade fair scene (f.e. from the traditional 'Interjeans' to the groundbreaking 'Bread & Butter'). The emancipation of the young segment within the industry, its demarcation from the traditional tools and its look back on creativity, originality and the inherent values and roots of the youth cultures of the last decades. Values like realness, authenticity, credibility are our message. Facts & figures are important, but the real values of modern wearable fashion are based on spirit, image, roots and the urban street culture.
fashion as medium as message as magazine.

The outstanding feedback reaching us from all over shows that we run into open doors with this concept. Regarding the fact that this feedback isn't limited to just the German speaking regions and also as a contribution to the growing-together of the European markets, we decided to go for bilingual editions, starting with this issue. Furtheron we will open up for a wider public. Starting with the 1st issue in 2004 we will be distributed by asv distribution in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and hopefully soon also abroad. This will not only widen our own innovative distribution but also increase the print run again.

The Message needs the Medium!

Volker Brunswick for the streetwear today team