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Olivier Zahm Thinks the Fashion Industry ‘Is Going in a Vulgar, Common, Bad Direction’

Purple magazine’s Olivier Zahm believes that the Internet’s democratization of fashion is a bad thing. “This is why the industry is going in a vulgar, common, bad direction — because of the direct access that doesn’t come with an education, reflection, understanding,” he told Women’s Wear Daily. In other news, he doesn’t appreciate the characterization of Purple as “a sex magazine”: “I’m trying to capture something bigger and change my own vision of life at the moment and change reality a little … [Purple] isn’t a sex magazine hiding behind the facade of fashion. We prefer to think of nudity as Roland Barthes did, that it’s the Degree Zero of style.” What about his parties, which reputedly involve nudity, hot-wax pouring, and other louche behavior? “When we go to a party, it’s not about who we are. It’s about this fictional, glamorous side. We are inventing these lifestyles. If you’re not in the mood to play that game, you might as well stay home and read.” [WWD]

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Olivier Zahm Thinks the Fashion Industry ‘Is Going in a Vulgar, Common, Bad Direction’