Lampoon Magazine is a fashion magazine with a crucial contemporary twist rigourously focusing on circular economies, sustainable development, crafting and cultural dialogues with leading voices in the field. Giulia Cangianiello tells us more about their mission from Milan.
“You can do fashion journalism by being rigorous and serious – in the end, brands appreciate this more than the advertising slogan.”
Can you tell us about the origins of Lampoon?
Lampoon Magazine is an independent Italian magazine published in English and founded in 2015 in Milan, by Carlo Mazzoni, Editor in Chief. It is published twice a year (the Spring issue in April and the Fall issue in October). Over the years it has evolved through an effort of great research and care in the editorial and visual areas.
The main focus of the magazine is sustainability, which is interpreted by looking deeper into every asset of circular economies, short supply chains, global forestry and green projects, CO2 compensation, recycling and new materials in all the industries: fashion, art, design and architecture.
The main assets of the journalistic narrative include worldwide reporting of the strongest commitments towards sustainable development, crafting, cultural dialogues, links amongst industry leaders and upcoming voices and talents. Considerable space is dedicated to factories and craftsmanship with a view focused on saving Italian roots and legacy. With the primary idea that crafting is of the highest mindsets, chronicles and imagery feature avant-garde and experimental abilities. Photography is always characterized by that touch of flimsy irony that defines an editorial attitude today.
Lampoon Magazine is only available in selected concept stores, newsstands, and bookstores, luxury boutiques, exclusive hotels and lifestyle venues and it is a media partner of the main worldwide art fairs, design events and collectors’ agendas.
Your current issue has the theme of ‘transition’ – how did you approach editorial and commissions? What would you like readers to take away from it?
There is only one kind of journalism: the serious, in-depth kind that wants to explain in detail, hearing multiple voices, putting together the pieces of a puzzle. Nowadays, newspapers frequently go from journalism to promotion. This is especially the case in fashion; in design where everything is defined as “extraordinary”, “splendid”, “sustainable” without actually saying how it is in reality. You can do fashion journalism by being rigorous and serious – in the end, brands appreciate this more than the advertising slogan. As a result, the audience that read and love Lampoon are selected. They don’t just want to be entertained, they want to be seriously informed.
It’s not easy. It’s been difficult to build a network of contributors who understand the editorial line, who can get to the level of insight required. It happens that you have to have articles rewritten, or edited and expanded: this takes extra time. It is necessary to work on time and with foresight, so as not to lose the rhythm and the level.
What genuinely surprised us about Lampoon (as first-time readers) is the range and depth of content. It is not shy in deep-diving into subject matter with academic rigour. In this regard, it is a misnomer to call it a ‘fashion’ magazine. How does it wish to and try to position itself in the marketplace? What challenges does this present?
It is a fashion magazine because a substantial part of the print issue features fashion productions. Most of our investors are fashion brands. Also, online, there is always a focus on covering news or ongoing cultural phenomena related to fashion. The aesthetic of our magazine is fashion. But we want to report on fashion (and many other topics) with a journalistic precision and depth that is hard to find elsewhere; never being obsequious, but letting the facts speak for themselves.
We always include interviews with key people in our articles, letting them provide useful information – the questions are always very direct, articulate, never obvious. It is not a scientific magazine; for those who can grasp it, especially in the image, there is always an underlying irony in observing reality.
What are the perceptible impacts which the pandemic has had on fashion brands? What are you noticing in your observations and engagements with them?
We are still facing a different way of living fashion at the moment, as a lot of brands are still presenting their collection on a digital platform…or not presenting them at all! I think, indeed, the impact of the pandemic has brought about a period of reflection, inviting the entire industry to slow down and try to act differently. Sadly, the digital world is also taking over on the budget side, redirecting brands’ investments that are at the moment focused more on social media platforms instead of paper magazines.
Can you tell us about the mood series you have created on Instagram? How do you approach print content in relation to social media platforms or do you keep them distinctive?
The social media content and the online features follow the same aesthetic guidelines we use for the printed editions. All the visual editing we do is coherent with the Lampoon editorial values.
The magazine’s aesthetic favours content supported by extensive iconographic research, excluding commercial, retouched or mainstream photos. The cultural goal is to propose an interesting and authentic image, promoting historical inputs to new contemporary creatives who have an aesthetic that goes hand in hand with a consistent value.
What is planned for the next issue? Do you have a wish-list of areas, themes and topics you wish to explore or will you approach it in a more organic, responsive, way?
The title of the next issue has not yet been decided, but we will continue with the theme of commitment. After all, it’s all about commitment and respect for others. Respect for those who work to protect us, respect for those who give us work despite not having enough themselves, respect for those who work for us, respect for those who believe in our work.
Issue no.23 of Lampoon Magazine ‘We are in Transition’ is out now, £17 (p&p).
It features interviews with Giorgio Armani, Cyrill Gutsch, Founder of Parley for the Oceans (parley.tv) and Dr. Hakan Karaosman, an internationally experienced and award-winning scientific researcher focusing on fashion supply chain sustainability who lectures at the UCD College of Business.
