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‘Old man’ Rankin says his style mag is still relevant
06 January 2006
By Zoe Smith
Dazed & Confused co-founder and publisher Rankin has declared himself "past it" on the 15th anniversary of the style magazine's launch — but insists the title is still relevant despite competition from other magazines, newspaper supplements and the internet.
"I'm an old man now," he told Press Gazette, looking back on a period in which a host of style titles have come and gone, while weekly magazines and supplements have begun to spot trends faster than the style bibles.
Rankin, 39, who is currently promoting a new feature film, The Lives of Saints, in conjunction with Italian denim brand Meltin' Pot, founded Dazed & Confused with editorial director Jefferson Hack in 1991, overseeing its rise as creative director. His photos and the magazine's irreverent style epitomised an era where agenda-setting publications led the creative industries.
"We never thought we would last more than another month and we were always chasing our tails financially and creatively," said Rankin. "The fact that we are still going after 15 years is a good indication of how much a magazine like Dazed is still in demand, we still maintain that hold on being the only magazine that crosses all cultures."
Rankin credits the magazine's staff with ensuring its continued success despite the high-profile closures of style titles such as The Face and Sleazenation.
"The staff are the lifeblood of the magazine and that's why it continues."
Over the past 15 years the magazine has attracted contributors including David Bowie, Alexander McQueen and Damien Hirst.
Many critics have slammed the title for its cliquey, pretentious tone but Rankin was dismissive of such accusations.
"Maybe in the beginning it was true that we were writing for a bunch of our friends in Shoreditch, but Dazed has become an international magazine with licences all over the world," he said.
"The Dazed Group, which now includes Another and Another Man has sustained that success because of our unique approach to making magazines and doing advertising and sponsoring projects, including an initiative with The Observer in 2003 to expand the paper's UK circulation.
"When we started Dazed our whole approach was DIY — create, innovate, don't talk about it, just do it. We do tours around student unions urging students to do the same thing today,"
he said.
