In the land of OZ: YStyle's exclusive interview with fashion's bad boy, Olivier Zahm
It was in the middle of New York Fashion Week that YStyle got the chance to chat with Purple magazine editor (and fashion’s bad boy) Olivier Zahm to talk about his new book, OZ Diary. Zahm might not have as much immediate name recognition but is certainly as influential as more popular colleagues, such as Wintour and Roitfeld (whose bestselling book Irreverent was, incidentally, edited by him). He is known for his risqué, often salacious photographs that champion sex in fashion.
While his work may not be for those with more conservative leanings, he effortlessly established an army of followers that elevated him to celebrity editor status. Don’t get him wrong — he’s never been into seeking attention for himself. You’ll never see him peacocking outside the shows during fashion week for the street style photographers to swallow up. He writes, styles, and photographs for his magazine all at the same time. He’s also done campaigns as a photographer for Agent Provocateur and as art director for Saint Laurent, to name a few. And lest we forget to mention it, he started as an art critic and curator before becoming an editor. That’s Olivier Zahm for you.
His bi-annual published magazine and website Purple Diary has been his biggest achievement in his more than 20-year career as a publisher (or so he says, in spite of having published books for big names like Terry Richardson and Rick Owens). He claims this as such because Purple Diary has stayed independent from the moment he started it. In an article published by New York magazine, he was quoted as saying, “My website has become a reverential place. I don’t want advertising to destroy the aesthetic. How do you combine the aesthetic with advertising? I don’t know. Content is my main concern. I will make money one day.”
Dubbed as the “anti-fashion” editor, he was never about being commercialized. And to contradict the saying “Sex sells,” we can only imagine how hard it must be to sell his magazine to advertisers given the provocative and raunchy photographs within its pages. “Sexuality is art. I am inspired most by philosophy, women, the world around me. I love being able to make a connection to beauty through photographing the things that I love and by making a magazine filled with the people I care about and respect creatively without being constrained to anyone else,” he said.
When asked about his current state of mind and status, he said, “Honestly, I am so happy that the book is finished and printed. I take 100 photos a day, and this is a collection of 10 years of photos, so you can only imagine how long it took to go through just a small part of them and pick my favorites.”
