Launched by a group of writers and historians based at the Victoria & Albert Museum/Royal College of Art in 1994, the ambiguously-named Website places its editorial focus on 'objects that can open up new ways of understanding the world.' Sounds good, but what we can’t understand is why can't you explore the world with a little style? Perhaps from the comfort of a private jet or megayacht, for example? So what did Things Magazine, now an independent publication, have to say about our beloved Gunpowder, and why did it get us so hot under our super-stylish collar? Read below and weep, loyal Gunpowder readers:
"Gunpowder Magazine got us thinking about the luxury lifestyle magazine business. Go on, Google it. There are, quite frankly, more magazines in this sector than in any other, especially online: MarQ, Rich Guy, Supercar, Lusso Luxury, Vivo Magazine, Black Card, Dolce Vita, Elite Life and Travel, Urban Life, Canary Wharf, Ocean Drive, Atlanta Peach, Quest, Broughtons, etc., etc. This is a woefully incomplete list, and that's before you've got to the in-house magazines produced by the various brands - Ferrari, Bentley, Aston Martin, Patek Philippe, Sunseeker. A marque without a magazine is in danger of knocking copy (although in practice this is relatively rare) and, horror of horrors, no control over their brand image. Around the world, the contract publishing market - companies like FMS, Redwood, John Brown - are creating bespoke publications that represent the idealised essence of a brand.
What's most striking is that the 'luxury' magazines listed above seem to demonstrate a lack of awareness of the world in general, beyond the little orbit of the place or product held in close focus. It's a lack of curiosity, perhaps, maybe created from self-satisfaction, or even fear that the media-bubble each product and reader occupies is in danger of being popped. The imagery is relentless - white sand/blue sky/bikini/convertible/powerboat/wine glass - a cornucopia of high net worth clip art that has the effect of flattening the entire lifestyle into little more than a low rent studio photoshoot."
It's enough to bring a tear to the eye, isn't it? Clearly, the people at Things Magazine don't understand aspirational living, whereby, in the looming shadow of a penny-pinching recession, we can, for a brief moment, escape the daily grind. Sure, a gloriously photoshopped image is our signature tool-of-the-trade; sharper, crisper and more colourful than a 'real' image, they make the world look like a more beautiful place, and, in an era where our media outlets are overstuffed with images of violence and bloodshed, what could be the harm in that? Gunpowder is about escapism, about leaving your physical surroundings and imagining yourself somewhere better. And if that place happens to have the white sand and blue skies Things Magazine is so quick to write off, so much the better, we say.
Granted, the magazine's critique is incredibly well-written and is not overly-personal, but as a brand that's never pretended to be anything other than what we are - luxurious, hedonistic and completely gratuitous - we feel we've a duty to put in our two cents. We're sure we speak on behalf of all the other luxury lifestyle titles dragged into its critique when we say this; since when did publishing become about puncturing holes in other magazines? It's about questioning things, of course, but to finish off a critique with a sniping, if not downright bitchy conclusion devalues the whole argument against luxury lifestyle publishing.
And, for the record, nothing about Gunpowder flattens the luxury lifestyle we celebrate into little more than a low-rent studio photoshoot. A spectacular, Vogue-style photoshoot that's a zillion times over budget, maybe, but low-rent? We think not! ;-)
www.thingsmagazine.net / Images: Gunpowder
